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This thread brings to mind the usefulness of solar panels for topping off your batteries. Using the above chart to set your AGS to start and stop your generator probably means you are cycling your batteries between <50% and maybe 75% SOC.
That is not good for your batteries unless you fully charge them every day. Lead acid batteries that stay partially charged for several days let lead sulphate settle out on the bottom of the battery. This makes it hard to resolubilize and get it back to normal when you finally try to recharge it full. This means you lose capacity.
Solar panels are one of the best ways to top off your batteries. They charge at a relatively low rate, all day and can top off your batteries which will put the sulphate back into solution before it forms a hard layer on the bottom
Say you have a 200 Ah battery bank which is typical. If you only charge to 75% with the generator/converter then you are always leaving 50 Ah uncharged. 200 watts of solar panels on a sunny day can recharge them fully. If you camp in somewhat shady conditions or in a more cloudy area you probably need more solar panels to do this.
David
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