AM Solar - Moving Sale November 29, 2007, 06:16:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 86543AM Solar is indeed having a Moving Sale. Kathy Davis of AM Solar mentions that the SunRunner 100/22B System is now (until tomorrow) $897 (regularly $995) and the AM Solar Panel Kits are going for $580 (regularly $660). I would like to purchase a solar system but am concerned that with my LD configuration, a Solar System might not be a wise investment due to my limited battery capacity. My 1983 23.5ft FL LD has one 12v Engine Battery and one 12v Deep-Cycle House Battery, both located in the engine compartment. I also have a generator. With this LD battery / generator configuration, is a Solar System advisable? If so, how advisable is it to purchase more than one panel? How many panels?Thanks.....Neil Carlberg
Re: AM Solar - Moving Sale Reply #1 – November 29, 2007, 06:47:12 pm Yahoo Message Number: 86544I'd say not only advisable but needed even more than with twin 6 volts, because of the lesser Amp hours of a single 12 volt setup. Is there not room for another battery in your engine compartment? Because it's a very easy conversion to switch to twin 6 volts instead of a single 12 volt. I think it more than triples your amp hours. But you have to have room for the extra battery. With your battery setup I would probably start with a single 110-130 watt panel and see if that meets your needs. If it doesn't you can always add another.
Re: AM Solar - Moving Sale Reply #2 – November 29, 2007, 07:31:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 86546"My 1983 23.5ft FL LD has one 12v Engine Battery and one 12v Deep-Cycle House Battery, both located in the engine compartment. I also have a generator."Neil You are right about the battery. The one series 30 deep-cycle battery is inadequate and there is no more room in the engine compartment for a bigger one. In our 1983 22' FL. I built a ventilated battery box behind the front barrel chair that housed two T-105 batteries. If you are interested in details e-mail me.Larry
Re: AM Solar - Moving Sale Reply #3 – November 29, 2007, 10:15:12 pm Yahoo Message Number: 86556"My 1983 23.5ft FL LD has one 12v Engine Battery and one 12v Deep-Cycle House Battery, both located in the engine compartment. I also have a generator. With this LD battery / generator configuration, is a Solar System advisable?" A 100W solar panel would be a very good addition; it'll help keep your house battery charged and thus prolong its lifespan.Is it worth adding a second panel? With a single house battery, I'm guessing you have about 85 amp hours of capacity, and the rule of thumb most of us find works best is "one watt of panel capacity per amp hour of house battery capacity." A 100W panel is a good match to an 85 Ah battery.With two panels (200W), you'd probably find that your battery was fully charged by midday, and after that most of the power generated by the panels would go to waste. So I'd suggest one panel; two would probably not give you enough benefit to justify the extra money. The only situation where an extra panel might be worthwhile is if you do a lot of wintertime camping. With shorter days and a lower sun angle, you might want the extra power of two panels, sine neither one would be producing as much juice as during the warmer months. But otherwise I think one panel is your best bet.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: AM Solar - Moving Sale Reply #4 – February 20, 2008, 12:08:28 am Yahoo Message Number: 89603I too just bought a 1983 LD and have been researching solar panels. I have a portable generator but this of course is a last resort. MY RV is
Re: AM Solar - Moving Sale Reply #5 – February 20, 2008, 10:00:16 pm Yahoo Message Number: 89644"MY RV is in Seattle and so I wonder if one 100w solar panel is enough or if I should get two since seattle does not always see the most sunlight."There are two questions you have to answer: where am I going to use this rig, and what will I be doing with it?If you plan to do most of your traveling in the Pacific northwest, solar power may turn out to be of limited value, unless your power needs are very modest. If you head into the dryer, sunnier Southwest, on the other hand, it'll serve you well. Probably the best advice I can give is to try it for awhile with the one panel your rig has, and see how it goes. Then you can decide whether more panels will be worth the money."I would love to divert the extra electricity to the water heater!" Unfortunately, an electric water heater uses about ten times as much power as even a couple of solar panels can generate, so this isn't practical. But it really isn't necessary--if you use your water heater prudently, it'll use very little propane. Several of us have described how we're able to run the water heater for only about fifteen minutes a day. You don't use much gas doing that! :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Topic: AM Solar - Moving Sale (Read 2 times)
previous topic - next topic
Topic: AM Solar - Moving Sale (Read 2 times)
previous topic - next topic