rjxj wrote:
If you were to leave it on long enough which means DAYS it probably would bring the gravity up. That's why wfco does work for some if they are sitting plugged in. When it comes down to running on a generator or solar you want the best charging and least voltage drop possible. 380 watts of solar isn't bad but it all depends on how much energy you consume. Some people will do a morning generator run while making breakfast and using a hair dryer etc and then let the solar do the longer easier amps. Various people will make all sorts of silly comments like oh your solar doesn't work or solar cant work blah blah blah but a generator with good charging equipment is a very effective way to provide the heavy amps that the battery will accept during the first part of the charge. Other than that you need a whole poo load of solar watts to give the 40, 50 or 60 amps that the battery may take early on.
Start eyeballing that roof space for your next upgrades. You can never have too much solar. :)
Batteries = bank account
Use = your overnight consumption
Charging = your income - loads and battery internal resistance and wiring losses
Can your account carry you overnight or through enough time to keep from starting genny or running for shore power?
Can your income meet the daily load + inefficiency + fill the battery?
If not, quit spending so much or earn more. All problems go away when you throw enough fists full of money at them.
Oh yes, the true audit of your account is the hydrometer
Nice reply... Thanks..
My solar can keep up what I have now as long as I have the sun.. Where I was the weekend did not give me enough..
Im a 150 watt use 10 hours a day guy.. Rough estimate. Thats about 10 amps an hours or 100 ah a day..
This was my first time at this campsite and I didnt know how sun would play out.. We were in the shade but had beems of sun coming through in patches of area I tried to follow..
It wasnt enough..
So I relied on running the gen the next morning.. I was running the a/c so I was hoping to get a charge for the batts. It gets real cooler at night so no a/c was needed.
But as I said the day we were leaving the batts were down say 12v? 11.8 maybe?
If we were staying longer we would not have made it without running the gen longer.. All day? As solar was not cutting it..
I was getting some 15 amps from the solar but for only about 3 hours a day..So really putting in 5 amps becuase I was using 10 or so..
I really need a converter I can get to go into bulk mode. I can upgrade the wire at a later date if needed.
Ill be happy if I can get 30-40 amps in off gen for 2-3 hours...
The wfco I think fails in this area..
