on-going discussion on battery charging November 27, 2009, 12:37:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 107997Andy, do you know if AM Solar carries/installs the Heliotrope HPV-30 ? I am concerned about using the front 12v receptacles to power various items in the front of the rig, so I'd be afraid I'd drain the starter battery if i stay parked without shore power for more than a few days. One of these suggestions will take care of that concern, what with the solar package upgrade I'm planning. Gini Free and Junah, canine xtrodinaire "Kooch" our little red home on wheels "Growing old is mandatory. Growing wise is optional."[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: on-going discussion on battery charging Reply #1 – November 27, 2009, 12:42:23 pm Yahoo Message Number: 107998Gini Free wrote: Andy, do you know if AM Solar carries/installs the Heliotrope HPV-30 ? --- I'm not Andy, but... http://amsolar.com/hpv30.html Joan
Re: on-going discussion on battery charging Reply #2 – November 27, 2009, 12:54:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 107999"do you know if AM Solar carries/installs the Heliotrope HPV-30 ?"Yes--see Judie's post #107986 from earlier today. "I am concerned about using the front 12v receptacles to power various items in the front of the rig, so I'd be afraid I'd drain the starter battery if i stay parked without shore power for more than a few days." Two suggestions: 1) Install a TRIK-L-START, as discussed yesterday, to ensure that your solar panels keep your engine battery charged. Cost: under $50 if you do it yourself... and with only three wires to connect, you should be able do it yourself.2) Don't use the dashboard 12V outlets; instead, add a couple of outlets powered by the coach batteries. It's not difficult to do this by tapping into the forward light fixtures. We discussed accessing them a couple of weeks back. All you have to do is lift up the floor of the upper-level cupboard, and there's the lamp wiring. Now just undo the two wire nuts, add the wires from your new outlet, and reapply the wire nuts.Either of these methods will cost you a small fraction of what it would cost to have AM Solar replace your solar controller with an HPV-30, which undoubtedly would run into the hundreds of dollars. Unless you have more than 400W of panels, or have money to burn, the HPV-30 probably doesn't make sense for you.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/