solar VS battery dedicated to alternator

[One Awesome Inch]

I live in the pnw where it rains 6 mos a yr so l am not sure how great solar panel powerwould be. Would a deep cycle battery hooked up to the van's alternator give more power in my situation? The van would likely be driven almost daily.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I got mine hooked up to the alternator with a marine battery switch, it works for me but I am planning on installing solar so I don't have to move around as often and I want to run my fridge all the time and stop using ice. Even in the pnw it would charge from what I understand, plenty of boats with solar systems around there.

 

[SternWake]

Use Both. It can take a lot longer than you think for the alternator to bring the battery back up to 85% or so, and that last 15%, a hundred miles or more.

Nothing like sitting there and having the sun power your fridge and then some during the day.

Ice, getting it, draining it, is annoying. The 12vdc compressor fridge and adequate solar, is simply awesome.

 

[wagoneer]

get a huge panel

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Thx for the replies. My power needs will be minimal. No fridge etc. Just laptop and 3 inch oxygen intake fan. Mostly everything else will be propane or AA batteries etc.
If i go solar i will get the largest psnel i can afford.

 

[Willy]

I'm up here in B.C. and have both solar and a battery isolator hooked up (one battery, for the fridge using both and the other, lights/computer/whatnot, running straight solar). The solar, abt 180W, is more than sufficient. I'd look into 2-3 smaller solar panels instead of 1 big unit. If you're in B.C., Princess Auto sells solid state battery isolators super cheap, as well as the solenoid style. ..Willy.

 

[caseyc]

Hi (former) Wrcsixeight,

Good to see ya here on the new forum!

Casey

Use Both. It can take a lot longer than you think for the alternator to bring the battery back up to 85% or so, and that last 15%, a hundred miles or more.

Nothing like sitting there and having the sun power your fridge and then some during the day.

Ice, getting it, draining it, is annoying. The 12vdc compressor fridge and adequate solar, is simply awesome.

 

[bvanevery]

I bought the largest Odyssey deep cycle battery that would fit in my hatchback's engine compartment, replacing the SLI battery I had. I've probably killed much of the life of the battery over the past 4 years with various charging mistakes. One is that my car's alternator does not match the profile this battery would like to take, even though it is marketed as a drop-in replacement for a car SLI battery. Probably I have never provided a correct profile for my battery, my voltage has probably always been under-par. Generally it doesn't seem that any automotive alternator is designed for deep cycle charging, and the few aftermarket solutions I've seen for the problem are rather expensive by my standards.

Another problem is I did dumb things like greatly deplete the battery by running my laptop, then go to bed, then drive the next morning somewhere. Batteries have better longevity when you recharge them as soon as you've drained them, I've read, rather than leave them sitting overnight.

$220 for "somewhat good" charge time for 2 years, and I don't think I've ever gotten the capacity out of the battery I was supposed to. Should have been able to run my laptop for a few days, instead my old school "hog" laptop only runs a few hours before it's time to recharge the deep cycle now. That's not any different from a 7200 mah Li battery for my laptop, and those only cost me $18 nowadays. I've pretty much switched to urban camping because I didn't really solve my electrical problems, plus it gets lonely out in the woods anyways. Mainly I surf free electrical outlets and wifi, charging my 3 Li batteries so I have about a day's reserve. That's plenty for an urban setting, spending time in libraries etc.

I've investigated a lot of "alternative wacko" ways of generating electricity, like steam engines, Stirling engines, Tesla turbines, and hydrogen fuel cells. I haven't found anybody who's arrived at a real world solution for running a laptop in the woods, nor have I managed to envision anything cost effective myself, let alone build it. I want nearly free energy! Not hundreds of dollars of overhead, as that buys a lot of gas and trips to libraries and parks for electricity in cities. I haven't given up the research though.

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

bvanevery,

It sounds like you just need to invest the couple hundred dollars in solar. It's really not THAT expensive. After purchase, it will provide free, quiet, reliable energy for many years.

 

[bvanevery]

Aside from cost, and the circumstances under which it can be used, I've not been thrilled about its size or theft risk.

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

Solar does indeed have it's downsides. I can't speak for all places/circumstances, but in the 4 years we've had 2 solar panels on the roof of our rig (~$800, the cost has dropped on these same panels since), we've not had any issues with theft, damage, or use.... other than birds pooping on them.

 

[Reducto]

I was kind of worried about theft risk at first too, but 2 years now in a variety of conditions (middle of nowhere to middle of big city) and I haven't had a problem. It turned out to be a good long term investment for me.

 

[akrvbob]

Yeah, on a car for a city dweller it isn't practical. Most of us are in vans and it works great for us. The theft risk off the roof of a van is very low, I don't think I've ever heard of it from anyone I know. But for a city dweller the risk would go up.
Bob