Re: Starlink Install
Reply #73 –
I agree with Harry's advice to start small and work through it, upgrading only as necessary. That said...
"Rather than fool with the individual boxes, converting to LiF is the easiest long term solution." -- RonB
I agree. Your Lazy Daze already has a well-integrated electrical system: alternator, generator, converter, solar panels, batteries, fuse panel, and of course wiring throughout the coach. If you need more input power, it makes sense to upgrade the 55 amp converter/charger to a more powerful one, and/or add more solar panels. Similarly, if you need more storage for that power, it makes sense either to add more batteries like the ones you already have, or (as Ron suggests) switch to LiFePO4 batteries that can hold more power.
These upgrades will take full advantage of the electrical system that you paid for when you bought your rig. Own the other hand, with a "power station" such as the GoLabs unit you mentioned, you have a second system, partially duplicating the LD electrical system but much more limited, and which must be charged and managed separately. It's not tied into the LD system, so you can only charge it as fast as its internal circuitry will allow--and that's not very fast.
GoLabs' supplied AC adapter, for example, only provides 3 amps at 15 volts. You can plug in a solar panel, but it must not be larger than 100 watts--that's about 5.5 amps at 18 volts. These are very small charging currents compared to what your Lazy Daze's built-in electrical system can provide to your house batteries. And once it's charged, you don't have the advantage of power that's available to every 12V socket in your RV. (Yes, these power stations give you an inverter... but inverters are easy to find these days. For example, Bestek makes a 1,000 watt pure sine wave inverter the size of a lunchbox.)
My point is that as Ron said, for most RVers it makes more sense to upgrade one or more components of your rig's existing electrical system than to buy one or more separate "power stations" and then juggle multiple independent power systems that don't work together. In your case, better house batteries and perhaps a good inverter make more sense than multiple "boxes."
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