Portable Solar Panel, hook direct to batteries temporarily?
I have a small solar system I put together, and when I sold the TT that I had installed it on, I removed it. We bought a larger TT, but I did not have time enough before the start of the camping season to install the solar system on the larger TT. And for the duration of the camping season, we keep our TT at a storage lot a couple miles from the campground we frequent all summer, 120 miles from home. So I won't be able to install the full solar system until winter.
We have one camping trip coming up of 4 nights where we won't have hookups. I will be taking our 120 Watt folding portable solar panel. In full sun, it puts out 7 amps or slightly more. Our TT has two Sams Club golf cart batteries, totaling I believe 220 amp hours. We will supplement as needed with a Honda eu2000i generator.
Since I don't have my Morningstar controller wired in as yet and don't really care to try to patch it in for a single 4 night camping trip, I am thinking to just hook the solar panel direct to the batteries, and keep an eye on it and disconnect the panel for awhile should the batteries get fully charged and/or start to bubble. I don't really expect to get in an overcharging situation, as we will have to use the OEM propane heater some at night and early mornings, and we all know what power hogs those are. And I run an antenna booster all day and a laptop quite a few hours a day along with the normal 12V load of a modern TT. My question is, do you think I can get by this way one time only for 4 nights without damaging the batteries if I am careful?
Second question, is it OK on occasions when I am running the generator with the TT plugged into it, to also continue to let the solar panel pump amps into the batteries?
Thanks for any expertise on these questions from our knowledgeable solar folks here!
We have one camping trip coming up of 4 nights where we won't have hookups. I will be taking our 120 Watt folding portable solar panel. In full sun, it puts out 7 amps or slightly more. Our TT has two Sams Club golf cart batteries, totaling I believe 220 amp hours. We will supplement as needed with a Honda eu2000i generator.
Since I don't have my Morningstar controller wired in as yet and don't really care to try to patch it in for a single 4 night camping trip, I am thinking to just hook the solar panel direct to the batteries, and keep an eye on it and disconnect the panel for awhile should the batteries get fully charged and/or start to bubble. I don't really expect to get in an overcharging situation, as we will have to use the OEM propane heater some at night and early mornings, and we all know what power hogs those are. And I run an antenna booster all day and a laptop quite a few hours a day along with the normal 12V load of a modern TT. My question is, do you think I can get by this way one time only for 4 nights without damaging the batteries if I am careful?
Second question, is it OK on occasions when I am running the generator with the TT plugged into it, to also continue to let the solar panel pump amps into the batteries?
Thanks for any expertise on these questions from our knowledgeable solar folks here!
