Is this a reasonable solar setup plan?

[stevea]

Please tell me if this sounds like a reasonable solar setup. 


1. Renogy 200 watt portable suitcase system with included charge controller
2. 2x Renogy 12v 100 amp hour agm batteries 
3. Renogy pure sine wave inverter 1000w


I will be running a Whynter 65qt fridge (24/7), plus various devices as needed like a small fan, laptop and cell phone w/chargers, Ryobi battery chargers occasionally for a power drill, LED lights, radio, maybe someday a small microwave. 

I have a Honda 1000 watt generator for emergency power. I'd like to run it as little as possible either to recharge the batteries if I hit a rainy spell or to run a few corded power tools.

I am going portable so:
1.  I can keep my panels in the sun and the camper in the shade. 
2. I don't have to hard wire the system inside and mount the panels on my small roof. That way if I upgrade or downgrade my camper I can take this system with me.
3. I have never done this before so buying the suitcase kit might save me some problems (?)
4. I can put the fridge in my truck when traveling long distances and run it off the cigarette adapter.

Questions:

Is this a good setup?

Would connecting the Whynter fridge via the 110 adapter to the inverter work better than getting an inverter with a cigarette adapter or will the adapter cause power loss that will make the fridge not work? Many threads say to cut off the 9v male end and hard wire the fridge to tell battery but I am thinking of waiting until I'm on the road and then can pay someone experienced to do this for me. 

Is it ok to plug a multiprong 110 adapter into the inverter so I can plus in several devices to one port (lower wattage items like fan, laptop, lights)?

Can I connect a second inverter or cable to provide a 9v female port for 9v devices?

Do I need to add fuses anywhere? I'm assuming the Renogy suitcase covers the panel to charge controller to battery side and the Renogy inverter covers the battery to appliance side.

Any advice if appreciated. Thank you.

 

[highdesertranger]

the only thing you listed that needs 110AC is the microwave and you don't even have one yet, plus that inverter is to small to run a microwave. you don't need an inverter. running devices through an inverter is inefficient and wastes power.

you could use more solar for 2 x 100Ah batteries in parallel. the minimum recommendation is usually 2 to 1. solar watts to battery Ah(Amp Hours). so for 200Ah of battery you should have 400 watts of solar.

highdesertranger

 

[stevea]

you don't need an inverter.  running devices through an inverter is inefficient and wastes power.

you could use more solar for 2 x 100Ah batteries in parallel.  the minimum recommendation is usually 2 to 1.  solar watts to battery Ah(Amp Hours).  so for 200Ah of battery you should have 400 watts of solar.

[quote pid='436167' dateline='1550360297']
How would I physically connect my devices to the batteries without an inverter? I thought the inverter would give me a "socket".

Do you think I could meet my needs with a single 100Ah battery?
[/quote]

 

[B and C]

Look for car chargers for your devices. There is only one conversion that way from 12v to whatever your device requires. With an inverter that is only ~85% efficient you will have two conversions, one from 12v DC to 120V AC and then the conversion of the 120V AC to whatever your device requires.

I only have two inverters and seldom use them. I have a 350 watt one that I don't remember the last time I used it. The other one is a 750 watt unit that will power my 550 watt coffee maker when I can't run the generator. I hardly ever use it. My laptops, TV's, desktop computer, phone charger, hotspots, etc. are all powered from 12V DC with their respective power source.

 

[Trebor English]

To connect an inverter to a battery you connect the red wire to the battery plus and the inverter plus input.  You connect the black wire to the battery minus and the inverter minus input.  Be careful not to reverse them.  To connect a 120 volt fan you plug it in to the inverter.  

At amazon you can get for $7.99 a gizmo that has a cigarette lighter socket, a fuse, 3 feet of wire, red and black, with ring terminals crimped on.  
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07CQMQL9L/

Connect the red wire to the battery plus and the black wire to the battery minus.  To connect a 12 volt fan you plug it in to the socket
 
To charge a cell phone get a "torpedo" shaped cigarette lighter USB phone charger.   Plug it in to the $7.99 socket.  

For a laptop you can get a "car charger" by searching on Amazon with your computer model.  

You can use multiple sockets.  There are dual sockets, sockets with shorter wire, sockets with switches, lots of things to plug in like reading lights.  

The inverter gives you a socket.  The inverter has, like all electronics, losses.  To feed your phone will take twice as much from the battery using the inverter, not to mention the cost of the inverter.  The Amazon linked socket gives you just a socket, no electronic losses.  

Don't use an inverter just to have a socket to plug in things.  You can plug without the losses.

The fridge can plug in to a socket.  However, the sockets and plugs don't work as well as you might want.  You can cut the plug off the fridge cord and connect the fridge directly to the battery if you experience difficulty.  If you buy a replacement cord you can cut that keeping the original intact in case you want to return the unit or get warranty service.  

Do not use an inverter with the fridge.  Yes, it can take 120 volts but it uses a 120 to 12 volt adapter to do that.  The adapter will lose 20%.  The inverter will lose 20%.  The losses are in series so the total is 44%.  

Most people new to 12 volt life kill their first battery quickly.  Get a cheap battery.  One 100 amp hour battery will be half the price of two.  

With a flooded battery you can use a $10 hydrometer to measure the state of charge.  It's physics, you are measuring the sulfur in the sulfuric acid.  With an AGM battery a monitoring system for about $200 if properly set up will estimate the state of charge.  You can fly blind and just replace the battery when you kill it.  Many people use a voltmeter to estimate the state of charge.  The battery voltage is a clue, not a measure of state of charge.  The resting voltage used by the charts requires resting.  That's many hours, depending on temperature, of no charging and no load.

To use the generator to charge your battery will require a battery charger.  How much charger and how much generator is a separate issue.  The Harbor Freight Sportsman 2 stroke leaf blower generator has been as cheap as $89 with a coupon.  It will operate power tools and a battery charger.  If you use it 3 times a year the noise won't bother you.  If you run it daily it will drive you crazy.  

You can get a plastic battery box.  The plastic top will keep conductive things like a spoon from being dropped on the top of the battery shorting it.  It gives a convenient place to mount 12 volt sockets.

 

[brahmon]

Trebor, how do I splice a fridge extension cord to connect it to the battery? How do I know which is positive and which is negative?

 

[brahmon]

FYI, It's a cheap Walmart dorm fridge

 

[highdesertranger]

I would like to thank Trebor English publicly for all he contributes to the forum and having the patients to answer the same questions over and over.

brahmon you can't connect a 120vAC(120 volt alternating current) refrigerator directly to 12vDC(12 volt direct current). you must have an inverter between and that's where the loses start.

highdesertranger

 

[Trebor English]

The original poster said it was a Whynter 65 quart fridge.  Amazon sells a replacement cord for the "Whynter FM-65G 65-Quart Portable" that has one wire red and the other black.  At $27 it's expensive for an SPW, short piece of wire.

https://www.amazon.com/Whynter-10-Foot-Supply-Portable-Refrigerator/dp/B0093IU78U/  

When you cut the plug off leave an inch or six of wire on the plug.  Use your multimeter.  If the plug center pin connects to the red wire then red is positive.  If the plug side contact connects to the black wire then black is negative.  

If the cord you get isn't red and black look carefully at the wire.  One conductor usually will have ridges along the side.  You can use that to identify which is which once you cut.  

If both conductors are identical only cut one.  Determine whether it is center, plus, or side, minus and mark it permanently.  Then cut the other wire.  You could strip it and tie it in a knot and put a tape label on it.  

Another thing that might help is first measure the ohms from center to side then reverse the leads.  Use the multimeter diode function.  Write it all down before you cut.

 

[brahmon]

Oh ok. Sorry for the dumb questions.

 

[highdesertranger]

hey no problem, remember there are no dumb questions only dumb answers, of which I give plenty. highdesertranger

 

[Trebor English]

FYI, It's a cheap Walmart dorm fridge

I have a cheap ($80) dorm fridge from Walmart.  I have a single 100 watt solar panel and a group size 24 75 amp hour deep cycle battery for 
engine starting and everything else too.  It can be done.  

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=27624  

I don't recommend doing it this way.  The Alpicool C15 and C20 fridges are now available at Amazon for $200 and $240.  According to you tube Canadian slim potatohead their power consumption is similar to my fridge but you will need to have an actual house battery.  The amount of time I spent was high for what I got.