Feasibility of full timing it.

[Blair]

I may have asked this question before, but can't find the thread.

I am considering splitting my living between my boat and a B190. The B190 would not got driven a lot, and i am wondering if i would be able to get enough output from solar to keep fridge running. I would be starting every day, but the engine would probably only be run 20-30 minutes.

thanks for the input.

[skater]

I may have asked this question before, but can't find the thread.

I am considering splitting my living between my boat and a B190. The B190 would not got driven a lot, and i am wondering if i would be able to get enough output from solar to keep fridge running. I would be starting every day, but the engine would probably only be run 20-30 minutes.

thanks for the input.

Short answer: no.

The fridge draws ~3 amps @ 120 volts. That's 3*120 = 360 watts. That is a LOT of solar panels for the roof of the B190, given all the other stuff that's already up there. Our new 30' trailer has three 70 watt panels, and I suspect they only stopped there because they ran out of room. Note the 70 watts of our solar panels is also max under optimum conditions; overcast days, sub-optimal placement relative to the sun, etc. will all reduce the output.

You'd also need additional battery power for the fridge to survive the night. And your solar cells would need to be increased in size even further to recharge said batteries daily. (And then what happens if the day is overcast?)

A better choice would be the propane mode. The fridge should run for weeks on one tank. This is pretty much why it exists - running the fridge without electricity available.

[Blair]

Skater,

Ok, then propane it is for the fridge.

I have a Sportsmobile now, with a monster AGM battery for the coach part of the van. this allows me to go a few days without starting the vehicle.

there are SMB owners in my group that have solar, and say they can leave their fridge on all the time, and it isn't an issue. I believe that the B190 has at least one battery for the coach section too.

Is it feasible to have solar panels and coach battery or batteries to maintain a charge that would allow full timing?

[skater]

I'm not sure how the SMB would do it. RV fridges all basically work the same. I'd have to hear more about their setup.

As for solar to recharge the coach battery, certainly. It all depends on how much power you'd be using each day, again with some allowance for the possibility of cloudy days (perhaps as simple as running a generator for a while). You may want a second coach battery, I think.

[chadseld]

You may find that you don't need the fridge on 24/7. It should stay cool for a while if you don't open the door. Also, there are lots of foods that don't require refrigeration.

The amount of space for solar panels on top is small, but I believe adequate. I have one 135W panel mounted just behind the roof vent. (http://www.solar-electric.com/kyso130wa12v.html) It's about 2'x5'. I might just be able to mount another one in front of the vent, but space is tight.

You can always keep additional panels inside the van and hang them somewhere once you have camped. Note: I would not suggest using the pre-wired solar wires to the roof if you put more than one panel up there. The gauge is not large enough and you will lose valuable peak power.

[goinmobile]

Just run the fridge on Propane. If you go to bed at night----you can get days out of the batteries. I'm a night owl so i use a lot of power just for lighting.
I have a switch in mine that coverts DC to 120V AC. I just use the netbook when on 120 and I get maybe 2 hours out of 3 deep cycle batteries and then I'm out of power. Weird but mine uses 120 up fast--even with no load on it.
Fulltiming is great in this but it's takes awhile to get used to small space.
I've been fulltiming 3 years now.

[skater]

I have a switch in mine that coverts DC to 120V AC. I just use the netbook when on 120 and I get maybe 2 hours out of 3 deep cycle batteries and then I'm out of power. Weird but mine uses 120 up fast--even with no load on it.

That is odd. There's something wrong; three batteries should be enough for a couple days. Are you turning off the converter when you switch on the inverter?

[goinmobile]

When I push the button for 120 volts---there is a click and then I can hear the inverter fan? running. I don't turn off anything inside the breaker panel. When the voltage meter drops below 9.7 volts the 120 volt power shuts off-----slight delay and battery power is restored.
Trying to push the switch for 120 just gets a flashing light on the switch. If I forget to shut the air conditioner off and try for 120 power the switch flashes to show too much load I guess.
All I have plugged in at the moment is my netbook and volts are down to 11.3 after 20 minutes or so.
Am I doing something wrong?

[skater]

When I push the button for 120 volts---there is a click and then I can hear the inverter fan? running. I don't turn off anything inside the breaker panel. When the voltage meter drops below 9.7 volts the 120 volt power shuts off-----slight delay and battery power is restored.
Trying to push the switch for 120 just gets a flashing light on the switch. If I forget to shut the air conditioner off and try for 120 power the switch flashes to show too much load I guess.
All I have plugged in at the moment is my netbook and volts are down to 11.3 after 20 minutes or so.
Am I doing something wrong?

I don't have a lot of experience with inverters (our trailer has one but I haven't played with it much), but:

1. I would turn off the converter when running the inverter. This probably means just flipping that breaker. The reason is that if you are using the inverter, you are powering the 120 volt system via the batteries - if the converter is still on, it's now trying to charge those very same batteries. Not going to work; it's just going to waste energy from your batteries.

2. If you have the original converter, it will overcharge your batteries, reducing their lifetimes drastically. If you use the converter to charge the batteries (which you probably do), then I would consider upgrading it to a better one that will not overcharge them. Or, if your converter is bad, it might not be charging them well in the first place (mine was down to 11 volts output when I replaced it - no way it can charge a battery at that level).

3. If you have flooded cell batteries (versus AGM batteries or other sealed varieties), you have to keep an eye on the water level inside the battery and refill with distilled water as necessary. This shouldn't be an issue with a good 3-stage converter, but if you're using the original converter, it may be boiling the liquid away, killing your batteries prematurely. If you are using flooded cell batteries, it's best to watch the water levels even if you have a 3-stage converter. (I switched the B190 to an AGM battery when I upgraded the converter so I wouldn't have to worry about it at all. I'm in the process of doing the same to the trailer.)

4. Your batteries may just be very old and worn out, even if nothing else is wrong. I think you're supposed to replace them as a set, or risk having the old one(s) drag down the new one(s). With a good converter, the battery I put in the B190 was still going strong 3 years after I'd installed it, even though I left it plugged in most of the time.