Mike and Mona
Washington state, home
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Joined: 11/03/2009
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Hi all, new member here with a question about solar help for my class A. I am in search of an array of panels to keep our batteries charged while we cold camp or boondock or what you call it. As we exist now I must run my genset for more than an hour a day to keep things charged. I have sent queries to a couple of businesses that advertise on the web and no response yet. There must be someone out there who has done this.
thank you for the help, mike
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RicJones
So. Cal.
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Joined: 10/29/2007
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Here are links to a couple of links on solar. If you do a forum search on solar you'll many posts.
IMO for your average RV you need around 200 watts, anything less and you'll be wishing for more.
Solar Link
Another link
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BiGG
MI - WI - FL
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Joined: 05/24/2002
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If you haven't checked Solatron you should. They have anything you want including complete RV kits and nobody beats their prices + their phone number is listed for questions/tech support.
Looking for any information available on Del Rey "Sky Lounge" and Kamp King slide-ins for preservation/restoration projects.
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HIDEOUT
San Francisco Bay Area
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Joined: 02/08/2006
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We have 2-6 volt batteries and a 64 watt SunSei solar panel. Works great 4 what we do. A few days of dry camping and a day or two of full hook-ups. With new batteries they will keep a charge for a long while. We watch television for a few hours at night and still have plenty of power in the morning as long as the tv does'nt get left on. The heater fan will eat up the batteries in no time if left on all night. We do turn the genny on for an hour or so during the early evening just to give the batteries a boost and to excercise it as it does need to be run.
Solar is the way to go. From what i've heard from experienced RV'ers some generators only gives you a 3 amp charge. It's not like charging with a battery charger or driving the vehicle.
We always carry a battery charger in case we need a full charge, which can then be done with the genny.
Welcome to the forum
Kevin
* This post was
edited 11/05/09 05:29pm by HIDEOUT *
Kevin & Dawn
Doggies:
Persalina, We love you & miss you so very much!
Moonbeam
Chloie Pearl
'07 Itasca Suncruiser 35L
Workhorse 24-8.1 Vortec w/6 sp. Allison
05 Jeep Wrangler Toad
Roadmaster Even Brake
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RicJones
So. Cal.
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I too recommend Solartron I got my panels there at a good price and they were great to work with.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi Mike and Mona,
The "rule of thumb" for solar is a minimum of 60 watts per 100 amp-hours of storage. For battery charging purposes, 130 watts per 100 amp-hours is the upper limit. (there are other reasons to go with larger wattage)
I've written here about what I did--with some measurements and the costs:
Technology
and click on "Sizing a solar system".
Do not expect the businesses you contact to use appropriate wire sizes--they will want to "save you money" by using wire that may be too thin to give the best results.
Mike and Mona wrote:Hi all, new member here with a question about solar help for my class A. I am in search of an array of panels to keep our batteries charged while we cold camp or boondock or what you call it. As we exist now I must run my genset for more than an hour a day to keep things charged. I have sent queries to a couple of businesses that advertise on the web and no response yet. There must be someone out there who has done this.
thank you for the help, mike
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts solar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries 2500 watt inverter.
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CharlesOK
Edmond, OK
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Joined: 12/20/2005
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Try these folks. I have bought two different times from them with excellent results. My system has 1 125 watt panel, gives over 6 amps in direct sunlight. I did the installs myself. No problems. They will sell you a complete system with everything needed, including all fittings and solar wire, for a very good price.
http://www.rvsolarelectric.com/inform.htm
They also publish a good resource book aimed at folks like us.
http://www.rvsolarelectric.com/books.htm
Good folk.
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plascell
Lynchburg, VA
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Joined: 01/13/2002
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Mike and Mona - You are trying to charge batteries, therefore you should be concerned about how many amps of charge current each system will produce when you do comparissons. I selected AMSOLAR with the high voltage panels and MPPT controller that provided 1.4 times battery charge current than what came from the panels. You can have all the watts in the world, but if the voltage is to low, it won't charge.
Pete W4WWQ DX70 IC-2800 Pressure-Pro X-10 camera
2006 Chevy 3500 CC LB 4WD DRW Duramax auto-6
2003 Cardinal 29WB LX EU3000is Roto-Choks 300W from www.amsolar.com
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2oldman
Indio CA
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Joined: 04/15/2001
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Considering solar
Solar basics
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hwybnb
Southern California
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Joined: 05/02/2001
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HIDEOUT wrote:From what i've heard from experienced RV'ers some generators only gives you a 3 amp charge.Kevin You have been seriously misinformed. My little Honda generator, when powering my converter, produces an initial charge rate of 50 amps. It would take a LOT of solar to do that, but solar is a good solution for some people. Regardless you will probably want to have a generator also for those rainy days.
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