Solar Novice Needs Direction

How much solar one needs is dependent on power usage, which in turn is dependent on where and when you boondock.

Larger inverter needed for microwave and toaster but with just 2 batteries they will get depleted pretty quick attempting to power high amperage items even for a few minutes a day. Running tv and charging small devices can be done with existing inverters.

Good idea to have at least 100 watts of solar per battery so on a sunny day they recover most (and maybe all) of the consumed amphours depending on how much they have been depleted. Out west where we camp most often we tend to have good results with solar replenishing our battery bank.

We find having both solar and a generator is the best of both worlds and makes for worry-free camping as it pertains to enjoying all the comforts an RV provides. When camping in good weather and mostly clear skies our genny sits idle except for the few minutes each day where we require 1K+ watts.

Sorry, Yes the batteries are in parallel. I keep getting the terms mixed up even though they are wired correctly to maintain 12 Volts.

Your RV systems are 12v
Your two 12v batteries are wired "PARALLEL" , positive to positive, neg to neg,
Series is inline together to make 24v

You could have ten batteries in parallel, it is still 12v
Any solar will be for charging 12v
You cannot attach 24v or 36v to a 12v battery
Solar panels come in many sizes and voltages
It's the job of the solar Controller, to create the proper voltage 13~14 to charge the 12v battery bank

Either of your inverters is big enough to power the tv and minor device chargers
But if your want to run the toaster, microwave you will be better off with a portable generator, which can also be used to power the converter and charge batteries, when the sun and weather won't comply to your needs

2Macs wrote:


I use two 12 volt deep cycle batteries wired in series to power the TT when electricity or generator is not available.

So you have a 24 volt system or did you mean wired in parallel for a 12 volt system? Start with the reading mentioned above, 12v side of life.

2Macs wrote:
I use two 12 volt deep cycle batteries wired in series to power the TT when electricity or generator is not available.

Really?

You should start here: 12v side of life.

Then here:Solar basics

These too:
Don Rowe site Inverter FAQ
Inverters by Phred
MSW v. pure sine

GOOGLE search says the Rally 800W 12VDC INVERTER model 7394 is a MODIFIED SINE WAVE type INVERTER.


Although alot of folks will use these MSW INVERTER for electronic devices I have always steered away from them. It only has "NOT TO WORK ONCE" before going up in blue smoke. It really doesn't cost that much more to have a PURE SINE WAVE INVERTER just to be safe.

Who knows what someone in the trailer might plug into one just to see it go up in blue smoke...

I use a 600WATT PSW AIMs INVERTER (AMAZON) that cost $149 for all of my electronic home entertainment items plus cell phone chargers and computer chargers etc... I really only need around 250-300WATTS to run these 120VAC devices but having a little extra is nice to have for the occasional higher wattage appliance. A 120VAC Coffee bean grinder is one example... I can also run my cheapo 500WATT WALMART WHite Faced manual operated Microwave unit for a few minutes to warm up some coffee...

My 600WATT PSW INVERTER is direct Connected to the main 12VDC battery selector switch and then I route two 120VAC extension cord drops from the INVERTER Unit with one going to the Home entertainment Center area and the other one going to the night stand area next to the bed. These two location are where 99% of my must have on items are located when camping off the power grid.

Roy Ken

edit, saw other thread.

You can not couple the inverters together to make 1100 watts so too speak. If you try doing so you'll fry both of them so forget the Microwave. You'll need a bigger inverter to handle that load.

You'll get a lot of comments here to help you figure out what to do but you really need to educate yourself on the subject matter.

Here's a link to another site with a lot of very knowledgeable folks as well Northern Arizona Wind and Sun. It's a good place to buy equipment as well.

Educate yourself, knowledge is power ... :)