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Topic Closedsolar battery maintainer/trickle charger? - Event Date: 29 Apr 2019 - 29 Apr 2020
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stevo220 View Drop Down
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Posts: 12 		Direct Link To This Post Calendar Event: solar battery maintainer/trickle charger?
    Posted: 29 Apr 2019 at 11:50am
Hi,
I have 2 6 volt batteries in series to create a 12 volt battery.  When I am home from camping I want to keep my charged batteries at capacity.  Is anybody using solar battery maintainers or trickle chargers?  My pod is kept away from an electrical outlet, and I don't want to lug the batteries from the pod, so a solar charger would be best.  
Any recommendations?  Brand?  output size?  I am assuming a can just keep a solar charger connected 24-7 until I am ready to take it out again.

Thanks in advance...

Steve
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Posts: 966 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Apr 2019 at 1:57pm
If you have (or install) a battery disconnect switch, or are willing to disconnect the battery cables, you can get by with a very small solar 'maintainer'. A 10 watt panel would probably do it. 

If your batteries are powering the internal loads (propane detector, radio standby, usb ports, etc) during storage you will need a larger solar panel (20-50 watts) and a charge controller. 

During storage, especially in the summer heat, the fluid level in the batteries needs to be checked at least once a month. Most flooded batteries will need topping-up with distilled water now and then when they are on a maintainer.
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stevo220 View Drop Down
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Posts: 12 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Apr 2019 at 2:34pm
 Yes I have a battery disconnect switch so I will look for the smaller watt panel.  Thanks for the info.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Apr 2019 at 4:47pm
I agree with about 5 watts per 100AH of battery capacity. Self discharge on a lead acid battery is about 15% per month or about 1AH per day for 200Ah. A 10 watt module will produce about 2AH per day, which will replace the self discharge losses plus a little bit to keep the battery electrolyte mixing. 

That being said, in addition to watering monthly its good to hit the battery with an equalizing charge at about that same interval to avoid electrolyte stratification and plate sulfation. A day or so on the charger would do it. If you can't do that then you might be better off with a larger solar module and a multi stage charge controller. 
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jato View Drop Down
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Posts: 3324 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Apr 2019 at 9:36pm
Stevo, I am not on solar (yet) but for the past 8 years I have used this approach on our now 8+ year old 12v Interstate group size 24 deep cycle batteries.  In fall (November) remove both batteries out of my 177 and set them on the concrete floor in our unheated garage (northern Michigan).  Put each on a 2 amp trickle charge for 24 - 36 hours, or less if full charge is reached.  Batteries then hibernate until the following April when I repeat the same process then re-install in our 177.  I do keep an eye on the electrolyte level and disconnect ground if pod is going to sit for more than a few days at home.
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walygator View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2019 at 8:46am

Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Extremely Flexible. How many of these 100 watt panels would I need to power my Pod?
Don L Welch
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2702 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2019 at 9:36am
Originally posted by walygator

 Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Extremely Flexible. How many of these 100 watt panels would I need to power my Pod? 
With the caveat that you can not actually "run" your R-pod on an intermittent power source like solar, some would argue that 100 watts is all you might need. Remember, solar like this is meant more for recharging your 12V battery(ies) when the sun is shining. Then you would run the things you need to run off the batteries when the sun is not shining. This will not get you your air conditioning or microwave or any heavy duty appliances, but will allow you to run the furnace for an hour or two and some lights.

Poke around on this site some looking for solar. There have been many, many discussions about how much solar is required, depending on what you actually need.
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6417 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2019 at 9:43am
Originally posted by walygator

Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Extremely Flexible. How many of these 100 watt panels would I need to power my Pod?

First question: What do you mean by "power my pod?" Do you mean keeping the batteries charged while unattended? Do you mean having enough power to run some small AC appliances through an inverter? Do you mean run everything to include the AC?

The panels you mention would be adequate for the first and occasional use of the second but it would take a lot more battery power and panel capability to accomplish the 3rd. There is a video blog "Gone with the Wynns" that shows them running their motor home on solar. You would be spending tens of thousands of dollars for the equipment to do so unless you can get sponsorship of solar and battery makers like they did.
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2595 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2019 at 9:56am
Everyone's power requirements are different.  The location where you use your Pod and the available sunlight are different.  If you want to power your Pod with solar, you'll need to first determine what your power needs are, determine whether solar is practical where you will be using it (e.g. how much sunlight is available, then check your wallet to see if buying a solar system that meets your needs is practical.

For us, because of our limited power needs and the fact that we tend to camp where there is a lot of sunlight available, a 100W panel meets our needs almost all the time.  But for others, it would be grossly inadequate.
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2019 at 10:44am
Walygator, as everyone is saying, there is not one answer to your question. Everyone uses energy differently. What you should do is estimate your daily battery amp hour consumption. To do that you need to know the current draw of each item and how many hours each day you plan to use it.  Multiply each load current by the hours of use and add them all up.  

As an example, my summer usage estimate is below. It's about 77 AH, of which about half is running the fantastic fan and a smaller 8 inch fan (its hot here in NC in the summer). Once you have your daily AH, multiply that by 3.5 to determine about how many watts of solar you'll need. In my case its about 270 watts because I'm running those fans 24/7. If I wasn't running those, 100 watts would be plenty. 

This is for camping on solar for a long period. Depending on your usage, if you only camp for a few days without hookups, your battery could carry you through with no solar or with a smaller solar system.

12Vdc rPod electrical system design
item dc current qty hours/day amphours/day
incidentals 0.1 1 24.0 2.4
single led lite 0.2 4.0 2.0 1.6
dual led lite 0.4 1.0 2.0 0.8
bath lite 0.3 1.0 0.2 0.1
outside lite 1.4 1.0 0.1 0.1
fantastic fan h 2.8 1.0 0.0 0.0
fantastic fan m 1.9 2.0 0.0 0.0
fantastic fan l 1.3 1.0 24.0 31.2
water pump when on 5.0 1.0 0.2 1.0
Radio 0.4 1.0 24.0 9.6
heater when  on 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.0
water heater when on  0.6 1.0 1.0 0.6
user defined
6 in dc fan 0.5 2.0 24.0 24.0
TV  (12V not 120V) 1.5 1.0 4.0 6.0
user defined 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0
user defined 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0
total 77.4
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
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