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  1. #1
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    New-Bee Boondocking electrical questions

    We bought our first Travel Trailer (Transcend 26RLS) in May of this year so we are still new to RVing. We've visited 11 campsites so far this year, most were full hook up sites and only one had electric only. We think that we'd like to do some boondocking in the future but we aren't sure what we'd need. Right now out trailer only has one 12V battery and I regret not asking for two 6 Volt golf cart batteries instead, but that is water under the bridge. So I don't think that I'd boondock more than I night with my current set up.


    1. My first question regards Inverter Generators. I had been told that a 15k BTU RV AC unit required a bit more power at start up, so it wont run 2000 watt inverter generator without doing a modification to the AC unit. Well my TT only has one 15K BTU AC unit and I'm able to run it when it's plugged into a 15 amp GFI line fed from an outside wall outlet on my house. The AC unit runs without any issues at all and it's never popped the fuse on the GFI outlet or in the electrical panel. So does this mean that will I be able to run my AC unit on a 2000 Watt Inverter generator without doing any modifications?
    2. My next question has to do with DC to AC inverters. I saw 1000W inverter on the web for $60. I should be able to run a 40" LCD TV, a Blu-ray player and few USB chargers on it...correct?
    3. I was thinking of replacing my 12v with two 6v golf cart batteries. How long would these last without a recharge when boondocking? Assuming that we'd were running the water pump and DC lights as needed and we'd be watching the TV for about 4 hours a day.
    4. What size solar panel would be needed to recharge the batteries? Would the portable type work?


    If we did do some boondocking I don't want to be forced to rely on using a generator, because I know that they can't always be used and who wants the noise. Lastly we are NOT looking to be boondocking for weeks at a time, but 3 to 4 days would be nice.

    Thanks!

    Bob

  2. #2
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    Being able to run your AC on a 15A circuit doesn’t translate to generator usage. Your 15A outlet can supply much more than 15A long enough to start the AC. Your generator can’t supply more power than its starting rating because it’s at its limit for power production.
    John & Kathy
    2014 F250 Lariat FX4 6.2L SBCC
    2014 Reflection 303RLS
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    Watts = Volts X Amps is the basic formula you need. Amps = Watts / Volts is it's most useful twist.

    How long you can run anything from batteries depends on the amps you draw and how many Amp X Hours the batteries have. The rest is simple math. So look at the back of the TV to find what it uses. Turn that to 12V amps (×10) and multiply by 4 hours. A 120W TV is 1A inverted to 10A of 12V, is 40 amp hours. That's about a type 27 battery down to the 50% recommended minimum.

    Keep in mind that the fridge, propane and smoke sensors and maybe a few more things will run 24/7. Converting power types will lose 10% minimum.

    Solar calcs get far more complex as you try to figure things that just aren't knowable. How long will you run how many lights? How much sun hours will you get? What's the outside temperature? My advice is to start slow and small, to learn as much as you can before spending major dollars.
    Rick

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  4. #4
    Site Sponsor BeerBrewer's Avatar
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    I was pretty sure that I'd need a bigger generator, but I had hope, since a saw a video of some guy doing it with a Honda 2000. I just don't want to drag along and have to lift a 100 lb generator, so we'll just not use the AC.
    Last edited by BeerBrewer; 10-10-2019 at 02:07 PM.

  5. #5
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    Make sure to get a pure sine wave also. That low price was probably a modified sine wave.....
    Jim and Belinda H. Pa.

    2018 337RLS- 2nd ac, dual pane windows, table and chairs, Kodiak disc brakes 12-28-17 (Thanks Ed!)
    720w solar, 100/50 Victron scc


  6. #6
    Site Sponsor BeerBrewer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jims94vmx View Post
    Make sure to get a pure sine wave also. That low price was probably a modified sine wave.....
    Your hunch was dead on! It was not a pure sign wave I just learned that they are a bit more expensive. After thinking about it more, we'd probably want to run the microwave a bit so we'd probably need at least 1500 or 2000 Watt pure sign wave inverter and they seem to start at $250 and go up.

    I'm at the very early stages of doing a solar and battery upgrade. I'm reading and gathering info.

    I do have a question about battery ratings. I've read that batteries should not be drained below 50%. So lets say I have a 200 AH battery, I should only plan on using 100AH max. Do I have that correct?

  7. #7
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    That is correct for lead acid. That is also one way lithium separates itself, you can use it down to 0. And weight savings.....up front cost is high but you actually get more bang for your buck with lithium. On my want list.
    Jim and Belinda H. Pa.

    2018 337RLS- 2nd ac, dual pane windows, table and chairs, Kodiak disc brakes 12-28-17 (Thanks Ed!)
    720w solar, 100/50 Victron scc


  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by BeerBrewer View Post

    I do have a question about battery ratings. I've read that batteries should not be drained below 50%. So lets say I have a 200 AH battery, I should only plan on using 100AH max. Do I have that correct?
    That is a misunderstanding many people have. In reality once you go past about 20% average depth of discharge, the effect on service life is linear and the line isn’t steep. The misunderstanding arose because it is conventional engineering design guidance to size a lead-acid battery bank for 50% average depth of discharge to balance battery life, recharge time and the effort of replacing batteries.

    When BUYING batteries, plan for your typical use to discharge them 50%. When you are free to recharge any time you want, do so at 50%. But once you have them, there is no real harm in discharging them deeper than that if that is what you need to do. People have the idea that something bad happens below 50% but that isn’t true. The deeper the average discharge, the shorter the cycle life, but 51% is only slightly worse than 50% and 49% is only slightly better.

    There is an inflection point on the cycle life curve at about 20% discharge, so if you truly want them to to last, you keep them at 80% charge or higher. That generally isn’t practical.
    John & Kathy
    2014 F250 Lariat FX4 6.2L SBCC
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    My boondocking setup is dual 6V batteries, 200W of portable solar feeding into a MPPT controller, an IOTA-55 deck-mount converter, 180W pure sine wave inverter, and a 14 year old Honda 2000 generator. The generator runs the microwave, wife's hair dryer, and IOTA converter (faster charging than the stock WFCO) We forego the A/C. The inverter runs the TV and Blue Ray. I had to run the generator after 3 days of rain and no sun. Before getting the solar I tried to run the generator an hour a day to keep the batteries up. Our Imagine uses more power than our old trailer, probably due to the fridge fans.
    2019 F-250 Supercab
    2017 Imagine 2650RK

  10. #10
    Site Sponsor BeerBrewer's Avatar
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    I'm sure that lithium batteries are by far the best and probably the cheapest in the long run. Unfortunately, we've never boondocked before and I don't know how my wife will take to it, so I just can't justify the expense for lithium batteries right now. Having said that I definitely want to replace our 12v marine battery and I'd like to install an expandable solar set up.

    As suggested above I've been trying to calculate what my DC power consumption would be while boondocking and I've got a couple questions.

    I looked in the manual for the trailer and they have a list of common items and their associated power draw. Some make sense and some confuse me. For instance it says in the manual that the frig draws 3 Amps of DC power. Is that to run the circuitry or the circuitry and the light? I would think the bulb (which isn't LED) is major draw. Correct? If so, I'll take out the bulb. Does anyone know how much DC power an 8 cu ft Dometic frig draws when on propane.

    How much DC power do those little LCD lights on the ceiling draw?

    Lastly, I read in manual that the furnace draws 12 amps. I'm sure that's to run the blower. Those of you that boondock, please tell me how you handle it? Do you use it boondocking? If so how many hours do you typically use it?


    jmbopp……… You have about the same set-up that I thought I might want to start out with.


    Great Info....as usual!

    Thanks!
    Last edited by BeerBrewer; 10-11-2019 at 03:20 PM.

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