Announcement Serenity Is On The Road!!!

dustinp said:
That would be nice.
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I'm not sure if there is a way to upload the actual file, but here is a jpg of the file. The one column I'm still not clear on is the "consumption" one. That does not represent the draw on the house battery. That, I am sure of. The solar controller has nothing else connected to it but it does have a parasitic draw. However the "self consumption" draw is only 26mAh which is roughly 0.3Wh. One day I'll dig deeper and try to figure out what that represents.

Fall%20Colors%20Solar-L.jpg
 
Thanks!
I don't remember if you said which battery you are using, a LiFePO4 or AGM deep cycle, but it looks like your system always kept it above 12.3V, which is well within the safe zone to prevent damage in either.
 
dustinp said:
Thanks!
I don't remember if you said which battery you are using, a LiFePO4 or AGM deep cycle, but it looks like your system always kept it above 12.3V, which is well within the safe zone to prevent damage in either.
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My battery is a new, factory, AGM.

Yeah, the first thing I did every morning was to check the voltage. :D Other than the fridge, there really isn't much on the trailer that will draw more than minimal amps.
 
I forgot to mention one important point. With the fridge plugged in, the voltage automatically drops 2 or 3 tenths because the battery is under load. Unplug the fridge and the voltage pops back up again. So, those low numbers are really not as low as the readings would indicate. The fridge was out of the trailer the nights in Hailey and you can see higher lows those nights.
 
Thanks, is that a 72ah?
OTE="JohnC, post: 51211, member: 1937"]My battery is a new, factory, AGM.

Yeah, the first thing I did every morning was to check the voltage. :D Other than the fridge, there really isn't much on the trailer that will draw more than minimal amps.[/QUOTE]
 
Sweeney said:
I'll investigate the solar option -- The discussion about trade offs is true in everything

For my camping style,I'll likely always have a generator --- we are pretty power hungry in general. Fans, phones, stereo, on-board media server.... I want to put a ammeter and calculate my real use -- but its probably one of the highest possible. Solar panels by themselves probably will never fit my need by itself. if 100% isn't achievable, then I plug in the car or start the generator.

I think as long as I am in Indiana/midwest I'm going to nee a generator anyway just to keep my AC running. Its entirely likely its not a great investment for me....there's that trade off.
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I am in your same camp. We are going to use a generator also. I got the CI storage box for it where the cooler was
 
4 nights I see? Where were they?

So far we've spent 1 night in the Camp-Inn lot, and 3 nights at Potato Creek State park. The night time temperatures dropped into the mid 20's. We should have had 1 more night, but it was cold and wet the next morning, so we decided it wasn't much fun as we wanted, so we came home a little early.

I really do miss the on-board TV - Obviously the Suprasonic no longer making the model isn't CI's fault. I like the "permanency" of it - instead of a bolt-on which doesn't quite fit the overall look.

We have a domestic CF35 (previous model to the one they offer now) and we travel with it in the spot. I'm not a big fan of coolers, its my experience with the exception of filling with ice and beverages, they really don't do much for the quality of the food. I think its childhood memories of soggy sandwiches. Maybe the yeti with the frozen chill-blocks may be better. But I'll stick to using them for sodas and barley-pops....

I >need< some warm weather for a generator test, the AC freeze switch locks out the compressor, and possibly my sanity. Sad part is, its only November....
 
Sweeney said:
4 nights I see? Where were they?

So far we've spent 1 night in the Camp-Inn lot, and 3 nights at Potato Creek State park. The night time temperatures dropped into the mid 20's. We should have had 1 more night, but it was cold and wet the next morning, so we decided it wasn't much fun as we wanted, so we came home a little early.

I really do miss the on-board TV - Obviously the Suprasonic no longer making the model isn't CI's fault. I like the "permanency" of it - instead of a bolt-on which doesn't quite fit the overall look.

We have a domestic CF35 (previous model to the one they offer now) and we travel with it in the spot. I'm not a big fan of coolers, its my experience with the exception of filling with ice and beverages, they really don't do much for the quality of the food. I think its childhood memories of soggy sandwiches. Maybe the yeti with the frozen chill-blocks may be better. But I'll stick to using them for sodas and barley-pops....

I >need< some warm weather for a generator test, the AC freeze switch locks out the compressor, and possibly my sanity. Sad part is, its only November....
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Warm weather will come soon enough. What Generator do you have?
 
campdude said:
Warm weather will come soon enough. What Generator do you have?
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I have 2....I have a Yamaha 2800ISHC which works beautifully. The trouble with it is that its big and heavy and really takes 2 people to load it into a vehicle. One can do it, but its really tough to get it into a pickup bed. Assuming the Honda runs the AC well, I likely will be selling this one. Only has a few hours on it --- barely broken in. I also converted it to propane or gas...propane is a lot easier to transport in a SUV.

I also have a Honda 2200. I haven't' had a chance to run the AC on it yet, its much lighter and easier to move. I'm a bit of a "show me" person --- I'm told the Honda will do the trick, but want to actually see it first.

Regardless --- one of these will likely be selling in the spring :)
 
Sweeney said:
I have 2....I have a Yamaha 2800ISHC which works beautifully. The trouble with it is that its big and heavy and really takes 2 people to load it into a vehicle. One can do it, but its really tough to get it into a pickup bed. Assuming the Honda runs the AC well, I likely will be selling this one. Only has a few hours on it --- barely broken in. I also converted it to propane or gas...propane is a lot easier to transport in a SUV.

I also have a Honda 2200. I haven't' had a chance to run the AC on it yet, its much lighter and easier to move. I'm a bit of a "show me" person --- I'm told the Honda will do the trick, but want to actually see it first.

Regardless --- one of these will likely be selling in the spring :)
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Hey Sweeney,
I think your Honda 2200 will handle it fine, and as you noted, it will certainly be a lot easier to carry with you.
We have a Yamaha 2000i gen. and it powers the AC fine. It does bark a little when the AC compressor kicks in, so I was kind of interested in seeing if you were going to try that soft start capacitor thing (don't remember the actual name) you discussed in an earlier post on your new setup? I would be interested in how you do the install if you do. ;)
 
We have the Honda 2200, and have only used it once with the air conditioner. No problems whatsoever! That thing's a beast!
 
Mike & Lisa said:
We have the Honda 2200, and have only used it once with the air conditioner. No problems whatsoever! That thing's a beast!
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That's definitely good news. I got mine and used it for 1 power outage a few months ago, and it did a find job. Running a few essentials, a fan, a refrigerator, my TV and my router ;) Yup...beer and TV --- the essentials :) ! OK, it also ran my neighbors oxygen concentrator --- which was actually the reason I pulled it out. My stuff was just a bonus.

I'd LOVE to have a whole house generator, but that is a different forum and a different topic. I'd really like to get a large diesel "field engine" --- but those are getting hard to find, expensive, and at the moment I'm short on space. Our household power today is fairly stable -- 2-3 outages a year and mostly back to normal in a few hours. Having an elderly neighbor on oxygen I think has bought us faster repairs perhaps.

Regardless, this run was a "break-in" --- I'm looking forward to a full camping experience with it....Maybe even over the Christmas/new-year week. But in the winter, the only thing I'd be doing is charging the battery and maybe keeping a heated mattress pad warm...barely enough for the generator to even know its there....
 
I purchased a Generac 2500. It has 2,500 Surge watts, and runs at 2,200 watts.

It came in handy when we had power outages at the house for 32 hours. Two weeks ago we experienced 75mph straight line winds that took out trees and power line.
 
campdude said:
I purchased a Generac 2500. It has 2,500 Surge watts, and runs at 2,200 watts.

It came in handy when we had power outages at the house for 32 hours. Two weeks ago we experienced 75mph straight line winds that took out trees and power line.
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Yikes! How long did that wind sustain? Thats a pretty big blow....

I have a yamaha 2800ishc that I use, in addition to the honda. Either will keep up my my needs except the deep well pump :( Need 220 for that :(

I am seriously thinking about doing a small off-grid solar system on my house. Put about 6 circuits which will give me the bare necessities powered by a couple 48 volt 100ah batteries and an inverter charger. Just put those 6 on a transfer switch....not that big of a job.
 
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