I need more power Scotty!

Rando,

Yes, the circuit breaker is closed. I am taking out the switch and we shall see what happens after I reconnect everything.


Vic,

I am using lifeline GPL-4CT AGM 6V Deep aCycle batteries. I did not get much info with the batteries but found an online manual with some info that all the tables and examples use 12 V batteries. There is a table in the Lifeline manual covering all their AGM batteries and the 6V values are exactly 1/2 the 12V values. I assume that two 6V batteries in series is basically a 12V battery so am using the info for that.

Regards,

craig
 
rando/Vic,

After first disconnecting the solar panels THEN disconnecting the batteries so as not to damage the Solar Charger I changed the positive lead from the BAT + terminal on the Solar charger so that it bypasses the battery selector switch and the 40 amp circuit breaker and connects directly to the positive terminal of my battery bank. Success!

Now the BVM-702 and the MPPT controller displays show the same voltage for the batteries. Even better I can see how many amps the solar panels are putting out and how many amps are going to the battery (minus the loads)

The bad news is that 200 W of solar is not sufficient to keep up with my Norcold 3 way refrigerator when running on 12 v while we are driving. I expected it to draw about 10 amps. It actually draws about 11.3 amps.

Now working on getting truck power to the camper . Later I will decide if I want to upgrade my solar panels to about 250 W - 300 W.

Designer/user note - assume that even in full sun the current output of the flat mounted solar panel bank will average about 80% of peak over the day (8 or 9 am to 6 or 7 pm in the summer - Winter will be less). Foggy days, cloudy days will be even less. Figure loads and recharging batteries accordingly.

Regards,

Craig
 
good stuff! 11.3 amps? wow

i am vary happy with how much charge current i get via my alternator big wires & ml-acr 7622 are the ticket
 
Great news Craig! Any idea if the issue was the circuit breaker or the switch?

I am also happy with the Blueseas SI-ACR. Not quite as nice as the Vic's ML-ACR, but a little smaller and cheaper. The other nice thing about having this is that when you are not using the camper the solar panels will keep both the camper and truck batteries fully charged.

As for the extra solar - you are never going to be able to keep up with an 11 amp load, so I would stick with what you have for now and only plan on running the fridge on 12v while driving using the alternator to make up the difference.
 
I am actually on the road and made the change in Big Sur so have not sorted out the switch and circuit breaker issue (I got your replies and suggestions just before we departed so had built in plans to make the change on the road).

We are presently in Ukiah on our way to Prairie Creek Redwoods and have access to internet this morning.

The truck to camper connection will be temporarily made using 8 ga wire (biggest I could find with butt required connectors on the road so far). That is my project for today/tomorrow.

The camper has a 3 pin Atwood connector and I have an Atwood three pin socket for the truck side. I am now looking for the wiring info for the camper on my computer (the darn Atwood socket has a pigtail with black yellow and light blue wires so I want to get the polarity of the socket and plug sorted out before wiring things up.(all Home Depot had in 8 gauge were Black, Red, White and Green wires).

No Si-ACR/ML-SCR at this time but will add later. Just need to get the refrigerator power while driving. ;-)

Thanks for all the help. You guys are great.

Regards,

Craig
 
10-11+ amps is what 3-ways draw on DC, but you only run them on DC when traveling, so its a moot issue if your truck's alternator and wiring is good.

cwd
 
cwdtmmrs said:
10-11+ amps is what 3-ways draw on DC, but you only run them on DC when traveling, so its a moot issue if your truck's alternator and wiring is good.

cwd
Click to expand...
For sure if Craig upgrades the wiring from the alternator on back, and gets some kind of ACR. But those are not cheap items. I think I spent over $300 just for the wire on my setup.
 
I always ran our 3-way on propane while traveling. Understanding how an adsorption cycle works I don't think I ever even tried to run it on 12 VDC. Just figured that amps draw was more than I was willing to deal with. I ran it on propane almost exclusively unless we were cooling it down pre-trip in which case I ran it on shore power. And I gotta say that this new to us 2 way cooled down in a fraction of the time that the old 3 way took.
 
We are in Medford, OR this evening after a trip up hwy 1 and we have internet access for the first time in days.

Truck to camper wiring is working. Turns out the truck already had a Sure Power 1202 battery separator wiring to the trailer plug. Unfortunately I only seem to be getting about 6 A through it not sure why yet.

Good enough for now but probably will go to 6 ga wire and an ML-ACR after we get back home in September. Solar and the Victron equipment has been working great!.

We tried running the Norcold fridge on propane while underway but the flame blew out at freeway speed and the fridge started warming so we use the 12v DC mode anytime we will be driving over about 30 MPH. Below 30 MPH the propane seems to stay lit.
 
Vic. I upgraded to #4 marine wire for $1.62 ft from Best Boat Wire. I left the original # 10 wire in place as well. Even had them do most of the crimps. Well under $75. I do not have a ACR or any way to even monitor my house battery. I am connected to my truck with just a 100 amp constant duty solenoid triggered by the accessory circuit on the ignition switch. My alternator puts out 60 amps @idle. I used to run my 3-way on propane while traveling, but it actually works better on DC. I like the KISS principle.

cwd
 
cwdtmmrs said:
Vic. I upgraded to #4 marine wire for $1.62 ft from Best Boat Wire. I left the original # 10 wire in place as well. Even had them do most of the crimps. Well under $75. I do not have a ACR or any way to even monitor my house battery. I am connected to my truck with just a 100 amp constant duty solenoid triggered by the accessory circuit on the ignition switch. My alternator puts out 60 amps @idle. I used to run my 3-way on propane while traveling, but it actually works better on DC. I like the KISS principle.

cwd
Click to expand...
That would work too. I'm using #2 wire, 30' x2 plus #4 wire for numerous smaller & shorter connections. Overkill, I know. My alternator also puts out a lot of juice at idle. I have seen 70+ Amps charging the batteries when they were at 80%. Nice to know that is well within the fuse (100A) and wire rating.

Plus it all well in conjunction with the PV array on the roof.

Monitoring tools are fun, illuminating and informative. I find it best not KISS unless you are making out :p . KISSing in the dark with expensive batteries is no fun.
 
Vic, I get what your are saying and some people live life by the info they can get on their smart phone. I am just addressing that a10-11 amp draw from a 3-way fridge on DC when traveling isn't/shouldn't be a concern.

cwd

BTW. My battery is a 9 year Optima yellow top that still load checked fine when I had the camper off in February. That is all the info I need.
 
cwdtmmrs said:
10-11+ amps is what 3-ways draw on DC, but you only run them on DC when traveling, so its a moot issue if your truck's alternator and wiring is good.

cwd
Click to expand...
I guess my point is that by the time your done adding thick wires, maybe a VSR, etc the cost is somewhat substantial and with that much solar already in place getting a two way compressor fridge replacement is a somewhat cost effective, simple solution in comparison. Plus you don't waste additional propane in the future.
 
cwdtmmrs said:
Vic, I get what your are saying and some people live life by the info they can get on their smart phone. I am just addressing that a10-11 amp draw from a 3-way fridge on DC when traveling isn't/shouldn't be a concern.

cwd

BTW. My battery is a 9 year Optima yellow top that still load checked fine when I had the camper off in February. That is all the info I need.
Click to expand...
"It works" is pretty good proof of the design. And 9 years from a battery is excellent performance indeed. Congrats on having your way work for you!

I'm hoping that this thread and discussions like it can inform others about what works and why. From the research I did before my build, and now after 30+ days of usage, I think I can conclude that I over built my camper. That's great, but also more expensive than necessary.

Conclusions:

1) If you drive your truck/camper every (other) day you might be able to get away with no solar at all. Your batteries may not get the tender love and care they need from a controller that delivers the ideal voltages and currents at the perfect time, so battery life may degrade, but with properly setup ACR/VSR that (dis)connects the camper and truck batteries, and a thick enough wire (2g in my case) the alternator should be able to keep your batteries charged (at least as far as the "Bulk" stage, or around 80%).

Adding something like a CTEK unit in the mix should improve your charging even more.

2) If you don't want to upgrade the skinny wires from your truck to the camper, you can get fully (and properly) charged with an adequate solar panel array and nothing else. The Victron or Trimetric units popular on this forum are very capable of being finely configured to meet the needs of your specific batteries, and should give them a great chance at a long life.
 
Vic Harder said:
Conclusions:

1) If you drive your truck/camper every (other) day you might be able to get away with no solar at all. Your batteries may not get the tender love and care they need from a controller that delivers the ideal voltages and currents at the perfect time, so battery life may degrade, but with properly setup ACR/VSR that (dis)connects the camper and truck batteries, and a thick enough wire (2g in my case) the alternator should be able to keep your batteries charged (at least as far as the "Bulk" stage, or around 80%).

Adding something like a CTEK unit in the mix should improve your charging even more.

2) If you don't want to upgrade the skinny wires from your truck to the camper, you can get fully (and properly) charged with an adequate solar panel array and nothing else. The Victron or Trimetric units popular on this forum are very capable of being finely configured to meet the needs of your specific batteries, and should give them a great chance at a long life.
Click to expand...
+1
 
Vic,Rando, ESUS, ntqsd,

At this juncture what would you do differently relative to Solar and truck to camper battery charging (for hose of us with house batteries).

Regards,

Craig


P.S. Still on the road - North of Bend heading for Idaho following a few days in Umatilla Natl Forest. Yeah we hope to see the eclipse. Even the no reservation first come first served campgrounds will be probably full by today after that - dispersed camping. ;-)
 
I wouldn't do much differently at all. The only thing I have changed since my initial install was to replace my 160W rigid panel with two 120W flexible panels, primarily to decrease the weight on the roof. The battery, charge controller, monitor, blue tooth dongle etc have all been working flawlessly. I did also build a 120W portable panel, but so far I have only used it once, so I am not sure ti is worth carrying.
 
Honestly, this being my second rig/setup, I knew exactly what I wanted and wouldn't change a thing. I'm in Vic's second group of people. I park and don't want to drive to recharge for days and days at a time when I'm at climbing areas. I want to just sit there, camp, climb, etc. For me, I want solar to do the entire job. I also didn't want it to weigh a ton as I'm in a mid sized truck at near its payload capacity, so flexible light weight panels and a LiFePO4 battery were the icing on the cake.

Have fun watching the eclipse Craig! I'm heading to Wyoming with my rig. I'm guessing it will be a madhouse everywhere. Glad I can camp anywhere I can park!

Cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads - WTW

O
MPPT controller at 13.64v - Blue Sea meter at 12.35v - Batteries not charging
Jon R
J
G
Need help planning for Solar and DC to DC
2 3
Glenn
G
O
Battery Voltage question
2
Outnabout
O
B
A little help
Vic Harder
Vic Harder
K
Batteries: Parallel vs Stand alone w/ transfer switch
Krist003
K

New posts - WTW

Back
Top Bottom