Looking to get some solar for my rv

[Taco98]

Hey guys new to rvs/living out a van/ solar power and all this. My girlfriend and I just bought a 1979 dodge mobile travler and will be living out of it for the next couple months Atleast maybe longer. We want to run a stove and oven setup. Also a refrigerator of some kind. So what kind of solar panels should I be looking at. Want to be able to run everything off solar if possible. No generator but maybe propane is we have too.

How much should I expect to spend. Also any good links to learn about solar power specifically about a mobile setup. Also if you have a favorite fridge or stove/oven combo.

Cheers from the road

 

[Bdog1]

There's lots of threads here on this subject.

Cooking will be best accomplished with propane. Too intensive for solar.

Refrigerator, maybe a chest cooler that runs on 12v directly. The compressor style.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the forums Taco98! Solar may not be an economical option if you're planning on living in your RV for just a few months. Like Bdog1 noted propane is usually used for cooking. A good cooler can take the place of a refrigerator.

To learn more about solar click on "solar and wind" at the top of the page. You may also want to introduce yourself on the "Newcomer's Corner" and check out the Tips and Tricks page.

There are many very knowledgeable people here so keep asking questions!

 

[Taco98]

Well we are for sure living in it for a couple months possibly much longer. We look at the money we will be putting into the rv as rent. Instead of paying someone else mortgage we are gonna fix up the rv. And we should be able to get most of our investment back when we sell it.

 

[highdesertranger]

I am not sure what you have. when you say rv do you mean an rv with all the appliances. in this case the stove and oven are propane. the refer either a 2way or a 3way. I would drop the idea of cooking with electricity. and running an old rv refer off solar is also a no go. tell us a little more of what you got and what you don't. highdesertranger

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

cooking propane as mentioned, fridge can go solar depending on location and fridge model... i have to use shore or genny power once a week if sun is being shy but im east coast mountains, if out west you might be good with just solar.

 

[TucsonAZ]

Budget? $500 is one system, $1,000 is a different system.

Propane for cooking, I have been kicking the crap out of my setup the past 10 days, I can run a toaster oven at 375 for 40 minutes while I'm still collecting solar and after my bank is at 100% without trouble. I can also cook some brownies (29 minutes at 325) at night without dropping too much but even with 1,380 watts and a 6,000+ watt battery bank I would call cooking with electricity a luxury.

AC, heating, stuff along those lines are a no go on solar.

That said, you can do A LOT with it, I have a chest freezer conversion, best idea I've ever put into action, kicks on at 22.5 and off at 15.5, works great and uses at most 12 watts of power per hour. So you can cool your food, I run all the chargers in the world, iPads, Blackberry, DS, iPhone, Macbook, no issues, I run 2-3 fans for 16 hours a day.

Anyway, what's the budget for this system?

 

[Taco98]

By rv I mean a van that has an rv section on the back. It's 18.5' long. Nothing special. But we are living in it and a tent right now. We will be in the rv full time for the foresee able future when it's done. Like I said we could be spending $1000 a month on rent but instead were spending it in the rv. With hopes of getting some if not all the money back. We don't want a half ass system or regret when it's done that we had made it nicer. We currently have al the original stuff propane/stove top with a 3way mini fridge. We plan on ditching all of that a getting a slightly bigger mini frige (looking at the vissani 4.5 for $250 read it uses 235kwh per year and .97kw/day) or any other fridge that is affordable and good. We like the size of that fridge as well. Also looking at getting a propane oven/stove combo. No cooking on solar just fridge and a handful of lights in the interior and ports to charge the normal bs(phones,computer ever now and then). And possibly a small eheater(if any are good let me know) and a fan or two in the summer.

We are redoing the whole interior to upgrade to a queen bed and make it work for us. Oh yea to get some of that mold out. Haha.

I would say our budget is as cheap as possible but $1000 on solar is also fine. We live in the mountains in California so we have sun most of the day all the time. It does snow here from time to time on a good winter. So how many watts for panels should I be looking at and how many batteries in the bank should I have.

If you need more info I can provide. We just got back from a month Mexico and we are ready to start gutting the interior and ordering parts

 

[akrvbob]

A big thing to figure out before you do anything else is how will panels fit on the roof. Class Bs are notorious for having very convoluted roofs with lots of things in the way. That might limit you more than anything else.

Assuming you have plenty of room 2, 250 watt panels will probably be enough. Just to be sure you could get 3 250 watt panels. A 250 watt panel should be about $250 dollars and a quality controller to handle it will be about $500. Four golf carts would be the minimum,preferably 6, figure $125 each for wet lead-acid and $250 for AGM.

If the roof is a real mess you might have to go with small panels wherever you can fit them in or maybe 1 big panel like the Kyocera 315.

Go to this page and click on the panel you are interested in and it will give you the dimensions of the panel to know if it will fit in a space on your roof:
http://www.solar-electric.com/solar-panels-mounts-kits-accessories/solarpanels/hiposopa.html

Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

that refer is 120v ac you are going to have to run though an invertor. might want to look at a 12v compressor refer much more efficient. highdesertranger

 

[Taco98]

So it's almost time to order everything. Rv is fully gutted and currently being rebuilt. I believe I should have plenty of space for panels and may also look at getting a portable 100 or so watt panel. Trying for 400ish watts now and will add in the future if need be.
I like the idea of the 320 watt Kyocera but not sure what mppt controller to run it into. Also how thick of wire should I be looking at. Gonna get 4 but probably 6 interstate 6v deep cycle golf cart batts to store it all.

Any nice but affordable portable panels. Looks like $900 or so for 6 batts. Defiantly trying to stay under $2000 here for solar. Are there any good kits. Can't seem to find any I like with a mppt controller.

---

And for the controller I would like to be able to see what kinda numbers the system is putting out and what not. Seems a lot of mppt controllers jut have lights to indicated activity

 

[pseudo_mccoy]

These are only 120w but they're portable and I vouch for them. They've been hanging out on top of my van for ~6 months and have weathered many storms. They come as a complete kit which is not the most cost effective option but nice if you don't wanna stress about charge controllers.

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Oh I just saw that you need a visual readout from the charge controller. The kit mentioned doesn't have that. In fact, if I had to pick one thing I'd change about these panels, it would be the very dim blinky lights on the controller. Very hard to see.

 

[AuricTech]

A big thing to figure out before you do anything else is how will panels fit on the roof. Class Bs are notorious for having very convoluted roofs with lots of things in the way. That might limit you more than anything else.

Assuming you have plenty of room 2, 250 watt panels will probably be enough. Just to be sure you could get 3 250 watt panels. A 250 watt panel should be about $250 dollars and a quality controller to handle it will be about $500. Four golf carts would be the minimum,preferably 6, figure $125 each for wet lead-acid and $250 for AGM.

If the roof is a real mess you might have to go with small panels wherever you can fit them in or maybe 1 big panel like the Kyocera 315.

Go to this page and click on the panel you are interested in and it will give you the dimensions of the panel to know if it will fit in a space on your roof:
http://www.solar-electric.com/solar-panels-mounts-kits-accessories/solarpanels/hiposopa.html

Bob

Northern Arizona Wind & Sun (the site linked to above) also has an excellent discussion forum ( http://forum.solar-electric.com/forum.php ), which now includes a dedicated RV/marine solar subforum.

ETA: No, I'm not commercially associated with NAWS. I'm just a participant in their forum, since I'm looking to purchase an RV as a full-time residence. I expect I'll be spending a lot more time here as well, learning before I leap.

 

[Taco98]

http://ebay.to/1p79PvD. How about this solar kit. Any good? Gonna run it to 4-6 interstate 6v deep cycles. Will add more panels as needed. Any weak links. Cables, panels, controller. I would also need an inventor to be Able to use 115v correct

 

[sushidog]

Well if you really want to cook with solar/batteries it can be done. You need an induction cooktop like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...17145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B004CS5VKK for about $60. You will also need some induction pots and pans too. They cook pretty fast, so I'd budget about 10 minutes on a medium high setting per meal, so 30 minutes at 1,100 watts/day minimum. Then you need an inverter to convert your battery power to 110v. Since these are about 90% efficient factor in another 10% or about 50 amp/hrs at 12v. Four 6v, high end golf cart batteries will provide about 4 times this in usable amp/hrs, (considering the Peukert effect of this high current draw.) You will need about 400-450 watts of solar to replenish this battery bank, assuming you use your batteries for limited other uses as well.

Chip

 

[Taco98]

I've kinda given up on the hopes of cooking with solar. Just need it to run the refridgerator I posted and some lights and phones and small stuff. How big of an inventor is needed.

 

[akrvbob]

Taco8, most of what you listed is available as 12 volt. Which ones will be 12 or 110?

Replace your lights with 12 volt LEDs, nearly all phones charge off a USB which can be 12 volt.

The only thing is the fridge. If it's 110 it will have a big draw but still won't need a big inverter. Find out how many watts it uses and get an inverter at least twice or even three times as big.

Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

if it's in the budget get a 12v refer. you will be miles ahead. highdesertranger

 

[Taco98]

Unfortantly 12v refridgerator is out. Can't justify $1200 on a fridge at this time maybe in the future. Unless someone can provide a nice sized one that isn't that much. We've spent more than we expect on the rebuild so far. Ordered our stove/oven and about to get solar. Lights will be 12v. Plan on running most stuff 12v bit having 2-3 outlets is in out plans.

 

[akrvbob]

Knowing a little more about your usage it looks like you won't need a real big system. Without the fridge I think 200 watts would be plenty. But a 110 fridge in the summer will be a big draw because it will run a lot. I'd think 400 watts would do but that's a guess.

One of our members Seraphim is doing an install right now of a 400 watt Renology kit that cost him $800. That might be just what you need at a real good price. If it's too much they also have a $600 400 watt kit.

Bob