Charging House Batteries
Hello All, I apologize for my absence. In 2022 I had two strokes, so my quest for a T/C got sidetracked. Lots of rehab, lots of prayer, learned to rewalk, lots more of rehab. Now I’m back to work a...
Forum Discussion
I'll have to argue that solar is not expensive and is effective no matter where you camp, it just varies between how effective it is.
For a setup with two LFP 100 amp batteries (I'll leave the cost of the batteries out as you need batteries no matter what you do) you're looking at you can get a renogy 40-amp controller on sale right now for about 100 US. You can get the wire you need with ends crimped on from a battery store for about 20 bucks and you can get a 350-watt panel for about 200 bucks (maybe cheaper it might have switched that to CDN on me haha. and say 20 bucks for mounts and a tube of self leveler.
so what are we at 350ish US for a system that just works. I camp in late September to lait oct up here in forested campgrounds I do have a 280AH LFP battery so I can go about 8 days in total darkness as I don't really use anything but the furnace, lights, and the water pump. I have had totally shaded sites, and I still get some charge in them buy ya I will tend to look for one where I get better sun especially when I lait season or early season camp as it helps warm up the camper also. So normally I am charged by noon, in a heavily shaded site with just some sun I will be charged before it gets dark. The only time I ever worried about my battery level was when I was running the set up with two GC2 6V batteries and it was overcast and pouring for 3 days. I was at 50% capacity when it stopped raining and started getting sunny, but I was totally charged by the end of that day.
Now having said that if you chose to get solar installed for you by a dealer then buying their kits can be very expensive, if you can't install it yourself, I would look at buying the parts yourself and maybe getting a mobile repair guy to install the panel and run the wires for you on an hourly charge.
The big question you need to look at is how much power that CPAP machine uses. I have no experience with them but that and your other needs will let you know how much power you need. Also, for battery size, once you figure out your daily consumption, I like to size that for 3 days' worth of power as a minimum. This gives you a cushion for bad solar days if you decide to add solar, if not it lets you camp for a long weekend without rechaging..
I forgot about the other question. go with the dc to dc charger if you are having any sort of recharging from the vehicle and LFP batteries. It lets you give the batteries a proper charge profile.
I am going to install one also, I haven't yet as my solar takes care of everything and I have a 9 day backup with the batteries but I am adding it more so I can use the truck as an emergency generator if something breaks in the solar and I can't get it fixed for a while.
For a setup with two LFP 100 amp batteries (I'll leave the cost of the batteries out as you need batteries no matter what you do) you're looking at you can get a renogy 40-amp controller on sale right now for about 100 US. You can get the wire you need with ends crimped on from a battery store for about 20 bucks and you can get a 350-watt panel for about 200 bucks (maybe cheaper it might have switched that to CDN on me haha. and say 20 bucks for mounts and a tube of self leveler.
so what are we at 350ish US for a system that just works. I camp in late September to lait oct up here in forested campgrounds I do have a 280AH LFP battery so I can go about 8 days in total darkness as I don't really use anything but the furnace, lights, and the water pump. I have had totally shaded sites, and I still get some charge in them buy ya I will tend to look for one where I get better sun especially when I lait season or early season camp as it helps warm up the camper also. So normally I am charged by noon, in a heavily shaded site with just some sun I will be charged before it gets dark. The only time I ever worried about my battery level was when I was running the set up with two GC2 6V batteries and it was overcast and pouring for 3 days. I was at 50% capacity when it stopped raining and started getting sunny, but I was totally charged by the end of that day.
Now having said that if you chose to get solar installed for you by a dealer then buying their kits can be very expensive, if you can't install it yourself, I would look at buying the parts yourself and maybe getting a mobile repair guy to install the panel and run the wires for you on an hourly charge.
The big question you need to look at is how much power that CPAP machine uses. I have no experience with them but that and your other needs will let you know how much power you need. Also, for battery size, once you figure out your daily consumption, I like to size that for 3 days' worth of power as a minimum. This gives you a cushion for bad solar days if you decide to add solar, if not it lets you camp for a long weekend without rechaging..
I forgot about the other question. go with the dc to dc charger if you are having any sort of recharging from the vehicle and LFP batteries. It lets you give the batteries a proper charge profile.
I am going to install one also, I haven't yet as my solar takes care of everything and I have a 9 day backup with the batteries but I am adding it more so I can use the truck as an emergency generator if something breaks in the solar and I can't get it fixed for a while.
