roadrunner
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- Apr 25, 2015
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I'm wondering how much solar power/battery I will need. I want to go with a sealed AGM battery, one if possible. I will give what I will need etc so we're not shooting in the dark (and it's something I want to avoid being left in!) I would include more details, but I cannot find my Kill-A-Watt meter to save my life.
1 Fantastic fan vent - running most of the time
1 Fantastic 12-volt fan for moving the air around - running 12-16 hours a day
Charging a small laptop -- laptop used 4-8 hours
Small printer -- used maybe 3-5 minutes a day
Charging a smart phone -- 1-2 hours a day
Charging an electric razor -- 3-6 hours a day
Charging 2-4 AA rechargeable batteries -- 3-4 hours a day
4-5 12-volt LED lights (these hardly draw anything, say 2 on for 3-4 hours a day)
12-volt water pump (it will get water up into my solar shower system I am working on), as needed (maybe 10 minutes per day)
CB radio/WX -- 2-3 hours per day, mostly receive
Possibly a heating pad (sore back muscles in the morning), for 1-2 hours a day
And eventually (when funds permit) a 12-volt Dometic fridge or Whynter 65 qt fridge
I would add in a small microwave, but I'm sure that would require more than one battery, (I can always cook on my Coleman stove.) And storage room (and funds) both being very limited, I would prefer, if at all possible to just use one AGM battery.
I want to go with an AGM battery as I don’t want to build a battery box/vent, as I need my setup to be fairly stealthy, as I will be spending a decent amount of time in cities and small towns, and it’s one reason why I picked a plain white cargo van. I’ll buy the size that best fits my needs and (limited) budget.
I'm not sure if I'm missing anything or not, but I think that covers it. If I am missing anything obvious, feel free to point that out.
As for an inverter, I have a Jensen 300-watt unit, but I’m sure that isn’t enough, so any advice on those would be great too.
A quick side question: Does the “house” battery have to be connected to the van’s alternator, or can one just use the solar panels and a charge controller?
As for where I'll be going, well all over, Southwest, Pacific Northwest etc, so there will be cloudy days, and there will be days I'm parked under pine trees, and I already know that even a single shadow cuts down the effectiveness of a solar panel, so I'm not going off of numbers the manufacturers provide as "enough" -- I'm wanting to hear what you use and what works and doesn't work.
Also, does anyone have any recommendations on who makes the most durable, for RV type use, (yet reasonably priced) solar panels?
Any/all help is deeply appreciated!
1 Fantastic fan vent - running most of the time
1 Fantastic 12-volt fan for moving the air around - running 12-16 hours a day
Charging a small laptop -- laptop used 4-8 hours
Small printer -- used maybe 3-5 minutes a day
Charging a smart phone -- 1-2 hours a day
Charging an electric razor -- 3-6 hours a day
Charging 2-4 AA rechargeable batteries -- 3-4 hours a day
4-5 12-volt LED lights (these hardly draw anything, say 2 on for 3-4 hours a day)
12-volt water pump (it will get water up into my solar shower system I am working on), as needed (maybe 10 minutes per day)
CB radio/WX -- 2-3 hours per day, mostly receive
Possibly a heating pad (sore back muscles in the morning), for 1-2 hours a day
And eventually (when funds permit) a 12-volt Dometic fridge or Whynter 65 qt fridge
I would add in a small microwave, but I'm sure that would require more than one battery, (I can always cook on my Coleman stove.) And storage room (and funds) both being very limited, I would prefer, if at all possible to just use one AGM battery.
I want to go with an AGM battery as I don’t want to build a battery box/vent, as I need my setup to be fairly stealthy, as I will be spending a decent amount of time in cities and small towns, and it’s one reason why I picked a plain white cargo van. I’ll buy the size that best fits my needs and (limited) budget.
I'm not sure if I'm missing anything or not, but I think that covers it. If I am missing anything obvious, feel free to point that out.
As for an inverter, I have a Jensen 300-watt unit, but I’m sure that isn’t enough, so any advice on those would be great too.
A quick side question: Does the “house” battery have to be connected to the van’s alternator, or can one just use the solar panels and a charge controller?
As for where I'll be going, well all over, Southwest, Pacific Northwest etc, so there will be cloudy days, and there will be days I'm parked under pine trees, and I already know that even a single shadow cuts down the effectiveness of a solar panel, so I'm not going off of numbers the manufacturers provide as "enough" -- I'm wanting to hear what you use and what works and doesn't work.
Also, does anyone have any recommendations on who makes the most durable, for RV type use, (yet reasonably priced) solar panels?
Any/all help is deeply appreciated!