Solar, Generator or ?

icanon wrote:
Thanks everyone for the replies.

Fred, I have two portable power packs for my celestron cpc telescope, so I'm good for a few nights. Also, I have a 16” Dobson telescope that I made myself, yes mirror and all, so minimun of power there, just power pack to run dew heaters.
Since I already have a 75w solar panel I think I'll add another 75w that will give me a total of 150 watts. Should be fine?

Doug, adding another battery sounds good to me, could you suggest make and model?

Hi,

My E-meter shows exactly how many amps are going out of the batteries at once. It shows 0.8 amps X 24 hours a day, and 1.1 amps while the refrigerator gas valve is on, so that could be 6-18 hours out of that total. That is why I am estimating about 35 AH daily just to run the RV - including some pump usage, but not the lights or furnace.

Of course TV and any inverter usage is beyond what I can estimate for you.

I would recommend a minimum of 150 watts, but rather would say to get a 140 - 200 watt panel from SunElec.com They are pretty cheap, you would be investing less than a couple of tanks of gas into the solar system upgrade. I would not really recommend a 75 watt panel (though I have one, that I bought in 1996 for some $375) Smaller panels require to many mounts per 1,000 watts of total capacity. Yet I also do not recommend any panels larger than about 200 watts, due to their size, and the ability to catch way to much air per panel.

First thing to check is how much space the panel will require, and where it can be located on your roof. No sense in buying a 200 watt panel that is 45" wide and 75" long if it will not fit anyplace on the roof.

Good luck,

Fred.