Solar expert please help me understand

If I were in a campground longterm and was paying for electric my solar would be carrying as much of the load as possible. Having the hybrid inverter would make extremely easy.

CA Traveler wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Unless there is something faulty in his onboard electrical system...there is no point to it.

Engine battery doesn't need solar to stay charged and it's simpler and more reliable to have a connection to the charging system for the house batteries with a disconnect.

It's actually common for the chassis battery to not be charged from the house charger. Then there is battery self discharge and perhaps loads that can't be switched off as supplied by the mfg.

And while an alternate charging method might be simplier we would then be denied the fun of responding to this thread.

I would consider a starter battery with loads that can't be shut off to be a faulty system...at least if they are large enough to discharge the battery in under a week. If the battery is simply self discharging in under a week...again, something is faulty.

If he's parked long term, much simpler to run a line to the charger with a disconnect switch and turn that on for a few hours every so often as opposed to setting up and moving a solar array several times a day as indicated.

So other than to play with a new toy to see what it does, it serves no practical purpose.

Of course, there is the fun of discussing...but I doubt that's why the guy set up the solar array. ;)

There is a meter loop on the pedestal. Perhaps he has a deal where he pays for the 120V he uses. Or, he is just trying to save the park some money because he has the solar to help - a little.

Oooor, he uses the solar to power a small heat plate for the Ranger Bob Mobile Meth Lab.

Toys are fun. Let them play.

To answer why I don't ask the owner, I have never seen him. The panels magically move to take in the sun, but I'm not sure how. I can see the rig out of my window, but have never seen a human there. Spooky.

I thought of the bad charger too, but thought this would be more expensive than a new WFCO.

valhalla360 wrote:
Unless there is something faulty in his onboard electrical system...there is no point to it.

Engine battery doesn't need solar to stay charged and it's simpler and more reliable to have a connection to the charging system for the house batteries with a disconnect.

It's actually common for the chassis battery to not be charged from the house charger. Then there is battery self discharge and perhaps loads that can't be switched off as supplied by the mfg.

And while an alternate charging method might be simplier we would then be denied the fun of responding to this thread.

Maybe he is testing his solar system? Or maybe he wants to see how many Wh he can gather in a day? Maybe he collecting solar power makes him happy?

If this is concerning you why don't you ask them, as opposed to posting photos of of strangers RV on the internet?

Unless there is something faulty in his onboard electrical system...there is no point to it.

Engine battery doesn't need solar to stay charged and it's simpler and more reliable to have a connection to the charging system for the house batteries with a disconnect.

We're all just guessing here.. like his converter is shot, or he doesn't know what he's doing. Ask him!

There's always a nice way to ask.. like "hey, nice panels, where did yo get them.. blah blah." Then maybe he'll volunteer a reason.

Likely the solar is for his engine battery, while the house batts get the charger supplied by shore power