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| [GMCnet] Solar [message #177568] |
Sun, 22 July 2012 16:58  |
Ray Erspamer
Messages: 1707
Registered: May 2007
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Karma: -3
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Just finished 2 grueling days of work installing our 100 watt solar panel, charge controller, 500 amp shunt and Tri-Metric 2025 Battery monitor. All interior lights converted to LED's. Heading out on Wed for 14 Days of camping in the boonies. Anxious to see how it all works! All wiring sized to add more solar panels. Not a bad job with the exception of routing the wiring from the roof to switches to charge controller, etc., but now it's DONE!
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Ray Erspamer
78 GMC Royale Center Kitchen
403, 3.70 Final Drive
Holley Sniper Quadrajet EFI System,
Holley Hyperspark Ignition System
414-484-9431
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177643 is a reply to message #177568] |
Mon, 23 July 2012 12:44  |
lqqkatjon
Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN
Karma: 5
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I have been pretty happy with my 85 watt panel I installed.
I do not plug my battery's into the converter/charger for the most part. my original fridge still kills my batteries. but that normally is run on 110.
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177645 is a reply to message #177643] |
Mon, 23 July 2012 13:05 |
Ray Erspamer
Messages: 1707
Registered: May 2007
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Karma: -3
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That's encouraging Jon !
When we dry camp the only things we use are:
1. Minimal lighting which is now LED.
2. Minimal water pump use.
3. My CPAP machine on 12v DC for the entire night.
4. The electronic controls for the gas refrigerator.
I'm hoping to get by with 1 - 100 Watt Panel, but I sized all wiring for more.
And I have room on the roof for more panels since my pod is gone and we only
have 1 A/C unit.
What do you use for batteries ?? I have 2 - 12v Deep Cycles at approx. 100
Ah each connected parallel.
Ray
Ray & Lisa
78 Royale "Great Lakes Eagle"
Center Kitchen TZE368V101144
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 53226
Email: 78GMC-Royale@att.net
414-745-3188
Web Site: http://ray-lisa.page.tl/
________________________________
From: Jon Roche <lqqkatjon@gmail.com>
To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
Sent: Mon, July 23, 2012 12:44:17 PM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Solar
I have been pretty happy with my 85 watt panel I installed.
I do not plug my battery's into the converter/charger for the most part. my
original fridge still kills my batteries. but that normally is run on 110.
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Ray Erspamer
78 GMC Royale Center Kitchen
403, 3.70 Final Drive
Holley Sniper Quadrajet EFI System,
Holley Hyperspark Ignition System
414-484-9431
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177838 is a reply to message #177645] |
Wed, 25 July 2012 16:50 |
Douglas Norton
Messages: 191
Registered: April 2008
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The average wisdom from my web sources suggests that two 6 volt golf cart batteries are far superior to the same capacity of 12 volt batteries. The reasons: the 6 volts are designed for a much deeper discharge so they will last longer than the 12 volt. Two twelve volt batteries in parallel must be near identical batteries; if they do not have the same fully charged voltage, they will cycle through discharging each other. I saw a 12 volt deep cycle AGM in parallel with a starting AGM battery that totally discharged each other with no load in less than two days. Measurements showed they had different voltages when fully charged. Two 6 volt batteries are not in parallel so they do not pull each other down. I do not recommend changing what you have. But when you are not using them and they are not on the solar charger, disconnect one of them or put a combiner between them. As long as they are being trickle charged (or more), you will have
little problem with one of them pulling the other one down.
Doug Norton
73 sequoia with a
________________________________
From: Ray Erspamer <78gmc-royale@att.net>
To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Solar
That's encouraging Jon !
When we dry camp the only things we use are:
1. Minimal lighting which is now LED.
2. Minimal water pump use.
3. My CPAP machine on 12v DC for the entire night.
4. The electronic controls for the gas refrigerator.
I'm hoping to get by with 1 - 100 Watt Panel, but I sized all wiring for more.
And I have room on the roof for more panels since my pod is gone and we only
have 1 A/C unit.
What do you use for batteries ?? I have 2 - 12v Deep Cycles at approx. 100
Ah each connected parallel.
Ray
Ray & Lisa
78 Royale "Great Lakes Eagle"
Center Kitchen TZE368V101144
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 53226
Email: 78GMC-Royale@att.net
414-745-3188
Web Site: http://ray-lisa.page.tl/
________________________________
From: Jon Roche <lqqkatjon@gmail.com>
To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
Sent: Mon, July 23, 2012 12:44:17 PM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Solar
I have been pretty happy with my 85 watt panel I installed.
I do not plug my battery's into the converter/charger for the most part. my
original fridge still kills my batteries. but that normally is run on 110.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177839 is a reply to message #177838] |
Wed, 25 July 2012 17:09 |
jayrabe
Messages: 509
Registered: June 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Karma: 0
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Another reason for going with the gold cart 6v batteries: the "same capacity" thing. For whatever reason, Trojan 6v's are 225 AHr, so in series you have 12v at 225AHr. Two 12v's @ ~100AHr is only 200AHr.
Jay Rabe 76 PB Portland, OR
> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:50:01 -0700
> From: nortocd@yahoo.com
> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Solar
>
> The average wisdom from my web sources suggests that two 6 volt golf cart batteries are far superior to the same capacity of 12 volt batteries. The reasons: the 6 volts are designed for a much deeper discharge so they will last longer than the 12 volt. Two twelve volt batteries in parallel must be near identical batteries; if they do not have the same fully charged voltage, they will cycle through discharging each other. I saw a 12 volt deep cycle AGM in parallel with a starting AGM battery that totally discharged each other with no load in less than two days. Measurements showed they had different voltages when fully charged. Two 6 volt batteries are not in parallel so they do not pull each other down. I do not recommend changing what you have. But when you are not using them and they are not on the solar charger, disconnect one of them or put a combiner between them. As long as they are being trickle charged (or more), you will have
> little problem with one of them pulling the other one down.
>
>
> Doug Norton
> 73 sequoia with a
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ray Erspamer <78gmc-royale@att.net>
> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 11:05 AM
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Solar
>
> That's encouraging Jon !
>
> When we dry camp the only things we use are:
>
> 1. Minimal lighting which is now LED.
> 2. Minimal water pump use.
> 3. My CPAP machine on 12v DC for the entire night.
> 4. The electronic controls for the gas refrigerator.
>
> I'm hoping to get by with 1 - 100 Watt Panel, but I sized all wiring for more.
> And I have room on the roof for more panels since my pod is gone and we only
> have 1 A/C unit.
>
> What do you use for batteries ?? I have 2 - 12v Deep Cycles at approx. 100
> Ah each connected parallel.
>
>
> Ray
>
>
> Ray & Lisa
> 78 Royale "Great Lakes Eagle"
> Center Kitchen TZE368V101144
> Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 53226
> Email: 78GMC-Royale@att.net
> 414-745-3188
> Web Site: http://ray-lisa.page.tl/
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Jon Roche <lqqkatjon@gmail.com>
> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
> Sent: Mon, July 23, 2012 12:44:17 PM
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Solar
>
>
>
> I have been pretty happy with my 85 watt panel I installed.
>
> I do not plug my battery's into the converter/charger for the most part. my
> original fridge still kills my batteries. but that normally is run on 110.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177894 is a reply to message #177568] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 08:59 |
lqqkatjon
Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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Ray,
I went to two of theses:
http://www.usbattery.com/usb_us2200xc.html
6 volt golf cart batteries. from what I have researched, these are much more capacity, and much more durable. you can tell they are twice as heavy as a 12 volt deep cycle. I have tried to use 2, 12 volt deep cycles out at our off-grid hunting land shed. they just do not seem to have the same capacity, or even close to what i am so far seeing with these two golf cart batteries.
I paid about $125 each. I accidentally bought 8 volt batteries from sams club. (no marking on their battery or shelf at all). and when i went to exchange, they only had one 6 volt on the shelf that day. so I went across town to a wholesale battery place, and bought the usbattery from them. this usbattery looks to be a little better then what might have been at sams club, + it has all the rating, specs on the battery and on the website. there was no real information that came with the sams club battery, and they were not even marked with voltage,or amp hour on the battery or shelf.
I also bought it from a battery company that only sells batteries. He said these were good, and they like this brand because they do not get any back on warantee. he said spend the extra money on trojan batteries only if you plan on using your camper full time, year round. He claimed the trojans will last longer, but this usbattery should last 5-7 years at least, for most people.
I have just the starter battery up front. and these two golf carts for the coach battery in rear.
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
[Updated on: Thu, 26 July 2012 09:01] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177897 is a reply to message #177894] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 09:29 |
tphipps
Messages: 3005
Registered: August 2004
Location: Spanish Fort, AL
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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Remember that a battery from any supplier is only as good as it's warranty. I had a deep cycle battery purchased from Batteries Plus. When battery failed, there was no dealer within any reasonable distance to return it for replacement. Battery failed in less than 12 months.
I now buy only from Wally world or SAMs. They are everywhere.
Tom Phipps,
MS II , with batteries from Wal-Mart.
2012 Phoenix Cruiser model 2552
KA4CSG
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177908 is a reply to message #177568] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 11:29 |
lqqkatjon
Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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I can agree with the warantee part. the place I bought mine from is only open mon-friday. if it does die, it will be a hassle. I have the bad luck that most times things always die right after the warantee is up anyway. so they do not really affect my buying decisions. I have a ford that has $1500 repair bill now at 39,000 miles. warantee was up at 36,000 miles. and it is not even a year old. just the way things seem to work.
the super walmart we have here does not have the golf cart battery. and I was pretty annoyed with the sams club battery. nowhere on it did it say the amp hour, or what volts it was. just that it was a type something golf cart battery.
I like knowing exactly what I have. I could not tell you if that sams club battery was a 225 amp hour, a 240 amp hour, and the only way I could tell it was a 6 volt vs. 8 volt, was by the number of water caps, and a 8 or 6 in the group number(learned that after).
maybe they labled their batteries before, or maybe in other states or places they have better documentation or specs, but in st. cloud, MN, there was no specs on the battery label, and in their book they had there, it had no specs other then "golf cart battery"
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177911 is a reply to message #177908] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 12:50 |
Craig Lechowicz
Messages: 541
Registered: October 2006
Location: Waterford, MI
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Jon,
On your Ford, it's worth talking with the dealership service manager and/or the 1-800 customer service number about the repair bill. They have some discretion if it's that close to being out of warranty. Depends on what broke and why, and the mood of the company among other things, but they might go 50/50 with you.
Craig Lechowicz
'77 Kingsley, Waterford, MI
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177923 is a reply to message #177894] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 13:41 |
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mike miller
Messages: 3576
Registered: February 2004
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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| Jon wrote on Thu, 26 July 2012 06:59 |
... I have tried to use 2, 12 volt deep cycles out at our off-grid hunting land shed. they just do not seem to have the same capacity, or even close to what i am so far seeing with these two golf cart batteries.
I paid about $125 each. ...
...
I also bought it from a battery company that only sells batteries. He said these were good, and they like this brand because they do not get any back on warantee. he said spend the extra money on trojan batteries only if you plan on using your camper full time, year round. He claimed the trojans will last longer, but this usbattery should last 5-7 years at least, for most people. ...
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I priced Trojan 105's (225ah, 62lbs each) locally at $150 (each) plus core charge. I found similar batteries at CostCo for $80. (Same physical size, 220ah, 63lbs each.) I have a pair of "lightly" used 6 year old Trojans that still work fine in my '73. While I would have liked new Trojan's for the '78, I couldn't justify the additional cost.
Mike Miller -- Hillsboro, OR -- on the Black list
(#2)`78 23' Birchaven Rear Bath -- (#3)`77 23' Birchaven Side Bath
More Sidekicks than GMC's and a late model Malibu called 'Boo'
http://m000035.blogspot.com
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #177926 is a reply to message #177911] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 13:48 |
lqqkatjon
Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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I am hosed on the ford, because of where it is. If I bring it to "my ford dealer", I am sure I would be covered. they would make it right. We win some and we loose some here. this is just one of those cases we are going to loose on.
but it is out in the middle of nowhere land(12-14 hours away), on a project, that for the price, it really makes no sense to bring it back in.
hard to even know that the parts they are claiming are bad, are really bad. I thought our warantee was to 40,000 miles. so I told the guy to bring it in before warantee goes out to have it gone through. they are saying some front end parts are bad, and shocks are shot. I know it has gone through some tires. so who really knows. It is one of the ford transit connects.
dealer is small, makes their money on service, not sales. pay the bill, get it fixed, and hope I do not have to buy any more front tires in the next year. get back to work and make some money back on the truck.
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #208688 is a reply to message #177568] |
Thu, 23 May 2013 22:05 |
mickeysss
Messages: 1476
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
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If your on line how did your system work out?
mickey anaheim ca. 77 palm beach
what is the biggest solar panel that fits the pod top with supporting design?
biggest in size, does anyone know the area of the pod top, the rectangular inches. etc.
what is the biggest watt size to get on the thing?
if anyone knows or has any ideas if there is a better idea sing a song on it. please. M.
On Jul 22, 2012, at 2:58 PM, Ray Erspamer wrote:
> Just finished 2 grueling days of work installing our 100 watt solar panel, charge controller, 500 amp shunt and Tri-Metric 2025 Battery monitor. All interior lights converted to LED's. Heading out on Wed for 14 Days of camping in the boonies. Anxious to see how it all works! All wiring sized to add more solar panels. Not a bad job with the exception of routing the wiring from the roof to switches to charge controller, etc., but now it's DONE!
> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
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| Re: [GMCnet] Solar [message #208692 is a reply to message #208688] |
Thu, 23 May 2013 22:28 |
Carl S.
Messages: 4186
Registered: January 2009
Location: Tucson, AZ.
Karma: 13
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Senior Member |
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| mickeysss wrote on Thu, 23 May 2013 20:05 |
If your on line how did your system work out?
mickey anaheim ca. 77 palm beach
what is the biggest solar panel that fits the pod top with supporting design?
biggest in size, does anyone know the area of the pod top, the rectangular inches. etc.
what is the biggest watt size to get on the thing?
if anyone knows or has any ideas if there is a better idea sing a song on it. please. M.
On Jul 22, 2012, at 2:58 PM, Ray Erspamer wrote:
> Just finished 2 grueling days of work installing our 100 watt solar panel, charge controller, 500 amp shunt and Tri-Metric 2025 Battery monitor. All interior lights converted to LED's. Heading out on Wed for 14 Days of camping in the boonies. Anxious to see how it all works! All wiring sized to add more solar panels. Not a bad job with the exception of routing the wiring from the roof to switches to charge controller, etc., but now it's DONE!
> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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Mickey,
I'm sure you've seen this before. Maybe it will answer some of your questions:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6227-solar-battery-charging.html
I think Ray has expanded his system well beyond mine.
Carl Stouffer
'75 ex Palm Beach
Tucson, AZ.
Chuck Aulgur Reaction Arm Disc Brakes, Quadrabags, 3.70 LSD final drive, Lenzi knuckles/hubs, Dodge Truck 16" X 8" front wheels, Rear American Eagles, Solar battery charging. GMCSJ and GMCMI member
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