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Old 05-08-2019, 12:53 AM   #41
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THOR #14340
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Denman View Post
24 Volt solar panels?
What do you have to do with the wiring; to make them work with your rig's 12 Volt system?
Hey Bob, sorry for the previously short answer to your question. I'm going nuts over here, running back and forth to the RV and trying to get ready for tomorrows exit. That's probably not a big deal for most people but I live on the top of the mountain and the RV is at the barn, 1/4 mile away.

I've been working like a dog getting this RV ready and I'm starting to wonder, WHEN does the fun begin???

Anyhow, here is what I understand the MPPT controller to do.

"MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) checks output of PV module, compares it to battery voltage then fixes what is the best power that PV module can produce to charge the battery and converts it to the best voltage to get maximum current into battery. It can also supply power to a DC load, which is connected directly to the battery."

So the 24 volt panel gathers up and much power as it can and feeds it to the controller, which decides the best way to pass it on to the batteries.

Hope this helps?

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Old 05-11-2019, 08:43 PM   #42
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Relax...

Squerly,
I boondock all the time with a residential fridge and four 6V batteries. The only way I found to relax is to not count amp hours and check gauges every few minutes. I have a built in Onan gas generator. I also have a Yamaha 2k portable bought for $1k. I bring plenty of gas and run the portable either all day or all night. My weakness when dry camping is the macerator toilet using so much water to flush. I can empty the potable water and fill the black in no time. If it’s yellow, let it mellow. Otherwise, use latrines for number ones whenever possible. Enjoy yourself and crack a beer!
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:04 PM   #43
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Originally Posted by AlmostRetired View Post
Squerly,
I boondock all the time with a residential fridge and four 6V batteries. The only way I found to relax is to not count amp hours and check gauges every few minutes. I have a built in Onan gas generator. I also have a Yamaha 2k portable bought for $1k. I bring plenty of gas and run the portable either all day or all night. My weakness when dry camping is the macerator toilet using so much water to flush. I can empty the potable water and fill the black in no time. If it’s yellow, let it mellow. Otherwise, use latrines for number ones whenever possible. Enjoy yourself and crack a beer!
Rick Hallinan
You bring up a great point for the newer folks with 1/2 baths and macerators in the full bath. Saves a bunch of water using the 1/2 bath as much as possible. We have found the same the Full bath Macerator will use at least three times as much water filling the black tank quickly
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:10 PM   #44
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I ran an energy monitor on our Whirlpool 3 door bottom freezer fridge and it averages out to 110 Ahr/24 hrs IF you turn the icemaker off. Icemaker and defroster suck up the juice bigtime. I am still searching for a method to turn off the defrost when we are boondocking.
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:15 PM   #45
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Originally Posted by Logcabiny View Post
I ran an energy monitor on our Whirlpool 3 door bottom freezer fridge and it averages out to 110 Ahr/24 hrs IF you turn the icemaker off. Icemaker and defroster suck up the juice bigtime. I am still searching for a method to turn off the defrost when we are boondocking.
I checked mine a couple years back and the numbers were very close to what you got. We have no issue running all night with fridge and heat, especially with the new batteries.
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Old 05-11-2019, 10:35 PM   #46
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On Wednesday, we took off on a 3-day shakedown run to Standing Indian Campground. We had a good time and leaned a bunch about the MH. Keep in mind, we’ve never had an RV of any kind, so the camping rules of engagement were new to us.

Some of the many lessons learned follow.

The Rain Rule.
Before going to bed, expect it to rain, even when you know it’s not going to rain. And then prep for it. Depending on the degree of non-compliance to the “it’s going to rain tonight” rule, you are guaranteed an equal degree of punishment.
  • Leaving your shoes, clothing or the last roll of paper towels outside, is going to bring some early morning showers. Not severe, just enough to irritate you and ruin your socks and paper towels.
  • Leaving the roof vent(s) open will bring twice the rain and you’re going to be swimming through the coach to let the dogs out in the morning.
  • Leave the camera, iPad or portable GPS out in the gazebo, or leave the basement door open (where the inverter lives) and you can expect a monsoon, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Noah boarded up the doors of his Chris Craft.
For the record, I violated all The Rain Rules, so you know the problems I encountered and who was diving home barefoot.

Conservation of power/water is essential!
I was shocked at how much water we used without even realizing it. We arrived at the campground with a full tank and by day two I realized we were going to run out if we didn’t make some immediate changes. A couple of key components to stretching the water supply were:
  • Avoid using the MH facilities and opt for the campground's facilities as much as possible.
  • Get the dogs water from a separate source, not out of the motorhome’s water tanks. Two GSD’s will drink a surprising amount of water!
  • Paper plates! I can’t say enough about these wonderful things. Use them and feed them to the campfire. Before leaving on the trip, we had actually stocked the coach with real plates and silverware. It seemed like the thing to do. But washing plates and accessories is wasteful and needs to be avoided.
Battery power is gold! Use it sparingly and life will be much kinder on you. I left home with the refrigerator running on the inverter, which worked great and was nice and quiet. We arrived at the camp grounds at 1:30 and between then and that evening I watched 30+ amps of reserve disappear each hour. Toss in another 50 amps for entertainment, some microwave hot chocolate and a little cabin lighting ambiance, and my bag of battery power was down to stems and seeds.

Switching the refrigerator over to gas was a huge Amp saver, and we continued to run it that way the rest of the trip. My camp neighbor, an ill-tempered, power weightlifting woman, who I’m sure has several homicides to her credit, glared at us the entire day as we had to run the generator for almost 7 hours to recharge our batteries. Personal safety alone dictated we curb our obsessive love for amps.

Soft Drink/Adult Drinks/Energy Drinks
Keep them in an ice chest, not the refrigerator. They just bog the refer down and keeping the door shut benefits overall performance. Drinks will stay cooler, there will be less stress on the refrigerator, and the melting ice makes good water for the K9’s.

So now we’re back. The MH is drying out and among other things, I’m in the market for a new camera. But we had fun and I’m a bunch smarter today than I was on Wednesday.

As my Red-Neck Neighbor says, It’ll be Much More Better Next Time…
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Old 05-11-2019, 10:43 PM   #47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Squerly View Post
Hey Bob, sorry for the previously short answer to your question. I'm going nuts over here, running back and forth to the RV and trying to get ready for tomorrows exit. That's probably not a big deal for most people but I live on the top of the mountain and the RV is at the barn, 1/4 mile away.

I've been working like a dog getting this RV ready and I'm starting to wonder, WHEN does the fun begin???

Anyhow, here is what I understand the MPPT controller to do.

"MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) checks output of PV module, compares it to battery voltage then fixes what is the best power that PV module can produce to charge the battery and converts it to the best voltage to get maximum current into battery. It can also supply power to a DC load, which is connected directly to the battery."

So the 24 volt panel gathers up and much power as it can and feeds it to the controller, which decides the best way to pass it on to the batteries.

Hope this helps?
Thanks, and that's WAYYY... cool!
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Old 05-11-2019, 11:08 PM   #48
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6 Volt Batteries

I changed some time ago to 6 volt. I exchanged the 2 - 12 volt for 2- 6 volt and I just don't remember what was good about. I think it like almost doubled my time running off the batteries, but I don't remember the specifics.

BTW, I have a chance to pick up 6 - 6 volt batteries (like what is in a golf cart) fairly cheap. Can i hook them in series and gain more running time??? i am not sure where I would put them in the coach tho.!!
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Old 05-11-2019, 11:47 PM   #49
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BTW, I have a chance to pick up 6 - 6 volt batteries (like what is in a golf cart) fairly cheap.
I would be a little suspicious of "used" batteries. It's been my experience that even well maintained batteries have an 8-year life span. Poorly maintained batteries will have much less.

Why are you getting them so "cheap"? How old are they and what was their previous use?
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Old 05-12-2019, 12:29 AM   #50
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Originally Posted by AlmostRetired View Post
Squerly,
I boondock all the time with a residential fridge and four 6V batteries. The only way I found to relax is to not count amp hours and check gauges every few minutes.

Enjoy yourself and crack a beer!
Rick Hallinan
Got it! Advice I will follow with a vengeance!
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Old 05-12-2019, 01:09 AM   #51
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agreed

sometimes stressing over the 'time' you have on your batteries makes the 'camping' into more of a job... I think you're learning, and starting to understand that's there is simply no 'rule' to how long anything will do anything - the fridge is not 'always' running, yet it runs more when it's hot outside, or you stuff it full of food for the trip, or when folks open it a lot during the day, etc., and yet you can actually turn it OFF during the overnight hours and may find that it not only saves you on battery amps, but also is still cold enough in the morning - after all, it's a super large cooler.

You may also have the option of putting your Inverter into 'search watts' mode, if available, where the inverter uses much less 'amps' in stealth mode, until the Fridge's compressor actually asks it to power back up.


I live not too far from you in Hayesville - but my only attempt into Standing Indian several years ago was the day they closed for the season. Sad, such a long drive for nothing - not even the sign at US64's entrance gave away that they were closed. Maybe one day...
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Old 05-12-2019, 01:23 AM   #52
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You may also have the option of putting your Inverter into 'search watts' mode, if available, where the inverter uses much less 'amps' in stealth mode, until the Fridge's compressor actually asks it to power back up.
Thanks for the input TF!

I worked with the "sniff mode" for a bit as well. Problem for me was the microwave needed a little more power to keep the display going. So the microwave didn't think it was on and asking it to cook something was problematic. Not a deal breaker, just an irritation.

This inverter asks for almost 5 AH to stay operational, 2.5 in sniff mode. I consider 5 AH (50 AH per 10 hr sleep night) to be a hog. But it-is-what-it-is I guess.

All in all, I think we made good progress this weekend.
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Old 05-12-2019, 12:21 PM   #53
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Boondocking electrical requirements.

If your boondocking, then you are old fashioned camping. Throw away the Microwave, TV, Radio, computer and only use the cell phone for emergencies. The refrigerator, hot water heater and stove, will run on propane and the lights and water pump runs on 12 volt. with a little conservation a good battery should run those for a week. Go outside sit around the campfire and enjoy the camping experience. If you need all that stuff, and have your generator, then don't worry about what you use and throw away the spread sheet.
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Old 05-12-2019, 01:07 PM   #54
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Did I miss something in a joke from the 1960's when the guy asked the Cadillac salesman "how many miles would the new Caddy get to a gallon" and was told "the Chevrolet place was down the street".
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Old 05-12-2019, 01:20 PM   #55
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...even the terms we use today are becoming clouded, as 'boondocking' may not mean what it 'used to', or 'camping', either. Some will say that you're not really 'camping' if you are in anything other than a tent.
Of course, many of those in tents are next to us in campgrounds, plugging in their coolers, radios, fans, tvs, device chargers, and all sorts of things that make us 'feel good' while camping.
Some will say that you're not really 'boondocking' if you are expecting to use your microwave, or satellite tv, etc... though most of us who 'boondock' are really just overnighting between destinations. Maybe we should just rename it 'parkinglotting' since it may be at W*mt, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

That's why the term 'RVing' encompasses so many different 'ways' of traveling, parking, staying, overnighting, and all the other types of using your time away from home. : )

(even some will disagree that the term 'RVing' includes all types of 'rvs', as in their mind it only applies to motorized RVs, and not trailers... oh, well.)


We all like to label things. And some like to 'pigeon hole' those who have been labeled.

Enjoy! : )
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Old 05-12-2019, 01:22 PM   #56
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Originally Posted by capeharj View Post
If your boondocking, then you are old fashioned camping. Throw away the Microwave, TV, Radio, computer and only use the cell phone for emergencies. The refrigerator, hot water heater and stove, will run on propane and the lights and water pump runs on 12 volt. with a little conservation a good battery should run those for a week. Go outside sit around the campfire and enjoy the camping experience. If you need all that stuff, and have your generator, then don't worry about what you use and throw away the spread sheet.
Great advice, boondocking is just what it is,
not 1960's 'Cadillacing' , more 'Chevroleting'
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Old 05-12-2019, 01:23 PM   #57
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Originally Posted by Gary M. View Post
...BTW, I have a chance to pick up 6 - 6 volt batteries (like what is in a golf cart) fairly cheap. Can i hook them in series and gain more running time??? i am not sure where I would put them in the coach tho.!!
Here's a diagram that I found, and I think it might be addressing your question:
Without knowing anything about those batteries: I'd be suspicious...
But if the price is good enough for some experimentation:

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1557667312
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Old 05-12-2019, 02:14 PM   #58
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Originally Posted by capeharj View Post
If your boondocking, then you are old fashioned camping. Throw away the Microwave, TV, Radio, computer and only use the cell phone for emergencies. The refrigerator, hot water heater and stove, will run on propane and the lights and water pump runs on 12 volt. with a little conservation a good battery should run those for a week. Go outside sit around the campfire and enjoy the camping experience. If you need all that stuff, and have your generator, then don't worry about what you use and throw away the spread sheet.
How I view camping, or boondocking, has greatly changed over the years and I'm sure that definition will continue to evolve as I get older. In my younger years a sleeping bag and AM radio was high-dollar stuff. Today, at 66 (and counting) it means a motor home.

I have an ulterior motive here as well. A motor home means my wife will go with me to Moab Utah next year, whereas she would not go if I told her we were camping in the wild.

And hotels are out as we have 2 rather large German Shepherds, and there is no way she would leave them at a kennel.

Young men camp in the wild, wise old men buy a motor home.
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Old 05-12-2019, 02:46 PM   #59
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Boondocking

Or we buy a nice fully loaded travel trailer.
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Old 05-12-2019, 03:19 PM   #60
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Or we buy a nice fully loaded travel trailer.
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