Is there a huge battery that could last for a week with AC?

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Jon Donahue

Active member
Joined
Jan 11, 2021
Messages
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Location
Tombstone, AZ
I have an old 1991 Lazy Daze. Enjoy going off the grid with it, like on BLM or State land here in Arizona.
Question — if I win the lottery, is there a huge battery... at whatever price... that would let me go out for a week in summer or winter, with full air conditioning and/or heating, plus all the normal electrical stuff. Two weeks would be even better!
 
is there a huge battery... at whatever price... that would let me go out for a week in summer or winter, with full air conditioning and/or heating, plus all the normal electrical stuf

Sure. Win the lottery and have a truck with some Tesla powerwalls follow you around.

Non-lottery winners would probably use a generator for running big loads over long periods. :)
 
Frater, you're right. I just checked out the large 343 lb. Tesla Powewall home battery.
”Powerwall batteries that are connected to the grid can now deliver 7.6 kW of continuous power when the sun is shining, and 5.6 kW with no sun. This means one Powerwall can run lights, electrical outlets, and 120-volt appliances like your fridge. If you want to run high-powered appliances, such as an air conditioner, you’ll need additional Powerwalls.“
And so, let’s say with 1000 lbs of three Powerwalls, at $30,000... my old Lazy Daze would probably pop all 6 tires. Oh well. Back to the drawing board!
... and sure, a generator. But the noise, ouch
 
No... but... consider this

Remove the roof AC and the Furnace, and the Generator - Replace them with one MiniSplit heat pump. Now that the roof has a lot more space, pack as many high wattage solar panels up there as you can, put in a 24volt battery bank ( lithium preferred) and you would be able to go many sunny days... then as backup, you buy a $500 quiet generator to charge up the system when the sun doesn't shine. I left out a lot of the details, but that is the rough idea.

My own plan is
6ea 400 Watt Solar panels at $150-200 each $1200 total
A Growatt Charger/Inverter at $800
A 24 or 48 volt Lithium battery bank $3000
Misc hardware/wiring $300

So for $5300 I will have power enough to not have to pay for heat or AC, I get back the area the furnace takes up, and I can ditch the built in 4kw generator altogether and replace it with a 2500 watt portable quiet one.. and because I will not be using the propane furnace I can jettison the massive 20 gallon LP tank and replace with a BBQ sized that will cover hot water and cooking stove use.

each situation is different...
 
sure, a generator. But the noise, ouch

I'm a big grouch about generator noise, but the fully-enclosed inverter types are so quiet they don't bother me. I only hear them if walking near someone's campsite. Even the HF Predator inverter gens are very quiet, which I found surprising.

Admittedly, loud gennies do give me unsociable thoughts about sabotage... must... resist.....
 
No... but... consider this

Remove the roof AC and the Furnace, and the Generator - Replace them with one MiniSplit heat pump. Now that the roof has a lot more space, pack as many high wattage solar panels up there as you can, put in a 24volt battery bank ( lithium preferred) and you would be able to go many sunny days... then as backup, you buy a $500 quiet generator to charge up the system when the sun doesn't shine. I left out a lot of the details, but that is the rough idea.

My own plan is
6ea 400 Watt Solar panels at $150-200 each $1200 total
A Growatt Charger/Inverter at $800
A 24 or 48 volt Lithium battery bank $3000
Misc hardware/wiring $300

So for $5300 I will have power enough to not have to pay for heat or AC, I get back the area the furnace takes up, and I can ditch the built in 4kw generator altogether and replace it with a 2500 watt portable quiet one.. and because I will not be using the propane furnace I can jettison the massive 20 gallon LP tank and replace with a BBQ sized that will cover hot water and cooking stove use.

each situation is different...
JJ — very impressive! You know, I think our society will be different once RV manufacturers start building solutions like yours into their vehicles. What a treat to be able to stay anywhere as long as you want without a noisy generator!
 
If you have enough sun a modest solar setup with 400-600AH of battery should work.
Not familiar with your vehicle but I assume it's a Class C?
You could fit a lot of panels on the roof.
LiFePo4 batteries are creeping down in price even with supply chain issues.
I got a great deal on a few Renogy BT batteries on Ebay from their outlet. They don't have the RJ45 jacks for hooking up to a central information display. Instead you use an app via bluetooth. So they are cheaper for them to make AND they are cheaper to use because you don't need RJ45 cables, a hub and a monitor display.

Will Prowse and a couple other Youtubers have done videos about building your own battery bank using cells off Ali Baba or 2nd hand medical device cells.
FWIW if I was going to start over from scratch I'd go with 24V. Cheaper thinner wire and easier to work with.
 
I came across this. A bit rich for my blood, but half the price of the other one ansd only about 600lbs.

40 kwh battery and charger for electric boat - $25,000
00707_2LYiMvw8cX6z_0pO0bC_600x450.jpg
 
I have a slightly used di-lithium/zero-point hybrid backpack module for sale.

It will need a new flux capacitor soon so I'm selling it cheap.

:cool:
 
I have an old 1991 Lazy Daze. Enjoy going off the grid with it, like on BLM or State land here in Arizona.
Question — if I win the lottery, is there a huge battery... at whatever price... that would let me go out for a week in summer or winter, with full air conditioning and/or heating, plus all the normal electrical stuff. Two weeks would be even better!

There's a youtube channel where the owner of a sailing catamaran talks about how they used the battery bank from some sort of wrecked EV or hybrid as the house bank on their boat. Trying to remember the details...

I'm not sure how much room you would have on the RV to install a large (750-1250) watt Solar Array, though, or how effective a wind generator would be at an inland location.
 
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