Solar, is it worthwhile?

[Kevin D Pem]

I watch this guy often. I don't agree with everything he published, but then, I guess that is across the board.

Anyhow thought those contemplating solar might like it.

 

[AbdRahim]

If you plan on boondocking or even staying in truckstops or Walmarts overnight and you can afford a solar system with Li batteries, I would say yes. I cannot sleep through the night without worrying about how far my batteriesbwill be down in the morning, unless I run the generator all noght long (slow money bleed method). The problem is when the truckstop is full and rv’s are packed mirror to mirror, I could be down more than 50% by morning and damaging the batteries.

so, if I were in a position to do solar and Li, I would.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

If you plan on boondocking or even staying in truckstops or Walmarts overnight and you can afford a solar system with Li batteries, I would say yes. I cannot sleep through the night without worrying about how far my batteriesbwill be down in the morning, unless I run the generator all noght long (slow money bleed method). The problem is when the truckstop is full and rv’s are packed mirror to mirror, I could be down more than 50% by morning and damaging the batteries.

so, if I were in a position to do solar and Li, I would.

I keep trying!

To be responsible, I push what I live. I have 3000w of used pv. At a conservative 20% efficiency, and 1000 watts of energy per meter square. When I find something like this video, I pass it on. Being responsible eliminates new panels, and LiFePo4.
In days past collecting heat energy, and using phase shift storage, was one of my studies. Passive daytime heat has and still does intrigue me. With little space for more solar, something 4 times better at collecting the sun's power, may be the ticket.

I understand the challenge storage holds.

 

[Joe Hogan]

I’ve been struggling with the idea of installing Solar on the New RV. My last RV had lots of solar and LiFePo batteries. When we were traveling and didn’t need AC it was great. The downside is we never used the generator and when we needed the genset it wasn’t happy.
That experience got me powering up the generator every month to exercise it.
So, why don’t I just have a large battery and use the generator to keep it topped off?
That is where we are now, large battery and are going to use the generator and see how it goes.

 

[Fueco]

The batteries on our trailer seem to be dead, so I’m pondering Lithium Ion. The dealer mentioned that it would last substantially longer than lead acid. Has anyone here done this switch?

The fast charging seems worthwhile enough for the switch.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I’ve been struggling with the idea of installing Solar on the New RV. My last RV had lots of solar and LiFePo batteries. When we were traveling and didn’t need AC it was great. The downside is we never used the generator and when we needed the genset it wasn’t happy.
That experience got me powering up the generator every month to exercise it.
So, why don’t I just have a large battery and use the generator to keep it topped off?
That is where we are now, large battery and are going to use the generator and see how it goes.

The reason I preach again that is!

The last 10% of charge is at float charge rate. Most people cut short the charge because they believe that last bit doesn't matter, but it does. If you use lead not achieving 100 % limits you to 40% usable capacity. A solar system shines when considering that float charge, even when it is 500w, and reduces generator run times by hours.

Because most generator users, in short, neglect their batteries they have a shortened battery lifetime.

I believe full service solar is great for some people, but just supplementing with solar makes more sense for most!

 

[LMHS]

I’ve been struggling with the idea of installing Solar on the New RV. My last RV had lots of solar and LiFePo batteries. When we were traveling and didn’t need AC it was great. The downside is we never used the generator and when we needed the genset it wasn’t happy.

I have an LP generator. It cranks right up after long periods of non-use, even years of non-use. That is why I opted to install an LP generator. It also sucks up a 20# LP tank every 8 to 9 hours running at a 50% load (it always runs at 50% or less because that is how I sized it). You can add an LP fuel conversion kit to many gas/diesel generators and it works just fine.

 

[DKRITTER]

It Depends

I've camped since I was a kid from sleeping on the ground to the back of a pick up to a pop up trailer all of which had no power. Then a camper to a 5th wheel to a Motorhome all of which had at least one battery and some form of generator. Now that I'm in my 60's comfort ranks very high on my priorities list. The last 25 days in Texas have been over 100.

We rarely boondock for multiple days (like once or twice a year) But we do HH several times a year. We are almost always plugged in and when not almost always need more juice than solar can provide. So is the expense of panels and batteries good for us? Probably not

We are leaving in a couple of days for Colorado to get out of this Texas heat. 2 nights in a HH running the generator the whole time. Plugging in when we get there. For us the 10K generator makes more sense.

 

[Diesel Pusher]

Is solar worthwhile? I certainly this it is. I put 1800 watts of solar on the roof and replaced the 400ah (200ah usable) FLA batteries with 600ah of Li and don't regret it for a second! At first I thought we'd need to change the way we use our electric, to be more conservative, but soon discovered the batteries were back to 100% by noon the next day. The only other significant change was to toss the incandescent lights and go 100% LED. Our longest off-grid camping was 15 days near Quartzsite before needing to empty holding tanks.

 

[Fueco]

Is solar worthwhile? I certainly this it is. I put 1800 watts of solar on the roof and replaced the 400ah (200ah usable) FLA batteries with 600ah of Li and don't regret it for a second! At first I thought we'd need to change the way we use our electric, to be more conservative, but soon discovered the batteries were back to 100% by noon the next day. The only other significant change was to toss the incandescent lights and go 100% LED. Our longest off-grid camping was 15 days near Quartzsite before needing to empty holding tanks.

How much does your battery tend to drain overnight? Do you have a fridge that runs on 12V?

I’m trying to figure out if ours are running normally.