setting up a battery bank
I'm a long-time camper, first time TT owner.
We do most of our seasonal camping in campgrounds without hookups so I'm looking to get my battery bank all set up for some 3-4 day trips. After thinking about it a lot and doing lots of research, I figure I'll lay out my goals and see if folks can help me along.
GOAL: I want to use the camper without worrying about draining the batteries to unwanted levels each day and then not have to run my generator for more than an hour a day to get back to full charge.
The rig is a modest 20 ft Gulf Stream Visa. It is such a huge step up from the 12 ft, bare-bones pop up that we had. Unlike that camper, we'll be using the battery on the new one for more than just a single ceiling light. In the new one we'll need power for the water pump, lights, and exhaust fan. This also includes the low draw from appliances like the fridge and water heater, which will run off propane. The exhaust fan, which draws around 4 amps, is the most important of these. In addition, I plan on adding a 1000 watt inverter to supply some AC power for small appliances like a coffee maker and electronics. What I'm not looking to do is wire anything into the camper electrical panel to supply power to the entire rig from the batteries. While it may be desired on occasion, I don't expect to run the air conditioner without shore power.
I currently have 2 group 24 deep cycle batteries. My understanding is that group 27 are better fo the application, but for now I'm working with what I've got on hand. I'm looking to wire them in parallel to boost the amp hours. I also want to run the 1000 watt inverter off the same 2 batteries. I would feel comfortable wiring the batteries in parallel to just supply the camper but adding the inverter raises some questions, espically about charging. I'm guessing that I'd have to install a switch on the hot wire to the inverter to shut off while I charged. I should clarify that I'll charge by hooking shore power to the generator and using the built-in charger in the camper. I do have a stand-alone charger if that might be a more efficient/faster way to go.
To summarize, I want a reliable battery bank that will last for the day with modest use of the camper. I want to run a 1000 watt inverter off the same batteries to occasionally run small appliances and electronics. Finally, I don't want to run my 2000w generator more than an hour to charge the system back up after a day's use. I hope this all makes sense.
We do most of our seasonal camping in campgrounds without hookups so I'm looking to get my battery bank all set up for some 3-4 day trips. After thinking about it a lot and doing lots of research, I figure I'll lay out my goals and see if folks can help me along.
GOAL: I want to use the camper without worrying about draining the batteries to unwanted levels each day and then not have to run my generator for more than an hour a day to get back to full charge.
The rig is a modest 20 ft Gulf Stream Visa. It is such a huge step up from the 12 ft, bare-bones pop up that we had. Unlike that camper, we'll be using the battery on the new one for more than just a single ceiling light. In the new one we'll need power for the water pump, lights, and exhaust fan. This also includes the low draw from appliances like the fridge and water heater, which will run off propane. The exhaust fan, which draws around 4 amps, is the most important of these. In addition, I plan on adding a 1000 watt inverter to supply some AC power for small appliances like a coffee maker and electronics. What I'm not looking to do is wire anything into the camper electrical panel to supply power to the entire rig from the batteries. While it may be desired on occasion, I don't expect to run the air conditioner without shore power.
I currently have 2 group 24 deep cycle batteries. My understanding is that group 27 are better fo the application, but for now I'm working with what I've got on hand. I'm looking to wire them in parallel to boost the amp hours. I also want to run the 1000 watt inverter off the same 2 batteries. I would feel comfortable wiring the batteries in parallel to just supply the camper but adding the inverter raises some questions, espically about charging. I'm guessing that I'd have to install a switch on the hot wire to the inverter to shut off while I charged. I should clarify that I'll charge by hooking shore power to the generator and using the built-in charger in the camper. I do have a stand-alone charger if that might be a more efficient/faster way to go.
To summarize, I want a reliable battery bank that will last for the day with modest use of the camper. I want to run a 1000 watt inverter off the same batteries to occasionally run small appliances and electronics. Finally, I don't want to run my 2000w generator more than an hour to charge the system back up after a day's use. I hope this all makes sense.
