Solar power

We have a small RV with modest electrical needs, probably less than 30 amp-hours a day in summer for just lights, fridge and fan. We often boondock for 3 days with no charging with two batteries. I bought a 100 watt solar kit from Renogy last summer but didn't get it installed until near the end of August so no camping experience with it yet. The most charging current I got out of it was one amp, due to the batteries being close to fully charged and the low angle of the sun in northern Alberta. I am hoping the 100 W solar will extend our boondock duration by a day or two.

This is the kit I installed: http://www.amazon.ca/Renogy-100W-Mono-Bundle-Monocrystalline/dp/B00B8L6EFA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1420407753&sr=8-7&keywords=renogy
Mounting the panel on the roof was difficult due to a shortage of wood in the ceiling to attach to. The electrical install was just two wires from collector to controller, and two more from controller to battery. No trouble after I discovered the fridge vent route for wires from the roof.

Another question is how long does the battery you have last you now? If it is one day then solar isn't going to help you on a bad weekend. In bad weather it wont put out enough to cover your needs and you will still need more battery.

Presuming the OP has enough battery to get by, I would think 60-80w would suffice... just enough in winter, more than enough in summer. Amorphous work well in all light conditions, but are bigger and heavier. Monos have the smallest footprint. As others have pointed out, a 100w may be the same price or even cheaper than a much smaller system. Either way, you're gonna pay more per watt, the smaller you go, and much more for flex panels.

Here's an Ebay listing for an 80 watt kit:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/161404064086?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I would increase the battery capacity to about 100 amp hours with a group 27 battery. Group 24 is only about 80 - 85 AH, depending on the brand.

AS for a solar panel, check out the 100 - 150 watt systems.

SunElec.com

I would recommend 100 watt minimum, and up from there as you add more loads. My 85 motorhome ran fine on a pair of 45 watt panels ($750 at the time in 1994, it was considered a 'good price'. It also did not have a CO or propane detector.

Now I have a 97 motorhome with CO and propane detector that along with the refrigerator combined use 35 AH daily, about what one of my pair of 120 watt solar panels produce. I have 4 golf cart batteries, and can watch hours of TV without need to run the generator.

Have fun camping!

Fred.

Got room for a bigger battery?

A full size 85 ah or so battery would give you a couple days of juice for rainy weather, vs 1 day with the 50. Add a 100 - 140 watt panel and small controller. Are you thinking to roof mount a panel or go portable?

Same work to mount single 140w panel vs something smaller.

18 to 30 watt panels are a waste of money. It doesn't cost that much more to get 75 or 100 watts. Keep in mind that unless your using an MPPT charge controller you will likely only get about 80% of the output of the panel.
Your battery sounds really small, what is it? The most basic of all RV batteries is the group 24 which has about 75 Ah. For maximum battery life don't discharge yours more than 50%.
I would at least start with a 50 watt panel. Then, if it's not enough, add a second one.

What is several days at a time? With low use you might just increase your battery capacity instead of going solar.

BFL13 wrote:

352 wrote:
Brief scenario. Small slide in pop up camper. LED lights (4). 12 volt water pump. 12 volt furnace fan on occasion. Florida. Gas stove. No carbon monoxide or gas detectors hard wired. I have 9 volt battery operated ones. No water heater. I plan on being in the woods for several days at a time. I am wanting an education on solar panel chargers. My research tells me I could use between an 18 to 30 watt panel with a controller to do what I need and keep a charge on the battery. Battery is marine with 50 AH. I also have a diesel which means I have an additional back up which I prefer not to use but will in
emergencies only. If you have a solar system you are happy with please further educate me on the brand that you have.

50AH battery with usual story of not going below 50% unless desperate, means you have 25AH to play with daily. This might be enough (average camper is said to use 50AH daily-- might be true)

You can get enough solar to replace 25AH daily assuming sunny days every day. If it is cloudy one day, the battery is too small to get you through till the next sunny day. Florida is supposed to be sunny

Ok, so how much solar to replace 25AH a sunny day? At least an 80w panel or bigger if price is close to the 80w.

A controller to run up to a 100w panel would be a "10 amp" which costs under $25 (eBay has dozens to choose from)

As soon as the OP discovers inverters so he can watch TV, all this goes out the window of course! :)

Don't need an inverter. I have a 12 volt TV.

Hi,

It may be cheaper to get a 100 watt system than a 30 watt one.