| Re: [GMCnet] Bought-Solar Panels [message #154161] |
Fri, 23 December 2011 10:42 |
Dan Winchester
Messages: 61
Registered: August 2006
Karma: 0
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You have it exactly right.
Also battery manufacturers recommend that batteries be brought back to full charge every so often, hard to do with generator.
I think solar is best option but I got by with just generator for 30 years. Remember that if you drive several hundred miles your engine alternator probably tops off batteries.
Dan Winchester
www.dwinchester.com
----- Reply message -----
From: "Larry Davick" <ljdavick@comcast.net>
Date: Fri, Dec 23, 2011 8:20 am
Subject: [GMCnet] Bought-Solar Panels
To: <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Dan,
Your post suggests that an important component for a full battery charge is time. This makes me think that solar is very well suited to keeping the batteries up, as they produce energy for many hours each day. Otherwise in order to top up the batteries properly you would need to plug the coach into grid power, run the generator, have wind or squirrel-cage power running for a few hours each day. Wind and squirrels are not to be relied on, the Onan is stinky, noisy, and expensive, and if you've got the grid, well then, you are not boondocking.
The length of time it takes to fully top up the batteries is not something I had considered.
Larry Davick
The Mystery Machine
On Dec 21, 2011, at 6:32 PM, Dan Winchester wrote:
> Each of the 6 volt batteries is 220 amp-hours, when connected in series you get 220 amp-hours. The effective amp-hours is from the fact you should not discharge standard lead acid batteries more then 50% leaving only 110 amp-hours for your use. If you are using generator to charge batteries you can only get back to about 80% charge with reasonable generator run times leaving you with only 66 effective amp-hours.
>
> Of course these effective amp-hours can be extended if you run generator longer or are willing to sacrifice battery life with deeper discharges.
>
> Dan Winchester
> www.dwinchester.com
>
> Dan Winchester
> www.dwinchester.com
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