help figuring out solar

[B and C]

My server here at the house has an 800 watt power supply. Haven't stuck the kill-o-watt on it though as I am on mains and it costs what it costs to run it.

 

[Riverman]

I couldn't handle a constant 800 watt drain on the road.

 

[B and C]

Have you thought about renting a VM (virtual machine) in the cloud? You could use a low power laptop to RDP (remote desktop) into it. You wouldn't need a massive system that way.

 

[future_vandweller]

Also, if I was going to do a mostly genny setup for charging my battery bank, how well do you guys think
this would work?

Even some of the "solar kings" on CRVL don't use that much of energy as you're planning to use.  Your 1st task is to drastically cut your energy consumption, esp. the energy used for your computing - only you know how.  If not, you'll one of these

 

[Jaclyn]

Even some of the "solar kings" on CRVL don't use that much of energy as you're planning to use.  Your 1st task is to drastically cut your energy consumption, esp. the energy used for your computing - only you know how.  If not, you'll one of these

Hey man, hook me up. I'm all for a tiny nuclear reactor in my van.

As far as how much power my computer actually uses, I have an 800w power supply in it. I have a meter on the way that should be able to measure how much it actually uses. I also have a few other things plugged into the same surge protector, so it'll give me some good wiggle-room. For the time being, I'm going to put four of those golf cart batteries on my list so I can have two parallel banks of two. I'm going to add the cute square refurbished champion generator to my parts list as well. Aside from my computer and a mini fridge, there isn't going to be anything that's going to have a permanent draw. For lights I'll make my own LED lights which will have very little draw. If I figure just 5 amps for that, that'll be far more than I'll ever use on them. What kind of controller would I need to charge my batteries off of a generator?

 

[Riverman]

Just a good 12 volt battery charger, I use one from Harbor Freight and it works well. You can spend hundreds on one, but I didn't care too.

The gen usually comes with a 12v charging cord, but I don't recommend it on expensive batteries

 

[future_vandweller]

Hey man, hook me up. I'm all for a tiny nuclear reactor in my van.

As far as how much power my computer actually uses, I have an 800w power supply in it. I have a meter on the way that should be able to measure how much it actually uses. I also have a few other things plugged into the same surge protector, so it'll give me some good wiggle-room. For the time being, I'm going to put four of those golf cart batteries on my list so I can have two parallel banks of two. I'm going to add the cute square refurbished champion generator to my parts list as well. Aside from my computer and a mini fridge, there isn't going to be anything that's going to have a permanent draw. For lights I'll make my own LED lights which will have very little draw. If I figure just 5 amps for that, that'll be far more than I'll ever use on them. What kind of controller would I need to charge my batteries off of a generator?

If you're determined to keep the desktop PC your only option is to run a generator.  A 2 kVA unit will meet all your energy needs and charge the batteries at the same time.  Most consumer grade generators  are not designed to be used 10-12 hrs a day, every day.  They'll need a lot of maintenance.  Be prepared for this.  For example, Honda recommends an oil change after every 100 hrs of use.  That's 3 oil changes a month in your case.
Back to my original suggestion - cut energy use & then plan to fill that using mostly solar.

 

[B and C]

The battery chargers built into generators have very little output for charging a battery bank. You will use more than it can produce while running.

Has anyone ever measured the charge profile of a cheap battery charger as in bulk, absorption and float? I don't trust them as even a "good" battery maintainer has ruined batteries by being left on to maintain a battery.

 

[future_vandweller]

The battery chargers built into generators have very little output for charging a battery bank.  You will use more than it can produce while running.

Has anyone ever measured the charge profile of a cheap battery charger as in bulk, absorption and float?  I don't trust them as even a "good" battery maintainer has ruined batteries by being left on to maintain a battery.

If she get a 2 kVA generator, she'll be a little less than 50% for her desktop & monitor.  The DC outlets provide 8-10 Amps @ 12 V.  Over 10-12 hrs, it's 80 Ah, sufficient for the night time LED lights & light cooking (no PC).

 

[abnorm]

^^^^^^Sorry the inverter's 12 volt output is too small to recharge a bank in the real world...….

She'll need a regular multi-stage charger...………not some auto parts store charger



OP...…….Get some Data from your kill-a-watt and come back

 

[B and C]

Yeah, I think the auto store chargers are only one stage and is why I asked the question. The old WFCO converter/charger in my van was a single stage and was one of the fist thing I replaced. They are known for killing batteries by overcharging them.

 

[tripper]

3 of those panels put together will be 5 1\2' x 10' feet long, which is about the max that will fit on a flat top van (not on a hightop). Right now feb 20th during winter, I have 3 x 305 watt panels lying flat, max power of 560 watts and 2.5 kw of power generated all day. In the summer or with panels tilted the power is generally 860 watts. The only way you are going to consistently run a computer that is consuming 800 watts would be to purchase a small 1000 watt generator. You should hook a meter up to the computer and measure your total power usage for the entire day and see if it would exceed the solar panel daily kw output. It would be unlikely your computer is pulling and using 800 watts constantly.

 

[Jaclyn]

So, looking at the data I've collected so far from my meter, I need to figure out a way to cut my power usage drastically to even reasonably consider being able to generate my own electricity.

 

[highdesertranger]

x2, people do not realize how much power they consume until they have to be the power company and make the power. highdesertranger

 

[brahmon]

go big or go home.

2000w
1000ah

 

[future_vandweller]

So, looking at the data I've collected so far from my meter, I need to figure out a way to cut my power usage drastically to even reasonably consider being able to generate my  own electricity.

so, how much was it?

 

[Jaclyn]

Well... over 4kWh/day. However, I will say that this is more than I would use in my van because I would have to get rid of a couple of things that are drawing electricity such as a very large flat-screen tv.

 

[TMooney]

I think you finally made your choice. Two ways of doing it . For you the offensive concept. Buy all the solar you can afford right now . Buy a generator. You said you were working on this hog so it should pay the gas for generator anyway. 200 hundred watts will be needed for fridge and other things in solar.

 

[Jaclyn]

Okay guys, I want to look into something completely ridiculous and unreasonable. Can anyone help me find 1500w of solar panels that will fit on my van?

 

[Jaclyn]

3 of those panels put together will be 5 1\2' x 10' feet long, which is about the max that  will fit on a flat top van (not on a hightop). Right now feb 20th during winter, I have 3 x 305 watt panels lying flat, max power of 560 watts and 2.5 kw of power generated all day. In the summer or with panels tilted the power is generally 860 watts. The only way you are going to consistently run a computer that is consuming 800 watts would be to purchase a small 1000 watt generator. You should hook a meter up to the computer and measure your total power usage for the entire day and see if it would exceed the solar panel daily kw output. It would be unlikely your computer is pulling and using 800 watts constantly.

Do you have a link to the solar panels you have? I could make 2.5kWh/day work.