How to Live on 100 watts of Solar

[duckwonder]

So how does the 100W 'dweller deal with the realities of Absorption?  By getting to it as soon as possible  then running loads during that stage.

Neat!  That will help me!  Thanks.

 

[duckwonder]

100w aint shaby without a fridge

Bardo.  The fridge can run on propane and it's my understanding the fridge uses a tiny bit of juice even then.  Is my fridge going to take too much juice for me to boondock?  Can I measure that, test it, in my driveway?  Keep in mind the only way I have of measuring any house battery reading is from the second battery with a voltmeter, which I'm happy to do if it really tells us something.

 

[John61CT]

No the thermostat / ignition usage will be minimal.

Watts-Up around $25

 

[tx2sturgis]

The fridge can run on propane and it's my understanding the fridge uses a tiny bit of juice even then.  Is my fridge going to take too much juice for me to boondock? 

dw, the fridge you have runs on propane and is an 'absorption' fridge, (or RV fridge, 2 way fridge, 3 way fridge) and it will use a very small amount of battery energy for the temperature control circuits. If DC fails, then it will fail also...but can run for a LONG time on propane and 100 watts of functional solar/battery system power.

bardo was referring to 'compressor' fridges which use a lot more energy from the battery but no propane is involved. They often require 200-400 watts of solar panels to sustain operation thru cloudy weather and shaded areas.

Very easy to get confused so you have to watch the context of the conversation.

 

[duckwonder]

dw, the fridge you have runs on propane and is an 'absorption' fridge, (or RV fridge, 2 way fridge, 3 way fridge) and it will use a very small amount of battery energy for the temperature control circuits. If DC fails, then it will fail  also...but can run for a LONG time on propane and 100 watts of functional solar/battery system power.

bardo was referring to 'compressor' fridges which use a lot more energy from the battery but no propane is involved. They often require 200-400 watts of solar panels to sustain operation thru cloudy weather and shaded areas.

Very easy to get confused so you have watch the context of the conversation.

Oh, thank you.  Got it. Good catch!  I like those compressor fridges.  One day I want to rip out the kitchen wall, upgrade my electrical system and build a boatload of food storage right there.  Might get rid of the 3-way fridge at that point and put in 2 compressor fridges and just use the onboard propane for the furnace from time to time and Mr. Buddy the rest of the time.  Aren't dreams fun? LOL, thank Tx.

 

[DLTooley]

In playing around with my 100 watt system I've noticed the voltage drop on my cheaply controller is significant on a fridge load. I've moved the controller next to the house battery where it is also accessible

I've read the victron Morningstar and renogy manuals, but not the victron Pam. I believe a 2 volt series setup will help a lot with voltage drop especially in cloudy weather.

 

[John61CT]

The term "voltage drop" is usually about wiring infrastructure problems.

In this case I believe you're just saying the fridge is pulling a lot of AH from your battery bank, pulling down SoC?

The efficiency of the controller would only be marginally related to getting the bank back to full, fact is you just need a lot more power input and likely a bigger bank.

Which is I guess the point of your 2V comment, but for most vanners that would be overkill.

Pairs of 6v would be better than most 12V that is true.