New van owner

[Pattilono]

Just got my nv200 and watching conversion videos everywhere! I'm trying to get on the camping road before my 70th birthday. Next month I'm 69 so I have a year.to get it in shape. My hardest hurdle is solar and electrical systems.  For some reason the info goes in, and then back out just as fast.(maybe faster) I need enough power for a small microwave, instapot, and fridge/freezer as well as being able to operate a few other tools and appliances. I realize that they won't all be working at the same time (except the fridge) but I can't seem to figure out what I need and how to set it up. Oh well, that's why the year. I hope to see some of you out there soon. Aloha.

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Pattilono to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

Yeah you will need a huge and expensive electrical system to power all that. Here's what you need to do it's easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Add up your power usage. you can find this info on the appliance power label.
2. Size your battery according to number 1.
3. Size your solar to number 2.

We can help with the details. Remember heating anything with electricity is very inefficient(going to cost you).

Highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

^^^ What HDR said and welcome.
A better way for figuring number one is to get a kill-o-watt meter and plug stuff into it for an accurate reading. A 700 watt microwave will draw more power than 700 watts as that is the cooking power. Next is to figure out how long each appliance is going to be used.

If any of your appliances have electronics in them, you will need a pure sine wave inverter (not modified sine wave) big enough to handle the largest load with some headroom as startup surge will be more than running. You also have to figure about a 20% loss in the inverter as conversion losses. A modified sine wave inverter can be used if the load is purely resistive as in a simple coffee pot with just an on/off button (no display).

Everyone gets used to plentiful and cheap grid power but the power companies have economies of scale working for them. Being your own power provider gets expensive really fast if you want to keep using household appliances.

I use an old fashioned cooktop pressure cooker on my propane stove. I agree that it isn't set it and forget it. Cheaper to conserve power than make it.

For heavy hitters like my microwave/convection oven, I run a generator for the short time the power is needed.

 

[Camper]

Welcome to the forum..... here's an easy to use solar calculator that works for me.

https://www.parkedinparadise.com/solar-calculator/

 

[mpruet]

I try to distinguish between normal power usage and extraordinary power usage.  Normal usage includes my lights, water pump, heater fan, fridge/freezer.  Extraordinary usage would include the air conditioner, microwave, and instant pot.  My normal usage stuff is powered by the house batteries while the extraordinary is powered either by my generator or Jackery.  This way I isolate the house batteries from heavy draw usage so that I can better protect them. Also this insures that I have enough power to keep running the fridge, which I consider to be the most important appliance that I have.

 

[bullfrog]

^^^X2 by having a Ryobi 18 volt vehicle charger and extra batteries as well as a couple jumper packs I can store "extra" power during a generator run or sunny days as I have slightly more panel than I need to help get a little more charge on cloudy days.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Just got my nv200 and watching conversion videos everywhere!

{snip}

I need enough power for a small microwave, instapot, and fridge/freezer as well as being able to operate a few other tools and appliances. 

NV200 vans are not very big and they dont have that much capacity for carrying weight, so where are you gonna put all this stuff, plus the 4-6 large batteries and 2-4 solar panels (and maybe a generator) and all your other camping gear, and supplies, food and water, clothes, and where are you going to sleep? On the roof?

I think you need to forget the microwave and instapot (they both use large amounts of electricity) and simplify things...cook with a little propane or butane stove and HOPE whatever solar panels you can fit in or on the van will POSSIBLY be able to power your fridge and MAYBE charge a laptop or phone.

Good luck.

 

[txmnjim]

 For some reason the info goes in, and then back out just as fast.(maybe faster) 

this made me chuckle  your not alone on this topic for sure! good luck on
your adventures and welcome to the forum.
jim