[pretzelboy]

Hello:


I ordered my dual slider Hr extended 3.7 on 3/9/2016.....I went with the dual battery/ho alternator for one reason....I plan to use a whynter 12v frig full time in van. I Know almost nothing of Solar but if I could hook up a 300watt panel to stock dual agm's....my life would be much simpler. I was not sure if the alternator and panel would be fighting each other and somehow blow up my new van....any input would be appreciated. FYI: I am very simple by nature....so I need to keep the solution very direct.

 

[foxharp]

not many folks may have direct exerience with this, since usually solar is hooked up to a separate battery bank (the "house" batteries in an RV, for instance).

i _think_ what you want to do will work just fine -- but you should definitely talk to the maker of the solar controller to make sure that's the case. in the case of house batteries, there are often multiple chargers connected to the battery bank at once: for instance a solar controller and a shore power charger. what i don't know is if a solar controller and the van's vehicle charging system can work together.

please post what you find out!

 

[Ahoelk]

I have a 160 watt panel on my van that I hooked into my dual batteries, it works fine - I run a 12V ARB fridge with it, as well as several LED lights and a water pump, i have had no problem wit the system - kept it simple - bought the panel, controller, etc. as a complete kit - install was easy.

 

[skagitstan]

Hello:


I ordered my dual slider Hr extended 3.7 on 3/9/2016.....I went with the dual battery/ho alternator for one reason....I plan to use a whynter 12v frig full time in van. I Know almost nothing of Solar but if I could hook up a 300watt panel to stock dual agm's....my life would be much simpler. I was not sure if the alternator and panel would be fighting each other and somehow blow up my new van....any input would be appreciated. FYI: I am very simple by nature....so I need to keep the solution very direct.

Properly done, it shouldn't blow up your van.
The question is if the solar can keep up with your fridge and other loads IF you don't plan to drive for a while.
In that case, you need to have an idea of how much sun you can expect, and if the panels will be in full sun or not.

Stan

 

[Ahoelk]

I live in the Pacific Northwest where we do not have a lot of sun - have 160 watt panel - so far it has worked fine with the van parked for almost three days, have not been out longer than that without driving somewhere. My Fridge also has a feature that will turn it off before draining the battery.

 

[pretzelboy]

Could you tell me how you hooked up the 160 watt panel? Also, what kit did you buy? Where I go there is no shortage of sun. If you went 3 days without moving the van I should really be in the clear.

 

[Frednic]

I would like to do the same thing. I've got a suitcase solar rig I've hooked up directly to my twin batteries.

This is who I copied it from, [ame]http://texasvanagons.com/review-renogy-100w-solar-panel-suitcase/[/ame], I would like to install a permanent solar panel on the roof to supplement the 100 watt suitcase rig. I also have a 50 quart ARB frig I've been using with great success. I've only parked it for about 3 days with no problems.

 

[orton]

One way to install a panel:

http://www.ortontransit.info/solar.php

 

[jethaden]

My only worry with fridge connected to starting AGM batteries is that that they are starting batteries and not deep cycle batteries. They are designed to be kept mostly charged and not cycled. How much battery life are you taking out by connecting the house to them and then deep cycling them (say 50%). Admittedly, a small fridge is probably only about 30-40 Amp-Hours per day. But then, the dual starting AGM are only about 100 Amp-Hour total (correct me if I'm wrong as I did not look this up again).

 

[Frednic]

I looked it up and I have the; Twin 70AH @ 20 hours, high performance deep cycle AGM batteries. So yeah only 140 AH not a whole lot there.

 

[foxharp]

has anyone verified the "deep-cycle" claim for the dual batteries by doing a lookup of the part number to see what the mfgr claims? given the reasons one would order dual batteries, i would hope that the deep-cycle claim isn't just marketing, but i'd love to be sure before continuing with my "keep it simple" design.

 

[mogulman]

I've been using AGM batteries in my power wheelchair (PWC) for years. Even though they say deep cycle they really do best if you don't discharge them below 50% and no more than 20 to 30% is much better. I really wish I had a lithium ion phosphate battery solution. They can be discharged to 90% without much impact on battery life. Also, they have 3-5 times the battery life. So even though they are more expensive initially in the long run they are cheaper. A problem with lithium ion phosphate batteries is they weigh a lot less and part of the stability of the PWC is the battery weight.