Renogy 30% off Labor Day Sale ends today - need help asap

[TexasWoman]

Hey everyone ..

If you need anything, today is a good day to get it.

This is not an advertisement for Renogy ..

I want to take advantage of the sale but don't know that much about solar.

Looking at a Chevy Van today that had a portable office setup in it.

The previous owner installed a 600 watt Fleet Gold pure sine wave inverter with an encased battery behind the drivers seat.
The van has a 145 amp alternator, which I've been told is good for going solar.

If there is anyone on this forum who knows a lot about solar, please PM me and let's talk soon if possible.

I am going out to see the van at noon today.  

I will be running the normal load, a dometic fridge, lights, computer, microwave, blender, fantastic fan ...

I just want to buy the stuff from Renogy today because it's such a great deal!

Thanks,

Texas Woman
:heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[Almost There]

I know you're all hyped up about it all and want to rush in to this but slow down darlin'!

The alternator has absolutely nothing to do with solar - it's good for setting up a system whereby your house batteries are charged while you're driving down the road,  IF you do enough driving. The van may already be wired for charging the house battery but it's an unknown at this point.

The 600 W inverter won't run a microwave and might not even run the blender (depending on the blender). It also has nothing to do with solar, it's simply a way of changing 12V to 120 to run things that don't run on 12V.

One battery won't do much more than what the owner was doing with it - running a laptop and cell phone. And we don't even know at this point whether the battery is really suitable as a house battery...too many people don't get it right and use a 'marine battery' as opposed to a true deep cell battery.

There's a whole lot of decisions to be made before you get to the solar part.

Renogy has sales on regularly and will also match prices if you find a better deal on their products, say on Amazon.

OTOH if you really want to get started on solar, the best thing you could probably buy is one of their suitcase set-ups. It's meant for portable use and hold their value so that when you get the whole energy system designed, you can sell it for most of what you paid for it. If it ends up being suitable for you, you can either use it as a add-on to roof top solar or as a stand alone small system.

 

[John61CT]

^^ what s/he said, DC electrics covers lots of areas, solar is just the panels and controller.

Shopping for the vehicle, buy or not based on miles, service records, body, suspension, tires, brakes, drivetrain etc

Pay a trusted mechanic to give a thorough inspection report.

Do **not** pay for their buildout stuff unless you are **sure** a given item is exactly what you want.

Usually that stuff just gets included, or they take the good stuff out for their next van.

 

[tx2sturgis]

And, when Home Depot runs sales on Renogy and Grape Solar panels, which is often, the prices are better than, (or at least similar to) direct prices for Renogy panels on sale.

So there is that.

 

[jonsun]

....which are still 50%+ higher than others with better specs

 

[TexasWoman]

I know you're all hyped up about it all and want to rush in to this but slow down darlin'!

The alternator has absolutely nothing to do with solar - it's good for setting up a system whereby your house batteries are charged while you're driving down the road,  IF you do enough driving. The van may already be wired for charging the house battery but it's an unknown at this point.

The 600 W inverter won't run a microwave and might not even run the blender (depending on the blender). It also has nothing to do with solar, it's simply a way of changing 12V to 120 to run things that don't run on 12V.

One battery won't do much more than what the owner was doing with it - running a laptop and cell phone. And we don't even know at this point whether the battery is really suitable as a house battery...too many people don't get it right and use a 'marine battery' as opposed to a true deep cell battery.

There's a whole lot of decisions to be made before you get to the solar part.

Renogy has sales on regularly and will also match prices if you find a better deal on their products, say on Amazon.

OTOH if you really want to get started on solar, the best thing you could probably buy is one of their suitcase set-ups. It's meant for portable use and hold their value so that when you get the whole energy system designed, you can sell it for most of what you paid for it. If it ends up being suitable for you, you can either use it as a add-on to roof top solar or  as a stand alone small system.

Thanks ... I appreciate your input.

Yes, lots more research to do so will hold off for now.
Checked out the van today and it's nice but I would definitely need a high top on it to feel comfortable.

Until I know my setup, better to hold off buying.

Thanks again!

Texas Woman
:heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[TexasWoman]

^^ what s/he said, DC electrics covers lots of areas, solar is just the panels and controller.

Shopping for the vehicle, buy or not based on miles, service records, body, suspension, tires, brakes, drivetrain etc

Pay a trusted mechanic to give a thorough inspection report.

Do **not** pay for their buildout stuff unless you are **sure** a given item is exactly what you want.

Usually that stuff just gets included, or they take the good stuff out for their next van.

Thanks for your input ...

I need to decide if I'm going with a van or a trailer before getting too deep into the solar setup.

The van is for sale with an auto group in Dallas that doesn't do build outs - they just sell cars.
I really liked the van but not sure about it. Depends on if I am going full time or part time.

If part time, I might just get a trailer that I can pull with my city car that gets much better mileage than the van.
That way, when I want to travel, I just hitch it up and go.

Lots of decisions ...

Heck, I may just use Luci lights, propane and a good ice chest for awhile.

Thanks!

Texas Woman
:heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[TexasWoman]

And, when Home Depot runs sales on Renogy and Grape Solar panels, which is often, the prices are better than, (or at least similar to) direct prices for Renogy panels on sale.

So there is that.

Thanks!

Didn't know that HD sells solar ...

Will check it out....

Texas Woman
:heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[tx2sturgis]

If part time, I might just get a trailer that I can pull with my city car that gets much better mileage than the van.
That way, when I want to travel, I just hitch it up and go.

But....most 'city cars' will get lousy mileage and work pretty hard pulling a tall cargo trailer around.

If you want to do this, and only part time, you might want to look at the various pop-ups and a-frame trailers that can easily be pulled with a normal passenger car.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Didn't know that HD sells solar ...

Just go to the Home Depot website and type 'solar panel' in the search box.

 

[road_ahead]

Good job veteran posters for saving OP possible buyers remorse! 

 

[TexasWoman]

But....most 'city cars' will get lousy mileage and work pretty hard pulling a tall cargo trailer around.

If you want to do this, and only part time, you might want to look at the various pop-ups and a-frame trailers that can easily be pulled with a normal passenger car.

Found some super light trailers .. all aluminum.  7x13= 1K lbs.

But yes, my city car can only pull 1500 lbs. That would be kind of hard on it.

Would need to upgrade car probably even just to pull that much.

 

[TexasWoman]

Just go to the Home Depot website and type 'solar panel' in the search box.

You like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Grape-So...ts-and-12-Volt-Systems-GS-Star-100W/204211365