Hi Denali, I can charge and equalize up to 4 batteries per bank with just my solar system. That's one good reason to switch from A to B. For your solar system 6 batteries could be charged and equalized. Alternators have a 30% duty cycle. That's another reason for the switch. I can charge up one bank--then switch over to the second bank without overloading the alternator. For sitting still I plan on using the C setting and drawing from all seven batteries--that will ease the load from high draw appliances such as my electric water heater (highest draw item in the RV at 1360 watts). I guess you might want to know how long the house batteries are charging at 110 amps! If your charging system is solenoid based there will also likely be a fuse to prevent burning out the alternator from excessive draws. It would be good to know where that fuse is! I know that mine does--because the fuse was burned out! It happens to be a 60 amp fuse--I have no idea when it failed, only that it was definitely before my long trip to North Carolina. I'm having the the stock solenoid replaced with an aircraft 100% duty cycle and will have it connected at the starter battery and fused. My installer is my cousin--and he is very thoughtful and creative "farm boy" and licensed electrician. He may be making the charging system flexible enough that I can charge one bank on solar--and the other from the engine alternator. I'll know later this week what he has decided. I wish I were there being the "gopher", but that was not possible for me this time.
Don, Wow, 7 batteries. I'm jealous! We currently have four for our solar system and want to change me to heavier duty and add two more but we can't figure out where to install the two extras. My husband was thinking that he'd probably have to build something to hold them. Rachel
Hi Rachel, You may want to look at my suggestions on "sizing" solar systems to batteries. Have a look here: http://freecampsites.net/forum/technology/...-system/page-1/ Good luck on creating a space for your (extra) batteries! QUOTE(rangiebob @ Aug 3 2009, 07:40 PM) [snapback]18062[/snapback] Don, Wow, 7 batteries. I'm jealous! We currently have four for our solar system and want to change me to heavier duty and add two more but we can't figure out where to install the two extras. My husband was thinking that he'd probably have to build something to hold them. Rachel
Thanks, Don. I'll post what we figure out! QUOTE(pianotuna @ Aug 3 2009, 09:44 PM) [snapback]18066[/snapback] Hi Rachel, You may want to look at my suggestions on "sizing" solar systems to batteries. Have a look here: http://freecampsites.net/forum/technology/...-system/page-1/ Good luck on creating a space for your (extra) batteries!
QUOTE(rangiebob @ Aug 4 2009, 12:01 AM) [snapback]18074[/snapback] Thanks, Don. I'll post what we figure out! Don, we are going to be in Oregon in October for work and have made arrangements to drop our coach off at Oregon Motor Coach Center for the booth to be taken out and several other renovations, and we spoke to them yesterday and they'll also help us enhance our solar! So looking forward to these changes to our home.
Hi rangiebob, What do you have planned to enhance the solar? Just more batteries? Thicker charging wire? More panels? Good luck with the mods! QUOTE(rangiebob @ Aug 7 2009, 09:45 AM) [snapback]18158[/snapback] Don, we are going to be in Oregon in October for work and have made arrangements to drop our coach off at Oregon Motor Coach Center for the booth to be taken out and several other renovations, and we spoke to them yesterday and they'll also help us enhance our solar! So looking forward to these changes to our home.
QUOTE(pianotuna @ Aug 7 2009, 01:58 PM) [snapback]18160[/snapback] Hi rangiebob, What do you have planned to enhance the solar? Just more batteries? Thicker charging wire? More panels? Good luck with the mods! Not quite sure yet. I gave hubby all of your posts and he has them all in mind but we have to see what can be done with our Renegade. Hopefully, we'll be able to do it all! :blink: One thing I know is that they will be building holders for 2 more batteries. We're doing whatever we can do to make our home more self-sufficient.
Hi all, Hurrah! I have my four extra batteries installed. I decided against welding a rack under my RV and gave up one storage compartment (there happened to be one of suitable size right beside the existing side out battery tray). My cousin did the work. He welded a support brace under the compartment so that it would be much stronger than the original construction. He placed a piece of 3/4 inch plywood in the bottom of the compartment and secured the batteries with a wooden "frame" to keep them from shifting. He also added an "air hole" so that there can not be a build up of explosive gases. The four batteries are tied together electrically by two copper bus bars. The positive one is covered in tape insulation. The original solenoid had only blown a fuse--so that fuse was replaced with a 50 amp fuse. (all he happened to have) A second solenoid was added--tied into the starter battery and fused at 60 amps. This should give me a combined charging amperage of 120 amps--10 amps less than the maximum output of the alternator. This also gives me "redundancy" if either solenoid or fuse decided to "pack it in". The original solenoid was factory designed to connect once the engine was running. This has been changed to a manual switch with an led indicator light built in so I can control it. The new solenoid also has a similar switch. This has the side benefit that if I turn on the ignition key and flip the switches that power will flow from the house batteries to the starter battery. This means if the starter battery is low I can recharge it from the house batteries. It would take a few minutes for this to build up a sufficient charge in the starter battery, should it happen to be low. When starter is engaged the house batteries are disconnected. It's not a perfect system--but far better than the original design which did not allow any connection until the engine was running. The solenoid switches are disabled when the ignition key is in the Aux or Off positions. Each battery bank can be charged from the alternator via the two switches--so I can avoid over loading the charging capacity. Each battery bank has its own 100 amp disconnect switch to the inverter, so I can run 3 or 4 or 7, or if I really desire to do so 8 batteries (flipping the solenoid switches on with the ignition turned on {a poor idea, imho}). Running all 7 would give the best Peukert results, while protecting that all important starting battery. The solar panels are able to charge either bank--again via a set of two switches. The switches are rated at 25 amps and are fused--and have lovely led lights in them to let me know whether they are "on" or "off". One downside to that is that if the inverter is running on one bank--and the solar switches are both turned on the system can "back feed" through them and burn out a fuse. The way around that is, of course, to have both disconnect switches in the "on" position, and only one solar panel switch turned "on". That still allows the solar to add to the energy available without any back feed being possible. A diode could have been added--but that would have "cost" 3/4 of a volt, a sacrifice I was not willing to make. All in all, I feel it is a brilliant piece of work and allows great flexibility.
Terrific! So when are you coming down to Quartzsite to join the rest of us sucking up the rays? -- Dave Rudisill Coos Bay, OR
Hi Denali, Would you believe I went to Quartsize three years ago--on July 31? It was too hot for me! I do hope to do a Florida trip starting Jan 15, 2010. My next mod to the system should be straight forward and simple. I want to replace those old tired original 3 twelve volt batteries with 3 brand new ones from Walmart. Cost for 105 amp hour battery is $75.00 ($225 in total), and I've had wonderful service from the ones I bought for my previous RV six years ago. I'll also replace the dinky toy sized starter battery that Village RV of Regina "gave" me when I purchased the Kustom Koach. I know that with the system I have that is perhaps money I don't need to spend--but a 650 cold cranking amps battery on a Ford Triton V-10 seems to me to be undersized. QUOTE(Denali @ Aug 14 2009, 10:09 AM) [snapback]18316[/snapback] Terrific! So when are you coming down to Quartzsite to join the rest of us sucking up the rays? -- Dave Rudisill Coos Bay, OR
Don, I tried to answer your message, but got this: "This message can not be sent because the recipient has their personal messenger disabled or their personal messenger inbox is full."
Hi all, What it all cost! $1400 for four Uni-solar US-64 panels (256 watts in total or $5.47 per watt) $ 300 for a Blue Sky 3024 di charge controller $ 525 for seven deep discharge batteries (or 71 cents per amp) $ 200 for a 2500 Watt Cobra Modified Sine Wave inverter (or 8 cents per watt) $1717 for labor and creation of mounts, installation, wire, solenoid, fuse for the second solenoid line, replace fuse on original solenoid, switches (four 25 amp and two 100 amp) 110 volt outlet in valve area, 30 amp outlets in shore power box, running cable to shore power box, running #10 cord to rear of RV so a generator may be used if so desired, buss bar for second battery bank (4 batteries), reinforcing compartment bottom with 3/4 plywood, welding a brace under the compartment to beef up it's holding capacity, four purpose build plastic conduit items, air vent for second battery bank, screws, rivets, and making a holder for the second battery bank so that batteries will not shift about and two catastrophic 350 amp fuses. (Definitely a bargain price, for all that was done!) Grand Total $4142.00 (Canadian dollars) Satisfaction level PRICELESS
Hi all, By a happy accident I found out that I have 115 amp hour batteries--so my total capacity is 805 amp/hours (a bit over 10,000 watts) of which I can safely use 402.5! I'm off on my first major trip since adding the four batteries. I suspect I will not need to plug in anywhere!
QUOTE(pianotuna @ Sep 9 2009, 11:55 PM) [snapback]18827[/snapback] Hi all, By a happy accident I found out that I have 115 amp hour batteries--so my total capacity is 805 amp/hours (a bit over 10,000 watts) of which I can safely use 402.5! I'm off on my first major trip since adding the four batteries. I suspect I will not need to plug in anywhere! Not plugging in anywhere sounds awesome! Have fun and be safe on your major trip. Which part of the country are you headed?
Hi rangiebob, I'll be making a circle from Regina to Invermere BC, and back through Montana. The Canadian portion of the trip will be work and I will be boondocking the whole time.
Hi all, My first night boondocking with no shore power in the Kustom Koach. I left the fridge on 110 volt, but turned *off* the water heater. I left my laptop computer on. By 6 a.m. the batteries were at 12.1 volts--so I shut off the fridge. This fits with 400 watts per hour for 10 hours--or about 50% of the capacity of the battery bank. The Kustom Koach, with outdoor temperature at 6 C out doors appears to loose heat at about 1 degree per hour. Tonight, if I can get the batteries back up to full charge, I'll close the door to the bedroom, turn *off* the fridge and use my smallest heater. It is 7:45 a.m.--and the solar panels just kicked in! Only 0.1 amp, so far--but it boosted the battery voltage to 12.2
Hi Dave, It is a Dometic 3 way. I am deliberately running it on inverter power. Draw is 300 watts as measure by my kill-o-watt unit. QUOTE(Denali @ Sep 13 2009, 12:32 PM) [snapback]18883[/snapback] Don: What kind of fridge do you have? Is it a residential, or a 3-way RV unit? -- Dave Hi all, I'm a bit of a rolling stone. Today I drove for 4.5 hours. That was enough to keep the fridge running from the inverter, keep the electric hot water going, *and* fully recharge the batteries. I did some "load balancing" until the hot water heater caught up--and did not run the water heater for the first hour. Then when the fridge was cooled down nicely I switched it off and the water heater on. I chose to do that to lower the load on the alternator The solar panels high for the day was about 11.5 amps.
