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Camper, just the basics

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Norbert77

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Jul 5, 2022
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Hi guys, unjust got a camper and in the process of cleaning it up. Needs a battery. It's 23 years old original, my friend recommends a LiPo 100ah.

All I need is basic camper stuff, 12v LED lights, perimeter lights for going outside if needed, 12v water pump and a television/dvd setup. It would be nice to be able to run the microwave for making popcorn or a quick dinner, is 100ah enough? How would it be wired, into an inverter to the house battery which then powered the converter?

Also have a 1800w Yamaha inverter generator if planning long term large power use


I wouldn't want more than 400 watt solar panel, preferably 12v.

Thanks in advance,
Norbert
 
Depends on the battery. Most RV microwaves can pull more than 1200 watts. Most 12v lipo batteries have 100 amp discharge limits (1200 or so watts) Two wired in parallel would be more than enough to power the loads.

I dont know much about RV 12v systems, but unless you plan this to be completely separate, I dont think you would want to retain your old house battery. I think connecting an LFP to what is likely a lead acid battery would be a bad idea.
 
Even smallest 700w output microwave uses 1150W to run. Due to it being an inductance load on an inverter, it needs even more overhead for surges, I'd want at least a 1500W inverter. which your 100Ah LFP with a 100A BMS wouldn't support.

If you buy an inverter microwave, loom them up, about 250$, you can run them at 70% power or so, and could dobit on a 1000W inverter from your 100Ah battery.

But I would do a 200Ah battery, a 2000W inverter.
 
The more you want to run, the more complicated/expensive the system gets. If you're happy firing up the generator to run the microwave, you can keep the system simple and a single 100 Ah LiFePO4 battery will work just fine.

You don't need to think of solar panels as 12v or 24v. The panel has a voltage (Voc) that you want to match to the solar charge controller. The controller needs have a Maximum PV Input Voltage that is well above, within reason, what the solar panel can produce. Never exceed the Maximum PV Input Voltage rating of the solar charge controller - that will let the magic smoke come out.
 
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Thanks for the advice. I bought a LiTime 100ah on the Will dissecting battery videos. Can it be hooked up to the house charger, or should I get a different charger for it and separate the AC and DC parts of the voltage converter?
 
Do these batteries not have a specified discharge rate like LiPo batteries? My 11 volt 5000mah RC car battery could do 35 discharge, which was something like 165 amps
 
The need for a new converter depends on what you have. If it's the original converter it probably doesn't have a four stage charge profile. The fourth stage is a Equalization which is for lead acid batteries and has too high a voltage for LiFePO4.

Safest way to go is to put in a new converter with a LiFePO4 charge profile.

The maximum discharge should be in the datasheet for the battery. If it's rated for 100 Ah then it can probably do 100 amp discharge.
 
HRTKD said:
The need for a new converter depends on what you have. If it's the original converter it probably doesn't have a four stage charge profile. The fourth stage is a Equalization which is for lead acid batteries and has too high a voltage for LiFePO4.

Safest way to go is to put in a new converter with a LiFePO4 charge profile.

The maximum discharge should be in the datasheet for the battery. If it's rated for 100 Ah then it can probably do 100 amp discharge.
Click to expand...
Thanks, it's an 01 camper I don't know the history, but the battery is original so it's definitely boned
 
Wasn't Megatron the bad buy in the Transformers story? Bad karma right there to name your battery after the bad guy. Kind of like naming your kid Lucifer.

The connectors and wire may need to be replaced if the corrosion go to them too. Nice thing about the LiFePO4 batteries is that there's no corrosion like you get with the lead acid batteries.
 
Solar is a slippery slope, be advised of the potential for addiction. Your needs are low and you have a few options. If the only AC requirement is the microwave, you could either use the generator or an inverter. If your TV is 120v, then you need the inverter, best to go with a 2000w to cover everything. You could also completely separate the AC and DC sides, and have the DC only charge with solar. I made a ground mount with 3 100w Newpowa panels and a Victron 75/15, works great. Be advised that lithium batteries can not be charged below freezing temps.
 
Scott SD said:
Solar is a slippery slope, be advised of the potential for addiction. Your needs are low and you have a few options. If the only AC requirement is the microwave, you could either use the generator or an inverter. If your TV is 120v, then you need the inverter, best to go with a 2000w to cover everything. You could also completely separate the AC and DC sides, and have the DC only charge with solar. I made a ground mount with 3 100w Newpowa panels and a Victron 75/15, works great. Be advised that lithium batteries can not be charged below freezing temps.
Click to expand...

Ha Ha Ha my first panel was a 15 watt amorphous panel on a 1978 31' Pace Arrow. Now my smaller trailer has 658 Amps of battery two inverters and 1220 watts of solar. Addiction? What addiction? ........... 😉
 
If your 120 vac use is fairly rare, just turn the generator on when you need to run the microwave or make coffee for now.
 
100 ah battery, 200w solar and MPPT controller will run all of your 12v stuff. Microwave is powered by generator.
Microwave battery powered,,, 200ah battery, 2000w inverter 300w+ solar and MPPT controller.
What make and model is your converter??? Some older ones will sorta work with LFP batteries, they just wont be fully charged and the solar will top things off.
DO NOT even think about running the air conditioner off this "size system"
Edited reality check
 
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HRTKD said:
Wasn't Megatron the bad buy in the Transformers story? Bad karma right there to name your battery after the bad guy. Kind of like naming your kid Lucifer.

The connectors and wire may need to be replaced if the corrosion go to them too. Nice thing about the LiFePO4 batteries is that there's no corrosion like you get with the lead acid batteries.
Click to expand...

I always thought “Lucas” was “The Prince of Darkness” 😜

Or so it seemed in my 1968 GT6
 
I have a 1991 camper that that I added solar and LifePO4 to. as for your solar, one panel the biggest you can fit on top should work great for you.. 400 to 450 is a good range if you can fit it. like was mentioned you want 2 batteries or one capable of putting out enough power to run a 2000 watt inverter, then you know you will be safe. a couple other things to consider is the power center, I took my old antique one out and replaced it with a intellipower 4045 series powercenter that has Li charging, but also has filtered DC, lots of 12V fuse spots and a breaker set up for adding AC circuits (I only have one ac outlet so I am adding more so I can add different appliances or what not.) do do the power center, solar panel, charge controller is pretty cheep nowadays, if you want to go Victron then your going to pay a lot more and if I was redoing a system from scratch I would consider it but to just upgrade an existing system .... I have a 325 watt panel, the charge controller, new led light fixtures and power center for 600 bucks CDN 4 years ago I could probably shave 100 bucks or more off that today. I am going to add another panel once I install the inverter for 120V power, right now I don't need it as my 304AH battery lets me run for 10 days in the winter with no solar.
 
I highly suggest one 200 amp hour 12v battery.

No, don't crank generator just to pop corn. Get battery that does the job.

When you say, "all I need...", lol. you list everything. The all-I-need category is guys who just need lights, fan and water pump, they can run off a couple of D-cell batteries. You list quite a big power need.

First suggestion is to learn to be an RV'er, not a house dweller. RV industry makes tons of RV appliances that do not depend on high 120v current loads. Get a stove-top popcorn maker, like movie theaters use, will taste way better. Pop the corn at home and take with you. Eat something else. Get a 12v DC tv. Try to not use any appliance that needs 120v off an inverter. Keep inverter for charging your laptop or other 120v needs that rarely come up.

200 watts of solar will be plenty (in the sun) to recharge after the things you listed, no need to go bigger right now unless you will be in the shade all the time, thus you would want more panels to make up for the shaded issue.
 
0truck0 said:
When you say, "all I need...", lol. you list everything. The all-I-need category is guys who just need lights, fan and water pump, they can run off a couple of D-cell batteries. You list quite a big power need.

First suggestion is to learn to be an RV'er, not a house dweller. RV industry makes tons of RV appliances that do not depend on high 120v current loads. Get a stove-top popcorn maker, like movie theaters use, will taste way better. Pop the corn at home and take with you. Eat something else. Get a 12v DC tv. Try to not use any appliance that needs 120v off an inverter. Keep inverter for charging your laptop or other 120v needs that rarely come up.
Click to expand...

everyone camps different, I camp both ways, some times it with the peculator and jiffy pop stove top popcorn, some times it with full hookups and all the comforts of home. its not our right to judge what others call camping, and frankly it takes away from the post. its not hard to run a microwave for short periods like making popcorn, it is better than making it any other way in my opinion, and its pretty much the only thing I use the microwave for in the 5th wheel, well warming the grandkids bottles when they were little.

as for the tv's ya you can get a 12V but I wouldn't do that either.. they charge to much and there are no good quality brands, at least I haven't found a decent quality one yet. I don't want to settle for a second rate tv just so it can be 12V when I can add a inverter and turn it on when I want to watch tv. I would like a good 12V for the truck camper as it would be easier to power, but in reality it wouldn't get used much.. maybe to watch a show on a rainy day. or news in the morning if I can get a signal. most of the RV industry appliances you speak about are crappy quality and suspect reliability, they don't build them like they used to, but they don't really apply in the context of this conversation , well the TV's maybe, but I explained what's wrong with them. rv microwaves still need 120V power, same as AC's ... they do make 12V compressor refrigerators now but that's the last thing you want if you plan on boondocking, unless you want to install even more solar and battery. and if your going to use a inverter for charging stuff why not just do a system with a inverter big enough to do what you want it to with a remote switch and turn it on only when you want to use 120V power ?
 
If you are going to spend $200 on a converter, might be worth a look at the new smaller Victron Multiplus models. Inverter/charger with 120v pass through. Even the 500va inverter would be nice to have 120v for the TV. As Stir crazy said, 12v TVs suck, better to just use a small inverter.
 
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