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Old 04-19-2020, 05:27 PM   #21
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we also regularly camp in the New Mexico mountains at a mineral water spa and that is dry camping in a heavily treed area. The overhead foliage is so thick that barely any sunlight gets to the solar panels and we are not allowed to use the generator so I find the house batteries nearly dead in the morning.
Looking at your situation and power demand, I don't really think an increase of solar panel size will not help a lot with the shade you have at the camp site.

I have been both RVing and long distance sailing for 58 years--the set ups in the marine and RV are basically the same, but boats need more corrosion resistance.

The FireFly batteries are the size of a group 31 battery. My Via, had only room for group 24's but 2 Sam's club DuraCell Golf cart batteries fit. These give me 190 amp hr (20 hr rate) or 95 usable. Cost: $180 The Trojan 105's are a little more expensive and they give 225 Amp hour (20 hr rate) or usable 112 amp hours at $300. Is the extra $220 worth it for the extra 17 amp hours? Or you can go with lead acid golf carts for considerably less. I prefer the AGM personally, considering where the batteries are located on our chassis.
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Old 04-19-2020, 07:08 PM   #22
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Go to higher voltage panels

with a charge controller, you should install the highest voltage it can handle. You don't charge at 12V, you need a potential overhead so they can hold 14V, under the draw of the batteries, to completely charge them
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Old 04-20-2020, 07:37 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by e4services View Post
with a charge controller, you should install the highest voltage it can handle. You don't charge at 12V, you need a potential overhead so they can hold 14V, under the draw of the batteries, to completely charge them
Are you talking about the solar charge controller? Or the converter/charger for the generator and shore power? As I understand it:

The Converter/Charger

The converter controller is rated in amps, not volts. The higher amperage version produces the same voltage as the lower amperage version.

The Lithium version from Progressive Dynamics comes in 45 amp and 60 amp versions, both put out 14.4 volts.

The wet cell/AGM version from PD also comes in 45 amp and 60 amp versions and both put out 13.7 (or so) volts but that can be raised to 14.4 volts for Lithium temporarily (for about 4 hours) through the use of a wired remote. You put the unit in "Boost" mode and it raises the voltage to 14.4 volts and then, after the 4 hours, it returns to 13.7 (or so) volts.

My thought is that I would use the remote when plugged into shore power or using the generator so get the Lithium batteries charged and then rely on the solar to keep them full. Then later this year or early next year I plan to install the Lithium version of the converter/charger so I can spread the cost of the upgrade over a longer period of time.

Solar Charge Controller

My Zamp charge controller has a Lithium setting and I assume it will apply the proper 14.4 volts to the Lithium batteries.
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