Battery - Solar

[kerin_o]

Hi Everyone!

Although not new to camping, I am new to being in a camper rather than tenting and will be heading to Assateague Island in September for a 10 day trip. The National campground does not have electric and I'm debating what to do.

I know I need a new battery on the camper. It currently has a group 24. Should I stick with that or upgrade to a 27? Also, although I know I won't be stranded in anyway because my brother will be there and has a generator, I would like to try and do this on my own.
Was thinking about getting a 100W solar setup to charge the battery. Will that be enough to charge the battery? I'm going to switch all my lights to led, don't plan on running anything other than the pump, fridge and maybe the tv (although watching the stars and ponies is much more interesting to me!).
My budget is slim right now and will be able to make more upgrades next year, but for this trip would I be okay with one battery and the solar setup or should I get two batteries and charge them from my truck?
Eventually I would like to do the solar setup - or wind - as I'm green conscious and prefer that to a generator (I do admit, having a generator is sweet when you want to run the microwave...)

I appreciate any advice you can offer and am truly looking forward to getting away and using this beautiful camper - and not sleeping in a tent!!

K~

[MACK C-85]

Welcome to the Club!!

Bring plenty of bug spray, especially if we haven't had any cool nights yet,

Just in case you haven't heard.......

Assateague is an old Indian word for mosquito, and Chincoteague is an old Indian word for Green Headed Horse Fly......seriously they can be bad, especially if the wind is coming off the bay/mainland.

Beautiful place to camp though....

Also, bring good sand anchors for anything you want to tie down, it's a barrier island...nothing but sand. It was over forty years ago, but I can still remember chasing down our screen room in a thunderstorm!!!!!

[mainah]

Run your fridge on propane or your battery will be dead in a day (control circuits are ok if your's has one). I run my camper with a 100 watt panel it is ground mount I can elevate and turn it for max solar gain. It will make all the power I need. I have two group 24's every thing is LED,accumulator on the water system and I can run the Fantastic fan on low speed even watch the weather on TV. The key is power demand keep it low you'll have no problem.

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by kerin_o

Hi Everyone!

Although not new to camping, I am new to being in a camper rather than tenting and will be heading to Assateague Island in September for a 10 day trip. The National campground does not have electric and I'm debating what to do.

I know I need a new battery on the camper. It currently has a group 24. Should I stick with that or upgrade to a 27?

I just upgraded the Cougar from Group 24 to Group 27, and I was very impressed with the performance. We dry camp for 2 weeks or longer when we go out, and one 27 really held up much better than a pair of 24's and that's with limited generator time. If you can afford the price difference, get the best 27 possible.

Originally Posted by kerin_o

Also, although I know I won't be stranded in anyway because my brother will be there and has a generator, I would like to try and do this on my own. Was thinking about getting a 100W solar setup to charge the battery. Will that be enough to charge the battery? I'm going to switch all my lights to led, don't plan on running anything other than the pump, fridge and maybe the tv (although watching the stars and ponies is much more interesting to me!).

100 watts of solar panel should be fine for a single 27 or a pair or 24's. If you decide to go to dual 27's, you'll want do the math. There are several websites that offer information on how calculate the wattage needed.

Originally Posted by kerin_o

My budget is slim right now and will be able to make more upgrades next year, but for this trip would I be okay with one battery and the solar setup or should I get two batteries and charge them from my truck?

I'd get the solar panel and one group 27 battery now. You can decide about the second battery after your trip when you have some real-life experience to apply to the choices.

[fireleu6169]

Can someone tell me what are group 24's and group 27's ? Kern_o let us know how it goes, I want to add solar to mine.

[mainah]

One group 24 is good for about 80 amps. One group 27 is good for maybe 100 amps. Two 24's good for 160 amps a 24 is a good bit cheaper the price difference will pay for cabling of the added battery. Some tongs may not be wide or high enough for a group 27 (my 24's just fit under the body work) The group is size both in power output and physical size. Deciding on batteries can drive you nuts they are so many designs and wildly veering prices depending on the construction if you all ready have a flooded acid battery (common battery) that is what you need to match it with if you are going to add one. I have never had a problem mixing batteries of different ages modern batteries just kind of die unlike old batteries that get weaker.

[kerin_o]

This is all great information and I thank you so much for your replies!

I'm going to go with a group 27 and a 100w solar setup for now as I can always change it/upgrade next year. I'll change out my bulbs to led and run the fridge off the propane (need to remember to get that filled...!) I think the biggest drain may be the pump, but I can be quite conservative with water as well.

I'm very much looking forward to this trip. My brother has been going for 2 weeks every year for the past 14 years or so. His children are home schooled and do their lessons at the picnic table - they never want to leave. I've never camped there, have rented a place nearby and drive there for the day. I will bring bug spray, sunscreen and take lots of pictures. Will keep you posted as to how it goes!

Thank you again! kerin~

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by kerin_o

This is all great information and I thank you so much for your replies!

I'm going to go with a group 27 and a 100w solar setup for now as I can always change it/upgrade next year. I'll change out my bulbs to led and run the fridge off the propane (need to remember to get that filled...!) I think the biggest drain may be the pump, but I can be quite conservative with water as well.

Just remember that even in propane mode, both the fridge and the water heater do need and consume a small amount of 12vdc for their respective control circuits.

Double check your fridge and make sure the heater strip is off.

The propane detector is a steady consumer of 12vdc. Disconnecting it is a personal decision.

There are a number of previous threads here about 12vdc conservation with great detail and discussion plus pics. Very worthwhile reading and should answer most any question you might have.

[mainah]

Depending on how much water you use yes the pump can suck up power. I had 13 1156 lamps in my camper they drew 23 Amps! my 15 leds draw 3.08 amps and generally I never have more than 3 or 4 burning at the same time. I have a 2 gallon accumulator on my pump it only runs once doing dishes. If you are fugal with power there is no reason you can't get by with a 100 watt panel unless it rains for days on end. Mind you a 100 watt panel is only 8 amps so you need to figure how many amp you use during the day and figure you are only going to get max output maybe 4 hours per day so 32 amp on a good day + -.

[BCS Guy]

I just spent a week in the Adirondack's I have a group 27 that is a couple of years old, and I recently purchased an harbor freight 15 watt here.

With positioning of the panel in direct sunlight every so often I was able to go all week without worrying about battery level. That is also with 2 kids running around that don't realize that they have to conserve power (7 and 3). The battery voltage display I installed didn't get below 12.4, and as high as 13.4. Last month I spent a week camping at Allegheny and my site was in direct sun all day. I actually measured 23 volts coming off the panel before the controller. I didn't check the amperage though.

Just as a note, I did replace all my lights with LED's.

[mainah]

Panel voltage is a good way to steer the panel just move it for max voltage that is what the panel is doing before the controller. The controller output has to be in excess 12.8 volts to do any thing other wise it's not charging. What you are reading is battery voltage that is how the controller works it senses battery voltage and regulates accordingly on a good day it may even show 15 volts depending on the state of charge in the battery. The 15 watt panel is only good for about 1 1/4 amps so if your usage is below it possible output during the day your fine. I will add some thing else about panels they are rated sitting in the sun at noon at the equator. They figure 1000 watts per square meter of sun light so any thing north or south their output drops. In the case of the panel's amps it is measured with an amp meter connected to the panel as a dead short in direct sun light. There are gadgets out there that connect between the controller and the battery that will give you charge amps.