Looking at batteries for Truck Shell/camper & solar

[G0ldengirl68]

I am a beginner at this, and don't even have my shell back on my truck yet.  Then I'm looking at a possible build to customize the canopy/shell to be livable

Decided to look around at batteries, solar and found this board.  I am super interested in Solar but pretty sure I would need a battery as well, seems logical since weather changes

Any help appreciated picking something for my small truck (Mazda B3000 1994), thanks in advance, Denise  PS  I would really only have need for a small propane or butane burner, maybe a 2 burned, charging my phone, laptop.  Maybe other things I'm not thinking of at the moment?

 

[highdesertranger]

Well there is plug and play = most money
or
DIY = cheaper but more complicated

Then you must decide on the size of the battery so basically,

1. Determine daily electrical needs
2. size battery to #1
3. size solar to #2

Don't be intimidated. we can help you through it one step at a time.

If only going on short trips with minimal needs you might not need anything.

Highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

Look at batteries, study them, price them and learn what you need. Do not BUY a battery/s until you are ready to put it into a system. Lead acid batteries will be damaged just waiting around and the price of lithium is coming down.

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Well there is plug and play = most money
or
DIY = cheaper but more complicated

Then you must decide on the size of the battery so basically,

1.  Determine daily electrical needs
2.  size battery to #1
3.  size solar to #2

Don't be intimidated.  we can help you through it one step at a time.

If only going on short trips with minimal needs you might not need anything.

Highdesertranger

I might find better buys out there on the road too, but that would be much harder.  We have little in our town that isn't ridiculously expensive, for me anyway.  Also, I feel like I would like to be ready for heading out to somewhere in the Southwest come Fall.  I won't have AC, just fans.  I'll just price them for now, first figure what those electrical needs would be.  Do I just figure minutes, say to recharge laptop, or plug it in, and phone.  What else would I need electricity for, Oh, I have one little teenie LED lamp that I would like to have, it's electric, but I have a battery operated lamp too.  I'll seek out 2nd hand too, although, if I can afford new and at least be able to return it if didn't work right etc.

This Summer would be short-trips, but if I can have things fall into place by Fall, I'm going to shoot for a long trip South.

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Look at batteries, study them, price them and learn what you need. Do not BUY a battery/s until you are ready to put it into a system. Lead acid batteries will be damaged just waiting around and the price of lithium is coming down.

I always love the lithiums, and I do keep some rechargeables around as well, I mean for my small things like camera, flashlight, some decorative little lights I have. I guess I just have one is all Will do on the rest of your instructions   I finally got all my threads showing up so I can find new posts etc.

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Hey you guys,

This one looks very cool, seems to have a lot of features, but I don't understand the numbers like Voltage.  What do you think, pros and cons? denise
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F9FM4L...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[highdesertranger]

Already going out of order.

1. determine your daily electrical needs

Is that one you linked to to big? To small? No one can say.

Make a list of your items and how much electricity they consume. How much they use is listed somewhere on the charger(Power brick) most of the time. Then how many hours per day you will use it. Post the list here so we can help.

FYI most rechargeable batteries are lithium. the others have faded away, well mostly.

Highdesertranger

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Look at batteries, study them, price them and learn what you need. Do not BUY a battery/s until you are ready to put it into a system. Lead acid batteries will be damaged just waiting around and the price of lithium is coming down.

Wow Jim, watched your Solar AC video and that is so neat how you did that!!  I didn't know they had solar AC even!!  I'd like to have something like that, smaller, for my rig one day but if I hit the weather right I probably won't need it.  I do have a little fan I didn't mention that is just right for a teenie space.  

I didn't look to see how long those chargers last after soaking up the Sun all day as I probably only need electric during evenings   You also did a good job on the video setup, and you spoke nice and clear.  I've made a few vids for family, goofy ones because I love to make people laugh.  I have a tremor and made one video of me doing a recipe like Julia Childs used to do??  Anyway, instead of worrying about my tremor, I used it to be funny

 

[highdesertranger]

Yeah Jim knows his sh*t. He helped me out and gave me advice when I built mine.

There is no solar AC per se. any AC can be run off of solar you just need more solar for the bigger ones.

Highdesertranger

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Already going out of order.

1. determine your daily electrical needs

Is that one you linked to to big?  To small?  No one can say.

Make a list of your items and how much electricity they consume.  How much they use is listed somewhere on the charger(Power brick) most of the time.  Then how many hours per day you will use it.  Post the list here so we can help.

FYI most rechargeable batteries are lithium.  the others have faded away,  well mostly.

Highdesertranger

I'm in trouble again, lol!!  Ok, so what are my electrical needs.  How to I figure that out, I asked about minutes needed to charge, or hours.  Is that how I figure it out?  I mean time-wise maybe 6 hours.  This is hard!! It's only 7 lbs, same as my dog, but I don't know what the shell is going to end up weighing.  I not buying anything just got excited about finding that what within my price-range.  Jim's video on MPPT was great too since this one has that for it's solar.  So I'm off to look for what my laptop needs, my android phone, fan, anything else I might need, be back with my list

 

[highdesertranger]

"be back with my list"

that's what we need first. We can go from there.

Highdesertranger

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Well there is plug and play = most money
or
DIY = cheaper but more complicated

Then you must decide on the size of the battery so basically,

1.  Determine daily electrical needs
2.  size battery to #1
3.  size solar to #2

Don't be intimidated.  we can help you through it one step at a time.

If only going on short trips with minimal needs you might not need anything.

Highdesertranger

Hey HDR,

Seriously now, it's not funny because I'm not understanding how to calculate my electrical needs.  I'm taking a break now as I was looking up my phone battery capacity and how long it takes to charge, then my laptop and don't know anything yet.  I still have two, other things, the lap and the little fan.  I can't wrap my head around "how-to", I'm sorry, but a break will help, maybe, get to relax and think about it.  I truly do appreciate your help but sometimes things will overwhelm me and this one did for some reason.

Denise

 

[highdesertranger]

On the charger it says what the output is just tell us what you have and what the charger says. don't worry about the battery capacity.


for example my cell phone charge says 5volts 2.1amps. then estimate time to charge, like once every other day for 1 hour.

I am trying to make this simple for you so you can start to understand. you don't have to do a thing except read where it says power output or power input and an estimated time.

Highdesertranger

 

[ldsreliance]

As several people have said, you are going about this backwards.  You have to figure out your loads first before you can properly put together any battery or solar system.  Most people make that mistake, so don't feel bad.  I know I did.

I have several dozen solar videos on my Youtube channel that are geared for absolute beginners that you may want to look at before you start shopping.

 

[G0ldengirl68]

On the charger it says what the output is just tell us what you have and what the charger says.  don't worry about the battery capacity.


for example my cell phone charge says 5volts 2.1amps.  then estimate time to charge,  like once every other day for 1 hour.

I am trying to make this simple for you so you can start to understand.  you don't have to do a thing except read where it says power output or power input and an estimated time.

Highdesertranger

I figured it out, first by looking up Power Brick.  My problem is, I have a magnifier but it's not very good, and I did make out the volts and amps.  I'm not listing anything yet because I realized I can't know until I'm ready to put things into the camper/shell.  I'll continue here and sure I'll have all the volts, amps, and approximate hours it takes to charge.  My phone I'm used to charging about 3 times a day, but never timed it.  It charges way fast because it has turbo charger that speeds things up.  So I'll keep track of that and my laptop battery,  Thanks again, Denise

 

[G0ldengirl68]

As several people have said, you are going about this backwards.  You have to figure out your loads first before you can properly put together any battery or solar system.  Most people make that mistake, so don't feel bad.  I know I did.

I have several dozen solar videos on my Youtube channel that are geared for absolute beginners that you may want to look at before you start shopping.

I understand that now, I suppose I was looking more for a ball-park figure, maybe something someone else might use that could be compared to what I would need.  No biggie, I learned, and won't be putting the cart before the horse.  Thank you much, Denise

PS I am definitely a beginner electricity for living in any sort of RV/camper   All I know about electricity is it's shocking.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Don't put a wet cell lead acid battery inside the living area where you sleep, they discharge hydrogen and stuff, so they should be outside where they can breathe safely. For inside batteries, you'll want the AGM or lithium variety. Pros and cons to both, lots of information out there, do your research and ask lots of questions. Everyone who has spoken before are very knowledgeable on this stuff. Don't take what they are saying as hogwash or condescending. Many have "winged" all this battery/solar stuff and ended up paying the price later on, literally. Sounds like you don't need much, which is good, because this stuff can be $$$.

 

[hugemoth]

Sometimes it's easiest to start simple with a solar power system in order to determine what you really need. You could get a Walmart group 29 RV battery for about $100, $15 battery box, an Ebay controller for $15, a $40 Harbor Freight inverter, PV panel of your choice that fits your rig. Wire it up with fuses and try it out then see if you need more.

I have no problem locating the battery inside the camper as long as it's properly secured. The controller will prevent any significant hydrogen gassing.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Actually if you are on a tight budget, buy what you can afford now and expand or add on later if needed. Make sure your first purchase is a decent system, even if slightly undersized.

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Don't put a wet cell lead acid battery inside the living area where you sleep, they discharge hydrogen and stuff, so they should be outside where they can breathe safely. For inside batteries, you'll want the AGM or lithium variety. Pros and cons to both, lots of information out there, do your research and ask lots of questions. Everyone who has spoken before are very knowledgeable on this stuff. Don't take what they are saying as hogwash or condescending. Many have "winged" all this battery/solar stuff and ended up paying the price later on, literally. Sounds like you don't need much, which is good, because this stuff can be $$$.

Thanks Plethora, all good info, Denise