Hello all 1st post hope I found the right spot otherwise a Mod please move.My wife and I bought a new travel trailer last year and I want to make it so that we could be self sustaing for a longer period of time since the kids are getting older its time for US to be comfortable and AWAY :lol: I am thinking of installing solar panels to virtually power the camper with/without batteries for say a week at a time. Without having to start my generator for anything. I have gone to ebay and found a few systems. I am thinking a 2x100 watt panels however I am seeing one kit with a 1500w inverter and one without. I am not sure if the inverter is overkill or not we dont much in terms have any powered kitschy stuff but listening to the stereo so I am not sure if is entirely necessary, unless we are using the microwave and Im not sure if that would do the AC for long. Any thoughts or opinions ?? Oh and I am getting 3 golf cart batteries to put in serial if that changes anything.Thanks

"3 golf cart batteries to put in serial"I believe you mean series? Are these 6V or 12V batteries? If they are 6V, putting them in series would give you 18V, if they are 12V batteries, then you'd have 36V in series. Either way, that is excessive voltage. If you are using 6V batteries, put two in in series to = 12V. If you want more than two, you'd have to use at least 4. For a four battery (6V) set up, you'd have two banks of two batteries set up in a series/parallel combination.If you are using 12V batteries, put them all in parallel.

Sorry yes I meant 2 6V in a series I dont know where 3 came from? Would 4 6V be excessive? other than finding enough room

If the batteries are 6 volt, you will need to run two of them in series for 12v. A second set can be added in parallel but you need to stay at 12v. three 12v batteries can be run in parallel.There are a few sources for the 200w kits but you need to look at the components for quality and even if the hardware is usable. You may be better off buying the parts separately and getting items that fit your needs better.For a 1500w inverter to run a microwave, a few things have to happen. First the fun output of the inverter has to be accessible from one outlet. Some split the output between the outlets. Second is you have to have enough battery to keep the voltage from dropping too low for the inverter to run. two 6v may not be enough, three 12v may do it.Solar is part of a balanced system including knowing your needs, conserving where you can without sacrifice, enough battery to fill those needs for a few days when the sun doesn't play well and finally a means of recharging when the solar wont do it.Your needs sound on the light side without using the microwave, so if you camp in a sunny local, 200w may serve you well. Living without the microwave makes it easier as you don't need a lot of battery and you can go with a smaller inverter too. Pure sine wave is recommended.Even though we take 230w of solar with us and have never needed the generator, we still take it with us. Some day there will be a cloudy week and we will have to recharge, plus it also runs the AC when it gets hot. You can use your truck and a set of jumper cables as a last resort, it just takes a while.On the conservation side you can save a lot of power by replacing your incandescent bulbs with LEDs. Those can be picked up at ebay for a few dollars or less each. The difference for us is we can light the trailer end to end and use less power than a few incandescent bulbs would. Another way to save is with your TV. Some use power bricks that convert 120v to 12v to run the TV. You can replace the cord with a 12v cord and run it off of the battery instead of a inverter. Newer TVs also use much less power.We use our panel portable meaning I can keep it aimed at the sun. On a normal sunny day it collects twice the power it would mounted. You can't really run the trailer without battery but that doesn't mean the system wont run your trailer either. Our battery is usually in float by 9am. For the rest of the day I can turn on lights, fans, even the furnace and the battery never losses a volt. The controller will up the output to cover the load while the battery stays in float. Even with every light, fan and the furnace on, the controller only needs to put out 11a and the panel is good for 16a. So we are really only on the battery over night and we rarely use 20% even with using the furnace.So if you really need the microwave, set it up to handle it. Otherwise it is much easier without.

GoLuckyDog wrote:Sorry yes I meant 2 6V in a series I dont know where 3 came from? Would 4 6V be excessive? other than finding enough roomFour 6v would be good for running a microwave.

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Redsky
Explorer
Apr 17, 2014
With DC the humidifier is probably not going to work so the draw will be only for the CPAP motor which is going to be less than 2 amps or 16 AH total during the night.

I used a CPAP machine for a week in 1999 and said to hell with it and went in for throat surgery. For the past 15 years no CPAP needed and no sleep apnea so it was well worth the week of pain after the surgery.
Unyalli
Explorer
Apr 15, 2014
Has anyone taken a kill-a-watt and measured the actual power usage of one of these CPAP machines?
Unyalli
Explorer
Apr 15, 2014
Don't waist your money on a Honda!! Get the equal of Honda for hundreds less ($600) and use the $400 savings for solar.

Honda EU2000i inverter generator $1000.

What would be even worse is spending $800 for half the generator the EU1000i.

-Jeff
2oldnslow
Explorer
Apr 15, 2014
GoLuckyDog wrote:
I can plug directly into the camper I am not sure what amp the converter is atm. I could go direct to the battery as well I haven't looked into charging batteries that are in a series. However I would imagine I would have to unplug the Controller Regulator to the panels when using the generator. Maybe Im not getting what you are saying.

You would plug the trailer into the Honda generator just as you have been doing. No need to unplug the solar controller, it will run along with the generator just fine.

The converter MIGHT overload the generator if it puts out 45A or more, but only if your batteries are WAY down in charge. If you recharge them before they get down to 50% charge (and you always should) the generator will likely handle it.
GoLuckyDog
Explorer
Apr 10, 2014
I can plug directly into the camper I am not sure what amp the converter is atm. I could go direct to the battery as well I haven't looked into charging batteries that are in a series. However I would imagine I would have to unplug the Controller Regulator to the panels when using the generator. Maybe Im not getting what you are saying.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 10, 2014
GoLuckyDog wrote:
I have a 1000 Honda inverter.
I assumed this was a generator.
If you have a 60 amp converter it can overload this generator.
GoLuckyDog
Explorer
Apr 10, 2014
smkettner wrote:
A converter 45 amps and larger can overload a Honda 1000 charging that battery.
You may as well list your converter to get answers on what to expect.

I dont understand what you mean by the converter and my generator charging 4 6v?
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 09, 2014
A converter 45 amps and larger can overload a Honda 1000 charging that battery.
You may as well list your converter to get answers on what to expect.
GoLuckyDog
Explorer
Apr 09, 2014
doughere wrote:
YOU CHANGED THE QUESTION !!!

Adding the CPAP changes the need somewhat. If your CPAP draws an average of 3 Amp for 8 hours, you are looking at an additional 24 AH per day.

You say you're mostly in sunny spots, so 200 watts of solar would still be enough.

You won't die if the CPAP dies in the middle of the night.

I'd stick with the same 200 watts solar, 2 GC's, and a 1000 watt gen (a Honda or Yamaha inverter please, not a noise maker). If I were to do any more, I'd use 4 GC's to carry through cloudy days.

Doug

I have a 1000 Honda inverter. "You won't die if the CPAP dies in the middle of the night." uh yes... my wife will kill me when I start snoring :lol: So a simple 200 watt system is what I would look for and increase to 4GC's
Happy_Prospecto
Explorer
Apr 09, 2014
Ah yes, I remember the early days of my Solar Quest and trying to find good info about Solar basics, such a fun time. Look and research the sites others have listed above, beware the cheapest "kits" and another site to visit would be Handy Bob's Solar.

Solar Power is a great thing to have when it is put together correctly. I boondock almost 11 months a year and rarely start the generator.

Have a fun time and enjoy your Solar System.

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