Newbie that needs alot of help sifting through all the acronyms, usage, and details of off grid system.

[SmokeAKAscotty]

Bear with me, I'm new here and to posting on forums in general.
1st off, I'm a complete noob. I've done alot of reading and research but I'm still not able to get a total grasp to make informed decisions. I'm trin to post all relevant pics. A note to remember while responding, I'm older and disabled on a fixed income, also this is my life, I bought land way out in the woods and off grid is my only option for power. I have a small 30 foot camper. The camper has a 30 amp plug that now only powers the 120 volt outlets, I've removed the converter completely from the RV and wired the 12 volt system directly to my batteries. Being on a fixed income, I've had to slowly (and will have to continue upgrading slowly) upgrade. The batteries I have are all at least 3 yrs old 2 are identical marine batteries and 1 car battery all wired in parallel. I also have a Ryobi generator and 3000 watt Power Drive 12 volt inverter. I run generator for 3 hrs in morning and 3 hrs at night b4 bed and i plug everything into 120 camper outlets when generator is running and when on batteries i unplug refrigerator from 120 camper outlets and plug into inverter thats wired to battery bank, I get 14.5 volts and 12.9 to 12.8 resting volts with nothing running, the the refrigerator kicks on I lose about 0.5 volts for the 10 minutes it runs for. The fan and TV I only use when generator is running because the batteries won't last all day.

Next I bought a 400 watt solar kit that came with 2 200 watt panels and 30 amp charge controller (its not the mppt controller but the other kind, like I said, I'm a noob here lol don't remember the other kind, pw or something???). So I made a adjustable stand and mounted panels and connected to battery bank. Now with this setup, I no longer need to run my generator in the morning as the panels do that. But I still have to top off the batteries every night because the sun goes down long b4 I goto bed. Now if it's really cloudy and I watch TV, this is definitely Now enough to last all day. Charge controller readings I've noted are PV (by observing the read out,I think that means soalr panels) 6 amps is highest I've seen and 0.5 amps lowest (not including night time of course). volts I've noticed are 12.2 to 13.6

What I want,
1.I want to be able to watch TV 6 hours, run refrigerator 24/7, fan about 12 hours a day, and the occasional air fryer microwave and coffee maker for 10 to 15 minutes at most 2 times a day.

2. I want a expandable system that i can buy pieces for as i can afford them, because I definitely can not afford to buy a $5,000 to $10,000 upfront.

3. A system that can 100% run on solar and or 100% on battery and or 100% on generator all at same time or system switched (if possible)

4. Here's the one I really having trouble with, I want to charge my current and future system that is 12 volt or maybe 24 volt or 36 volt or 48 volt (I'd definitely like to goto at least 24 volt from the research I've done) but how do I charge anything other than a 12 volt system with my gas powered generator (as of now I just use a 12 volt car battery charger) and still have it connected to solar system (like a few days in row with heavy clouds) without have to unhook all the batteries in the higher volt systems that i assume i will wire in series and charge each 12 volt battery one at a time?

4A.The other issue I can't wrap my mind around is how do I charge a system while I'm using it, because right now, the only way to top off my batteries is to run everything off generator and charge batteries (with absolutely nothing pulling juice) with car charger.

Pics are
10 cubic fridge
2 12 volt marine batteries
1 12 volt car battery
Ryobi gas powered generator
Serenelife 400 watt solar kit (2 200 panels and 30amp controller)
12 volt car battery charger
32 inch TV
120 volt fan
12 volt LED lights have replaced all old incadescent bulbs in camper

1 last thing, if you could use the words instead off shorthand letters (like PV I deducted means solar panels). I get so lost having to Google so many acronyms.

 

[wpns]

Bear with me, I'm new here and to posting on forums in general.
1st off, I'm a complete noob. I've done alot of reading and research but I'm still not able to get a total grasp to make informed decisions. I'm trin to post all relevant pics. A note to remember while responding, I'm older and disabled on a fixed income, also this is my life, I bought land way out in the woods and off grid is my only option for power. I have a small 30 foot camper. The camper has a 30 amp plug that now only powers the 120 volt outlets, I've removed the converter completely from the RV and wired the 12 volt system directly to my batteries. Being on a fixed income, I've had to slowly (and will have to continue upgrading slowly) upgrade. The batteries I have are all at least 3 yrs old 2 are identical marine batteries and 1 car battery all wired in parallel. I also have a Ryobi generator and 3000 watt Power Drive 12 volt inverter. I run generator for 3 hrs in morning and 3 hrs at night b4 bed and i plug everything into 120 camper outlets when generator is running and when on batteries i unplug refrigerator from 120 camper outlets and plug into inverter thats wired to battery bank, I get 14.5 volts and 12.9 to 12.8 resting volts with nothing running, the the refrigerator kicks on I lose about 0.5 volts for the 10 minutes it runs for. The fan and TV I only use when generator is running because the batteries won't last all day.

Next I bought a 400 watt solar kit that came with 2 200 watt panels and 30 amp charge controller (its not the mppt controller but the other kind, like I said, I'm a noob here lol don't remember the other kind, pw or something???). So I made a adjustable stand and mounted panels and connected to battery bank. Now with this setup, I no longer need to run my generator in the morning as the panels do that. But I still have to top off the batteries every night because the sun goes down long b4 I goto bed. Now if it's really cloudy and I watch TV, this is definitely Now enough to last all day. Charge controller readings I've noted are PV (by observing the read out,I think that means soalr panels) 6 amps is highest I've seen and 0.5 amps lowest (not including night time of course). volts I've noticed are 12.2 to 13.6

What I want,
1.I want to be able to watch TV 6 hours, run refrigerator 24/7, fan about 12 hours a day, and the occasional air fryer microwave and coffee maker for 10 to 15 minutes at most 2 times a day.

2. I want a expandable system that i can buy pieces for as i can afford them, because I definitely can not afford to buy a $5,000 to $10,000 upfront.

3. A system that can 100% run on solar and or 100% on battery and or 100% on generator all at same time or system switched (if possible)

4. Here's the one I really having trouble with, I want to charge my current and future system that is 12 volt or maybe 24 volt or 36 volt or 48 volt (I'd definitely like to goto at least 24 volt from the research I've done) but how do I charge anything other than a 12 volt system with my gas powered generator (as of now I just use a 12 volt car battery charger) and still have it connected to solar system (like a few days in row with heavy clouds) without have to unhook all the batteries in the higher volt systems that i assume i will wire in series and charge each 12 volt battery one at a time?

4A.The other issue I can't wrap my mind around is how do I charge a system while I'm using it, because right now, the only way to top off my batteries is to run everything off generator and charge batteries (with absolutely nothing pulling juice) with car charger.

Pics are
10 cubic fridge
2 12 volt marine batteries
1 12 volt car battery
Ryobi gas powered generator
Serenelife 400 watt solar kit (2 200 panels and 30amp controller)
12 volt car battery charger
32 inch TV
120 volt fan
12 volt LED lights have replaced all old incadescent bulbs in camper

1 last thing, if you could use the words instead off shorthand letters (like PV I deducted means solar panels). I get so lost having to Google so many acronyms.

First off, there's a lot to wade through there, so I'm just going to touch on a few things, feel free to ask followup questions.

You don't say what your budget is, other than as low as possible. You need to put some numbers on that for budget purposes, so people don't start recommending $10 solutions or $10,000 solutions when that's not what you are looking for.

Sounds like the first thing you need is a better battery charger, so you can just run everything off your batteries and charge them at the same time with your generator. Your 3.4 KW generator ought to be able to charge the batteries at whatever their maximum rate is and run the inverter at the same time, but you'll need a much better battery charger. Is your generator 120V or 120/240?

Your next problem is the batteries, lead-acid auto batteries can only survive a couple of deep discharge cycles, and even your DieHard batteries are only rated for 67AH, and you shouldn't use more than about half of that or you'll significantly shorten their lifespan. So you only have about 1000(?) watt-hours available, which is why your batteries don't last long. The obvious solution is to convert to LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries, you can get 100AH 12V LFP batteries for under $200 on Amazon, which will give you 1280 watt-hours without ruining them on deep discharge.

And of course, once you switch your batteries to LFP, you'll need an LFP battery charger rated anywhere up to 100A.

Upgrading your solar charge controller (SCC) to MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) will help a lot.

Your solar panels look like they are in a shady place, what mounting options do you have for more panels in direct sunlight?


Your fridge is 15 years old, a more modern one will use less power, but if it works I'd put that pretty far down the list.

I don't think at this point you really need to upgrade your inverter or battery voltage, if 3KW handles all you need and you can manually load-manage the microwave/airfryer and coffee maker.

 

[SmokeAKAscotty]

My overall budget is yet to be determined but I can spare around $300 per month which would be $3600 over a year. I was thinking for instance, buy 1 lipo battery one month and a 2nd one the next month, then a better charge controller the month after that and so on
My generator only puts out 120 to 4 outlets and 1 30 amp RV plug.
Batteries next, I definitely plan to buy lipo and you say 12 volt should be fine, but incase I need to upgrade to 24 volt (i do not have a well yet but plan on one next year) , is there lipo battery chargers and mppt controllers that can run different volt battery banks or are the one specific voltage, like either only 12 volt parallel or only 24 volt series ect ect

Solar panels get direct sunlight from 9 am to 5pm currently. I have removed alot of trees and can remove as many as needed. I was planing on buying a dual axis tracker for the panels. The other thing is I'm in Michigan near 44th parallel and according to my research my winter daily sun is 2.6 where everyone else is 5.5 lol figures right ? Lol (we get 60% to 70% overcast days per month on average during the winter because of my proximity to Lake Michigan and lake effect weather). I would like a system that can supply my energy needs during the winter months. For instance, is my current 400 watt panels 2 times what I need or just enough for optimal conditions?
Refrigerator, yes it's old and down the list (as long as it doesn't die on me )

Sorry if I'm being long winded and I really appreciate your response!!

 

[Rednecktek]

Here's my advice from the "Frak-Your-Solar-Paywall" poors point of view:

$300 a month budget? OK...

Month 1: 2x cheapie LiFeP04 100ah battety ($150 ea) and chuck the lead in the trash. That right there might get you through the night considering that'll about triple your battery capacity right there.

Month 2: HQST 60a solar charge controller ($220) and 6awg copper wire/lugs, throw the old controller in the trash.

Month 2: Grab a basic Aili shunt so you can get an accurate reading on how full and empty your batteries are. ($35)

Month 3 & 4: 2x as-best-as-possible matches to your existing 200w panels to bring you up to 800w of solar panels ($300?) wired in 2s2p (2 panels in series, then repeat in parallel with a Y-splitter) which will pretty much max out your controller's capability. The Voc, Vmp and Isc numbers on the back should be within 5% or so of all the panels. Brand doesn't matter.


Month 5: Replace your fridge, you'd be amazed at just how much battery you can save with a higher efficiency fridge. ($300 or less if you look for holiday sales)

Month 6: 2x more cheapie LiFeP04 100ah batteries and bus bars to connect everything together. ($300)

Somewhere around Month 4 you should start making it through multiple nights on a regular basis, maybe 2 or 3 nights depending on season, weather, and how many episodes you're binging. By month 6 you should only need the generator once a week or so in winter. There's no good reason to change your functional 12v system to a 24v system then have to kick it back to 12v for your existing stuff and have to replace your battery charger and buy a new inverter.

Yes, your battery charger might only get the batteries up to 95% full not being a specialty charger, but once the sun comes up the last 5% comes in quick.

 

[azjeff]

First off, no such thing as long winded. Don’t apologize, it is NOT a problem. The more information you provide, the better the response can be tailored to your specific needs.
Your current batteries are the biggest issue with your system. I have purchased Lifepo4 batteries on Amazon, LiTime is the brand. Best to purchase larger amp hour sizes if possible, because additional cost in wiring several smaller capacity batteries together will add up. Large gauge wire isn’t cheap. Example 1x 200 AH battery rather than 2x 100 AH batteries and the 1/0 size cables required to link them together. You mention a possible well in future. You could have a 12v solar pump feeding into a storage tank. Your needs are minimal. In my opinion, stick with 12v set up.
Trailer is already wired for it.
You need a better solar charge controller.
I purchased a Victron MPPT unit.
Very big upgrade from the cheap Renogy PWM unit I started with.
Forget solar panel trackers.
Cheaper and less complicated to buy more panels and have them facing different directions.
My first Lifepo4 battery purchase was 6/22 on Amazon for $700
My last was same exact battery, again on Amazon for $390
Prices have dropped considerably.
Yes, you can buy used commercial sized panels for very cheap on Craigslist, Facebook marketplace or similar.
But it can become more difficult handling/mounting the larger sizes alone.
Including my initial battery purchase, I have less than $1500 total costs for solar system, everything purchased new.
I have 600 watts in panels (3x200 watt) 600 AH in batteries (3x 200 ah) and a 1000 watt inverter.
Upgrading your batteries and solar charge controller will make the most difference to what you working with now.

 

[45North]

Winter is cold in Michigan and lithium iron phosphate batteries must not be charged if they are below freezing point or they will be permanently damaged.
So, either your new LIP batteries will be kept in a heated space or else you stick with lead acid batteries which don't have this restriction.

 

[azjeff]

There are also self heating LIP batteries being produced. In my opinion, it’s worth either insulating the space where batteries are being housed, or looking into the self heating models. I’d rather figure out a way to keep LIP batteries within their parameters than go backwards in technological time with lead acid.

 

[robbob2112]

If you choose Victron for your MPPT - they have some that will do 12/24v... and some that do 12/24/36/48v .... I am currently on 12v, but when I upgrade I will be on 48v... So have an eye towards the future if you ever think you will upgrade.

Batteries - if sticking with 12v buy 12v, if you think you will go with 24v or 48v buy the correct voltage right off - stacking batteries to get higher voltages can be done, but it can be a problem.

I second the LiTime recomendation - so far they are good stuff.