Batteries & Solar 101 Question

[jwcolby123]

Originally Posted by Gilda

I read recently the thread about batteries, lithium batteries and solar. I did not understand a word of it. Please educate me so I can understand what easy alternatives there are to using a heavy battery on my 13' Scamp....

We wonder what alternatives their are to a traditional battery to run the lighting in our trailer. We, mostly, live off the grid while camping and rarely use hook-ups. On this next trip we'll use flashlights, headlamps and a modest camp light.

The easiest way is to just do an all-in-one "solar generator". Depending on your power needs they can be had for anywhere from a couple of hundred bucks up to thousands of bucks.

For your purposes, probably a really low cost one would be just fine. Don't overthink it Some are LiFePo4 (better), some aren't. For your specific purposes it probably doesn't matter.

These come with the battery, hookups for solar panel(s), usb phone chargers, AC outlets on the more high powered ones. Often a built in camp light. Pick it up and go. Plug it in to AC or (usually) your 12V plug to charge it back up.

BTW a dc powered compressor fridge would be next on the "must have" list for many of us.

HoboTech on Youtube does pretty good videos on all kinds of things.

https://www.youtube.com/c/HOBOTECH

https://www.menshealth.com/technolog...r-for-camping/

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Portable-so...ent=1224133687

https://www.treehugger.com/best-sola...rators-5092614

https://cleanenergysummit.org/best-solar-generators/

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Gilda

Thanks everyone for your prompt responses! We'll see how this next voyage goes without the large, heavy battery. In answer to your questions...we only need to light indoors. It would be preferable to use the two lights that are now installed and wired into the trailer.

so no ventilation fan, no water pump, no furnace w/ fan ?

LED lighting uses /very/ little power, you could use a motorcycle sized battery (~ 20AH) for many hours.

[Tomcat58]

For a newbee trying to figure this solar power stuff... I like to explain in simple terms.

Who does it work ?
Almost the same as your car does.
1 car has a battery
2 the battery stores electricty
3 when u start your car the power taken from the battery is replaced by the alternator and the alternator charges it till its full again. The alternator is a battery charger.

RV solar system
when u use power in your rv if comes from the battery like your car. But most rv's don't have engines to turn a alternator to build the power back up in the battery so plugging in the RV to shore power is the same as a alternator as it powers a battery charger.

What does a solar system do then ?

A solar panel is a battery charger but instead of the charger being power by a car or a shore power. The solar panel is powered by the sun. So its just another battery charger.... but it most cases it has a solar controller between the solar panel and the rv battery. The controller controls when the solar panel sends power to the rv battery. It controls the rate and level of power to build the battery up again.

So think simple.... a solar panel is a battery charger :-)

[AlanKilian]

Last year I temporarily installed a 50 Watt solar panel, a TopSolar charger and a 35 AH battery and it worked, so this year it got installed permanently.

Topsolar panel + charger US$60
35 AH battery US$69
Low Voltage cutout US$18
Connectors/wire/bolts US$20
Wiring diagram, soldering, mounting, arm strain, cuts and abrasions, diagnosing, repair, WHAT? Why doesn't it work: HOURS!

I would recommend spending US$300-400 to get an all-in-one system rather than doing what I did unless you (like me) enjoy the engineering of it all.

And I got to 3D print stuff!

[jwcolby123]

Originally Posted by AlanKilian

Last year I temporarily installed a 50 Watt solar panel, a TopSolar charger and a 35 AH battery and it worked, so this year it got installed permanently.

Topsolar panel + charger US$60
35 AH battery US$69
Low Voltage cutout US$18
Connectors/wire/bolts US$20
Wiring diagram, soldering, mounting, arm strain, cuts and abrasions, diagnosing, repair, WHAT? Why doesn't it work: HOURS!

I would recommend spending US$300-400 to get an all-in-one system rather than doing what I did unless you (like me) enjoy the engineering of it all.

And I got to 3D print stuff!

Yep. Doing it yourself will never be as easy nor as cheap as an all-in-one. But the challenge...

I built a little battery box with (8) headway 38120s (16ah @ 13v), a fuse block, a pair of dual high power USB sockets, a pair of connectors on the side of the box. More stuff not yet installed (Solar panel controller, dc-dc converter to create 24v for the usb-c PD sockets).

Lots of money, lots of time. Works precisely as intended. But... cost about what an all-in-one would have cost. And still not finished.