Thinking of going solar...

Joel_T wrote:

cannesdo wrote:
Yes, it (inverter) can be turned off but the problem is when I want to turn it on and live as I normally do, with the inverter on, on battery power. I live in my rig full-time and don't want to feel like I'm camping. I have many hours of work to do every day and my whole social life is on line so it's important that it feels like my home...all the time.

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, except for the bill possibly, you just plug in to the grid and use everything as much as you want. If you're gonna run off just your batteries you need to keep them charged. That could be a generator, solar, wind, hydro or whatever. But more has to go in than out. You have to find out what you'll typically be pulling out of those batteries. Your requirements appear to be too much to expect out of solar, so you'll probably want to plan on a generator. What kind? That's a whole other thread.

Whoa. That's your story. You don't know me or my story. I'm not spoiled because after decades of battles with illness and all sorts of things I'm not going to mention here I know that I need a refuge that makes me feel safe and happy and secure. I am not camping. This is my house. I know what my limits are and what would cause me to feel depressed. And I'm not going to apologize for not wanting at this point in my life to life like I'm camping most of the time. I understand that it requires greater awareness to move off the grid. I completely accept the reality of the situation and I am asking questions that I can figure out what the best case scenario is and if and how and when I want to move toward a more green source of power.

I would be completely happy in the future, for several months in a stretch to do what is necessary to make this work if it means I can be in a location I love that doesn't happen to have hook-ups but other times, the majority of the time, I would like to have electric available as back-up so that I can enjoy my space and focus on work n socialize online without worrying all day every day about running out of power. So I'm figuring it out. That doesn't make me spoiled. That makes me someone who cares about the earth who wants to maybe save some money on electric bills and venture beyond the tether of the almighty post.

I'm not diving in without looking and whining because I can't run a toaster and a microwave and a Cuisinart. I live simply but I also live alone (and will be dealing the rest of my life with mercury toxicity) and I know what I need to stay happy and sane. Your results may vary and I'm not going to judge your journey or needs or choices so I'd appreciate if you didn't scoff at mine.

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

Most RV units have some sort of converter where all the ac/dc wireing is routed through. Now if you get the option of an inverter/charger then you do not need the OEM converter. Sounds like something other than the inverter is charging the batteries when it is off in chevmans case.

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

cannesdo wrote:
Yes, it (inverter) can be turned off but the problem is when I want to turn it on and live as I normally do, with the inverter on, on battery power. I live in my rig full-time and don't want to feel like I'm camping. I have many hours of work to do every day and my whole social life is on line so it's important that it feels like my home...all the time.

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, except for the bill possibly, you just plug in to the grid and use everything as much as you want. If you're gonna run off just your batteries you need to keep them charged. That could be a generator, solar, wind, hydro or whatever. But more has to go in than out. You have to find out what you'll typically be pulling out of those batteries. Your requirements appear to be too much to expect out of solar, so you'll probably want to plan on a generator. What kind? That's a whole other thread.

Thanks for all the links, Folks. In work mode but I'll check it all out later tonight. ;)

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

Yes, it can be turned off but the problem is when I want to turn it on and live as I normally do, with the inverter on, on battery power. I live in my rig full-time and don't want to feel like I'm camping. I have many hours of work to do every day and my whole social life is on line so it's important that it feels like my home...all the time.

grizzzman wrote:

cannesdo wrote:

grizzzman wrote:

cannesdo wrote:

time2roll wrote:
With no solar four batteries will generally last 2 to 8 days depending on usage. If solar tops them off every day you run indefinitely.

and run only my tv it only lasts a few hours then my battery indicator is showing the power has dropped. That is the case whether the batteries are new or older. My 4 batteries will get me through a night at a truck stop at best. ?





Am I doing something wrong?

I fear it's the former and my batteries are nearly dead. fluid is ok does that just mean the batteries are in bad shape and will soon need to be replaced?
?

1. Yes you are
2. Yes they are
3. Yes they will
4. To bad you have no entrust in solar. Installing a "system" would relieve you of battery duties so you could get back to camping.

C'mon....I have *concerns* that it won't be enough for me based on what I've experienced so far. Maybe you could recommend some batteries or other fixes to improve my situation rather than setting down a snarky "You're doing it wrong" and walking away.

And I'm not camping. I'm living and working full-time in this space which is why I think perhaps even the best "system" may not be enough for me.

It sounds like I have to choose to go with batteries that will work well for me if I'm running on solar all the time or batteries that are best suited to constant shore power. If I pick one then do the other my batteries will be damaged so doing some of each doesn't seem like much of an option.

I simply answered some of your questions. I do not agree with name calling. It appears you do? I have been sitting in this chair and since I'm responding I have not walked away?
OK here's a question when was the last time your batteries have seen "over" 15 volts for a few hours? Do you understand what sulfation
Is? And it's the number one battery killer in RVs?
Do I have your attention or are you still mad at me?

1. It felt snarky.
2. "snarky" modified an action of a person and not a person so it is not name-calling.
3. "Seen" could mean any number of things.
4. I do.

As I have stated I have been plugged in, aside from a few short road trips, since the batteries were new. I have tired to run on battery power with the inverter and found they were too low to give me power. I have not, to my knowledge, done anything that would cause sulfation. I am not aware of any time that the batteries were too low and I was only unplugged and on the road about 5 times and plugged in if I had to pull in somewhere for the night.

cannesdo wrote:
Can I use the same cables that are there for the 12 (it's set up parallel now) for the 6v batteries? Or is that a big hairy deal....

Probably.

US Battery:



http://usbattery.com/info-center/configuration/configuration-2/

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

Joel_T wrote:
The 6v vs 12v answer is up for grabs...that's a whole separate thread. Generally speaking though, actually specifically speaking, true deep cycle house batteries with few exceptions, are 6v. Marine batteries and 12v batteries are not. They all come with different amperage ratings with 6v tending to have more capacity.

You likely have a converter/charger (not converter/inverter) that your shore cord is wired to. It feeds all your 120v circuits. It converts the 120v to 12v to feed all your 12v circuits. It also charges or maintains to some extent your 12v batteries. That charger has a breaker you must turn off if your using your inverter for 120v circuits. Your batteries feed your 12v circuits. Your inverter inverts the batteries 12v to 120volts to feed whatever 120v circuits the inverter is wired to.

You need (I think) a battery monitor that will tell you how many amps are going in or out of your batteries and the state of charge percentage ...50 percent 100 percent or whatever. That way you know when to charge or when to ease up on use or when you're in good shape and can live it up.

I have 2000w Xantrex Freedom Combi inverter/charger. The inverter fried once and the charger went with it. The charger is the only way (aside from the tiny panel on the roof) to charge the batteries in the rig. It was on life support for a while while I got that unit fixed (exterior battery charger).

I do have to light meters inside the rig in the control panel. On shows the current state of the battery charge (when I unplug is starts at 13.5 then slowly drops) and the other shows "DC Amps". Still trying t figure out if that's how much I'm drawing or how many amps (or amp hours?) are available.

My neighbor swearrrrrrs there's no difference between a marine deep-cycle battery and a deep-cycle battery. "You just pay more for the marine." ? He did know about the gold cart batteries though. Can I use the same cables that are there for the 12 (it's set up parallel now) for the 6v batteries? Or is that a big hairy deal....