Solar...

[eyemgh]

I bought a 2018 Raven shell and have been slowly buying things like chairs and tackling issues like water and toilet stuff to my satisfaction.

It came solar ready without panels and with a single battery. I considered searching archives, but that space changes so quickly, it isn't like looking for a cooler or a toilet.

We won't be gone for weeks at a time out in the middle of nowhere, so I wouldn't need to overbuild a system (which is my tendency). We just don't want to run out of juice if we spend a long weekend in a single location.

To that end, what would you recommend I add and which specific products do you prefer and why?

Thanks!!!

 

[Vic Harder]

Lots of current builds on this site, and regardless of tech, the principles remain the same.

1) Monitoring with a good shunt based system is essential to know what is going on and what needs to be changed
2) Maximum length of time you will be out without charging possible... sounds like 3 days in your case?
3) Total load you are putting on the system (#1 helps with this!)
4) Battery AH capacity you have available
5) Budget
6) Your tech ability ... is this DIY or are you taking it to a shop?

Vic

 

[Beach]

What are you planning to run off the solar? I get by with 60 watts but run my fridge on propane. We run the fridge fan, LED lights, cpap, and charge cell phones off the house battery, plus we're on the road every few days so the truck provides charging as well. My system was already installed when I bought the camper but if I was doing myself I would put at least a 120 watt system in place and will probably expand someday for quicker charge times or less than optimal sun conditions. Vic is on target with his advise.

 

[eyemgh]

As it sits, it has very few sources for draw, essentially lights, fan,and phone/pad charging. I'd like to add external lights though. For now, three days without driving is the most I can foresee. My biggest issue as it stands is that I'm handy enough, but my electrical knowledge is very limited. I really need a good primer because I don't know what this: "a good shunt based system" even is. As you know, it isn't rocket science. But so many things have an assumed knowledge base. I need a foundation.

 

[oldhotrod]

I am in a similar deal. Low draw, a few lights, 12 cooler and phone, camera battery recharge. I went with a 160wt overland solar flex panel, a 75/15 victron controller and 50ahr battle born lipo battery. I wanted a light, efficient, expandable system and while expensive, i saved by installing myself with zero experience. Solar is low voltage so pretty hard to damage anything if you do anything wrong. .

 

[CoreyTrevor]

Lots of current builds on this site

Is this one of those pun things?

 

[Vic Harder]

Is this one of those pun things?

Could bee

 

[Vic Harder]

As it sits, it has very few sources for draw, essentially lights, fan,and phone/pad charging. I'd like to add external lights though. For now, three days without driving is the most I can foresee. My biggest issue as it stands is that I'm handy enough, but my electrical knowledge is very limited. I really need a good primer because I don't know what this: "a good shunt based system" even is. As you know, it isn't rocket science. But so many things have an assumed knowledge base. I need a foundation.

Understood. Are you prepared to read? We have a whole forum dedicated to all things sparky https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/forum/36-electrical-charging-solar-batteries-and-generators/

Oldhotrod laid out a pretty basic/good system. What he didn't talk about is that shunt-thingy you asked about too. A shunt is an electrical dodad that goes in the ground wire of the system. It allows a meter to measure every drop of electricity that goes into and out of your battery. Without it, you are just guessing as to what state your battery is in.

Voltmeters CAN work, but not under conditions most of us use our campers in. They are only usable if the battery is disconnected from any load/charge for a few hours, so you can measure the "settled" state of the battery.

Victron gear is what I use, and several others here are really liking it too. The Victron BMV-712 is the bluetooth enabled version... very nice piece of kit.

Keep asking questions....

 

[dlmlynch]

Understood. Are you prepared to read? We have a whole forum dedicated to all things sparky https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/forum/36-electrical-charging-solar-batteries-and-generators/

Oldhotrod laid out a pretty basic/good system. What he didn't talk about is that shunt-thingy you asked about too. A shunt is an electrical dodad that goes in the ground wire of the system. It allows a meter to measure every drop of electricity that goes into and out of your battery. Without it, you are just guessing as to what state your battery is in.

Voltmeters CAN work, but not under conditions most of us use our campers in. They are only usable if the battery is disconnected from any load/charge for a few hours, so you can measure the "settled" state of the battery.

Victron gear is what I use, and several others here are really liking it too. The Victron BMV-712 is the bluetooth enabled version... very nice piece of kit.

Keep asking questions....

Vic, If I were using a Victron MPPT 100 20 smart solar charge controller would I still need the BMV-712? Since the MPPT is bluetooth you can just use your phone with the app for battery monitoring. Hope I'm not stealing the thread just wanting clarification.

 

[Vic Harder]

Vic, If I were using a Victron MPPT 100 20 smart solar charge controller would I still need the BMV-712? Since the MPPT is bluetooth you can just use your phone with the app for battery monitoring. Hope I'm not stealing the thread just wanting clarification.

not stealing, and a very good question. The two devices do very different things. The Victron charge controller will inform you what charge state it is in... bulk, absorption, float, etc. It cannot really tell you what % SOC the battery is in. So, for example, after using the battery for a few days in the shade, the sun comes out. The charger says "BULK" and is feeding good amps to your battery. What SOC is the battery at? If only 30%, you may want to know that so you don't put a big load on it until it is up to say 80%, which might still be in bulk mode.

I hope others might be able add more info here...

 

[PaulT]

Another way to look at is this. You are pulling into a camping area. Do you park in bright sunlight to fill your batteries or in partial shade because you would like to be cooler for the next few hours. In bright sunlight, your MPPT charge controller shows you are putting 15 amps into the batteries. In the partial shade location, you are putting in only 2 amps.

Now if you know that the battery has enough charge to keep your fridge running overnight & well into the morning, you can take the cooler spot. Conversely, if your battery has only enough to last until 02:00 AM, you would select the sunny spot to put more energy into the battery and get a better night's sleep because you know your food will be safe.

The MPPT charge controller tells you how fast you are storing energy or taking energy out of the battery. The BMV is the device that tells you how full your electrical tank is so that you can make a better decision.

Paul

 

[Beach]

Paul's post brings up a good point in that you must have a large enough battery bank to supply your needs during times of low or no output from your panel. I get by with a 55 ah single battery, most folks here with a fridge and other accessories running on 12v will be at a minimum 150 ah capacity and on up past 200+ ah. Very important to get a idea of your ah requirement.

 

[smlobx]

This is a topic that I am woefully under schooled...and one of the reasons this website is so helpful.

Having said that, on our recent trip to Alaska we had several days while we crossed Canada that were cloudy and even though our truck was charging our 100 AH BattleBorn battery during the day we found that with having both a built in fridge and a 40 L 12V freezer we were struggling to keep up....We will be adding another 100 AH battery to hopefully extend our range.

One thing that did work well for us was the addition of a 100 watt portable solar panel from Overland Solar. When the sun was low, typically in the afternoon, we were able to place the panel on the side of the vehicle and at the right angle to maximize its capability. Highly reccomend..

https://overlandsolar.com/collections/overland-vehicle-travel/products/bugout-130-solar-charger

I see they have upgraded their panel to 130 watts..

 

[CougarCouple]

Hello Eyemgh

What is the amp hour rating of the battery you have? Vic’s comment about identification of power usage is important in building a system.
Lots of reading will help understanding what you want to do and how to accomplish it. I’m no expert and we’ve been lucky with our system that ATC built for us. I do feel confident I could put together a solar system now, but that comes from understanding the components and how they work.
Really cool how much knowledge the members on this site have.

Russ



https://www.renogy.com/calculators

 

[Stokeme]

A view from an initial electric newb to now beginner. Itemize your individual Ah drains/day, calculate your total drain/day, ie your Ah’s/day average need. Your chemistry will decide the actual usable Ah from your battery & how best to maintain optimum battery longevity. Other than LiFePo4, the deeper the habitual draw, the shorter your overall battery life. See below:

Shallow Depth of Discharges (DOD) will result in a longer battery life. <50% DOD is recommended
75-80% DOD is the maximum safe discharge for flooded and AGM batteries
Do not discharge flooded batteries >80%. This will damage (or kill) the battery. Recommend operating DOD for flooded batteries is 50% to 75% of capacity

Highly recommend Victron controller, IMO go “Smart“ no matter what controller size chosen. If your usage is really low, particularly if low across the board, you can maybe live w/o a battery monitor. You can roughly get an idea of your battery capacity by looking at the total V of your battery with the Smart controller. V indicates charge. A monitor is definitely best for detailed usage info. Here is a monitor I got my son a few months back, so far so good, @$41. As always, buyer beware.
https://www.amazon.com/AiLi-Battery-Monitor-Voltmeter-Motorhome/dp/B07CTKYFTG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Here is a review by Will Prowse on YouTube, which inadvertently sprang up on my tablet after a topical conversation.
https://youtu.be/E6O76Okmt08

 

[eyemgh]

When I said I just bought a Raven, I meant that in a very literal sense. We sealed the deal last week and the shipper picked it up today. The few things that I've been accumulating are sitting in the living room.

It was built in 2018 and configured with the standard single battery that FWC supplied at the time. I'll know more specifics in a few days. I probably should have known that, but regardless, it wouldn't have changed my overall impression of the truck and camper. All I know is that it is prewired for solar with a port on top and on the back, the truck alternator charges both the truck and camper batteries, and there's a separator that keeps the camper from drawing from the truck battery. Will know more soon!

Thanks!