Solar power questions

[PondSkum]

I would have to agree with you on the tow capacities. As for the wind turbine...I was going to make one that was removable and tie it in series with the panels.

I flat towed another TJ behind my TJ once.... it wasn't fun, but it did it! LOL

[SGT. K]

I towed the wifes jk with my jk and it wont happen again. I did not have enough power even though I have regeared and even with 4 doors I dont think the wheelbase is long enough to pull another jeep.

[Admntiumx]

Yeah and your rated for 3500 lbs.

[Stouttrout]

Who know where to find AGM batteries in stock, 12 volt, something int he 75-100 Amp Hour range?

[Mudhog1977]

Don't burn me too much ... But u could always rig an alternator to your trailer hub then it would charge as u drive, then use the panels when you're parked... Man I have too much time to think bout stuff lol

[loneranger4x4]

Who know where to find AGM batteries in stock, 12 volt, something int he 75-100 Amp Hour range?

you can use golf cart batteries, I have purchased them at sam club for around 70.00 a piece. they are 6 volt but they last a long time. you will probably need a minimunm of a 3000 watt inverter to run a small ac, and you shouldnt have to wory about how to charge while you are driving down the road, just use your alternator on your truck to charge your battery bank. one thing to keep in mind is the more batteries you have, the longer you can run your appliances. so you should probably focus more on how to mount as many batteries as you can. you can use solar panels to charge them while camping but you might also try to find a PMA alternator and rig it to a small gas powered engine and run that a couple of hours in the morning to help replenish the charge. I don't think you will be able to get the batteries charged up enough with solar panels alone. there are formulas that will tell you how many amp hours it will take to run your appliances and how many watts it will take to recharge the batteries in a specified period of time.

on a side note, I did see on craigs list there was a guy selling some Sharp 230 watt panels for around 250 each. that is extremely cheap. the only problem is they are 48 volt panels so you would have to plan your system accordingly.

just my 2 cents from a solar hobiest point of view.

[Stouttrout]

The AC pulls 5 amps. It is also thermostat controlled. The Panels I have are Monos not Polycrystallines so they should be fairly efficient. I am going to try 200 ah worth of batts. bought two yesterday. The ac should not require more than 490 watts to run but a bit more than that on start up. it is new and the compressors have gotten much better at starting up fast instead of lagging. I think a 1000 watt inverter should run it since I run it with a small inverter style generator now. It has never tripped it. For reference, I run a 13500 with a 3000 watt generator on the popup. I may need a third batt but we will see. at 65 pounds per I need to watch that as well as space. The idea is to be OFF grid completely. No fuel needed. WhenI get it all hooked up and run it one night in august i will let you know. nothing will be run in the daytime and nothing electric run at night other than the AC.

[loneranger4x4]

how many watts of solar panels are you going to be using?
I only mentioned 3000 watt inverter because I tried to run a 5k btu on a 1000 watt inverter and it really struggled to run it. but that was a couple of years ago and the ac was not brand new.

[Stouttrout]

180 watts. The one are way more efficient. They do not have that long drag when the compressor fires up.

[TacoTank]

Hey Trout, any progress? I'm interested in the results too.

I was tossing around the numbers and thought I'd throw them Down to see if this looks right.

You need about 500 watts at 120VAC.

That is 4.16A at 120VAC. (500/120)

That would be 41.6A at 12VDC for the load. (120/12=10; 4.16x10=41.6)

With a 90% efficient inverter, that is 46.2A draw on te batteries (41.6/0.9)

For 8 hours (10pm-6am) you would need 396.6Ah amp hours (46.2A x8)

If you get duty down to 80%ish for temp control you will need 295.68Ah total battery capacity.

4 @ 75Ah batteries will be almost completely drained at a 300Ah total battery bank capacity.

If you get 10 hours of solid sun charge, you will need 30Ah charging capacity (300Ah/10hr)

30A@ 12vdc would be 360watts. So 2@ 180watt/12volt solar panels should charge the 4 battery bank in 10 hours.



What do y'all think? Am I about there on accuracy or application?

I'm thinking 4 battery's at 75Ah each, and 2 @ 180 watt solar panels will be heavily taxed at a scenario where the 500watt a/c runs 8 hours and the batteries charge in 10 hours of sun.