diy solar

diy solar

going all electric on travel trailer - fridge, stove, water heater

Currently we have 1600ah 12V battery setup that we charge from alternator, generator or shore power. It's AGM so only 50% DoD and no solar at all today. The type of use depends on what type of trip we are on, we are not full time in the RV. Sometimes we boondock for a 3 days of tailgating or camping, other times we are taking a couple of weeks for longer trips with a mix of full hookups and random stops with no hookups. Because we are usually driving between stops, our engine alternator keeps the bank fully topped off most days.

I understand it's going to be very difficult for the OP to meet his goals with 400 in solar and a small bank, he is going to have to expand that system to successfully replace propane.
I'm not saying it's ideal, just that it is possible to be all electric and there are real benefits. I know my wife would never even consider having propane again if she had been in a fire like that, and we did take the risk of fire seriously when we were planning out our current coach. I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night either.
 
That is only 3.5 cu ft which is about half of the size of my fridge, and I don't have a big one :( I see they offer a 9 cu ft one, and interesting, they are still claiming 80w. Something fish there.
A point of reference; we have a 9.2 co.ft. Nova Cool 12v only. Danfos compressor.

it draws about 50 watts and runs about 50% of the time. I did add insulation and installed the Fridge Optimizer and extra fan.

the refer box maintains 34* constant and the freezer about 8-10* Not quite cold enough for long term storage but I’m ok with that. It makes ice overnight

24 hours of use is right about 650 Wh
 
This type of question happens a lot, especially over on reddit. Simply, heating and air conditioning are stoppers to all-solar solutions right now. Cooking is basically heating, as are showers. Maybe several iterations in technology from now fossil including LPG will be gone, but not today.

Reiterate the statement on absorption reefers. My on-board Norcold absorption takes minimum of 140W. My dual freezer/reefer compressor takes less than 30W after startup, and around 70W at startup. I run 200W of panel and 100Ah of AGM just for house systems like my waterpump, fan for LPG heater, lights, USB stuff, etc. The absorption reefer is now an unpowered icebox fed from the compressor freezer. 200W is plenty for that, but can't lift much more. If I have the time I usually run the freezer on my Lithium field system.

I have a 600W microwave, and a 600W coffee maker that get run off a bank of 1 to 5 100Ah LiFePO fed by anywhere from 400W to 1,200W of panel, depending on the daily situation. The 400W is a collection of 'suitcase' panels by Renogy. The 1,200W is DYI, modular, portable, and superior in every way to the Renogy except ease of setup.

That all support continent wide ebike trips and a smallish uber Teardrop (older T@b).
 
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we have a 9.2 co.ft. Nova Cool 12v only. Danfos compressor.
That looks like a great unit. I’m personally not in the position to spend $2500 on a refrigerator, though. If you can roll that good.
I’ll admit my selections veer toward more low-budget items; in my mind $2500 leaves a lot of headroom for replacing a $150- $400 refrigerator while allowing for a few more panels for better low-light use and a lot more sunshine flexibility for running tools etc

Mercedes and Cadillac make excellent cars but even if I could foot it I almost certainly wouldn’t be shopping at that level.

Maybe one day they’ll be affordable by volume? They seem like quality equipment.
walmartha and Home Depot for me.
 
Maybe a locking aluminum box to keep the cylinders from jumping onto the road.

DZ91717_11-2_250.jpg


https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Tool-Box/DeeZee/DZ91717.html
 
Maybe a locking aluminum box to keep the cylinders from jumping onto the road.

DZ91717_11-2_250.jpg


https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Tool-Box/DeeZee/DZ91717.html
True that, but I assume it was operator error, i.e. tank or tanks were taken off the hitch to be filled and weren't mounted back properly. I have limited experience, but have never heard of a cylinder coming off unless there was an accident. Don't those things have a valve that shuts off if a significant drop in pressure is seen? Maybe not standard, but optional. Isn't the biggest culprit the fridges?
 
Don't those things have a valve that shuts off if a significant drop in pressure is seen?
Ya, that and sideways should shut the internal valve iirc. Been that way for 20 years for a tank to be stamped certified.
 
What would be the minimum GPM I would need for a shower? I read that 1.5 GPM is standard low flow but the point-of-use water heaters I see that use less than 2kW @110VAC are 0.4 or 0.2 GPM
If you use a low-flow shower head that also lets you shut off water between different showering ’tasks’ you can have a decent shower in 1.5 gallons- 2 gallons total- gpm has nothing to do with it. (other than production rate)
Set up like that a 4-gallon shower is luxurious.

However - not that I know everything or you must do as I do- if I were going to not propane heat water I would get as big of an electric hot water heater as I could possibly fit (like up to ten gallons or do); put as much solar as possible up top and ‘dump load’ into the water heater. (When batteries are full, watts are sent into H2O heater; install a temp control mixing valve so nobody gets scalded and run thermostat up to 160F or more)
You will probably have mote than all the hot water you’d ever want.
 
True that, but I assume it was operator error, i.e. tank or tanks were taken off the hitch to be filled and weren't mounted back properly. I have limited experience, but have never heard of a cylinder coming off unless there was an accident. Don't those things have a valve that shuts off if a significant drop in pressure is seen? Maybe not standard, but optional. Isn't the biggest culprit the fridges?
Yes there is an excess flow valve if the pigtail had ripped clean off. Not going to help if the cylinder is being used as a skid plate. I figure if the box is closed and locked DW can know all is safe and secure.
 
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