Why go solar?

[Chowan]

Why go solar if generator/propane is still a must? After looking seriously at fitting rv (when we get it) with solar I am beginning to realize that solar cant keep up with what I want it to do. I want to have a res. refer, tv and sat, computers and cell phone. I want to run AC and heat and cook with electric. Doing all this, I dont see how solar capable to do all of this. maybe with 2000w and many batteries. Am I wrong. I know I can go with propane for refer and cooking and heating and run a gen for ac/tv. SO, If I have to use gen/propane why spend $5k-10k for solar? Is noise the only reason? Cool a reason? Thanks for sharing your point of view.

[ReneeG]

bighatnohorse wrote:

Chowan wrote:


200-400watt system will take care of the lights. What else can 200-400wt handle in addition to the lights? Charge phones and
computers? (This is not sarcasm. I am very interested)

You have to remember that everything runs off the "house" batteries. Inverters, lights, fans, USB chargers, etc.
So the only thing we have to charge are the house batteries.

From there we charge: three cell phones, three laptops, two electric toothbrushes, one Fitbit and one iPod - plus the two lead-acid camper batteries.
Cell phones need charging everyday. The other stuff only requires occasional charging.

For off grid:
I've add two small inverters so that we can charge the laptops, toothbrush and (drill motor when needed).
One of the inverters is in the bathroom so I can run the WaterPik AC appliance.

Roof top solar is working all the time - driving down the highway or parked at Walmart.
Many devices are completely charged before reaching a destination.

We wouldn't be without our on-board propane generator though.
Generator is required for AC and microwave use.
Solar is a convenience for us. And we love it.

Yes! Since having our solar installed, we run the fridge on Auto going down the road. Another reason we love it.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Take 10 families living on one block living in tract homes. Compare their electric bills. Are they all uniform? Are they even close to being uniform? Of course not because each family has a unique style of living. So trying to convince the Smith's that the Brown's kWh are "likely" is rather an eyebow raiser wouldn't you think? I live on 75 kWh per month. The chance that somone else would have a similar utility bill is more than unlikely. Economizing on power saves x percentage. After that it really impacts their chosen lifestyle. Good luck with that.

[time2roll]

EsoxLucius wrote:
Your inverter is powered by batteries. Solar charges batteries and likely has insufficient current to supply much for the microwave.

Yes and without solar the battery is dead. The energy comes from solar, just stored in the battery.
Battery does not generate power.
Just a bit of semantics.

[ktmrfs]

EsoxLucius wrote:
Your inverter is powered by batteries. Solar charges batteries and likely has insufficient current to supply much for the microwave.

hugh tell that to our microwave. We've run the microwave for years off the batteries, and NEVER had an issue with battery capacity or solar capacity.

Big Hint. get a panasonic true inverter microwave. I can easily run it off a 1000W sine wave inverter, just run on 50 percent power. true inverter microwaves don't cycle the magetron between 0 and 100 percent, they set the power continously. Mine draws about 800VA at 50 percent, plenty for what we want to do. about all it won't do is popcorn.

Run the microwave for 15 minutes, thats 250Watt hours thats 20 AH, not all that much and how often do you run the microwave for 15 minutes?? I doubt we use it for more than 10 minutes each day.

heck we even run the ice maker and occasional dehumidifier off the batteries when dry camping. Still have enough solar to keep up virtually indefinitely. 2 weeks is not a problem for boondocking with solar only for us.

[DutchmenSport]

I did not read the comments. But, solar is needed only if you boom dock. If you camp at sites with electric, you don't need solar anything.

[EsoxLucius]

Your inverter is powered by batteries. Solar charges batteries and solar alone likely has insufficient current to supply much for the microwave.

Edit in italics.

[time2roll]

My microwave runs just fine on solar powered 2kw inverter.
Or anything else so long as it does not need to be run all day.
Has proven very handy when doing repairs while in storage such as running an air compressor, heat gun, sawzall, impact gun, circular saw, etc.

[JiminDenver]

JFNM wrote:

bighatnohorse wrote:
Generator is required for ... microwave use.

That may be true for your setup but it is not universally true. I use my microwave a good bit from battery/inverter and my convection oven occasionally from battery/inverter. Also electric coffee pot. I'm only using this as an example of why general statements are so difficult in these discussions - everyone's equipment, location, usage, etc. is different.

My system is moderate but it runs a cook top, microwave, coffee maker, hair dryers, a small heater for the bath and even a 5000 BTU window shaker. I tested different panels for three years until I found a set that can produce 50% of their peak in overcast situations. That's 20-25 amps and more than enough to keep the trailer going forever.

We do own a generator. A big, gnarly, loud open frame that I haven't even bothered to load up in three years. Who wants to drive hundreds of miles to get to that pristine boondocking spot only to ruin it with the noise of a generator.

[hedge]

I just ventured into solar this year and it's surpassed my expectations. I installed 300w of solar in combination with my two group 27 batteries. I have a truck camper and our power needs are modest. We may watch a bit of tv in the evening and if it's cool the furnace runs but that's about it. We always cook outside, in fact I removed the microwave as I had no use for it. We never camp with services so we are always dependent on batteries and/or generator power.

I originally started with an inverter so that I could use my Keurig to make coffee in the morning and not have to use the generator. This allowed me to avoid generator hours and/or not have to wait for the generator to cool before we left for the day. I have a generator (Honda eu2000) which is reasonably quiet but I still don't like listening to it.

The next logical step seemed to be to install some solar panels to charge the batteries up through the day. I carried the generator around all season but never started it even once so I am now considering selling it. I still keep it for emergency use if we had to run the a/c to cool off our dog but our fan does a pretty good job. I'm sure a/c would be much more required down south.

[BFL13]

IMO GordonThree has a serious problem with his monitoring system not telling him the truth.

We know that 1550w approx. "goes with" about 75 amps output with a non-PF corrected charger. We know that a 100 amp PF corrected charger pulls about 1900VA. We assume this charger is PF corrected and is pulling about 1550, so output amps must be somewhere under 100,

1550/1900 x 100 = about 82 amps. If you do the calculation I did with 82 amps instead of 100, it all takes more time out of that 4.5 hours and becomes even more impossible.

I don't understand what is going on here, but it appears to me that the set-up is not giving GordonThree the information he needs to properly look after his battery bank.

It looks very much like the 800AH bank has been undercharged regularly and is sulfated. In use, it may perform "just fine" when not being pressed hard where a smaller bank would do the job just fine too. It will also take less time to recharge since it is now at a lower capacity

Since 800AH worth of batteries must cost quite a bit, IMO the whole situation needs to be cross-checked with as many different measurements as possible and get to the truth of what is really happening.

Do a serious "recovery" of those batteries (if it is not too late) and arrange for a proper monitoring system that tells the truth. Or else be ready to buy new batteries more often.

[Cydog15]

If you want solar and aren't sure how much you will use it, the Zamp portables are the way to go. Stay away from the Chinese stuff. Get the durable ones and you can take it with you if you trade campers.

[GordonThree]

2oldman wrote:

GordonThree wrote:
Charging current is usually 120-125 amps..

And you do this with a 2kw generator?

My 2k Honda does 13.2 amps @ 120 = 1584 watts
120a @ 13.3 v = 1596 watts.

That's right on the edge. It must be screaming.

I set the AC input current limit to 14 amps on the charger. At higher elevations, I dial it back, and of course, that takes longer.

Yes, it's on the edge. Sometimes the generator won't accept a 14a load and trips into overload as soon as the charger ramps up to full current. I'll reset at 13 and all is well.

Fridge is on propane, and usually the only other loads are the COLP, various charging bricks and sometimes the stereo. Heaviest load is the furnace and late night tv watching.

[ktmrfs]

we were camping for 10 days with only about 5 hours of sun each day in early september. we ran microwave each day for maybe 10 minutes, ran LED lights at night, CPAP, furnace for 2-3 hours each day, TV occasionally. with 350 watts of solar we never needed to run the generator. batteries were down to about 80 percent charge after 10 days.

So nice to have it quite all the time, and enjoy the outdoors.

today you can get 320 watts of portable solar for $320. For a fixed system 500 watts of solar panels will cost only about $400. Add $100 for a controller.


In fact, the last time I needed to run the generator while camping was over 2 years ago to run the AC for a while.

[2oldman]

GordonThree wrote:
Charging current is usually 120-125 amps..

And you do this with a 2kw generator?

My 2k Honda does 13.2 amps @ 120 = 1584 watts
120a @ 13.3 v = 1596 watts.

That's right on the edge. It must be screaming.

[GordonThree]

Boon Docker wrote:
Wow,I want one of those chargers.

I think you use a flux capacitor. :B

It must have a flux capacitor in it, time dilation field or something. 🙂

I don't know how it does it. After two nights, my bank will be around 50%. I start the genny at 8am and when I'm done with lunch, it's at 98-99% and I shut down. Charging current is usually 120-125 amps.

I don't rely on charging tables or voltage calculations. The charger measures the amount of amps used, and the amount of amps returned, and also some efficiency losses. Battery temperature and construction are also used, or at least, the charger is aware of these variables.