MADE MY SYSTEM BIGGER (6000XP X 50A RV)

[Jason flores]

I seen several post with people saying they couldnt run the rv heater at night so i thought what if i bought a 1000 watt ceramic heater and run it at night ..i originally had one 6000xp eg4 w/ 9,000 watts on my solar array 18x500w(max capable) with 48v 610ah lifepo4 batteries . I decided after looking threw comments that this would NOT be enough for what I wanted to do .
Full 37 ft 50a rv a/c -heater -water heater -tvs etc
I also have a seperate refrigerator. I get 5-1/2 hours of direct sun (no shaded areas) temps during the day are 40°-50° f at night down to 6° f
I would need to run my heater at night as well as 2 fridges (rv and residential). Tvs ? and a small 500w heater to warm the insulated shipping container that batteries and inverter is in . I want to strictly run off solar during the day not draining batteries . In summer I'll need to run the a/c at day time and power tools while building this pre fab cabin ..

So I decided to beef up the system with 18,000 watt array , Two 6000xp parallel , and 905ah of lifepo4 batterys . I'm hoping I won't have any issues .

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I seen several post with people saying they couldnt run the rv heater at night

Who are these people? You talking about the propane furnace? It's insane not to. Most efficient way to make heat unless you have a mini-split or rooftop heat pump.

so i thought what if i bought a 1000 watt ceramic heater and run it at night ..

Horrible idea. Resistance heat is a massive energy hog. An RV furnace outputs about 30,000 BTU/h or about 9000W.

The ONLY practical use of electric heat in an RV is an electric blanket with a huge comforter on top of it to seal you in snug like a bug in a rug. It can be 40°F in the RV, and the blanket on low can almost make you sweat!

i originally had one 6000xp eg4 w/ 9,000 watts on my solar array 18x500w(max capable) with 48v 610ah lifepo4 batteries . I decided after looking threw comments that this would NOT be enough for what I wanted to do .
Full 37 ft 50a rv a/c -heater -water heater -tvs etc

Depends.

I also have a seperate refrigerator.

Absorption/propane type or compressor like a residential fridge?

I get 5-1/2 hours of direct sun (no shaded areas) temps during the day are 40°-50° f at night down to 6° f

I would need to run my heater at night as well as 2 fridges (rv and residential).

I think this answers it. If the RV fridge is propane, you need to run it on propane. A 7.6cu-ft unit will use about 5kWh/day. A 12cu-ft unit double door will use 9-11kWh/day. The residential fridge (20 cu-ft or so) likely doesn't use more than about 1.5kWh/day.

Tvs ? and a small 500w heater to warm the insulated shipping container that batteries and inverter is in .

Glad to see you said "insulated." I didn't insulate mine, and the only good the 1500W heater does it to push 30A through the battery to warm it up from the inside.

I want to strictly run off solar during the day not draining batteries . In summer I'll need to run the a/c at day time and power tools while building this pre fab cabin ..

So I decided to beef up the system with 18,000 watt array , Two 6000xp parallel , and 905ah of lifepo4 batterys . I'm hoping I won't have any issues .

Well, that should improve things. You'll want to introduce your high energy use items one at a time.

 

[Jason flores]

I'm honestly thinking if shtf propane will not be accessible so I want to be 100% solar . We only get 6 inches of snow a year and an average of 310 sunny days a year .

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I'm honestly thinking if shtf propane will not be accessible so I want to be 100% solar . We only get 6 inches of snow a year and an average of 310 sunny days a year .

I hear you. I'm headed that direction too. It's just MUCH more demanding.

Ditch the resistance heating and get a mini-split with heat pump function for heat and replace that absorption fridge. Either get the 12V cooling unit or swap it out entirely. We swapped our 12cu-ft norcold after the cooling unit failed with a 10.1 cu-ft energy star refrigerator... cut consumption down to 0.8kWh/day and the added depth of the fridge makes it feel much more roomy/usable than the 12cu-ft unit.