Solar Question

[John in Santa Cruz]

its perfectly obvious to anyone with a battery monitor that the WfCO power converter puts out around 14.4V during the absorption phase of charging... so saying max 13.6 v *IS* incorrect. 13.5-13.6 is the maintenance voltage once the battery is fully charged and things settle down.

Awfully sorry if this hurts your feelings for being called on a flat wrong statement, experience not-withstanding.

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by jimjola@gmail.com

Got it. Guess I am done with this forum forever. Thought you folks could communicate civilly. You can't. I was trying to help and do not need the aggravation of someone nit picking the years of experience that I offer. Goodbye

Easy, Jim. Comments I offered are civil. I was not picking on you, but instead pointing out why I disagreed with a couple of your comments. While charging voltages may be a small detail, or a nit, such details do matter, and for the reasons that I provided. Don’t take this personally, because it’s not about you at all. I am confident that if we were sitting at a table having this conversation, you could tell by my tone of voice and friendly smile that no ill will is intended. You are right that this is a friendly and civil forum - moreso than any other I’ve encountered. Folks here freely give, receive and appreciate their collective wisdom. But that doesn’t mean that people won’t get called out if they put out incorrect information. I am sure that you have much to offer this community as well, and perhaps others here have helpful insights for you in turn. Stick around. And maybe some day you and I can argue about nits over a beer around a campfire. I’ll bring the beer. You like a good Hefeweizen?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by jimjola@gmail.com

Got it. Guess I am done with this forum forever. Thought you folks could communicate civilly. You can't. I was trying to help and do not need the aggravation of someone nit picking the years of experience that I offer. Goodbye

The WFCO spec is 14.4V bulk charge. Data is data. Part of contributing to a civil forum is recognizing when you're wrong. I've had to admit that here more times than I can count. As some others have mentioned, pointing out an error isn't uncivil - it's simply to make sure the correct info is posted.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by jimjola@gmail.com

Thought you folks could communicate civilly. You can't. I was trying to help and do not need the aggravation of someone nit picking the years of experience that I offer.

I don't see anything other than civility in the responses to your post, Jim.

One reason for the apparent conflict is that the forum is specifically about Escape trailers, and Escape has an available (optional) inverter system which incorporates a transfer switch. People who are familiar with this should be expected to respond to the manual switching scheme with a description of the more functional solution. Perhaps if the manual scheme were presented as a simpler and cheaper alternative, rather than as the right or only way to go, it would have been received more positively.

Since the manual inverter switching scheme has real problems, identifying a more functional solution is not nit-picking; it is part of a reasonable discussion. Since the most critical aspect of battery charging control is limiting the voltage to an appropriate level (given that none of the trailer's charging sources is likely to be able to produce excessive charging current), getting the voltage right is also not nit-picking; again it is what should be expected in a discussion.

When discussions run into conflicts I often look back at what I had already read and what I posted to see if, in hindsight, I has misunderstood something... and misunderstandings do occur. In this case, I just looked back, and there was no suggestion by anyone that a solar charge controller was not required... only discussion of what it needs to do.

[camppros]

Thanks to all for the education on solar more than I could ask for.
Camppros

[Chris & Patricia]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

As others have tried to explain

1. the solar panels convert the energy to sunshine to electrical energy,
2. the charge controller regulates the rate that energy from the panel goes into the battery,
3. the battery stores energy, and
4. the stuff you plug in uses energy.

So for a solar system you need:

• panels and a controller (Escape's solar package),
• a battery (Escape standard battery, or the optional larger battery setup of two 6-volt batteries),
• stuff to use the power (the trailer's standard 12-volt system, plus optionally an inverter to convert power so you can use 120 volt stuff),
• and of course the wiring that some with these parts to connect everything.

Rick, since you bought the solar system option, you have everything you need. You might want lots of battery capacity (the dual 6-volt batteries), but you don't need it, and maybe you already bought that option too.

Just wishing to point out, for the Escape factory installed 170W solar panel, the dual 6v battery option is required, you cannot opt for the standard battery set-up.

We found that even in the winter, admittedly in the sun of Southern California or Arizona, the battery would be 100% recharged by about 10 or 11 every morning with the Escape solar panel. We never found ourselves wishing we had gone for a portable panel as well. Admittedly we aren’t major power users, eg we didmt use a microwave or have an electric coffee pot or have anything more powerful than the TV.

[John in Santa Cruz]

indeed, 160 or 170 watts would be total overkill for a single 12V battery, which is likely 100AH, or 1200 watt*hours. you should never discharge the battery below 50% anyways, so the max charge you'd need would be 600 watt*hours, and a 100W panel would easily do that in 6 hours of direct sun, or 10 hours of sloppy angled sun.

my experience with the dual golf cart batteries and 160W solar on my E21 is exactly the same as yours... my batteries are at 100% by 10 or 11am most days, but we don't even bring a TV, we do most of our (low wattage) AC charging during the day, and the only thing likely charged at night is a cell phone that's maybe 10 watts (2 amps at 5V)... so the only real power usage is the LED ligthing, the MaxxFan if its warm, or the heater fan if its cold.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Chris & Patricia

Just wishing to point out, for the Escape factory installed 170W solar panel, the dual 6v battery option is required, you cannot opt for the standard battery set-up.

Good to know. The Escape website's options list for the 17' does not show this requirement.

The options list for the 17' and 19' show that dual 6V batteries are required for the inverter, but not for the solar panel. The options list for the 5.0TA doesn't show any dual 6V battery requirement, even for the inverter. The options list for the 21' shows a dual 6V battery requirement for both inverter and solar panel. I don't know if the requirement actually varies by model (which wouldn't make much sense to me), or if the options lists are just not correct.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

... you should never discharge the battery below 50% anyways, so the max charge you'd need would be 600 watt*hours, and a 100W panel would easily do that in 6 hours of direct sun, or 10 hours of sloppy angled sun.

That seems plausible in California. Here, off-season, a 100 watt (peak) horizontal panel wouldn't likely generate 600 Wh in an entire day. Then there's cloud, rain, shaded campsites...

[John in Santa Cruz]

so far, the shaded campsites we've been in have had hookups. but yeah, much of my camping is +/- a few degrees of 37 North, with one regular summer trip to 41N.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

... Don't get me started on leaving your outside lights on. ....

I don't recall the make or model, but one of those behemoth 5th wheeler models has a large "V" on the front that lights up like a huge tactical spotlight. We once camped across the road and about four sites down, and yes, they left it on all night. Ridiculous.