Solar generator over an installed solar system?

[huntindog]

Battle Born has stated that you can calculate 100ah DC battery storage for each hour of Air Conditioning you want to run.

110 volts x 12 amps AC = 1320 watts/13 volts DC =101 amps DC.

This is a pretty optimistic calculation not accounting for inverter loss. BB is likely figuring in some "off" time for compressor cycling. Which if you are cooling off a hot RV, will not occur.

Change the AC amps to 15 and it is 127 amps DC without any inverter loss

Bottom line, it will be a LOT of amps any way you slice it.

[JM0397]

All great info, thanks everyone.
My Progressive Industries power regulator can be used to give ballpark amp usage.
I was on 30amps a few weeks ago, so had to be careful after popping the breaker on the power panel.
ACs run around 11-12amps each.
Residential fridge is very efficient, only pulls an amp or two.
The other large draw, and why I blew the breaker, is electric hot water - around 12 amps

This is how I determined we'd be fine with 30amps. Can even run fridge and 2x ACs on that, so long as the HWH is off or using gas at same time.

[hobienick]

It may be helpful to build your power budget using Watts instead of amp hours. This will alleviate any mistakes when mixing voltages (120VAC, 12VDC, 24VDC). You will also get a more accurate accounting of your power requirements.

[JM0397]

Looks like I'm back where I started, LOL. I was trying to avoid all the math and learning curve, but it's a good learning curve to dig into.
I was not told at the dealer that math would be involved, can I get my money back?


The main situation I was thinking about is off-grid survival situation at home, less dry camping on the road. I have the rig parked at home, but it's partially shaded. I think what I'll investigate is an on-board battery & inverter setup and maybe mobile panels I can set on the roof, or out in my yard about 25 feet away where they'll get full sun - that'd be win-win for home off-grid and on the road dry camping.

[JKellerJr]

All great info, thanks everyone.
My Progressive Industries power regulator can be used to give ballpark amp usage.
I was on 30amps a few weeks ago, so had to be careful after popping the breaker on the power panel.
ACs run around 11-12amps each.
Residential fridge is very efficient, only pulls an amp or two.
The other large draw, and why I blew the breaker, is electric hot water - around 12 amps

This is how I determined we'd be fine with 30amps. Can even run fridge and 2x ACs on that, so long as the HWH is off or using gas at same time.

Unfortunately, AC off batteries just really isn't a realistic option without a massive battery bank and a hefty solar system and then only if you have enough sun. I tested the AC through the inverter just to see how it would work. With 400AH of lithium battery and no solar, running 1 15k AC I may get 2 1/2 hours, maybe 3 if everything else is off. That is the compressor running full time. One AC on even a moderately warm day won't cool our 375

We just got back from boondocking at a race weekend at road america. With 400AH of lithium batteries, a victron multiplus inverter running the whole rig and victron monitor. On most days from 8am to 10/11 pm we would run through 225-275Ah from the batteries. That is the residential fridge, a 2nd outdoor mini fridge, people going in and out of them all day, A fantastic fan and a maxx fan running at probably 50/60% all day, a few outdoor LED lights at night, probably about 4/5 hours running a outdoor stereo with a DC marine amp, and whatever other misc items, water pump, detectors, other parasitic losses for the microwave clock etc. Now, we weren't exactly trying to be conservative, we would pop on the geney at night for AC and to recharge the batteries. Charging at 95 amps per hour they topped off in 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

On our previous unit with 200AH of lithium and just a 1000watt inverter we were more conservative. Just the main residential fridge, no stereo, no fans, a few lights and maybe a couple of hours on a LED TV hooked to the inverter. We would run through about half of what we did above.

Running off batteries never seem to go as far as you hope, odd parasitic losses, inverter losses, etc take their toll. I typically multiply by 10 for a quick estimate of the power used when inverting. 1 amp AC/10 amps DC

[SolarPoweredRV]

Doing a little research and I found this unit: https://www.bluettipower.com/products/ac300-b300
Add to it 3x 350w panels: https://www.bluettipower.com/product...50-solar-panel

And you can get a flexible and portable system for $6000 and no hassle with an install and messing on the roof of the rig.
This would give me flexibility for using it at home for emergency backup, also.

I'm mechanically competent but haven't learned much of anything about solar systems and and all the work, so a self-contained unit is very interesting to me.

Has anyone else gone this route, a "solar generator" vs an installed system?

I've run the 50amp Solitude on 30 amp power fairly well, so I'm not looking to get the full 50amps, just a smaller, flexible system that provides enough (Fridge, 1 ac if we need it, water heater).

Thanks!

Looks like I'm back where I started, LOL. I was trying to avoid all the math and learning curve, but it's a good learning curve to dig into.
I was not told at the dealer that math would be involved, can I get my money back?


The main situation I was thinking about is off-grid survival situation at home, less dry camping on the road. I have the rig parked at home, but it's partially shaded. I think what I'll investigate is an on-board battery & inverter setup and maybe mobile panels I can set on the roof, or out in my yard about 25 feet away where they'll get full sun - that'd be win-win for home off-grid and on the road dry camping.

First, your stated goal of survival is very doable, where you get into trouble is your desire to survive in Air Conditioned Comfort.

To run Air Conditioning for even a few hours you need a fairly robust Battery Bank (800 ah) and 1200 to 1500 Watts of Solar. It takes a bit over 100ah of battery storage to run the A/C for one hour, that is why you need a robust battery bank, because, at the end of the day, you still need energy to power the rest of the devices inside your coach.

If, as you stated, your main goal is Survival (in A/C Comfort) at your residence I would recommend a Hybrid approach...

I would install at least a 400ah battery bank inside the coach (with plans to increase it to 800ah) along with a Victron Multiplus II Inverter (if you have a 50 amp coach, for a 30 amp coach the original Multiplus Inverter will be fine). This will give you great functionality while on the road and if you install a DC to DC Converter in your Truck, you can get good charging from the truck while traveling.

As far as Solar is concerned, you are in a great position to install a Ground Mounted Solar system at your house to recharge the battery bank and because it is ground mounted, you can make it larger than you could if you mounted it on your roof. Because of the ground mounted Solar system, you could increase the Solar panel wattage to 2500 or 3000 Watts (or more) which would be sufficient to power your Air Conditioning throughout most of the day and keep your batteries fully charged. Then you would only need to rely on your batteries to keep your A/C running at night. Additionally, you can install even more batteries at your property to make certain that you can run the A/C all through the night (an 800ah Battery Bank might give you around 4 hours of A/C operation, plus all the other devices in your coach).

This Hybrid system would meet your stated needs quite well and it offers you cost savings as well, because, the ground mounted Solar array can be made with low cost Residential panels and DIY labor or you could even explore using second hand Solar panels.

[mwfett]

I have been thinking along the same line when we get our next trailer. We currently have 200 w roof solar, 2 100ah Battle Borns and a 3000 w inverter, plus fuses, shunt, etc. None of it easily transferable, batteries excluded. We are not heavy power users. Usual things plus coffee maker and ice machine. Would love to have a box I just plug the trailer into with ground deployed solar. More money but less hassle and no mods to the trailer. Also usable away from the trailer.

[Xlsmle]

Go to powerportablesolar or check out Ben Gilmore on youtube. The above website is his also and he knows more about this stuff than most. He has recommendations on solar generators for all needs from light camping to RVs to home power backup. IMO u r better off to look at the Titan solar gen than the bluetti for your needs. Plus it can do home power backup in outages. He also covers do it yourself stuff with controllers, inverters and lithium batteries. Great resource to help u with your decision.

[David.Basinger]

Personally I would rather get on top of the rig a few times for the install and (very) occasional cleaning of the panels than set them up, make the connections, then take them down at every campsite. I would also be pretty nervous about leaving $800 worth of solar panels sitting on the ground when on a hike or running to the store. Unfortunately battery powered grinders have made most chains and cables less secure than they used to be.
You will have to make that decision, and of course being able to use it at home may make the campsite hassle worth the effort for you.
Either way, good luck with the solar project.

I think I would have to agree with this.
I have my system installed on the roof, but I have discrete components. My two sets of 4 solar panels pass through a set of two 12v controllers going to two sets of 3x100Ah batteries and the batteries feed two sets of 3000watt inverters (one for each side of 50Amp circuits). Each set can supply 3000watts for 1.2 continuous hours (3x100Ahx12v).

Your configuration can supply 3000watts for about 1 hour, unless you add more B300 battery packs at about $1800 per pack. (Total of 3000watts for two hours)

Additionally, I have a 4-way tilt system, so I can handle any season from any direction.

Hindsight being what it is, the only thing I would do differently IF I started all over is to get a single 6000W split-phase inverter with dual 120v output to properly supply the 50a inputs to the RV.
This also requires configuring the Solar panels to 48v vs 12v using a single 48v controller and adding two more batteries to put 2x4 in series (4 in series in parallel with the other 4 in series), but my current drops from 2x250amps (requires 4/0 welding wires each) (250 for each inverter) to 125amps total (much smaller wiring).
The versatility of this configuration would be very powerful!

[mwfett]

I think it really comes down to DYI v plug and play. When I was younger, I was a hard core DYI guy. Now in my late 60's, not so much. Health issues and overall mileage make plug and play solutions very attractive. As the money has become close, even more so. Your mileage may vary.