Questions about trailer solar systems and charging off the tow vehicle, and shore power

[Pastryslayer]

From the pic, IIRC, the shore power runs into a junction box. The cord for the inverter/charger 120v input also runs into that box. As does the 120v output cord from the inverter/charger.

Spot on. But now that I know what they are called, a quick amazon search shows IEC male to edison female adapters for about $7. One thing I'm a fan of is modifying things in such a way that if I bungle it or ever just want to switch back, I can. And this way I'm capable for both in the future and don't have to screw with the junction box.

In the meantime the charger is mounted and wired for the battery. Just waiting on the AC plug side. I have the battery monitor, but man is that complicated by comparison. It has descriptions for setups that monitor in between batteries in multi battery sets. But since I have two 6v batteries masquerading as a 12v system, I think I'll just mount it on the negative side of the bank and be done with it. Sound about right?

I get paid tomorrow night. I'm seriously considering ordering the MPPT controller and being done with it. Once I button up the trailer I can still get to all the relevant parts to replace the inverter if need be. But I need the front panel off to do the controller.

All this talk of acidic fumes makes me think I should move the batteries to an external battery box. But that's a whole other can of worms.

 

[john61ct]

A bank SoC gauge should be wired to monitor the whole bank as a single unit.

The Victron BMV-712 has a midpoint balance feature that can let you know if a single group or cell is failing prior to catastrophe

but that sort of BMS-type functionality is used more for LFP banks than with lead.

 

[dwh]

So yea, stick the shunt on the bank's neg.

 

[Pastryslayer]

That's what I thought.

So I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but who makes a good inverter? Am I understanding this right, that I want one of a higher wattage than whatever items I want to run off the AC power?

 

[john61ct]

Xantrex is good but terrible CS attitude. Magnum is the best, Vanner, Victron, MasterVolt, Sterling, Outback, ProMariner but pricey.

Besides Tripplite, Samlex is another solid middle ground. I've heard Morningstar is good.

 

[Alloy]

Check what an inverter draws on standby.
I've had inverters that draw 4 amps (96Ah / 24hour) on standby.

I went with Victron because it was one stop shopping but I use Xantrex and ProMariner for backup

 

[Pastryslayer]

Yeah standby draw is something I just learned about in a youtube video last night while trying to educate myself. But...I think what I really need to do is test my existing one and see what it's actually putting out. I intend to test it this weekend and go from there. It's supposed to be 1500W but probably isn't...But like Dreadlocks pointed out buying lower wattage items makes more sense than a new inverter in my case. If mine is putting out anything over 1000W it makes more sense to get a new lower wattage kettle for $20. (I also just found out that collapsible kettles are a thing. Not that I'll probably buy one).

Thanks again for all this invaluable input. I love forums for exactly this reason, and hope to be able to contribute back over time.

 

[john61ct]

A little campstove boils water pretty well

 

[Pastryslayer]

I agree, and we have that option. But what we've found is that two things my wife doesn't do well with are cold and early mornings. Since our breakfasts are almost always handled by adding hot water, I don't have to drag anything out, set up, etc. Two bowls, two mugs, hot water, and stay at minimum safe distance until she's caffeinated...

We've been a couple of places where they were not only No Fire areas but even No Flame Producing Item areas. But mostly it's for convenience. And I want more out of my electrical than just charging my phone.

(That said our camp stove is a much better grill than burner, takes forever to boil water and I don't really want to buy/carry another one).

The adapter and SmartSolar controller came last night, I'll get them in tonight or Sunday.

 

[dreadlocks]

I feel yeh, my brain has become so dependant on morning joe that I can hardly operate a Keurig properly for that first cup (there's been a few occasion I forgot to put a cup under it).. my wife has an espresso machine and as much as I love me some espresso thats a naw dawg from me.. I'll gladly pay some cute college girl to operate that mysterious contraption for me.

Ive done everything to make it work camping, boiling water into a press, just pouring grounds into a bucket and boiling em cowboy style, to fancy LP powered perkolators.. and while they work, they are fiddly, require alot of cleanup for the next day, and not something I'mna use at a rest stop at 11pm when I need a caffeine jolt, or fire up at 4am before we roll out before sunrise.. trying to enjoy the simple life means I dun wanna work my butt off just to get my morning fix.. thats not simple, id give up coffee if I hadda do that every day like a caveman.

 

[Pastryslayer]

If I were really smart I'd put the power in the Jeep. We tend to park the trailer and foray out from there, and occasionally a Mountain Home meal off the tailgate would be nice too. But in the mornings, two bowls of oatmeal, rinse the bowls/cups, and on the road means car heat for her.

I keep the propane in the tongue box but I tend to pull the canisters out and cook away from the trailer (and it's additional propane, gas, batteries, etc). So that means I have to move the cannister, grill, and whatever else I want, and it takes much longer. While the inverter sits there and taunts me. So I figured I'd sort this thing out for the long haul.

 

[Pastryslayer]

OK, some progress and some setbacks.

The MPPT is in. I assume it's working but with no sunlight in the garage...could be? The blue light is flashing and the app connected and updated ok.

I hooked everything up and the charger seemed to work ok (the IOTA doesn't do much to let you know what's going on, but the flashing green light was very enthusiastic).

Shore power seemed to be working ok, phone charged like it should when I plugged it into the AC outlet.

Here's the two things I wasn't anticipating...First, I couldn't install the shunt for the monitor, because the lugs on it are so ridiculously large that three out of the five negative-side connectors didn't have big enough ring terminals to fit over them. Really? Can nothing be easy?

Secondly. While I had everything hooked up, the batteries started making a fair amount of noise. Sort of a gurgling hissing thing. More cheerful than angry, sort of a percolating sound, but I wasn't expecting that. Is that normal?

Also, since the only thing I have to contribute here is humor, you should enjoy this...remember how the shore power wouldn't run the kettle? I have a Kill-A-Watt monitor so I figured I'd plug it in and run the kettle through it. Maybe see how many watts it was pulling, which might indicate how many watts my inverter actually puts out. So I plug it all in...nothing. After a few minutes of scratching my head I realized...I had not switched the kettle on. Nor had I when I "tested" it before. See the kettle in our kitchen has no switch. You just plug it in and it goes. I forgot that our beater camping kettle doesn't work that way. So I turn on the switch and it fluctuates around 1150-1200 watts. I didn't have any water in it so I shut it right back down, but I'll try it again and see if the inverter can run it once I put everything back together. I haven't facepalmed that hard in a while.

 

[dwh]

Yea, bubbling is normal for FLA batteries. Whenever they are being charged, electrons flowing through the electrolyte bounce off H2O molecules causing some to let go and separate into H,H, and O, which then rise to the top and escape as gasses.

It's beneficial for the battery as it helps to stir the electrolyte and keep it from settling into layers of acid and water. But whenever they are percolatin', they are losing water.

"Equalizing" a FLA is where you fully charge the battery, then push it up to between 15v-16v and hold it there for a couple of hours. This vigorous percolatin' "equalizes" the specific gravity of the electrolyte in the different cells, as well as helping to knock off some built-up sulphation from the plates.


The "float" LED on the Victron blinks when it's powered up and working and waiting for some juice from the solar. Mine is in the cabin of my camper, and those bloody blue LEDs are bright. I took a little piece of duct tape, folded into a flap and stuck it over that LED to mute it so I could sleep.

 

[Pastryslayer]

Plans derailed when my refrigerator died. But I got it all together. Update tomorrow.

 

[PSea]

Anyone using the new balmar sg200 battery monitor? Looks very good. I'm leaning towards this when I begin overhauling my electrical system.

SG200 Battery Monitor - Balmar

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www.balmar.net

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