medora
Senior Member
Hi all, I’m hoping you wise folks can advise me on a vexing solar/power related question.
I have a 2012 17B which we modified last year because we could no longer deal with our teeny bed. Essentially, we took out the fridge and extended the bed using a lagun table. It works GREAT and we’re thriiled with it — the space is more open and everything is just more livable.
There’s just one problem: we replaced the fridge with two Dometic CFX coolers, one small one that sits either outside, or inside on the front dinette seat — and for longer trips, a second, dual-chamber unit we keep either outside or in the car. When we did this, we upgraded our solar (300W total on top now) and went to lithium (2 100Ah LITime batteries), using a Victron controller and shunt we got through (sadly now defunct) AM Solar.
We were confident we had enough capacity - but alas, that is not proving to be the case. Our campsites have not been super sunny - but even in full sun for 6 hours a day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan last week, we were blowing through batteries and reliant on a Honda generator that we had to run hours on end to recharge. Depressing!
We primarily boondock and often take long trips of 7-12 days in one spot. Our longest trip of the year is usually to Ontario (Killarney, Lake Superior Provincial, Pukasawa), in mid-late September, so not peak-summer sun. The only unusual draw on our system are the coolers. We do not have alternator charging. We wouldn’t mind running the generator every so often, but it feels like we’ve got to do it almost every day after we’ve camped for a few days - if not every day, then for multiple hours the day after. The whole idea of the panel upgrade etc was to avoid that. We’re getting a max of 131W from the 300W of panels on a sunny day … which seems low!!
I am new to solar/lithium/etc and am struggling to figure out the best way forward.
Here’s what I’m considering:
1. Adding a third (or fourth?) 100ah battery. This would majorly suck as it was incredibly hard to fit the first two batteries in the hatch area - we’d have to expand out under the bed, and right now we’re using that for storage with a custom-made pull out unit. We’d have to cut that unit down to fit additional batteries, and it would be a real pain in the rump. Additionally, I’m worried that while we’d benefit from the larger battery bank for the first days, eventually we wouldn’t recharge fast enough and we’d still be in the same boat.
2. Adding a Bluetti power bank with a 30AMP outlet . This would increase battery capacity without the pain in the rumpus of adding more 100ah batteries under the bed. But the cost of a Bluetti is higher than adding batteries, and again there's the issue of this not charging back up again (though I suppose we could charge a portable Bluetti during a drive and/or at a coffeeshop etc)
3. Adding the Bluetti with portable solar panels (100W? 200?), which would allow us to move panels to get more sun. We could then plug the trailer in to the Bluetti when things aren’t charging via the roof panels. This would probably help, but I’m not sure how much … and I’m not sure whether the portable panels are magnets for thieves, whether we have to stash these every time it rains, and/or how long a cable we can use without wattage loss. And the biggest downside — even more $$$$$ when we’ve already put a lot of cash into this. There does seem to be a tax credit on these in the US right now if I use in the house as well, which I definitely would … might make the cost a little less depressing.
4. Giving up and just learning to love my Honda generator
I’m also not sure if there are better/lower power consumption options for electric coolers … the Dometics are ok but I’ve had problems with thermostats and they’re definitely using more AH than I thought they would (I’m trying to figure out how to assess exactly how much using the stats on the Victron shunt app — if anyone knows how to assess I’d love a tip).
I would LOVE your input on all this, fellow Escapees! And I’d be thrilled if any of you have any additional tips or resources that will help me work through this.
Best from SW MIchigan,
Elizabeth
I have a 2012 17B which we modified last year because we could no longer deal with our teeny bed. Essentially, we took out the fridge and extended the bed using a lagun table. It works GREAT and we’re thriiled with it — the space is more open and everything is just more livable.
There’s just one problem: we replaced the fridge with two Dometic CFX coolers, one small one that sits either outside, or inside on the front dinette seat — and for longer trips, a second, dual-chamber unit we keep either outside or in the car. When we did this, we upgraded our solar (300W total on top now) and went to lithium (2 100Ah LITime batteries), using a Victron controller and shunt we got through (sadly now defunct) AM Solar.
We were confident we had enough capacity - but alas, that is not proving to be the case. Our campsites have not been super sunny - but even in full sun for 6 hours a day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan last week, we were blowing through batteries and reliant on a Honda generator that we had to run hours on end to recharge. Depressing!
We primarily boondock and often take long trips of 7-12 days in one spot. Our longest trip of the year is usually to Ontario (Killarney, Lake Superior Provincial, Pukasawa), in mid-late September, so not peak-summer sun. The only unusual draw on our system are the coolers. We do not have alternator charging. We wouldn’t mind running the generator every so often, but it feels like we’ve got to do it almost every day after we’ve camped for a few days - if not every day, then for multiple hours the day after. The whole idea of the panel upgrade etc was to avoid that. We’re getting a max of 131W from the 300W of panels on a sunny day … which seems low!!
I am new to solar/lithium/etc and am struggling to figure out the best way forward.
Here’s what I’m considering:
1. Adding a third (or fourth?) 100ah battery. This would majorly suck as it was incredibly hard to fit the first two batteries in the hatch area - we’d have to expand out under the bed, and right now we’re using that for storage with a custom-made pull out unit. We’d have to cut that unit down to fit additional batteries, and it would be a real pain in the rump. Additionally, I’m worried that while we’d benefit from the larger battery bank for the first days, eventually we wouldn’t recharge fast enough and we’d still be in the same boat.
2. Adding a Bluetti power bank with a 30AMP outlet . This would increase battery capacity without the pain in the rumpus of adding more 100ah batteries under the bed. But the cost of a Bluetti is higher than adding batteries, and again there's the issue of this not charging back up again (though I suppose we could charge a portable Bluetti during a drive and/or at a coffeeshop etc)
3. Adding the Bluetti with portable solar panels (100W? 200?), which would allow us to move panels to get more sun. We could then plug the trailer in to the Bluetti when things aren’t charging via the roof panels. This would probably help, but I’m not sure how much … and I’m not sure whether the portable panels are magnets for thieves, whether we have to stash these every time it rains, and/or how long a cable we can use without wattage loss. And the biggest downside — even more $$$$$ when we’ve already put a lot of cash into this. There does seem to be a tax credit on these in the US right now if I use in the house as well, which I definitely would … might make the cost a little less depressing.
4. Giving up and just learning to love my Honda generator
I’m also not sure if there are better/lower power consumption options for electric coolers … the Dometics are ok but I’ve had problems with thermostats and they’re definitely using more AH than I thought they would (I’m trying to figure out how to assess exactly how much using the stats on the Victron shunt app — if anyone knows how to assess I’d love a tip).
I would LOVE your input on all this, fellow Escapees! And I’d be thrilled if any of you have any additional tips or resources that will help me work through this.
Best from SW MIchigan,
Elizabeth
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