[tcb] Re: Question About Dual Battery Set-Up And Solar Panels
- From: "chuck" <sukchew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:12:15 -0600
Well,
I guess if you got really desperate you could buy a small portable
generator.I think you can have all the electrical you can use for less that the
price of batteries and the inverter and they won't take up more space than
thefour batteries.You just need to get a long extension cord and consider the
low engine sound as Denis white noise.
oleblue
----- Original Message -----
From: kelly dosch
To: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2011 5:33 AM
Subject: [tcb] Re: Question About Dual Battery Set-Up And Solar Panels
Nope. Sorry. It's 97* in the shade. All your ice has melted by day
two. The sandwiches you double-bagged in Ziplock Freezer bags still got soaking
wet somehow. The nearest store is 6 miles away, but it's Sunday. Are they open?
You don't know. Besides, you've already had four beers so you're not going
anywhere anyway. So you finish out the night on warm beer and soggy sandwiches
that are surprisingly more disgusting than you expected.
Not that I've been there or anything.
--- On Sat, 1/22/11, whocanduncan1@xxxxxxxxx <whocanduncan1@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
From: whocanduncan1@xxxxxxxxx <whocanduncan1@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [tcb] Re: Question About Dual Battery Set-Up And Solar Panels
To: "TCB" <tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011, 6:17 AM
One cooler = $30
Two bags of ice = $3
Cold beer = Priceless
Sent from my BlackBerry®
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: kelly dosch <kellydosch@xxxxxxxxx>
Sender: tcb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 03:08:43 -0800 (PST)
To: <tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
ReplyTo: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tcb] Re: Question About Dual Battery Set-Up And Solar Panels
And the winner of the Most Helpful and Informative Answer
goes to Mr. Schwarze.
Your answer brings up a couple more questions though-
Where did you fit two more batteries? Is there enough room in
the engine compartment?
And just to be sure I have this right- Two golf cart
batteries @ about $150 can keep you in lights and cold beer on a primitive site
for two days? That would be fantastic!
And you say if I spend another $300 on solar panels and
accouterments and park in the broiling sun I might get almost another day?
If that is the case I think I'll pass on the solar panels.
Maybe just a solar trickle charger for emergencies.
Thanks again for a great answer. As soon as I get my side
tent I'm going right to Costco for two golf cart batteries. You rock. )<
(- (_ (_`(
--- On Sat, 1/22/11, David Schwarze <dschwarze@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
From: David Schwarze <dschwarze@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [tcb] Re: Question About Dual Battery Set-Up And
Solar Panels
To: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011, 12:19 AM
I have a pair of 1,050 amp-hour batteries in my garage... do
I win?
They weigh almost as much as my bus though. :-)
Back to the original question. My recommendation for a deep
cycle RV battery is a pair of 6V golf cart batteries. They will cost $150
(Sams club or Costco) and give you 220 amp-hours worth of 12V power.
Relatively compact and light weight compared to AGM batteries and will last
8-10 years if taken care of and when they die they will still be worth $30 at
the recycler. If you only want a single battery then I'd go to West Marine and
buy the group 27 or 28 RV/Marine battery (usually 95 amp-hours) for about $75.
Make sure it doesn't say "starting" anywhere in the description (there are
starting batteries, starting-slash-deep-cycle batteries, and just-deep-cycle
batteries - you want the latter).
Solar panels, I love 'em (have two on top of my bus and a
third waiting for the giveashit factor to increase) but they are not simple or
cheap and only truly useful if you go whole-hog. With the aforementioned pair
of golf cart batteries and my older Norcold fridge (which drew 6.5 amps) I
could camp for a weekend with cold beer and lights without plugging in. Adding
75 watts of solar panels and parking in the sun gave me *maybe* another day.
Now that I have a more efficient fridge (3.5 amp Norcold) and 110 watts of
panels, I might get a week without driving in ideal conditions. Useful if I
lived in my bus, otherwise it's just an expensive novelty.
-David
On 1/21/2011 3:28 PM, Justin Wilt wrote:
I have 4, 120 amp hour batteries in my shed and 120W solar
power charging them. From there you can run an inverter that bumps the voltage
from 12, 24 or 48 volts to 120volts AC current. I have lights and a small
refrigerator full of beer running completely off the sun. I plan on
transferring this setup into my camper when it comes out of the body shop.
There are amp hour and inverter calculators online that tell you how long you
can run a device. No RV service connection needed!
Justin
On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 3:18 PM, kelly dosch
<kellydosch@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello. I need to get a deep cycle RV battery for
my Westfalia Campmobile. I'm seeing about a gazillion types with vastly varying
prices. ($120-$600!) Is it really all that complicated or can I just get the
cheap Sears Marine/RV battery? ($120)
Also, I have noticed a lot of Westies with solar
panels. Why? If they have a campsite with electrical hook-up the battery can
charge itself. If not, the alternator will charge it during a short drive. I
don't get it. Why would anybody want to drop $400 for a solar panel? (Tell me
it isn't just to be "green".)
Thanks for your time,... )< (- (_ (_ `(
--
Justin Wilt
Technician
Post Oak Motorcars
Rolls Royce Motorcars Houston
Bentley Houston
1530 West Loop South
Houston TX 77095 USA
+1-713-850-1530
+1-713-539-4419
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