Thinking of going solar...

This thread has me puzzled. Had I taken psychology 101, apparently I would have flunked.

I am not concerned about your motivation. If you want a system that works for you just set the specs and let's build it. Conservation is a way to cut cost but saving every small bit does not always work for the situation. May need a bit more battery and/or solar but this is doable.

Although I would like to see if you can discover what is currently discharging your batteries so fast. Seems like a bit much even for home style use.

Joel_T wrote:

cannesdo wrote:

Joel_T wrote:
It's not a matter of whether you feel like you're camping or living at home, it's a matter of whether you are living on grid (shore power) or off grid (batteries). Shore power's got everyone spoiled...

Whoa. That's your story. You don't know me or my story. I'm not spoiled....

I'm not going to judge your journey or needs or choices so I'd appreciate if you didn't scoff at mine.

Story? What story? A bit testy you are? My apologies for your bad day and misinterpreting what I said. Just trying to offer some insight. I said EVERYONE (key word) is spoiled with the seemingly endless supply of grid power unlike the limits of off grid power. You need to understand what limits you want to deal with and plan from there. That would be a primary goal. By the way, I didn't "scoff" at anything of yours...and yes, you are now whining.

On a calmer note Your last post says you'll have 400amps available storage (50 percent of 800a if 6v). That should give you 3 days of use with zero charging. You'll need to average at least 130amps back into your batteries every day by some means.

Your story is that "it's a matter of living on grid or off grid"....No. It isn't. Not for me. It's not all or nothing. And "all" (living in 300 square feet and just wanting it to feel like a comfortable house doesn't make "any" of us, who live on wheels full-time, primadonnas either. Leaving some low-lighting on, even in rooms you're not in, is what makes a house feel like a home. It's what makes a house different from a fall-out shelter. I consider it to be something that's important for my personal health. Not a luxury. And I think others do as well. (That said, compared to the third world a single light bulb is a luxury but that's another conversation.) That doesn't mean we can't look into green power and figure out how to lower our carbon footprint. If we can't make it work without addition sources of charging then that's the reality of the situation. You implied that I wanted it all and sounded irritated and evidently felt you needed too disabuse me of that notion. "It's one or the other, People. If you can't handle the fallout shelter experience then just stop asking questions and get back to yer wasteful ways!"

There are a number of different solar set-ups and yes, some do allow people to feel more "at home", and again, this is my only home. It's not about being "on" and having more than you need (a judgement) or "off" and constantly fearing lack...There are gray areas. Different ways of incorporating green energy into your life. Homeyness is a *real* factor for me. Calling you on being dismissive of that doesn't make me grumpy. You may not consider it a necessity and that's fine but there is a much kinder and respectful way to say what you said.

I had a *great* day. Stating that I didn't rather than acknowledging there was another way to say what you said is a form of abuse called gaslighting.

130 amps is minimum. To be really comfortable and for it to feel home we're looking at nearly 200 probably and you don't want to push the 50% line and that's only when the batteries are brand new so it really does come down to about one comfortable long evening (I sometimes go to bed at 2 or 3)so that's brings me pretty close to needing to top up the next day. And that's fine. It is what it is. I now have a better understanding of what is possible.

cannesdo wrote:

Joel_T wrote:
It's not a matter of whether you feel like you're camping or living at home, it's a matter of whether you are living on grid (shore power) or off grid (batteries). Shore power's got everyone spoiled...

Whoa. That's your story. You don't know me or my story. I'm not spoiled....

I'm not going to judge your journey or needs or choices so I'd appreciate if you didn't scoff at mine.

Story? What story? A bit testy you are? My apologies for your bad day and misinterpreting what I said. Just trying to offer some insight. I said EVERYONE (key word) is spoiled with the seemingly endless supply of grid power unlike the limits of off grid power. You need to understand what limits you want to deal with and plan from there. That would be a primary goal. By the way, I didn't "scoff" at anything of yours...and yes, you are now whining.

On a calmer note Your last post says you'll have 400amps available storage (50 percent of 800a if 6v). That should give you 3 days of use with zero charging. You'll need to average at least 130amps back into your batteries every day by some means.

Yes. That's what I did also. It's how I arrived at how many watts I would need and now I'm working on the battery question. I also concluded that I would use 130 amp hours/day minimum. 800 AH of batteries would be just enough for me (living very carefully) with no backup (and probably charging my computer in the truck) but I would probably use the solar only on sunny days and switch over to shore power in the evenings most months. Thanks for sharing your numbers.

cannesdo wrote:
The original owner of this rig had it customized and definitely set it up as a shore powered trailer.

And NOTHING you have said so far indicates that you need to change ANY of that.

The one isolated incident has tainted your thinking.

You can NOT plan for all possible failures. Sometimes you just need to roll with the punches. Complete converter failure is a fairly rare occurrence. And if you were plugged into shore power at the time, you might not have even noticed.

crosscheck wrote:

larry barnhart wrote:
On our 2001 alpenlite our inverter can be turned off. The batteries still get charging. We only turn on the inverter if needed.
chevman

cannesdo,

Are you sure that you only have the one unit that inverts DC(from the batteries) to AC and AC (from shore power) to DC to run lights, charge batteries etc? If you do, then I will shut up.

Dave

When my inverter fried years ago my rig was dead in the water. Had to use an exterior battery charger as life support. Bypassed the inverter so power could get to the sub-panel. There is no converter. Have the schematic committed to memory. The charger in the combi unit is what charges the batteries. I'm going to pull the manual tonight to see how it all works with regard to adding solar into the mix, if I can turn off the converter...The original owner of this rig had it customized and definitely set it up as a shore powered trailer.

This is simple IF YOU LIVE IN YOUR TT NOW

Look at your electric bill how many kw hours did you use last month ?

Now convert that to battery use amp hrs,
You need devide that by 30 days , then double the result that's the minimum amount of batteries you need
Then figure how much solar is going to be needed to produce that power
Everyday

If you can't install that much solar you need to find the balance between generator and solar

We have 675 amp Hrs of AGM batteries, weighing 505 pounds
Our overnight use is approx 130 amp hrs, 1625 watt hours , that's overnight daily use approx 2kw hrs, we have 649 watts of solar, and I run the generator everyday
Just so I don't drag the batteries down to the 50% level except in unsettled circumstance

This is part of the reason I want to get more off the grid. Way too many people completely lacking in the ability to grasp that "my needs/reality are not your needs/reality". Endless judging. Pi**ing contests. Suffocating.

cannesdo wrote:
It has to be on when I'm unplugged for me to continue working so that will always be on when I am on solar.

There is an elephant in the room that needs explaining. BAD.

How often do you "move"? and how many times do you end up in a place with NO shore power for more than a day or so ??

If your converter/charger is working correctly, a good set of batteries should last almost indefinitely......IF they are seldom actually used.

But I think having the inverter turned ON when not needed is a minor mistake.

And finally, you NEED a multi-meter.
You do know that the batteries need to have the electrolyte (water level) checked every couple of months......right ?? Unless they are sealed AGM type of course.

DO YOU HAVE A GENERATOR ?

I have a slight problem with threads like this because the OP gets one thing set in his mind and is like a dog with a sock and won't let go of it. You seem to be stuck on getting answers to things that you don't NEED answers to and completely ignoring other suggestions that are made.

Lacking answers and making some assumptions, it appears to me that you probably need to replace your batteries, check the converter charging voltage and then not worry about it for another 5 years or so.

So far, NOTHING you have said makes me think that you need solar AT ALL......in which case it would be an unnecessary complication and a waste of money.