Solar or Generator??
We are going to have some short boon-docking trips (3-4 days). I do not know my actual energy needs right now, but the DW and I are conservative when it comes to water and power. I really just want ...
Forum Discussion
2oldman wrote:
Battery charging IS solar's only job. When people ask me "What can you run with your solar?" I've pretty much resigned myself to giving a nonsense answer like, "Oh, it'll run the lights ok but not the microwave."
Maybe it's just perspective, but I haven't run a generator in the two years since I installed solar. So solar "runs" everything. It's a great multitasker. It powers things directly when the sun is out and keeps the "tank" full for use when it's not. The batteries are just there to ensure an uninterrupted supply and to provide a greater flow than is possible from the solar directly. I like to think of it like a stream running into a reservoir behind a dam and power plant. For me, solar powers lights, TV, toaster, coffee pot, vacuum, MW and more, but not AC.
RoyB wrote:
With our usage of appliances we want to have on when camping off the power grid I am certain we will have to have to run our generator for at least a couple of hours each morning to get the battery bank beyond the boost mode high current charging. Then we use the SOLAR POWER to finish the 90% charge of the battery up to 4:30 each day to get us to the 90% charge state or greater.
Roy Ken, you're in for a surprise when you get your panels up and running and after a little experimenting realize you need to run your generator very little or not at all.:) Are you going with 2 or 3 120-watt panels?
To the OP, from the description of your needs I would agree with smk.
