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Old 07-14-2016, 07:53 PM   #1
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Two weeks off the grid with Renogy

First trip with our 100 watt Renogy 'suitcase' panels paired with Renogy's 85 amp hour 'solar tank' battery.

One week at the Grand Canyon North Rim and one week at Bryce Canyon. The system worked like a charm producing enough output during the day to power a 12 volt Fantastic vent fan while still putting a charge on the battery.

Additional electrical draws included LED lights, an XM radio 12v boom box and the trailer's water pump (full disclosure - no invertor was used). I never saw the battery go below 13.1 volts over the night.

I'm now a solar geek Steve
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Old 07-15-2016, 09:09 AM   #2
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Sweet.

I love how the power just flows into the battery, almost like magic.


Denny Wolfe
Wanderingourway.wordpress.com
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Old 07-15-2016, 09:20 AM   #3
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Name: Steve
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We also have the 100 watt Renogy Solar suitcase .
We have never camped off grid for more than 5 days but it has met all our expectations Glad to hear it is working so well for you
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Old 07-15-2016, 09:35 AM   #4
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Go Solar!

Hello Steve,

Congrats on your solar system. They seem to work quite well
if properly sized and DC requirements are properly managed.

I have been using my simple system for several years and it
has never let me down. It powers XM Stereo, ham radio,
lights, hand vacuum, coffee grinder, Breville Juicer, and various
small battery chargers....

System includes:
-Solar Cynery 160W solar panel with home made legs from
crutch pieces and about a 25 ft extension cord ($165 Ebay)
-Blue Sky Solar SOLAR BOOST™ 2000E controller ($150 swap meet)
-Trojan SC 225 Group 30H 225AH 12V deep cycle battery ($160)
-Exeltech 600W sine wave inverter ($250 Ebay)
Total cost about $750

The system works well and has always kept up with demand
of boondocking for a month at a time. Of course I position
the panel in the sun while the Trillium is in the shade. If
around camp during the day I will reposition the panel a
couple of times a day maximize the panel output.

BTW there are some the panels for sale on Ebay now in Michigan
for $150.

160 Watt Solar Panel Solar Panel 160 Watt | eBay

Happy Camping!

Larry H
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Old 07-15-2016, 09:38 AM   #5
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Good job and if you can go for two weeks you can go forever. Raz
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Old 07-15-2016, 01:18 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry C Hanson View Post
System includes:
-Solar Cynery 160W solar panel with home made legs from
crutch pieces and about a 25 ft extension cord ($165 Ebay)
-Blue Sky Solar SOLAR BOOST™ 2000E controller ($150 swap meet)
-Trojan SC 225 Group 30H 225AH 12V deep cycle battery ($160)
-Exeltech 600W sine wave inverter ($250 Ebay)
Total cost about $750. Larry H
Larry, I got excited when I saw 225AH for a 12V 30H battery. That is very impressive. Then I checked Trojan's site and see 130AH at the 20 hour rate.. I guess there is no free lunch. I did learn something else though. It appears the 6V GC2 batteries are rated at twice the cycles* of the regularly available sizes of 12V batteries. I knew there were more reasons I went to the trouble of mounting two 6V batteries on my Scamp.

*Signature Line Flooded | Trojan Battery Company
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Old 07-16-2016, 11:09 AM   #7
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the choir....

"preaching to the choir" here but I bet that in another few years there won't be any threads about generators on sites like this one....

FWIW...I have 70W on the roof (fixed on the flat) and 40W portable that I deploy as needed.... two GC batts....no converter...stand alone charger on it's own plug/circuit

When my trailer is parked at home now, it's plugged in (for the fridge) and the charger is turned off....at home and away it's working very well for me so far....

happy motoring
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Old 07-16-2016, 11:21 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Franswa View Post
"preaching to the choir" here but I bet that in another few years there won't be any threads about generators on sites like this one....

FWIW...I have 70W on the roof (fixed on the flat) and 40W portable that I deploy as needed.... two GC batts....no converter...stand alone charger on it's own plug/circuit

When my trailer is parked at home now, it's plugged in (for the fridge) and the charger is turned off....at home and away it's working very well for me so far....

happy motoring
As long as people want to run their A/C or microwave in the middle of nowhere , there will be threads about generators .
Gotta have those luxuries !!
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Old 07-22-2016, 09:28 PM   #9
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Hey Steve, I too am now a solar geek! 150watt bendable panel on the roof, 120 portable suitcase panel, 30 amp charge controller and two GC 232ah batteries!!!


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Old 07-23-2016, 11:19 AM   #10
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Early Adopter

I'm an early adopter. I bought my solar panel about 8 years ago. A 65 Watt that I built an "A" frame for and a 6 amp Sunsaver controller. I don't run the trailer 12volt system through the controller and the solar panel puts out about 4.1 ±0.2 amps, therefore I can just the controller and panel for charging. I also got rid of all the incandescent lights that uses the battery and changed the battery to a group 24 Trojan true deep cycle battery rated for 100 amp hours.
How long can I go with this. I know I can go 40 days since I did that last Jan-Feb.
For the past 6 or 7 years we've been in SW for close to 90 days each year without connecting to electricity.
Solar is much nicer than generators and cheaper.
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Old 07-23-2016, 11:53 AM   #11
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Byron that is awesome.....40 days! I have yet to really give my system a good long test. What all are you running on 12vdc?


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Old 07-23-2016, 02:52 PM   #12
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Byron that is awesome.....40 days! I have yet to really give my system a good long test. What all are you running on 12vdc?


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That's one of keys to being off the grid, the use of power. The only I run in the trailer is a few LED lights and when cold enough to run the furnace the furnace fan. I don't charge all the time only when needed.
I carry a battery for my ham radio and charge it when needed with the same solar panel. It's also used to recharge electronic devices, cameras, kindles, computers, etc. The only electronic device that gets heavy use is my wife's Kindle. When we go visit and see the local sights (local to our camp spot) we use the tow to charge electronic devices.

One more thing, without running the furnace I can go a week or more without recharging the battery.
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Old 07-23-2016, 05:05 PM   #13
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I had 30 watts on a home made stand and felt we could go forever. I'd position them to optimize exposure. I now have 150 watts fixed on the roof and it's not as good if I have to park out of the sun. I think I'd like to add a small portable panel.
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Old 07-23-2016, 05:14 PM   #14
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40 watt Coleman portable panels go on sale regularly at Canadian Tire. Sale price is usually $129 or $99. If you sign up on the web site you can set a sales alert for products you want to buy.
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Old 07-23-2016, 05:52 PM   #15
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I had 30 watts on a home made stand and felt we could go forever. I'd position them to optimize exposure. I now have 150 watts fixed on the roof and it's not as good if I have to park out of the sun. I think I'd like to add a small portable panel.
Interesting conclusion.. I set up my system to have both a 50 or 100 watt roof panel AND a similarly sized portable. But I have found that (so far) the portable is all I want. 95% of the time the benefits that a roof panel provide would be keeping the battery topped off when not camping, or for charging while driving.

Therefore, I have not even installed the roof panel. I am now considering a very small (10-20 watt maybe) roof panel for battery maintenance when I am home and then just using a portable panel (that plugs into a socket I added near the umbilical cord entry) while camping.

I am still surprised that you got by with 30 watts.. I find that a 50 watt panel is enough if I am in good sun in summer.. a 100 watt panel is better for shady spots and/or times of year with less sun. And of course that is with limited power use, all LED lights, etc.
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Old 07-23-2016, 06:17 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by gordon2 View Post

I am still surprised that you got by with 30 watts.. I find a 50 watt is enough if I am in good sun in summer.. the 100 watt panel is better for shady spots and/or times of year with less sun. And of course that is with limited power use, all LED lights, etc.
I am surprised at how much power most folks seem to need.

I had 50 feet of cable divided between 15' and 35' sections to minimize the length of the run.

We are very frugal and used all LEDs.

In addition to the lights we used a little exhaust fan, some water pump, and a bit of furnace in addition to a 12v CPAP every night for 8 hours.
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Old 08-11-2016, 09:39 AM   #17
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OOPS!!!

Hi Timber Wolf,

You are correct... Trojan SCS225 is 130AH at 20 hr rate.
Sorry about the poor proof reading. However, this battery
has served well and probably has never been discharged
more than about 50-60%.... Of course 2 T-105s is a better
solution but the extra 68+ pounds on the tongue was more
than I wanted. I have the T-105s in the large 5th wheel
trailer that I live in full time and have found them to be
durable and more than adequate for that application =
much better than the two inexpensive 12v in parallel that
came with the trailer. If I get a larger "small" trailer and
stronger tow vehicle I would definitely go with the superior
setup of the two T-105s 6v batteries in series.

Larry H
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