Gas generator?
- Thread starter chovy
- Start date
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steveblonde
Well-known member
Thats a loaded question. What are you trying to achieve? I have a built in genny -an onan 5500 that came with my unit. It powers everything. For ME solar is not a viable or cost effective source of power as ive already spent x on the gen set when i bought my 5er.
Utclmjmpr
Well-known member
Then why did you buy it with out a plan to use it.?? >>>Dan ( Buy the way,, you have way too much solar for the amount of battery capacity.)
That's why we bought 2 of the 2200 watt models and a parellel kit. We can run one just for charging or the toaster, link the two for running AC. Both are light enough to move as required, and that way, you always have a spare to help other RVers in trouble as we did last year on a site near Libby.
really ?
600/12x80%=40 Amps typical charge current on a good day.
typical charge current for FLA is approx. 13% of C20 so 500 Ah*13% = 65 A, for lead acid he is under panelled. he will at best make C12 charging and that's on the low side, much better to hit C10 or a little higher. for lithium, he's ok as there is no sulfation issue.
if we take a sun hour figure of 4 hours then the max reliable harvest would be 160 Amps
or 1920 W/hrs. if the daily use is say 1600 W/hrs then there is a small surplus.
you need that surplus to help recharge when there has been no usable sun for a few days.
his system is about right. ( and yes, I know the sun might shine for 8 hours, but it's rather undefinable early morning and evening due to atmospheric effects. hence the reason to use insolation figures )
with that much solar you probably only need a small 2000 watt gen.
or 3000 to power A/C
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Utclmjmpr
Well-known member
My point was that his power production exceeded his ability to store it.>>>Dan
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Kirk
Well-known member
Part of the question of the right generator is what size and also what brand? I'll let the solar experts argue over what size is best but the best choice of brand depends a great deal on how much you will use it and how critical it working when needed really is. In our case, we chose to go with a Honda because it was an emergency power supply for power failures as much as for our RV travels. There are many less expensive choices but we found a lightly used Honda for a price similar to some of the cheaper makes if new.
exactly, that's how it's supposed to be..!
under panelling is the route to sulfation and short lived batteries.
lithium is the (although somewhat expensive initially) savior, prices are dropping over time and
I'm quite sure that they will replace lead acid in the near future in RV applications. My wholesale supplier
recently sent me pricing on 12 V 200 Ah batteries that cost less than the battleborn 100 Ah..
competition is certainly on the increase.
UTTransplant
Well-known member
Dan, we have 900 watts of solar and only 600 amp hours of battery, but on short cloudy winter days I still had to sometimes run my generator. I deliberately erred on the side of too much solar than too little.
ok, then you either have insufficient battery capacity or your power consumption is much higher than you anticipated. for off grid applications one normally designs in a 5 day autonomy. two or three days of cloud will not cause you to go dark.
is the fridge a residential type or electric/gas ?
have you LED or the older incandescent bulbs in your light fixtures ?
do you have a battery monitor ?
if you say the batteries are depleted after such a short time, there has to be something drawing a lot of power..
Mark_K5LXP
Well-known member
A $20 battery monitor answers all of these questions.
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Lou Schneider
Site Team
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2005
- Posts
- 13,231
Now $25.99. Inflation, you know. Still pretty incredible considering monitors like this were selling for 10x that price a few years back and some still are.
AILI DC 5-40V 200A Voltage Current AH Meter Battery Charge Discharge Bidirectional & Shunt - - Amazon.com
AILI DC 5-40V 200A Voltage Current AH Meter Battery Charge Discharge Bidirectional & Shunt - - Amazon.com
Old_Crow
Well-known member
So, I've been looking at all these different battery monitors on Amazon. There's the Victron, for over $200, the Renology for around $75, and this thing for $25. Seems like they all claim to do the same thing.
I'm not adding a bunch of solar to my coach, just bigger batteries, but I think I'd like a monitor system, also. Any opinions on which monitor is the biggest bang for the buck?
Lou Schneider
Site Team
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2005
- Posts
- 13,231
Biggest bang for the buck? The AILI by far. The Renogy adds a visual representation of a battery "fuel tank" instead of just numbers on it's screen. The Victron has a second input that can be used to display the voltage or battery temperature and bluetooth that can link to an app on your cell phone with more bells and whistles. But all 3 meters basically work the same.
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Be aware you'll have to provide external physical support for the AILI's shunt. The others include a mounting bracket.
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Be aware you'll have to provide external physical support for the AILI's shunt. The others include a mounting bracket.
Old_Crow
Well-known member
Thanks Lou. I'm a "middle of the road" kind of guy, so I'll probably go with the Renogy.
First, it's a name I've heard of in previous discussions, second, I kind of like the "fuel tank" display, and third(thanks to you)is the shunt mounting issue.
First, it's a name I've heard of in previous discussions, second, I kind of like the "fuel tank" display, and third(thanks to you)is the shunt mounting issue.
