Solar Panel on Micro Minnie 2306 BHS?

[CampingMike]

What are the main benefits of installing solar panel to Micro Minnie 2306 BHS other than charging the battery of the trailer?

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by CampingMike

What are the main benefits of installing solar panel to Micro Minnie 2306 BHS other than charging the battery of the trailer?

Ah... none.

Solar panels charge batteries. That's all they do. What are you expecting or looking for???

[BobC]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Ah... none.

Solar panels charge batteries. That's all they do. What are you expecting or looking for???

creativepart is correct and his question is good. In contrast to other charging methodologies, solar panels are always "on" and will be charging your batteries as long as there's adequate sunlight. They do not store power, that's the job of your batteries. Except for very small power draws, you can't run anything directly on the power from your solar panels.

The size of your battery bank is an important factor. Think of solar panels as a water supply that continually fills a water tank (your batteries) so that it's always getting refilled as you use water (power). You need a balance between the output of your panels (the water supply), the size of your batteries (the water tank) and how much power (water) you use. If these aren't in balance, you still may be out of battery power (water) by morning.

I hope this makes sense.

[The Raptor]

Originally Posted by BobC

1) you can't run anything directly on the power from your solar panels.

The size of your battery bank is an important factor. Think of solar panels as a water supply that continually fills a water tank (your batteries) so that it's always getting refilled as you use water (power ENERGY). You need a balance between the output of your panels (the water supply), the size of your batteries (the water tank) and how much power ENERGY (water) you use. If these aren't in balance, you still may be out of battery power ENERGY (water) by morning.

1) That in Not a Correct, you can Run any DC equipment off the DC Power a Solar Panel Generates, although most Modern Panels generate from 35VDC~68VDC (Open Circuit = No Load).
In general I have operated 24VDC Motors directly off 500W & 700W Solar Panels, that Generate 40~50VDC with No damage.

If you happen to have a Flat Battery you can directly Connect a Solar Panel to most Lead Acid Batteries (LAB), WARNING: You need to be aware that if the DC Voltage is to High, in the Worse case the Acid may boil & then a Spark can ignite the Hydrogen caused an Explosion by Boiling the Battery Acid, if you are going to try this "Do it Outside" !
NB: I don't think this Method works with Gell LAB, a modern Hi-frequency Desulphurizer is better !

We used to use Welders set to the Lowest Voltage, to heat the Acid to melt the Sulphur Crystals of the Lead Plates, as that is what commonly prematurely Ends the life of LAB.

2) ENERGY is Not POWER;
To better understand the difference between Power (kW) & Energy (kWh), This Page explains kW & kWh in Detail.

[Marine359]

For all practical purposes, campers don’t set out to run loads directly from their solar panels. The power and voltage coming from the panels are unregulated. For camping, BobC’s analogy is correct because the camper is protected from the uncertainty of fluctuating voltage and amperage by a charge controller and battery. dc appliances will ask for clean 12v power with amperage requirements varying by device. Since a battery is the only component that can deliver a constant 12v, it doesn’t make any sense at all to attempt to run dc loads directly from the pv array. Similarly, inverters are looking for regulated 12v in order to invert to 120v ac. I think it would be foolish to embark on a camping trip without a battery capable of storing the power (expressed in watts) generated by a pv array. In home and industrial applications as well, I don’t know of any that run loads directly from a pv array. I could be wrong about this, but a typical home system routes all pv voltage through a charge controller whose power can be stored in batteries in an off-grid application, or returned to the grid directly in a grid tie application. The grid is not an appliance load. That’s why power can go directly from controller to grid.

So in response to OP inquiry: there is no value to installing pv on an RV other than battery charging.

[The Raptor]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Since a battery is the only component that can deliver a constant 12v, it doesn’t make any sense at all to attempt to run dc loads directly from the pv array.

So in response to OP inquiry: there is no value to installing pv on an RV other than battery charging.

Yes, Battery Stabilises Equipment Energy Draw.

However with enough Sun, I have been using these 48V~12V, 48V~24V, 12V~24V etc. Converters, these are limited to 12A maximum, which is enough Power for most applications, like 12~24V Fridge, although fall Short of operating an Air-conditioner over 1kW.


I have operated these of Directly off a 500W 48V Solar Pane to operate 12V & 24V applications, these are a good item to have in the Toolbox in a Pinch if your Charge Controller Fails.


I use mine with several different Terminals ends, from Anderson & Solar Connectors to Charge 12, 24 & 48V Battery Banks on various Micro Grids.
These cheap $25 Controllers have never Fail us yet.

[creativepart]

Can you “run” things off of a solar panel? Sure if you don’t need it to run consistently or reliably. Anyone that watches the output from a solar panel is aware that the voltage and wattage output changes constantly - not minute by minute but from second to second. This variability makes it a lousy substitute for consistent reliable and controlled electrical output.

I’ll stand by my comment… you don’t run 12v systems on your travel trailer on solar power alone. You use it to charge your batteries and the run your 12v systems from your batteries.

[Marine359]

Please tell us how your use scenarios can help a typical camper. I’d like to know, as I’m always wanting to learn. All dc loads in a 2306 BHS are 12v. They draw their power from a 12v bus. A charge controller has two purposes. First to regulate voltage to 12v. Second, to convert power (watts from pv) to current (amperage that can be used for charging. The amperage from the charge controller can be used to power dc loads in addition to charging, however, everything on the bus MUST be 12v. The output from the charge controller AND the battery, AND dc loads are sharing the same bus. Unless I flunked out of engineering school, you cannot mix voltages on a common bus. The only way to power non 12v loads from a 12v bus is through a converter that accepts 12v input and converts it to some other voltage. I mean you could do it without a converter if you wanted to see your rv burn to the ground.

[The Raptor]

You are Both Correct, the Obvious is having Energy Storage in between the Solar Panel & Load is Obviously Common, ....if Not running a Generator !

When it comes to Mixing Voltage on a Bus-Bar, I have found that common 12.8v is standard Rail (Bus) Voltage, but 12v can operate up to 16V, without any real issues that we have found.

I commonly Parallel one or more LAB in either 12v & 24v Rail Voltage, with Super Capacitor (SC) Battery that will actually Charge up to 16V, whilst the LAB remain at 13+V.

FYI: Paralleling a SC battery with a Vehicle LAB will do two things, that I have thoroughly tested;

1. SC battery acts like a Slave battery, as when Stationary & commonly after driving for a while, the Generator will slowly Charge the SC up to 16V, whilst the LAB will charge to 13.2V.
2. When the Vehicle is turned off, the SC will sacrifice the 16V to the Rail/Bus if the LAB is Not in Top Condition, it will try to keep the LAB Voltage as high as possible by supplying/sacrificing the additional Voltage too the LAB.
3. We have Tested the Claims, and on a PETROL engine, operating with a SC on a trip, Increases the Fuel Efficiency by 30% !

On the latter statement, the sceptics say No, but we have Tested this on a Petrol engine Nissan 4X4WD, that Previously on a 550klm Trip used a Full Tank of Fuel, but with a SC in Parallel it started using under 3/4 Tank !

Besides Starting the Engine a Lot quicker due to the additional 3V, We can only put this down to Producing a Superior Ignition Spark !

Obviously on a Diesel Engine there will be No increased Fuel efficiency for the Obvious reasons, but the Engine Starts way Quicker, as the additional Volts Crank the Engine over Quicker !

[The Raptor]

These are the three small SC Batteries we commonly use !

• Image-1 is the Tonka Toy size SC & will actually Start a Heavy Ridged Truck!
• Image-2 is double the Size, we use this unit to Start Vehicles with Flat Batteries, and have connected up to a 12V, 4kW Inverter, but will only Operate a 800W Microwave for up to 3 minutes.
• Image-3 Is what we use to Replace a Vehicle Battery, we use Two of there in Series on a 24V Forklift with a Solar Panels fixed atop the Forklift , as the 24v Starter motor Burnt out, so I was actual Cheaper to fix an old solar Panel as a roof on the Forklift, the SC Charge to 27.2V, and start the Diesel engine in approx a 1/10 of a Second, and has been operating for over 12 months now.

These size SC don't store much Energy, but they are all capable of Delivering up to 600A.

Please Note: These sized SC Batteries store WAY less Energy that a LAB, but that is NOT what these small SC are designed for.

We have 5kW~15kWh SC Modules that Weigh approx. 37kg/115kg respectively, there are for Powering a Home.

[BobC]

The OP seems to be long gone, maybe we scared him away with too much information.

[Marine359]

^^^^yup