80 watt Zamp Solar ?
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Topic: 80 watt Zamp Solar ?
Posted By: texman
Subject: 80 watt Zamp Solar ?
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2016 at 10:56am
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Can you help me estimate/understand how my current setup will perform? I have a zamp 80 watt panel and two 6volt 215hr batteries in series on my 182g and a battery cutt-off. I am trying to get an idea of the battery expectancy under the following conditions to boon dock: Fridge on propane, Temp range of low 30s to highs of 60s. Don't need ac (but i have a generator) So i need to run the heater at night some, say 60 deg. water heater on propane, of course. Then all of the drains that we all have, propane detector, lights, stereo, fridge fan?, water pump, indicator lights, rpod invertor, etc. (please let me know what i am not considering that draws battery power) So, is this even going to work for a few days? say 3 ? longer maybe? I have tried to understand the load and recharge calcs, but still not clear. thank you all so much for the help thus far. Texman  ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Replies:
Posted By: JandL
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2016 at 6:06pm
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This is a post I did of battery run times
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7955 - TYPICAL BATTERY RUN TIMES last week I was at Joshua Tree National Park and I knew it would be sunny all day and did not have to worry about shade hitting the panel so I only took along one panel rated at 100 watts. It had no problem keeping my battery charged. I also had to run my furnace at night. ------------- JandL 2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2016 at 10:42am
T hank you! JandLi think that i almost have it now. From reading it looks like an 80 watt solar should generate about 4-5 amps per hour in full sun. so if i get 8 hours of full sun, the battery gets 4.5amps per hour times 8 hours = 36 amp hours. Does that sound correct? If so, i think it is possible to get by on the 80 watt panel for several days as long as i am very careful of what is on and for how long. TexMan ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: JandL
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2016 at 12:15pm
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What the manufactures spec say and what you get out of panel are 2 different things. My 100 watt panel say 5.56 amps maximum, but that is under a set of controlled conditions. The most I have seen when I have it pointing directly at the sun 4.75 amps. Typically I get 4-4.5 amps, so your 80 watt panel will be less ------------- JandL 2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod |
Posted By: dropkick
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 4:07am
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Use around 77% end-to-end efficiency for solar/battery calculations. Also 8 hours of "full" sun is a stretch unless you're out there rotating the panels 2-3 times throught the day. And no shade, not even a leaf's worth! With 80W panel, looking at 25AH realistically. That's actually a decent number for your loads. Fridge fan is probably the biggest one but at those ambient temps I'd like to think it wouldn't run much (future research project--is the fan thermostatically controlled or does it just run whenever the propane is running?). Other stuff is even more intermittent. You should be good. Lights are LED I hope? Just keep an eye on the voltage each day. |
Posted By: JandL
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 9:31am
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Here is a post on the refrigerator fan's
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8185 - fridge temp ------------- JandL 2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 2:47pm
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We did 7 days under those conditions, with dual 6v's, and never recharged. 80 watts of solar will extend your time for sure. But 120 would be better, allowing a faster recharge if you get behind the curve after a couple cloudy days. We have members who have done a week on a single group 24. Until you get out there and see what YOUR usage is like, it's all a guess. Since you have a generator, just take it along, if you run out of aH's, and the panels don't cut it, just fire it up and plug the pod in. ------------- |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 3:15pm
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Good Call. That is what i was thinking too. Generator insurance. I was a bit "green" i should say when i bought my generator. The Dealer had a 2000 watt kipor and then said" but you will need 2 of these to run the a/c" (which is true) But to my Texan brain at the time, he said "get the 4.3 kilowatt model that weighs 165 pounds. So, I can run the whole pod no problem at least.  At least i hope i offer some comic relief around here. ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: Podinaroundbc
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 5:33pm
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We can dry camp for 5 days without charging. We use very little excess power and think we could go 7 days between charges. ------------- Art & Brenda Jake the dog 2015 179 HRE 2012 Nissan Titan |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 6:45pm
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We just got a WindyNation 100 amp flexible solar panel and an adjustable output PWM controller as part of the spring mod projects we're doing. I plan on putting the controller in a little plastic tool box next to our single 12v battery, for both convenience and to keep the distance between the controller and the battery short to avoid any significant voltage drop. We've got another length of cable to connect the panel to the controller so we can position it either on or by the trailer, depending on where we're parked. We only use led lights, the heater as needed, maybe a phone charge or MacBook charge every once in a while, and the refrigerator fan, so our power needs are limited. From my past experience on a sail boat, you can squeeze quite a bit out of a single house battery before having to charge if you keep your usage under control. It's kind of nice to keep the lights dim at night. When we get it set up and working, I'll report back. But for the time being, there's so much snow in the Sierras that we're going to have to wait a bit for things to thaw and dry out. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: voisj
Date Posted: 11 Mar 2017 at 2:08am
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Just for reference,I have two g24 batteries I plan to use them til I kill em ,and then upgrade to 2-6v. I Can get 4 days being careful and 3 with nighttime furnace use and and not trying to hard to conserve. Unless you spend your days in the pod using power all day, I would think with 2-6v batteries and 80w solar and a Genny for a bump during any heavy use and to charge for awhile when the sun goes down, you should be fine boondocking almost full time.
------------- http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9426&title=slopod-180-mods-johnsue - SLOPODMODS John&Sue,SLO,CA 2016 180 HRE, 2013 F150 Eco Boost 
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Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 11 Mar 2017 at 9:50am
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We purchased our 2 group size 24 batteries in March 2011 and are still using them. We boondock a lot and expect a minimum of 3 days/battery under cold conditions before switching to the other, and that is w/o any solar to extend its life. I keep an eye on the panel in the pod and when it shows 1/3 battery life left, I switch to the other. As furpod stated above, we can easily go 7 days, although we have 2 batteries, during the summer w/o having to recharge.
------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 17 Mar 2017 at 10:34am
i went three days with the 80 watt zamp and the two GC 6v batteries of boondocking. Just the wife and i and the Shepherd. I ran everything as normal and didn't really scrimp, just made sure stuff was off when we weren't using it. Heater ran during the night and used the inverter to inflate and deflate a queen air mattress in the kitchen area. (that bed is good as well) The bed inflater draws 105 watts and runs for about 5 minutes to inflate or deflate, so no real usage. The solar control indicted FUL usually by 11 am , so not even really a danger at all of discharge. I did not even take the generator.  I think i am set for the "boondocks". My lesson learned is to make sure that you start your trip with batteries at close to 100% state of charge and monitor the SOC as you camp. Thank you for the education from this forum.  ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: Podinaroundbc
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2017 at 7:38pm
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We just bought two 40 watt panels. I would like to connect them together. What is better? In series to up the wattage or in parallel to up the amperage? ------------- Art & Brenda Jake the dog 2015 179 HRE 2012 Nissan Titan |
Posted By: birderdiane526
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2017 at 8:53pm
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Hi Texan! We boondock a lot as full-timers and use 100w Renogy portable solar panels. We have 2 6v golf cart batteries. With a good amount of sunny days we have gone 2 to 3 weeks with minimal usage of TV & lights. We typically don't use the AC and heat but if we do it's just briefly to take the edge off the heat or cold. If the sun doesn't shine enough we will charge with the car running & 7 pin plugged in. ------------- Diane and Michael 2016 179 "PIP" (PODDING IN PARADISE) 2007 Toyota Tundra BLOG:Podding in Paradise, birderdiane526.blogspot.com |
Posted By: Rustler
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2017 at 12:53am
Whether you wire them in parallel or series, the maximum watts will be 80. What changes is the volts and amps. Wired in series the volts double and the amps stay the same. In parallel the volts stay the same and the amps double. In both cases amps X volts = power. How you wire them up depends on what kind of charge controller you have. If you have a Pulse Width Modulating (PWM) controller on each panel, I would wire them in parallel. That way each controller would see battery voltage and adjust amperage appropriately. If you have a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) controller the panels can be wired in series to keep the same amps but doubling the voltage. To do this your controller must be able to handle the increased voltage. In this method the controller should be near the battery and the panels could be at some distance from the camper. You could also wire the panels in parallel with a MPPT controller. As an example I have a MPPT controller using two 24-volt panels wired in parallel. The operating voltage is 36 volts. The controller converts that voltage to what the 12- battery needs for charging. If I had two 12-volt panels (18-volts operating) I could have wired them in series. The controller would make the necessary voltage changes to charge the battery. However you decide to connect them, be sure to follow the directions that come with your charge controller. You must have one of these to avoid destroying your battery.
------------- Russ 2009 Toyota RAV4 V6 w/ tow package 2016 Rpod 171 HRE |