Recommendations for stand alone inverter

[QZ]

My friend has a 40 amp Blue Sky system that I rewired and it's been working well for 5 years or so. The RV furnace will could pull about 5 amps so it's one of the larger draws. Do you have the Blue Sky remote panel for  monitoring?

 

[DearMissMermaid]

Staying warm...

A mattress warmer means you can sleep in 40F degree weather and be as toasty as a kitten cuddled up to mama cat. I have slept on one for 7 years. I turn my thermostat down to 50F at night.

My Sunbeam mattress warmer is only 180 watts.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FHW8P94/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=recreationalvehicles-20&linkId=dadfde5585e10a6e31fe9aeaf3cc42ca


But this Soft Heat one actually runs on DC, but it comes with a DC to AC converter. Seems to me you could change it to run directly off DC. It is less than 25 volts on 110. One of the wizards here will have to convert it to watts or amps  as I forget how at this early part of the morning.
https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Plush-Low-Voltage-Electric-Heated-Mattress/dp/B003ZSHDEK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1502976766&sr=1-6&keywords=mattress+warmer&th=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=recreationalvehicles-20&linkId=8a242505a7d16718b3ebe413140a4218

One other consideration. Just how cold will it be outside? Besides piling on warm cozy clothing, I have a few 200 watt personal heaters. I am amazed how much heat that throws out in my 28 foot Class C.

Often times it's just enough to kill the chill. The cool thing is you can move the little heater to where ever you want it, as a foot warmer or hand warmer if it's super cold. I keep one in my bathroom. Often times it's the only heat on in the rig. So the bathroom is super toasty warm, but I have a latch that allows me to prop the door open about 2 inches, and that lets the extra heat out to the common area.
200 Watt Lasko Personal heater
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?url=search-alias=garden&field-keywords=lasko+personal+heater&sprefix=lasko+personal+,garden,555&crid=13OZPIT0X7M6&linkCode=ll2&tag=recreationalvehicles-20&linkId=342e66fe3d5d16376771148d80d46d18

I applaud you going solar. I lived on a sailboat in the Caribbean for nearly 2 decades with only a modest solar system. I thought RV manufacturers would have come a long ways and included solar as  standard equipment by now. But RV's seem to be energy hogs rather than efficient, something really curious about the industry that I don't understand.

 

[QZ]

Mermaid
Are you talking about running these heaters on shore power or through an inverter?

200 watts @ 120 volts = 1.6 amps AC
Converting 120 v ac divide by 12 v dc = 10 factor

1.6 amps AC times 10 = 16 amps DC. Assuming a 100% on time for the bed warmer or electric heater If pulling 16 amps DC for 8 hours over night you would consume 128 Amp Hours which would just about deplete her 300 amp hour battery. About half of most batteries capacity can be used before voltage gets too low.

As I developed my RV energy management plan I also thought about RV being power hogs. They really aren't any more hungry than a house. The reason is that an amp is an amp and a watt is a watt.  The difference is that home electric is extremely cheap because it is mass produced and RV power is very expensive because it is micro produced. When we walk into a house and flip a light switch and the refrigerator is running and the air conditioning is on we may be pulling 10 amps AC. 10 A ac x 120 volts = 1200 watts.  1200 watts divided by 12 volts = 100 amps DC which is huge. 

An average RV just sitting there with the propane frig on, the tank monitor panel, co detector, radio idle power draw etc will pull about 1 to 1.5 amps depending on if the frig gas valve is energized or not. We'll just use 1 Amp. 1 x 24 hours is 24 Amp Hours.  If Debra has 1/2 of her 300 AH battery available to burn we would be able to run the rig for about 6 days before the battery would be about 50% depleted. If we then add in the  heat pad we would be at 152 AH pulled from the battery and able to run it overnight.

 

[Debra17]

Hey Everyone,  I've been off the grid for 3 weeks so just getting caught up on recent posts. I am loving the solar system!  So far have had plenty of power. I was boondocked up Granite Creek just south of Jackson Hole for a week and then was up in Yellowstone at Norris CG for another week. Both places were pretty chilly at night, lows in the 30s and 40s. I used a 15 degree sleeping bag at night. When I got up in the morning would run the furnace for about 15 mins to take the chill off. That worked fine as it warmed up during the day. My campsite at Norris was pretty shaded but batteries still charged to 100% each day.

Thanks for the positive feedback on the Blue Sky controller. I think it will be fine. I do have the remote monitor.

I plan to purchase a catalytic heater soon to be ready for winter. My small trailer doesn't have any space on the wall to mount it so will have to use it freestanding. Not crazy about that, would prefer to mount it. Freestanding means I have to find a place to store it when not in use.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear it is working out well for you.