I am starting to really dislike my camper solar

[Vic Harder]

Come on this person is not a Troll [why the label? What would be gained by whatever tolling is?]....looks like their first post...they were interested, open the thread and saw #254 posts which would overwhelm anyone...and this thread has wandered a tad..

And you did not answer that person's first question: "what went wrong".....replacing components is assumed to be a cure not a cause...without a defined problem the solution can't be defined...

I do not think Dawn ever lost all of her battery power and was without needed electricity to power essentials or start the Tacoma.

Adjudging when low battery reserves are too low depends on a ton of variables....just my take and I could be wrong

Phil

Sorry about the Troll comment. I edited it out.

What went wrong... I thought I specifically said two things? No monitoring, and a bad separator.

 

[Wallowa]

Sorry about the Troll comment. I edited it out.

What went wrong... I thought I specifically said two things? No monitoring, and a bad separator.

Vic...no sweat...I am uncertain what a Troll actual does on a forum anyway..however we did drive the "Troll Road" ['Trollstigen'] in Norway. [SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]

Dawn came back and described her original issue as:

"Original problem: power in not keeping up with power out in unusually fast timeframe. Would camp in full sun with other ppl with same set up, and I'd get scary low and they would be fine."

So it was 'scary low' and the only defective items were a the door seal of frig and separator...batteries were "fine"...lots of uncertainty and the new controller only allowed a more definitive analysis of how much was going in, how much and how much was left...controller did not "fix" either issue only allowed better power use and peace of mind..

Phil

Ps...Dawn heard you found and rescued a pup! Good on ya Lady!

 

[Vic Harder]

Vic...no sweat...I am uncertain what a Troll actual does on a forum anyway..however we did drive the "Troll Road" ['Trollstigen'] in Norway. [SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]

Dawn came back and described her original issue as:

"Original problem: power in not keeping up with power out in unusually fast timeframe. Would camp in full sun with other ppl with same set up, and I'd get scary low and they would be fine."

So it was 'scary low' and the only defective items were a the door seal of frig and separator...batteries were "fine"...lots of uncertainty and the new controller only allowed a more definitive analysis of how much was going in, how much and how much was left...controller did not "fix" either issue only allowed better power use and peace of mind..

Phil

Ps...Dawn heard you found and rescued a pup! Good on ya Lady!

Troll road... lol!

Just to clarify, yes... symptoms were scary low batteries, not keeping up.
Cause was likely the separator.
Fridge seal contributed to excessive draw
MONITOR helped find and isolate the issues (as did her EE buddy). As you say, it did not FIX the issue.
CONTROLLER has yet to be replaced and was not the issue.

 

[Wallowa]

Troll road... lol!

Just to clarify, yes... symptoms were scary low batteries, not keeping up.
Cause was likely the separator.
Fridge seal contributed to excessive draw
MONITOR helped find and isolate the issues (as did her EE buddy). As you say, it did not FIX the issue.
CONTROLLER has yet to be replaced and was not the issue.

Roger that...

Now Dawn...post a picture of your new pup! I think you spent too much time here at "Adele's Cat House and Rescue Mission"!

Phil

 

[hoyden]

Pics of pup in my Trip Report thread !

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/16758-no-destination-finding-home-tour/page-10#entry204898

and a sneak peek of her at PetCo today

 

[Mthomas]

Not trolling, not offended. I am a new Hawk owner, about three weeks now. Have read this forum extensively for prepurchase and post purchase info and ideas. You guys and gals are an encyclopedia of FWC and other truck campers.

This particular thread had grown so fast and wandered quite a bit in the process that I could not keep up. The whole solar, truck alternator thing is totally new to me. Seems much simpler on boats which is my background.

Thanks for the clarification and re- statement of problem(s) and solution(s).

WTW is a great community and resource.

 

[Vic Harder]

Not trolling, not offended. I am a new Hawk owner, about three weeks now. Have read this forum extensively for prepurchase and post purchase info and ideas. You guys and gals are an encyclopedia of FWC and other truck campers.

This particular thread had grown so fast and wandered quite a bit in the process that I could not keep up. The whole solar, truck alternator thing is totally new to me. Seems much simpler on boats which is my background.

Thanks for the clarification and re- statement of problem(s) and solution(s).

WTW is a great community and resource.

Mthomas,

Welcome to the insanity!

If you want more info on power, there are lots of good threads here. I am particularly fond of this one, because I started it!!

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/13230-i-need-more-power-scotty/

 

[Timothy McGowen]

It is factory installed 2-way Dometic fridge. If I do lower than 5, it gets above 45°F

I do want my camper batteries to charge while I'm driving, and I got a good one today from the local solar store.

Thats about right for that refer.

 

[Timothy McGowen]

Damn...nice information..thanks...you say that for the mix of watts/amps/volts you "need a device" before the equation Watts=Amps x Volts is accurate and that the equation is not immutable; not "a law of physics"....but a variable expression...wow...that blows right by me!

My question concerning FWC solar system was not addressing the adequacy of that system for any individual user but how efficient is the FWC solar system at capturing and storing energy...in short is the FWC solar a "good" system? Or does it need tweaking to meet what would be considered the nominal power use in a fully equipped camper given a power production and storage such as you delineate in your last paragraph?

Thanks for your expertise and patience....interesting topic; if only academic.

Phil

Keep in mind that the "FWC system" has changed several times over the years so without specifics it would be an apple vs oranges discussion. Case in point, batteries have changed (size, type, number), panels have changed (size, type), controllers (type). Even the separators and plugs have changed. The good news is the changes appear to be for the better. The bad news is keeping up with the latest and greatest ;0)

 

[hoyden]

Well, back to annoyed. Truck sat at friends house for two days, with some errand running, no shore power, not popped up, full sun. Didnt check solar #s.

Two days ago (Friday) parked around 1pm, full sun, 100% all happy. Woke up to 85%.

Yesterday full sun drove errands then a sold 1.5hrs+ highway. Parked around 1pm full sun til abt 5pm then overcast.
Now morning reading 83%

:-(

 

[CougarCouple]

Morning Hoyden
Well I can only imagine your a little frustrated. Take a breath, you have obviously covered a lot just haven’t necessarily touched your little problem. If I remember correctly you said this was from the get go. Have you looked at all the connectors? Are they crimped properly, maybe you have something that at first glance looks ok but maybe not.

Don’t let this get you down. Think out side the box.

Russ

 

[pvstoy]

Hoyden besides looking at the % scale start looking at how many AMPs have been taken out of the system. And during the day what AMPS are going back into the battery. This would be your gas gauge so to speak. Flip through the various screens and understand what each is showing you. The % screen is a user programmed and could be off based because of battery life condition and a couple input value settings associated with solar input. ( the instructions explain this).

Remember I also have a Dometic 130 liter refeg and for me it is not uncommon to run the setting around 5.5. I can be 100% at solar day end and be anywhere between 80 to 90 percent in the morning before the start of solar charging.

I also understand that when I bought this camper this year that the Dometic is a energy hog and took planning to help myself with energy needs to be taken care of. I have three 160 Watt flex panels (480 watt total) from Overland Solar on the roof and so far it has been keeping up fine with the system usage. I have not had to connect the truck alternator to assist in the charging needs.

I am looking forward to getting out this winter and see how it works with lower light angle, shorter solar light time and cloudy conditions. In May we were in Yellowstone and had rain and clouds and noticed it was still producing some charging value.

I guess what I'm getting at is look at your system and maybe consider more solar. But I might ask have you installed the new controller you have purchased yet? Do that first then see how things change or improve. And I'm down in the 80 percents in the morning also with my system.

 

[hoyden]

Everything is solid. Checked and double checked. I think maybe my fridge just sucks. A lot. A lot of energy.

Cayuse (fellow WtW and friend) has 200w panel (I have 160) and does fine. Maybe I need that extra 40w.

 

[hoyden]

I havent had an opportunity to install the new controller.

Anyone have knowledge or Harbor Freight solar panels quality? I've got a coupon ;-)

I wish they'd told me that the 160 and this fridge wouldn't be enough. I'd have bought another panel when i bought my camper. Ugh

 

[Wallowa]

I havent had an opportunity to install the new controller.

Anyone have knowledge or Harbor Freight solar panels quality? I've got a coupon ;-)

I wish they'd told me that the 160 and this fridge wouldn't be enough. I'd have bought another panel when i bought my camper. Ugh

Ok...Ok..deep breaths...cuddle up the pups...more deep breaths...sky is still blue...more lovin' up the pups...

Now think: "Hell, 83% ain't bad at all!"

It is all good...... don't let your knickers get in a twist !

Phil

 

[Happyjax]

Harbor Freight solar panels are very heavy and you can do better if you shop well. Renogy, AM Solar, and several others make great panels.

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Solar-Panel-Design/dp/B078J42WL7/ref=asc_df_B078J42WL7/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241946544904&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=204358292610528023&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1014895&hvtargid=pla-411634628107&psc=1

 

[Vic Harder]

I'm with the others... breathe deep, cuddle the pups, and 83% ain't bad! The question is, what was the battery at the evening before? If at close to 100%, then you just happen to use 15% of your battery overnight. As long as it recharges daily, be happy, because you could go 3 days like that.

 

[hoyden]

It was 85% the previous morning, I probably shoulda mentioned that. Seems it was getting lower each day.
I'm plugged into shore power tonight at a friends house....

 

[hoyden]

Harbor Freight solar panels are very heavy and you can do better if you shop well. Renogy, AM Solar, and several others make great panels.

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Solar-Panel-Design/dp/B078J42WL7/ref=asc_df_B078J42WL7/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241946544904&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=204358292610528023&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1014895&hvtargid=pla-411634628107&psc=1

I just gotta figure out where to have one sent....

 

[Vic Harder]

you did say it was at 85 the morning before, but what was it at in the evening ? the key question is, are you getting a full recharge ever day or every other day? what it reads in the morning doesn’t matter as long as it’s somewhere over 50%