Solar charger for coach batteries?

[tiinytina]

Sent: 2/3/2008

OK we are looking at solar chargers for our coach batteries. Is there any advice for brands vs hook up styles etc?

I'm thinking to just hang the charger from the battery panel cover. Bolt/attach it to discourage theft etc. So the charger will be vertical but parked at the barn it will get mid morning early afternoon sun. Going to start from home plate on this and get new marine batteries too as ours don't hold a charge.... so yes no rush as camping season doesn't even think about starting in MD until April.....

On the same topic.... any marine batteries better than others? I have every brand avail around from Walmart to Costco to all the "warehouse" places and my local garage guy who can get just about anything.... I'd rather just spend now than spend later again..... as dad always says just do it right the first time.

ok back to the super bowl commercials....
Tina

[ibdilbert01]

Sent: 2/3/2008

I'm excited to hear the replies on this one! I've been looking at solar as well. Was also wondering who made a really good deep cell.

[TerryCarolannUnger]

Sent: 2/3/2008

I found some solar from Harbor Freight for  $200..00 but you might need a converter to go to 12 V or maybe you just plug it in? It is called a 45 watt panel kit.  That's as much a I know.  So I am waiting for some answers too>

Terry

[Eksak]

Sent: 2/3/2008

We used 15watt solar panels on our pop up from Harbor Freight, They kept the battery from draining all the way down.  I just ordered the magazine again so I can put them on my winnie this spring.  It wasn't enough to run the tv, but it did keep the lights on without draining the battery.

-Eksak

[Oz]

Sent: 2/3/2008

Marine batteries are the next step-up from regular automotive batteries since they are designed for longer use on a charge (i.e. running trolling motors). They have more plates inside. 

The next step-up from that is two 6v golf cart, or even better, forklift batteries.  These must be connected + to - between them to create the 12v charge needed.  I had 2 in the PhÃ¥rÃ¥oh's Chariot and could run a full week on them without noticing any drop in power.  They are large, of course, and two notches had to be cut in my access door frame to slide them in.  But, they are designed to run heavy duty, long use electric vehicles so, if you are going to run a lot of accessories often, they are well worth it.

After that are gel batteries.  They hold charge like the 6v but can be found in a variety of sizes starting at normal automotive size.  They are expensive though.

The next generation are AGM batteries, of which I know nothing about... other than they must cost mucho dinero.

If you use the Message Search, and definitely read Smart RVing (link is in the Resources and on the Home Page), you will get a good summary of the different types of batteries available.

- Sob

[jbmhotmail]

Sent: 2/8/2008

About 1 year ago I purchased two 6 volt golf cart batteries from Costco, hooked them up + to - to make 12 volts and they are bullet-proof, we dry camp at Imperial Dunes in CA and several places here in AZ and have never even worried about battery power. I ran across a guy here in AZ that had a very large number of the old Mobile Photo voltaic Solar Panels, they are seconds and only put out about 19 to 20 watts (about 1.97 amps), the panels were rated at 30 watts. I worked on a temporary installation today so I will be ready for a ATV camp out in Apache Junction next week, it sure is nice to be able to quad and camp out 12 months of the year. I don't have a solar controller yet so I am only going to hook up two panels to the house batteries. My question is, when you are hooked up to shore power do you have to disconnect the solar panels? Also, if you were to top off the batteries with a battery charger, would you disconnect the solar panels?

If you look at the batteries at Costco be sure and measure them to see if they will fit, we have an 85 Winnebago chieftain and the batteries are under the steps, I had to make hold down brackets and use longer bolts and had to change some battery cables around but it was sure worth it.

If you buy a new or used solar panel, be sure to check for chips and cracks on the glass and take your DVM and check volts and amps.

Good luck,
Jerry

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 2/9/2008

We have gel batteries that were new last year when we bought Excalibur.  We even have a spare, since the PO said that when he bought them, they were "buy 2 get one free"...lol!  Now if I can just figure out a place to wire in the 3rd one...

Anyhow the gel batteries do work incredibly well...we have never noticed any drop in interior lights no matter how long we ran the batteries (the longest being 5 days when we did a small faire in Texas and our genny died).

Kev

[tiinytina]

Sent: 2/9/2008

Kev,
    are your gels 12v or 6v? My cookie jar has a bit of a stash so..... My compartment holds 2 regular car size bats. What brand are they?

Tina

[Razee]

Sent: 2/9/2008

Tina,
http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm
is a very good 12v battery site.
Go on to part 2 for some solar stuff.

Golf cart batteries are the way to go. They are tall and I, like Phåråoh, had to grind the battery compartment's door jamb.
Also if your installing dual coach batteries make sure the positive and negative "charging" terminals are facing the door so you can easily put a portable charger on the batteries.

Most of the small trickle chargers will do just fine for what you want. I think Old Ed B. raves about his from time to time.

My plan is to buy a large, well made regulator and a small panel to start with and add panels to it as I see fit.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 2/10/2008

Hey Tina,

They are Ford batteries actually...they actually say Ford (the automotive company) gel RV application...and they are 12 volts.  They are good sized, but they fit in our stock battery compartment on the Itasca.  When I get a chance I'll snap a picture of the spare and add it to our album.

Kev

[OldEdBrady]

Sent: 2/10/2008

Razee is correct.  I purchased a small solar panel from Harbor Freight.  I think it was on sale for about $10, with a regular price of $15 or $20.

Hooked it up in the old Beggar, and never had a battery--that was in decent shape--discharge on me.  Only time I had a problem is when the coach battery died; it was old long before I got the Beggar.

I had this one wired in through the cigarette lighter circuit because that particular circuit is always "hot."  Just put the panel on top of the dash.  That way, no one could make off with it.

[tiinytina]

Sent: 2/11/2008

Thanks guys.... wonder if my chevy chassis will cringe if I drop Ford batts into her... hee hee. My mechanic used to work for Ford so I can probably get an employee discount from one of his friends.... I'll have to measure the compartment first though. Ours is pretty big.

Ed-think my lighter goes to the engine battery and haven't had an issue with that one. The coach batts were from the PO with no date stamped out but he had bought them so they are about 5 yrs old by my guess. We have a trickle charger for them but would like to go solar.

On harbor freight I found a solar panel thing for RV charging ($129) and think it would fit either on the batt door or could be mounted on the roof with a wire down the side..... hmmmm.

thanks!!!
Tina

[OldEdBrady]

Sent: 2/11/2008

In the rig I had, the lighter circuit, too, went to the engine battery.  However, what I did was, first, run the solar panel circuit through a cutoff switch.  When the Beggar wasn't running, I had it on, and, when running, the switch was off.

Then, when the Beggar was just sitting somewhere, not hooked to shore power, I put the dual/mom switch on dual, so it was charging both batteries.

Worked like a charm.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 2/11/2008

LOL Tina!  Excalibur doesn't seem to mind, and she's a Chevy chassis too.

Kev

[melyash]

Sent: 2/11/2008

As for charge controllers there is one I believe called the solar boost 2000 which at least what I hear is one of the best controllers out there. Solar panels normally put out more voltage than a battery can safely take (upwards of 19volts in some panels i am told), so charge controllers bring it down to a usable voltage and many also adjust the output to prevent overcharging. This unit does this, but instead of throwing the excess voltage away, it converts the extra voltage to additional amperage, (hence the name current boosting) making it more efficient than most controllers of it's class. Pricey at $225 retail, it is one of the best controllers I have seen. With a boost of between 10-20 percent ( dependent of a number of factors including temp of batteries, temp of cells, peak power point of the cells etc.) It is something that should seriously be considered if you are looking at getting max charge out of your solar panels.

One of our members used to run this one, and he saw an average of several amps difference without even fine tuning it, which you can do with a series of dip switches and a small potentiometer ( like a volume control). This controller is close to 96% efficient, which is pretty dang close to perfect in my book. Don't scrimp on cable size make sure you have a big enough cable to charge the batteries without loosing half of your hard earned power on the way.
Contact info:
RV Power Products, 1058 Monterey Vista Way,

Encinitas, CA 92024 • 800-493-7877 or 760-944-8882

Fax: 760-944-8882 • info@rvpowerproducts.com

www.rvpowerproducts.com

No I am not selling this or do I get a kickback from them, I just did a bunch of research on this product in the early days of that 70's bago!

[melyash]

Sent: 2/11/2008

As for Batteries, I am just running a pair of interstate group 31 deep cycles in parallel, and a die hard for the coach batt. I am still running the dash mounted switch that controls the relay so I can charge my chassis bat, or my chassis and coach batteries off the alternator on the motor.

I am currently running (no pun intended) an Iota 55 amp charger (with IQ-4 module) to charge the bats when I am plugged in or running the generator. It's max output of 55 amps, coupled with welding cable for charge cables (the run is about 10 feet so loss is an issue), means that from a pretty flat battery pack, say 11.5v I can easily fully charge both batteries in a few hours of jenny run. I more often, dry camp for a couple days, then stay at an RV park for a night and plug in. I am fully up to charge overnight and good for several more days of dry camping.

[JDxeper]

Sent: 2/11/2008

Camping World has some solar stuff, and some tech info.  another resource.
JD