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Old 10-02-2018, 08:13 PM   #61
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Name: Gordon
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Originally Posted by David B. View Post
Val, we live in Arizona also,...
It sounds like you have a great set-up for use in Arizona that works well unless you get roughly five or more days of little or no sun.

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Originally Posted by David B. View Post
...I would really hate to ever go back to using an absorption style refrigerator again (at least not one with side vents only).......
That is another good point. I do firmly believe that an absorption fridge with a side exhaust vent is much less efficient than one with a roof vent. With a side vent you might need an auxiliary fan to move the air, and that would largely negate the advantage that an absorption fridge has over a DC one when it comes to electrical needs.
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Old 10-02-2018, 08:31 PM   #62
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Originally Posted by redbarron55 View Post
The only problem we had in Yellowstone was that no charging from idling TV or generators so we were expecting to use the solar and no joy in Mudville for the mighty solar had struck out.
Actually they have generator hours that we used in September to charge up our battery. As I recall, it was something like 8AM to 11AM and 6PM to 8PM or something like that.

As far as propane for a refrigerator, we just completed a month long trip where the refrigerator was on propane the entire trip. Also used the propane furnace most nights (we went to Alaska). Never ran out of propane.
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Old 10-02-2018, 09:30 PM   #63
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Val, we live in Arizona also, and first converted our 13’ Scamp to a Nova Cool 12 volt only danfoss compressor fridge, running on a group 27 battery with a 100 watt solar panel. Solar panels ONLY charge a battery, and do not run anything. I went with the 12 volt only because if we were to plug into shore power, our battery charger would replace what we used in our electrical needs. We ran for 3-4 months at a time without ever running the battery down to less than 50%. We now have a 12 volt only Truckfridge with a 160 watt solar panel, backed up with 220 amp hour batteries (110 amp hours of realistic use), and we average between 55-65 amp hours / 24 hours, running our refrigerator, TV/DVD combo, LED lights, and recharging our iPad & phones. We still camp 4-5 month at a time (usually off grid) and have only a couple times needed to run our generator because of continuouse raining days/nights. I would really hate to ever go back to using an absorption style refrigerator again (at least not one with side vents only).
Dave & Paula
Hi David! Great to hear from you and thank you for the confirmation. Sounds like if I can find even a DC only, that will be perfect for our needs. I'm glad to hear that you have had two 12V and have been happy with both.

I came across a very helpful discussion of the Danfoss compressor-based units here: http://www.truckcamperadventure.com/...nd-a-few-tips/

No doubt in my mind that this is the best fridge for our needs. Now it's just figuring out what we can afford and which will best fit in the space.

Will the fridge need its own dedicated DC circuit (would have to rewire because there isn't an unused one) or can it share with the water heater? My new Atwood LP/AC water heater only uses DC for the spark ignition when on propane, I think. I guess if the fridge needs a DC circuit all to itself, the interior LED lights and water heater could share one?

Wow, I just looked up the recommended Trimetric battery monitor and that's an expensive piece of equipment there... gotta ask what it does that justifies it being 10 x the cost of this one:
https://www.amazon.com/bayite-6-5-10...RxL&ref=plSrch


Thanks everyone! Dave and Paula, I hope to see you in AZ sometime! [emoji4]
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Old 10-03-2018, 07:05 AM   #64
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Originally Posted by V'sGlassSleeper View Post
...
Wow, I just looked up the recommended Trimetric battery monitor and that's an expensive piece of equipment there... gotta ask what it does that justifies it being 10 x the cost of this one:
https://www.amazon.com/bayite-6-5-10.../dp/B013PKYILS
The same thing that justifies the cost of a Cadillac Escalade over a Yugo: quality, engineering, capability, customer support, features, etc. Both will get you across town but there is a world of difference between them. The Bogart Engineering TriMetric is engineered and built in the U.S. I have had a few short conversations with them and its as easy as calling your father for advice. Try that with the Bayite and you probably have to speak Mandarin and still won’t get much tech support. The TriMetric provides more data than you could ever use, and you can even interface it to a computer (but thats an advanced topic). The TriMetric scales up to very large systems (home solar systems). But the truth is that most people don’t need all the features of the TriMetric.

The quality of the components and construction of the TriMetric is top notch. But I have some concern about the quality of the Bayite. Some reviewers report that it dies on them and they get no support or replacement. Of course for $20 your can replace it a few times and still be ahead financially. If the shunt were to overheat however that could be bigger problem. That risk depends more on the installation than the monitor (using parts that you have to buy separately). If I were to get a Bayite, I might look into buying the better quality shunt from Bogart Engineering to use with it. Also note that some battery monitors have the shunt built in to the display. Stay away from those.

As I mentioned, mate the SC-2030 solar charger to the TriMetric with temperature sensor and it becomes perhaps the most advanced solar charger / battery monitor available for RVs. But who needs the best? There is a lot of technical information on the Bogart Engineering website that is worth a read, even if you don't buy from them.

One thing I can say… once you have a recording amp / power meter such as these you will never go back to using voltage alone to track your battery use.

Yeeco (Bayite) video review:
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Old 10-03-2018, 10:32 AM   #65
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No Free Lunch...

No matter what you use, refrigeration doesn't come cheap. I'm not going to get into the advantages and disadvantages of different systems, as that's been covered well in this post, and in many others. I'll just share what works for me.

My fridge is a 12V 63 qt. Edgestar, top loading. There are always variables, but in general, it uses 5 amps when running and that's about 1/4 of the time. So, I need about 30 amp hours per day of energy.

For energy I use the sun ...2-100watt panels on the Scamp roof and one remote 100 watt panel with 25' cables. This set up has worked well for me, especially with the shorter days, less sun-angle, and a predominance of clouds in September. I chase the sun around the trailer with the remote panel, when needed. The stationary panels provide continuous power when I'm driving.


I store that energy in two AGM batteries that total 180 amp hours. Flooded golf cart batteries may seem to be the cost-effective way to go, but you may think differently if you read this article:
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/..._glass_mat_agm


To regulate that energy I use a good 30amp controller that allows me to see all I need to know about my energy usage at the push of a button. The hardest thing to do is remembering to set the amp hour counts to zero at the start of a trip. I believe that gordon2's advice about Bogart Engineering is very good and fairly presented, but a decent controller can give you most of the info you need at a fraction of the price.


One more thing that no one has mentioned: Solar is Cool! There is no magic in plugging in at a campground or using a generator. If you can't appreciate the fact that electrons excited by the sun are cooling your beer, lighting your night, and powering your devices, well..solar will always be too expensive.


Stay cool,
Gordon
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Old 10-03-2018, 10:40 AM   #66
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...

To regulate that energy I use a good 30amp controller that allows me to see all I need to know about my energy usage at the push of a button. The hardest thing to do is remembering to set the amp hour counts to zero at the start of a trip....
But does that controller also take into account charging from the tug, a battery charger or a converter on shore power? Or does it only include the solar charging? And I assume you reset after the batteries are fully charged.

BTW, I recently switched to AGM also.. yes more cost, but I think worth it.
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Old 10-03-2018, 11:15 AM   #67
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gordon2,


Good questions, for sure...


It only measures solar input, but that's all I use. I don't have the ability to charge from the tow at this time, but maybe someday.... I haven't needed it yet. I keep the batteries on a trickle charger when home, so they are always fully charged when I leave. I also use 120AC for the fridge when in my carport. So that's the only shore power I've ever used in my life. When I'm leaving for an outing and unplugging the fridge and charger, I've gotten in the habit of resetting the controller at the same time (usually). And then the fun begins, in more ways than one. I enjoy monitoring the energy. The controller makes me feel in control .



Gordon
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Old 10-03-2018, 11:18 AM   #68
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...

It only measures solar input, but that's all I use. ..
Got it. OP is planning shore power most of the time so that would be limiting for him.
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Old 10-03-2018, 12:48 PM   #69
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Everybody has their own needs

Yeah, I fully understand that everyone has a different situation to deal with. Following this forum has taught me that (Thank You Forum!). I only posted to illustrate one alternative, one that works well for me. However, even with hook-ups, solar could still work for nearly any one. In the west the public land is virtually endless, and very few USFS or BLM sites have power. That seems to be the province of state and private parks.

This year it became my quest to find free campgrounds (with toilet), and I was successful. I only paid for one night at a developed campground, and I was in the mountains for most of the summer months. Those fee campgrounds that I visited were often full and not as nice as the no fee spots. I don't know why that is. Anyway, it was a great summer of Solar camping, and one that was kind on my limited budget.

Now I'm gearing up for the desert. Won't be long.



Gordon
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Old 10-03-2018, 01:59 PM   #70
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Aha, we have two Gordons.

Thank you Gordon Idaho for the video - I have seen on Amazon that people buy 2 or 3 of these and then use each separate item to monitor: solar input, battery power input and battery power output. I would like to use that same set-up but will have to research how that's done - if you know, please advise! At $20 each, that's much more affordable for my purposes, though I definitely appreciate Gordon2's eloquent explanation of why the Trimeter is his monitor system of choice.

After pricing out the various DC fridge models, that is definitely what I am saving up for. It's been a real challenge shopping around for these - the manufacturers and suppliers of these appliances seriously need to update their websites and content to make it easier to find and compare models and read up on specs.

I had read about the AGM and agree that they are very appealing but that (and the Trimeter) may have to be part of some future upgrade - unless I win this week's lottery.
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Old 10-03-2018, 04:05 PM   #71
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Aha, we have two Gordons.
Hence the "2" on my name


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.. I have seen on Amazon that people buy 2 or 3 of these and then use each separate item to monitor: solar input, battery power input and battery power output. I would like to use that same set-up but will have to research...
Yes, apparently the Bayite only tracks the current going in one direction, which would usually be discharging the battery. The TriMetric is different and shows (among many other things), the percent of battery power remaining. That percentage decreases while it is discharging and increases while it is charging.

So I could see a benefit to using two of the Bayites, one to track discharge and another to track charging. I see no reason that the second one could not be used for both converter and solar chargers at the same time, showing the charging current and total power for which ever you were using at the time. Off hand I can think of no reason you would use a third (except to replace one when it quits )

If you will be dealing with partial recharges then this might be a help. But if you will be fully recharging the battery between uses then its not as much help. It would also be good if you did not have a smart charger and wanted to make sure that the recommended overcharge value was reached. But depending on the equipment that you have (converter, charger, solar controller), it might not be of added benefit to have an additional charging meter and a single meter to track power used from the battery.
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Old 10-03-2018, 04:28 PM   #72
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Hence the "2" on my name




Yes, apparently the Bayite only tracks the current going in one direction, which would usually be discharging the battery. The TriMetric is different and shows (among many other things), the percent of battery power remaining. That percentage decreases while it is discharging and increases while it is charging.

So I could see a benefit to using two of the Bayites, one to track discharge and another to track charging. I see no reason that the second one could not be used for both converter and solar chargers at the same time, showing the charging current and total power for which ever you were using at the time. Off hand I can think of no reason you would use a third (except to replace one when it quits )

If you will be dealing with partial recharges then this might be a help. But if you will be fully recharging the battery between uses then its not as much help. It would also be good if you did not have a smart charger and wanted to make sure that the recommended overcharge value was reached. But depending on the equipment that you have (converter, charger, solar controller), it might not be of added benefit to have an additional charging meter and a single meter to track power used from the battery.
Thanks Gordon2,

I replaced my power center earlier this year with a Progressive Dynamics that has a smartcharger. Will be installing a SeaLevel II as well, which shows some battery level info, but certainly nothing like the Trimeter. I just want to monitor discharge and recharge levels. Great idea you had for how to use two.
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Old 10-10-2018, 10:37 AM   #73
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dometic fridge

i have working dometic fridge i pulled out of an old triliium. it works on propane and Ac. i would be willing to sell
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