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Old 06-14-2010, 05:45 PM   #21
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They haven't made the generator that cannot be heard across a campground...period.
Anyone who thinks different is fooling only themselves for selfish reasons.
Bruce
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Old 06-14-2010, 06:59 PM   #22
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They haven't made the generator that cannot be heard across a campground...period.
Anyone who thinks different is fooling only themselves for selfish reasons.
Bruce

& they smell bad too!!!
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Old 06-14-2010, 07:19 PM   #23
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Peter - I was hoping you would join in the discussion. I recall earlier that you said the BatteryMinder solar controller was good quality and figured that the included panel was a good way to get my feet wet. The 5W panel has worked well to maintain the level of the battery while the trailer is stored. Even it finds legs the cost made it nothing to worry about. I think I'm ready now for something a little bigger to actually charge the battery while camping and hopefully not run the generator. I don't want to permanently install the panel, just prop it up against the trailer when needed to charge the battery. I also would like to keep the size to a minimum for storage in the pickup bed. Do you think that one 80W panel would be sufficient. The trailer has only one Group 24 battery and serves our needs for up to 3 or 4 days.
Not to hijack this generator topic, but here's an old post of mine about our impermanent solar panel mount. Enlarge the pic and you can see the panel is mounted on four, black rubber suction cups. (We remove it from the roof when we're underway.)

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Old 06-14-2010, 08:18 PM   #24
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& they smell bad too!!!
they should come with shock collars for the owners to wear and remotes for other campers to operate the collars
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Old 06-15-2010, 08:15 AM   #25
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they should come with shock collars for the owners to wear and remotes for other campers to operate the collars
I think most generator users don't really realize how easy it is to camp without one.... Coleman stove or propane for cooking, battery conservation (and backup battery or solar chargers) for lights and pumps, open the windows, doors and hatches for air conditioning and puffy sleeping bags for warmth. It works for most campers.
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Old 06-15-2010, 10:52 AM   #26
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Since we're talking about alternatives, I've found a fabulous way to keep the Boler cool with just a fan. I copied the "blow the warm air out which will suck cool air in" method that I've had good success with in houses.

Those of your with a Fantastic Vent are probably enjoying this already, but for those who don't have one (or who are wanting to use a 12 volt fan)...

When I'm plugged into power I use a regular 20" box fan like you can get at any hardware store or Home Depot type place for under $20. You could also use something like a Fantastic Fan (12-volt box fan). The idea is that the fan fills up the window without side gaps.

So, I have a "counter" that runs across the foot of the dinette bed (from the sink counter to the rear wall - it's about 18" x 42"). I set the box fan up on that, facing to the outside, and let the pulled back curtains help to seal the sides. It already fits top-to-bottom just about perfectly (there is a slight gap at the sides due to the angled walls). I open that window all the way (I have jalousies), then turn the fan on.

Immediately, nice cool outside air begins to pour in the other windows (the fewer other windows you have open, the more of a "blast" you will get through the open one(s).

With this set up, I've been able to keep the camper within 1º of the outside air, even in direct sun, in hot muggy weather. Of course during the day, it's still 90º inside if it's 90º outside; but at night when it cools down, the camper is instantly as cool as it is outside. None of that nice cool outdoors, but then you come inside and "ugh... hot." Even in a really hot climate I find that it usually gets down into the 70s at night, and with a breeze that is pretty comfortable.

Sometimes I even have to close, or partially close, the window at the head of the bed because it gets too cool (even in "hot" weather). By manipulating the window at the head of the bed I can adjust the breeze.

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Old 06-15-2010, 11:52 AM   #27
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Steve: If you can camp for 3-4 days using a single Group 24/80 Amp-hour battery, which has 40-50 Amp-hours of usable capacity before substantial battery damage occurs, that puts your power usage at 10-17 Amp-hours per day.

Lets think up some numbers and use them to do some calculations. First, at the equinoxes when there are equal hours of day and night, a quality solar panel can produce about 6 Amp-hours of usable power per Amp of the panel's rated capacity on a clear, cloudless, treeless day. Throw in a light cloud cover and that number drops by half, and a cloudy day more than halves that number again. Camp during the winter time in northern climates and you should divide that number by three.

Lets say, however, that you are the kind of camper who camps during the sunny half of the year and does not relish spending days and days camping in the rain.,
  • A conservative estimate for that kind of camping would be that your solar panels would collect about 4 Amp-hours of power per panel amp capacity.
  • 17 Amps consumed daily divided by 4 Amp-hours produced per panel Amp capacity suggests you need 4.25 Amps of panel capacity.
  • To convert Amps to watts, multiply 4.25 Amps by 17 volts (the nominal output voltage provided by most solar panels): 4.25 Amps x 17 volts = 72 watts.
  • Yes, 80 watts would be more than enough; since I'm being very conservative and assuming you do all your camping at the equinoxes and not during the summer months you might well find 60 watts meets your needs.
You might, however, opt to split your 80 watts of panel into two arrays, mounting 40 watts of panel on your roof and creating a second, portable, lightweight, easy to move and store 40 watt unit with an attached 16-gauge, 50-foot extension cord. That way you have half of your solar panels set up in a hard-to-steal, ready to go at all times configuration that will probably meet all your power needs on clear, sunny, mid-summer days and a second array that you can move to a particularly sunny spot when you need it.
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