110v ac

[jazty]

Originally Posted by Zephod_beeblebrox2

Yes. The type 27 marine deep cycle $89 battery from tractor supply.

I'm not too worried about whether it lasts beyond a year. I can replace it and the key is its chgeap!

Ah.. Hybrids. That makes sense. I've never seen cranking amps specified for true deep cycle batteries.

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

These are interesting claims.... http://www.irv2.com/forums/f93/solar...ns-146264.html

[jazty]

A quick look shows that the people who were successfully running the microwave for minutes have battery banks that are 450Ah or above...

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

Yes. That's just about 4 of the 105ah batteries. Only 30ah short.

Question is how long itd take to charge 420ah using a 700w generator.

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

And of course, we don't know how warm their batteries get

[jazty]

Originally Posted by Zephod_beeblebrox2

Yes. That's just about 4 of the 105ah batteries. Only 30ah short.

Question is how long itd take to charge 420ah using a 700w generator.

It'll take several hours to charge a 420Ah bank. A medium sized battery charger will put in 40 amps. The thing is you can only charge at that high for "bulk charge", then the amps will decrease to finish off the charge, then they will decrease further to float charge. Probably around 5 or 6 hours to charge from 50% to 100%.

A 700w generator should be up to the task, though.

Solar is really the way to go for something this size. You can get 2x 300 watt panels for a reasonable price. They'll put in that 40 amps with no problem and do it silently.

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

I quite like those 700w harbor freight generators!

I'm not really convinced that solar is really such a great bargain. Let's say a $100 generator charges the batteries in 6 hours using a gallon of gas. Heck, even if it uses two gallons, that's $4 - $4.50.

Hmm... 800 watts of solar is $189 for 100w or around $1512 which at current gas prices is about 700 gallons. Or between one and two years of charging batteries.

I can kinda see a point to solar but the economics just aren't attractive.

[jazty]

Originally Posted by Zephod_beeblebrox2

Hmm... 800 watts of solar is $189 for 100w or around $1512 which at current gas prices is about 700 gallons. Or between one and two years of charging batteries.

Holy snikeys! Where are you looking? That's way high.. I bought my 600 watts for ~$680 Canadian dollars. That's $518 US dollars at the current exchange rate.

Either way (solar or generator) you have to buy a charge controller, so that price is irrelevant.

So the equivalent cost would be a $99 generator and $590 worth of gas, which works out to ~160 US gallons. I've been off and on living in my bus since April and I'm almost at the point where a gas generator would have been more expensive.

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

Originally Posted by jazty

Holy snikeys! Where are you looking? That's way high.. I bought my 600 watts for ~$680 Canadian dollars. That's $518 US dollars at the current exchange rate.

Either way (solar or generator) you have to buy a charge controller, so that price is irrelevant.

So the equivalent cost would be a $99 generator and $590 worth of gas, which works out to ~160 US gallons. I've been off and on living in my bus since April and I'm almost at the point where a gas generator would have been more expensive.

I was looking at the flexible panels on eBay. I see the 100W panels for $189.

I need to keep the profile low because I'm parked under trees. One branch already took out a roof level side marker. Fortunately I found it and was able to glue it back.

[mrblah]

You could look at a portable kit of solar panels.

Rigid panels, build a trolley and park in the shade. Low heat in the bus, maximum voltage from the panels.

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

Neat but as opposed to flexible panels glued to the roof, a portable trolley could walk away.

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

It's looking as though my initial solution will be just to plug the bus in. The aim is to be operational as soon as possible. I still have plumbing go do.

[jazty]

Originally Posted by Zephod_beeblebrox2

Neat but as opposed to flexible panels glued to the roof, a portable trolley could walk away.

It sounds like you have made your mind up about the generator, and that's fine, but all these issues have solutions. I'll add these comments for future skoolie folks perusing the forums.

A portable solar unit can be made to fold to conserve space. It could also be locked to the exterior side wall of the bus so it doesn't grow legs and wander. Storage is the biggest issue.

I, personally, wouldn't want the glue-down solar panels. Since they would be glued to the curve of the roof they will never be at an optimal angle to the sun. Also, grid-tie solar panels (often at 36 volts) are far cheaper and typically built stronger than the 12v ones that can be found at hardware and RV/marine stores. I see plenty of 12v panels with plastic frames. Yuck. All grid-tie panels I've seen have strong aluminum frames with mounting holes. All you need is an MPPT charge controller to convert the voltage to 12v, 24v or 48v..

Here's my set up (alt. link). Page 7 shows them in the upright position for winter. Page 8 shows a picture of them folded down. I've had them down all summer, which is still a couple degrees of tilt, and they have been working great. I'll bring them up to around 45° in the autumn. When flat they are about 8 inches above the roof. I also live in the trees and have had many branches scraping along them with no issue. They are built really tough. You can walk on them (though I'd rather not ). Other than changing the tilt there has been zero maintenance, 100% silence, no oil/fuel mess and no exhaust.

[crazycal]

Jazty, you don't have a page 7 yet.

[jazty]

Originally Posted by crazycal

Jazty, you don't have a page 7 yet.

but but but... I'm looking at it right now!



I must be in some other Skoolie dimension..

[crazycal]

You must be cuz this is what I see.

[jazty]

whoa.. what the hey-ho is going on there?!? That's page 16 in my view.
Calling all skoolie gods! We have an issue!

[crazycal]

I just figured it out. Even without my first cup-a-joe. I have it set to view 30 posts per page. Smarter then the average bear.

[jazty]

haha.. This is good to know. I didn't even realize there was an option for that.

[Zephod_beeblebrox2]

Originally Posted by jazty

It sounds like you have made your mind up about the generator, and that's fine, but all these issues have solutions. I'll add these comments for future skoolie folks perusing the forums.

A portable solar unit can be made to fold to conserve space. It could also be locked to the exterior side wall of the bus so it doesn't grow legs and wander. Storage is the biggest issue.

I, personally, wouldn't want the glue-down solar panels. Since they would be glued to the curve of the roof they will never be at an optimal angle to the sun. Also, grid-tie solar panels (often at 36 volts) are far cheaper and typically built stronger than the 12v ones that can be found at hardware and RV/marine stores. I see plenty of 12v panels with plastic frames. Yuck. All grid-tie panels I've seen have strong aluminum frames with mounting holes. All you need is an MPPT charge controller to convert the voltage to 12v, 24v or 48v..

Here's my set up. Page 7 shows them in the upright position for winter. Page 8 shows a picture of them folded down. I've had them down all summer, which is still a couple degrees of tilt, and they have been working great. I'll bring them up to around 45° in the autumn. When flat they are about 8 inches above the roof. I also live in the trees and have had many branches scraping along them with no issue. They are built really tough. You can walk on them (though I'd rather not ). Other than changing the tilt there has been zero maintenance, 100% silence, no oil/fuel mess and no exhaust.

That's where the link takes me!