I know nothing about electrical
- Thread starter sunnyslife
- Start date
Help Support Van Living Forum:
Kaylee
Well-known member
Sunny:
First, my deep sympathies! I'm a software engineer and my brain melted during the solar part of my prep phase!
Which of those appliances do you already own?
Have you measured how much power any use?
If not, check with your local Library and/or electrical company for a free loaner kill-a-watt meter.
In Library catalogs they're often listed as any of these (copied & pasted directly from my Library system's catalog):
You don't have to read the manual, just look at the gadget, and there's only one cord to plug into a wall socket, and one socket to plug each of your gadgets into.
There's usually one or two buttons that toggle the display between: watts, watt hours, amps, volts.
Note that both my laptops (one ancient, one 3 years old) had cords that had power usage values that were about three times higher than actual. That's my own "critical path", so measuring it was a huge relief.
As Brian mentioned, a key practice is to use the less critical gadgets just during peek sunshine and only after your batteries are fully recharged. The control panel of your solar system will (generally?) make that clear.
Minimize consumption during all other times.
Have you bought the LED lights?
If not, how much are they going to cost?
One option is to buy just one, since it should easily light your entire space, and supplement it with flashlights.
That's not a huge savings, but every little bit helps.
A couple of months ago, I finally decided to order some interior lights, and a single 5W 5V LED bulb (with USB power cable) cost me $7.
It's almost too bright.
I had also ordered a set (3) of AA battery powered "camper lights" (about $9), and they're adequate for area lighting (great "bathroom area" light), but now that I have all of them, I don't see how I'd ever use all three at once.
I've mentally earmarked two of them for donating to others I might encounter on The Road, so they won't be wasted.
Had trouble finding info on interior lighting, so hope that helps others save money.
Those are a big improvement over flashlights and a very kewl lightstick that someone had gifted me.
Natgreen
Earlier this year, I did some research on those Roadpros, and the main issue is reliability.
I did not find any (IMO) reliable data on power consumed.
Ultimately, I decided to buy a low end crock pot from a thrift store ($2), but have not yet experimented with it.
Just found out my new Library system does have kill-a-watt meter loaners, so will put a hold in soon, and that will give me an incentive to experiment.
My #1 goal: any kind of real whole grain bread. My #2 goal: pizza.
A member of this forum offered to gift me his old Roadpro (he'd been dissatisfied with it), and I may take him up on the offer.
I'll definitely post review(s)... with food porn.
First, my deep sympathies! I'm a software engineer and my brain melted during the solar part of my prep phase!
Which of those appliances do you already own?
Have you measured how much power any use?
If not, check with your local Library and/or electrical company for a free loaner kill-a-watt meter.
In Library catalogs they're often listed as any of these (copied & pasted directly from my Library system's catalog):
They're awesomely easy to use.
You don't have to read the manual, just look at the gadget, and there's only one cord to plug into a wall socket, and one socket to plug each of your gadgets into.
There's usually one or two buttons that toggle the display between: watts, watt hours, amps, volts.
Note that both my laptops (one ancient, one 3 years old) had cords that had power usage values that were about three times higher than actual. That's my own "critical path", so measuring it was a huge relief.
As Brian mentioned, a key practice is to use the less critical gadgets just during peek sunshine and only after your batteries are fully recharged. The control panel of your solar system will (generally?) make that clear.
Minimize consumption during all other times.
Have you bought the LED lights?
If not, how much are they going to cost?
One option is to buy just one, since it should easily light your entire space, and supplement it with flashlights.
That's not a huge savings, but every little bit helps.
A couple of months ago, I finally decided to order some interior lights, and a single 5W 5V LED bulb (with USB power cable) cost me $7.
It's almost too bright.
I had also ordered a set (3) of AA battery powered "camper lights" (about $9), and they're adequate for area lighting (great "bathroom area" light), but now that I have all of them, I don't see how I'd ever use all three at once.
I've mentally earmarked two of them for donating to others I might encounter on The Road, so they won't be wasted.
Had trouble finding info on interior lighting, so hope that helps others save money.
Those are a big improvement over flashlights and a very kewl lightstick that someone had gifted me.
Natgreen
Earlier this year, I did some research on those Roadpros, and the main issue is reliability.
I did not find any (IMO) reliable data on power consumed.
Ultimately, I decided to buy a low end crock pot from a thrift store ($2), but have not yet experimented with it.
Just found out my new Library system does have kill-a-watt meter loaners, so will put a hold in soon, and that will give me an incentive to experiment.
My #1 goal: any kind of real whole grain bread.
My #2 goal: pizza. A member of this forum offered to gift me his old Roadpro (he'd been dissatisfied with it), and I may take him up on the offer.
I'll definitely post review(s)... with food porn.
B and C
Well-known member
The big concern of the Roadpro is the ciggy plug backing out while using it. You could arrive at your destination and be disappointed at the cold and uncooked food. I have (not installed) the Blue Seas twist loc 12V plug I have for it. The twist loc outlet is already installed. Only use it while driving (if you have alternator charging) or excess solar. It only has one temp, low so nothing cooks fast.
DannyB1954
Well-known member
You can also wire in a charging circuit from your vehicle alternator to help with heavy loads. Say you want to run an electrical appliance for 10 minutes, You can start the vehicle and run it at the same time. That should give you around 30 amps of 12 volt power, (wire size needs to be adequate). Also while driving to town for supplies it will help recharge the batteries.
You can buy a book about marine electrical cheap. It is very similar to what an RV needs https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/12...g-ImAeDi5WFAjMaQ5kZ4mo-LG9-IejmMaApEAEALw_wcB
You can buy a book about marine electrical cheap. It is very similar to what an RV needs https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/12...g-ImAeDi5WFAjMaQ5kZ4mo-LG9-IejmMaApEAEALw_wcB
There’s a dark side to solar, sorry no pun intended, you’re going to have to park up in the sun for the solar panels to do their thang.
It sure is nice to be able to park up under a shady oak tree on a hot summer day. Consider adding a portable solar panel set into the design.
It sure is nice to be able to park up under a shady oak tree on a hot summer day. Consider adding a portable solar panel set into the design.
B and C
Well-known member
I have both fixed and portable, 200 watts each for 400 total. Fixed is nice because you don't have to do anything. Pull up and park, it's working. If in the shade or you need more power, portable is nice to be able to set up, especially after a few rain days.
Similar threads
