80 watt Zamp Solar ?

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   Can you help me estimate/understand how my current setup will perform?  I have a zamp 80 watt panel and two 6volt 215hr batteries in series on my 182g and a battery cutt-off.  
I am trying to get an idea of the battery expectancy under the following conditions to boon dock:

	Fridge on propane, Temp range of low 30s to highs of 60s.  Don't need ac (but i have a generator)
	So i need to run the heater at night some, say 60 deg.  water heater on propane, of course.  Then 
	all of the drains that we all have, propane detector, lights, stereo, fridge fan?, water pump, indicator 	lights, rpod invertor, etc. (please let me know what i am not considering that draws battery power)

So, is this even going to work for a few days?  say 3 ?  longer maybe?  I have tried to understand the load and recharge calcs, but still not clear.  thank you all so much for the help thus far.

Texman

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texman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2014 Location: TeXas Online Status: Offline Posts: 446	Topic: 80 watt Zamp Solar ? Posted: 19 Dec 2016 at 10:56am
	Can you help me estimate/understand how my current setup will perform? I have a zamp 80 watt panel and two 6volt 215hr batteries in series on my 182g and a battery cutt-off. I am trying to get an idea of the battery expectancy under the following conditions to boon dock: Fridge on propane, Temp range of low 30s to highs of 60s. Don't need ac (but i have a generator) So i need to run the heater at night some, say 60 deg. water heater on propane, of course. Then all of the drains that we all have, propane detector, lights, stereo, fridge fan?, water pump, indicator lights, rpod invertor, etc. (please let me know what i am not considering that draws battery power) So, is this even going to work for a few days? say 3 ? longer maybe? I have tried to understand the load and recharge calcs, but still not clear. thank you all so much for the help thus far. Texman
	TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia TexManMods

JandL Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 29 Mar 2014 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 364	Posted: 19 Dec 2016 at 6:06pm
	This is a post I did of battery run times TYPICAL BATTERY RUN TIMES last week I was at Joshua Tree National Park and I knew it would be sunny all day and did not have to worry about shade hitting the panel so I only took along one panel rated at 100 watts. It had no problem keeping my battery charged. I also had to run my furnace at night.
	JandL 2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod

texman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2014 Location: TeXas Online Status: Offline Posts: 446	Posted: 20 Dec 2016 at 10:42am
	Thank you! JandL i think that i almost have it now. From reading it looks like an 80 watt solar should generate about 4-5 amps per hour in full sun. so if i get 8 hours of full sun, the battery gets 4.5amps per hour times 8 hours = 36 amp hours. Does that sound correct? If so, i think it is possible to get by on the 80 watt panel for several days as long as i am very careful of what is on and for how long. TexMan
	TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia TexManMods

JandL Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 29 Mar 2014 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 364	Posted: 20 Dec 2016 at 12:15pm
	What the manufactures spec say and what you get out of panel are 2 different things. My 100 watt panel say 5.56 amps maximum, but that is under a set of controlled conditions. The most I have seen when I have it pointing directly at the sun 4.75 amps. Typically I get 4-4.5 amps, so your 80 watt panel will be less
	JandL 2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod

dropkick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 17 Jul 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 18	Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 4:07am
	Use around 77% end-to-end efficiency for solar/battery calculations. Also 8 hours of "full" sun is a stretch unless you're out there rotating the panels 2-3 times throught the day. And no shade, not even a leaf's worth! With 80W panel, looking at 25AH realistically. That's actually a decent number for your loads. Fridge fan is probably the biggest one but at those ambient temps I'd like to think it wouldn't run much (future research project--is the fan thermostatically controlled or does it just run whenever the propane is running?). Other stuff is even more intermittent. You should be good. Lights are LED I hope? Just keep an eye on the voltage each day.

JandL Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 29 Mar 2014 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 364	Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 9:31am
	Here is a post on the refrigerator fan's fridge temp
	JandL 2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 2:47pm
	We did 7 days under those conditions, with dual 6v's, and never recharged. 80 watts of solar will extend your time for sure. But 120 would be better, allowing a faster recharge if you get behind the curve after a couple cloudy days. We have members who have done a week on a single group 24. Until you get out there and see what YOUR usage is like, it's all a guess. Since you have a generator, just take it along, if you run out of aH's, and the panels don't cut it, just fire it up and plug the pod in.

texman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2014 Location: TeXas Online Status: Offline Posts: 446	Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 3:15pm
	Good Call. That is what i was thinking too. Generator insurance. I was a bit "green" i should say when i bought my generator. The Dealer had a 2000 watt kipor and then said" but you will need 2 of these to run the a/c" (which is true) But to my Texan brain at the time, he said "get the 4.3 kilowatt model that weighs 165 pounds. So, I can run the whole pod no problem at least. At least i hope i offer some comic relief around here.
	TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia TexManMods

Podinaroundbc Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26 Jul 2015 Location: Alberta Online Status: Offline Posts: 34	Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 5:33pm
	We can dry camp for 5 days without charging. We use very little excess power and think we could go 7 days between charges.
	Art & Brenda Jake the dog 2015 179 HRE 2012 Nissan Titan

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595	Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 6:45pm
	We just got a WindyNation 100 amp flexible solar panel and an adjustable output PWM controller as part of the spring mod projects we're doing. I plan on putting the controller in a little plastic tool box next to our single 12v battery, for both convenience and to keep the distance between the controller and the battery short to avoid any significant voltage drop. We've got another length of cable to connect the panel to the controller so we can position it either on or by the trailer, depending on where we're parked. We only use led lights, the heater as needed, maybe a phone charge or MacBook charge every once in a while, and the refrigerator fan, so our power needs are limited. From my past experience on a sail boat, you can squeeze quite a bit out of a single house battery before having to charge if you keep your usage under control. It's kind of nice to keep the lights dim at night. When we get it set up and working, I'll report back. But for the time being, there's so much snow in the Sierras that we're going to have to wait a bit for things to thaw and dry out.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost