New Guy! New to solar but not to most things mechanical!

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Lexicon7
Lexicon7 Solar Expert Posts: 50 ✭✭✭✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
Hi Guys, Well, I retired in Jan of this year and while things are going OK, I am still stuck in San Diego.
My plan was to head out to the desert and play in the river in January but snafu on the home sale so now I'm camping in my driveway. More on this later. Early on I picked up my 1995 Lance Squire 4000 Camper and I love it! I have a new Memory Foam matress and my truck is set up right and drives really great! I have solar but the previous TC owner installed it and it's a bit wonky. I have been researching solar for well over a year and can proudly announce that I am more puzzled than when I started.. well not really but it seems the more I read, the more conveluted the picture gets!!!

Switching gears, noting that we are headlong into summer, my thoughts have turned to AC and solar once again. I know I'll need a big-azz Gen for the AC but as it stands, I can't even run my Microwave or my Bipap Machine. It seems there is no Inverter on the system as yet!!! Not sure if I'll still want to stay at Blythe, Parker, Havasu or the like in this time of year but as it stands, I have a solar system comprised of a very small panel, an ASC Charge Regulator and one 12 V Batt. I noticed that there are 4 predrilled and adhesive filled panel footprint holes
where a "normal sized" panel once was mounted. I guess this is good news because I'm ready to start building or upgrading my solar system. Well, as you can see, I love to write... long winded or just another short chapter in my epic voyage?!

Let me close with one basic question for the quarum: If I add a panel to my system, I should combine both systems correct?
Also, can battery boxes be inside the camper? I think I know the answer to both of those quandaries but it's a place to start... PS... Don't know how to turn on the spell check here so since I am very syntax and spell conscous (& a really crappy speller!) please forgive any errors...
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  • AuricTech
    AuricTech Solar Expert Posts: 140 ✭✭
    #2
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    Re: New Guy! New to solar but not to most things mechanical!

    Well, if this ASC charge controller is the one in the system you inherited, I'd probably start over from scratch with a modern pulse-width modulated (PWM) or Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller.

    Also, as a general rule, using panels of significantly different size/power isn't a good idea, especially if one is "very small" (in this case, how small is "very small"?).

    ETA: And, of course, the first step in designing any photovoltaic (PV) system is to determine the loads you expect it to power.
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  • Lexicon7
    Lexicon7 Solar Expert Posts: 50 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: New Guy! New to solar but not to most things mechanical!

    Hey A/T, thanks for your response. I'll get some pics in a while and post them later today just for fun. It looks like a POS and you are of course, correct.
    I had thought about dumping it anyhow. It does keep the batt up but I agree and will build from scratch now.

    As for the "loads" factor: I have had some difficulty understanding how to actually transfer my "devices" individual load demand figure to a number. Is there some sort of guidebook or web page you could recommend showing the very basic "rookie" solar 101 facts?
    I'm really a hard core rookie here! From what I gather, you look at the device and then find the wattage. Then what?
    Here's what I want to run if I built my system today: I have sleep apnea so need to run my Bipap machine. Probably very low wattage.
    Lance Camper built-in Microwave only periodically of course. Basic lighting for one. After that, I may want to use the CD Player which is also built in and then I like doing off line computer work such as writing web code and text in Microsoft Word. Thanks...
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,457 admin
    #4
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    Re: New Guy! New to solar but not to most things mechanical!

    It really does come down to knowing your loads... Most people under estimate the power they use and over estimate the power that an off grid solar power system can generate.

    Cpap and similar machines can draw a surprising amount of power. A 120 VAC refrigerator is probably the number 1 of off grid power usage and a laptop+satellite modem/router can be #2.

    Microwave ovens are "hard" on inverters and batteries (take a lot of current for short periods of time)--But, over all, are not the "worst load" in the word (over 24 hour the refrigerator and laptop computer can take more).

    To give you some ideas of power usage, look at getting a Kill-a-Watt type meter and plug in each load you want to run from 120 VAC for at least 24 hours to get a kWatt*Hour usage per day (and copy down the average Watt load).

    If you have DC loads, you can use one of these DC Watt*Hour/Amp*Hour meters or even a battery monitor like the Tri-metric (if you already have a battery bank and DC loads running).

    Also, see how many solar panels (suggest in the 120 to 200+ watt range) you can fit on the top of your Camper.

    I would guess you would need to stuff as many panels on the top of your roof as you can.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • AuricTech
    AuricTech Solar Expert Posts: 140 ✭✭
    #5
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    Re: New Guy! New to solar but not to most things mechanical!

    The figure you're going to want is how many watt-hours you use per day. For instance, if your Bipap machine uses 60 watts, and you run it 8 hours a night, that would be 480 watt-hours. On a 12-volt PV system, that one load would require 40 amp-hours (480 watt-hours / 12 volts = 40 amp-hours) of battery capacity (leaving inefficiencies out for the moment). Rather than going by the rated wattage, it's a good idea to get a device such as the Kill-A-Watt meter to determine actual wattage used (ETA: Bill beat me to the Kill-A-Watt recommendation :blush: ).

    Do the same for everything you need to run, then add it all up to determine your daily load.

    ETA: Here's a link to a full-time RVer with a Lance camper. You'll find some info about his solar experience in the Notes section.
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  • Lexicon7
    Lexicon7 Solar Expert Posts: 50 ✭✭✭✭
    #6
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    Re: New Guy! New to solar but not to most things mechanical!

    That's a lot of good info: Thanks. That should keep me busy for a while.
    Here are some shots of my rig:Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.
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  • Lexicon7
    Lexicon7 Solar Expert Posts: 50 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
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    Re: New Guy! New to solar but not to most things mechanical!

    Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.Attachment not found.More shots:Attachment not found.
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