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Power station as main supply for caravan

Lernfaehig

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Jul 31, 2021
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I just ordered my first caravan and it is a fully electric one including a heatpump for cooling and heating, a compressor fridge as well as an induction cooktop. My idea now is to use a large solar power station to supply the caravan when camping as well as integrate a solar system into the camper.
The plan is to use the Fossibot F3600 which I already own and integrate it in between the grid-connection (when on camping grounds) and the distribution panel in the caravan though its 3600W Inverter. It also offers a 25A 12V DC output which would be used for supplying all 12V loads like lighting and the compressor fridge. There is also a 2000W solar input for 12-160V OCV which I want to connect to some solar panels on the roof. As the caravan will only be delivered in june I don't have the exact roof layout yet to decide on which and how many panels will fit.
The idea is not use this setup for boondocking for extended periods of time but mainly for temporary use like a day or two off-grid.

Apart from stable mounting the power station in the caravan is there anything that would speak against using such a solution in your experience?

For reference I attach the techincal data of the power station. As I'm in Europe the inverter is 230V 50Hz, apart from this everything should be universal.

Thanks for any input, Mario
 

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  • Fossibot F3600 user manual english.pdf
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is there anything that would speak against using such a solution in your experience?
Well it’s 3800Wh and you already own it.
So other than the initial cost versus alternatives it should do ok.

The first wildcard is how much and how often you will use that heat pump.
The second is the fridge: how many CF?
Fwiw if that is truly a 12V compressor it will likely use 700-1200Wh/day.
The third is that I didn’t see an idle consumption listed or maybe I missed it.
 
Well it’s 3800Wh and you already own it.
So other than the initial cost versus alternatives it should do ok.

The first wildcard is how much and how often you will use that heat pump.
The second is the fridge: how many CF?
Fwiw if that is truly a 12V compressor it will likely use 700-1200Wh/day.
The third is that I didn’t see an idle consumption listed or maybe I missed it.
Thanks for answering. I don't have the fridge yet but from what I've seen of Dometic it should be more like 500-700Wh/day. It's 89 liters or roughly 3 cft. As for idle consumption I've tested the powerstation and it drops by roughly 1.5% SOC per hour when the inverter is on, about 0.5%/h for the DC output. Average sunshine should be more than sufficient to keep the battery topped up during the main camping season. I don't intend to do real winter camping.
Regarding the heatpump it will be mainly used for cooling in summer, maybe heating on colder nights but only temporarily. For really cold ambient I will probably install a diesel heatin in case I decide to go camping in winter after all.
I've already buildt my own powerpacks from LFP cells and could of course do it again but in this case I'm really wondering if there is anything preventing me from using the power station. It includes all features I need and it cost me ~ 1500$ so way cheaper than buying all the components seperately.
 
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