PlanetExcellent
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2021
- Messages
- 43
Made our first trip in the travel trailer with the finished battery/solar system. I'm really happy with how it turned out because I wanted to be able to dry-camp for 5 days straight, which is our practical limit for water and holding tanks anyway. Here's what I installed:
On average, we used approximately 15% of our battery power per day according to the battery monitor. Left the driveway at noon on Sunday at 99%, left campsite at noon on Thursday at 32%. The 12v compressor refrigerator (Norcold N10DC) was on all the time; we used the microwave and TV whenever we wanted; as well as typical LED lights, water pump, phone chargers, etc. We also ran the propane furnace for about 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night, but we turned it off overnight.
I think we got almost no output from the solar panels (about 1 amp on the charge controller display when I checked) due to the shade and cloud cover. If we'd been in the sun even part of the time, I'm sure it would've made up for a good portion of our daily consumption. When I checked at a fuel stop after a couple of hours of driving home in full sun we had already gained about 10% I think.
I also did a driveway test running the roof air conditioner, which I outfitted with a MicroAir EasyStart. While running the refrigerator, I was able to run the AC for 2 hours and the battery level dropped from 99% to 30%. It was only about 80 degrees, so not a very big load on the AC, but at least I know it works.
Notes:
- 2x Chins 200Ah lithium batteries in parallel = 400Ah / 12v (mine are the ones with 200A BMS)
- 2x 210W Newpowa solar panels on the roof (wired in parallel because we will often be in partial shade)
- 1x Epever Tracer 40A MPPT charge controller
- 1x 80W GoPower solar panel on the roof & GoPower PWM controller (factory installed)
- 1x Xantrex XC3000 3000W inverter/charger/transfer switch
- 1x Lynx PowerIn buss bar
- Pre-made 4/0 battery cables from www.batterycablesusa.com
- 1x battery monitor I bought on Amazon for $40
On average, we used approximately 15% of our battery power per day according to the battery monitor. Left the driveway at noon on Sunday at 99%, left campsite at noon on Thursday at 32%. The 12v compressor refrigerator (Norcold N10DC) was on all the time; we used the microwave and TV whenever we wanted; as well as typical LED lights, water pump, phone chargers, etc. We also ran the propane furnace for about 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night, but we turned it off overnight.
I think we got almost no output from the solar panels (about 1 amp on the charge controller display when I checked) due to the shade and cloud cover. If we'd been in the sun even part of the time, I'm sure it would've made up for a good portion of our daily consumption. When I checked at a fuel stop after a couple of hours of driving home in full sun we had already gained about 10% I think.
I also did a driveway test running the roof air conditioner, which I outfitted with a MicroAir EasyStart. While running the refrigerator, I was able to run the AC for 2 hours and the battery level dropped from 99% to 30%. It was only about 80 degrees, so not a very big load on the AC, but at least I know it works.
Notes:
- For my money, the Chins or similar 'budget' batteries work just fine. For typical camping use, 400Ah seems like plenty of power without taking up too much room or costing too much money. If you don't use the microwave or you only need 2-3 days of boondocking, 200A might be fine.
- I have room for one more 210W solar panel, but I'm going to add a Renogy DC-DC charger instead so we can recharge while driving in cloudy weather. Since we like to camp in the woods, more solar wouldn't help us much.
- The Xantrex 'smart' inverter/charger/ATS was not cheap, but all I have to do is push one button and I like that. It's also a lot lighter than a comparable Victron unit.
- The most valuable piece of gear is the battery monitor. If you only buy one thing, buy that. Knowing exactly how much power you actually have left means you can stay out longer.