Briorick
Active Member
Hey All.
Thought I would post and share my findings from my Weekend Boondocking Solar trip, possibly help others looking at Solar numbers boondocking as well. Keeping in mind everyones Solar numbers will vary with their setup, and location.
First to mention, the days were in the mid 80's with partially sunny days. A beautful Fall like weekend to say the least. Nestled in between a tree canopy.
First day we arrived we were set up by 2 pm, so the input figures weren't as good on the first day, but the battery still maintained themselves @ approx 12.76 V throughout the day with Everchill fridge draw of .10 -.15v drop @ 2 minutes top, and the water pump draw of .02v, and same draw with water heater at startup, with recovery within seconds, back to 12.76v.
The Everchill fridge is 1.7cu. We set the temp control at 2.5, all the while it maintained a chilled 42 degrees with ice crystals formed on our breakfast sausage tupperware container. Thinking we are going to adjust down to 2 temp control setting on our next outing.
Our battery bank is (2) 100 amp Deep Cell Weize batteries and the 190 Solar Panel atop the popup, with the GoPower 30 amp PWM Charge Controller. I loved the BT feature, with the exception it didn't help with my sleeping the first night. I was overly, ( morelike obsessively ) tuned into that BT readout, hence the 3:07 am reading from below. LOL
Before retiring for bed, the Fridge Compressor kicked in and the voltage read 12.62. And then 2 minutes later shot back to 12.76v. During the first night our battery maintained 12.76v ( this was checked at 3:07 am). I was happy with the results of the 1st night.
The next morning reading @ 8 am, voltage was at 12.81. Current draw was showing .09A.
At 12:24 pm readings were 13.40V, 7AH, and 3.0A current.
At 3:32 pm readings were 13.42 V, 18AH and 2.0A current. Still a bit of an overcast day.
And then ending at 8:51 pm, evening had arrived and the readings were 12.84V, 20AH produced, and 0.0A current.
The final day of departure ( the last reading at 11:34 am ) we were at 13.38V, 5AH produced and 3.5A of current.
The takeaway from all of this was to see if we could last the weekend with the constant use of the basics ( excluding the heater ), ........ the 12v Fridge, occasional Water Pump and Water Heater usage, the lights and the Radio.
We had played the Radio all the while we were camping, and even with a puck light on in the evening for our pooch, there showed NO significant draw down from the battery.
It was an interesting, and educational, outing this past weekend. A great learning experience, knowing now we can be more at ease with our future fair-weathered boondock days. We don't do cold or extreme heat as our pooch doesn't do well in either weather. She's getting to old for it.
Hope our little Solar experiment will help others as they maybe try their hand at it.
Best of luck...... Happy Camping!
Thought I would post and share my findings from my Weekend Boondocking Solar trip, possibly help others looking at Solar numbers boondocking as well. Keeping in mind everyones Solar numbers will vary with their setup, and location.
First to mention, the days were in the mid 80's with partially sunny days. A beautful Fall like weekend to say the least. Nestled in between a tree canopy.
First day we arrived we were set up by 2 pm, so the input figures weren't as good on the first day, but the battery still maintained themselves @ approx 12.76 V throughout the day with Everchill fridge draw of .10 -.15v drop @ 2 minutes top, and the water pump draw of .02v, and same draw with water heater at startup, with recovery within seconds, back to 12.76v.
The Everchill fridge is 1.7cu. We set the temp control at 2.5, all the while it maintained a chilled 42 degrees with ice crystals formed on our breakfast sausage tupperware container. Thinking we are going to adjust down to 2 temp control setting on our next outing.
Our battery bank is (2) 100 amp Deep Cell Weize batteries and the 190 Solar Panel atop the popup, with the GoPower 30 amp PWM Charge Controller. I loved the BT feature, with the exception it didn't help with my sleeping the first night. I was overly, ( morelike obsessively ) tuned into that BT readout, hence the 3:07 am reading from below. LOL
Before retiring for bed, the Fridge Compressor kicked in and the voltage read 12.62. And then 2 minutes later shot back to 12.76v. During the first night our battery maintained 12.76v ( this was checked at 3:07 am). I was happy with the results of the 1st night.
The next morning reading @ 8 am, voltage was at 12.81. Current draw was showing .09A.
At 12:24 pm readings were 13.40V, 7AH, and 3.0A current.
At 3:32 pm readings were 13.42 V, 18AH and 2.0A current. Still a bit of an overcast day.
And then ending at 8:51 pm, evening had arrived and the readings were 12.84V, 20AH produced, and 0.0A current.
The final day of departure ( the last reading at 11:34 am ) we were at 13.38V, 5AH produced and 3.5A of current.
The takeaway from all of this was to see if we could last the weekend with the constant use of the basics ( excluding the heater ), ........ the 12v Fridge, occasional Water Pump and Water Heater usage, the lights and the Radio.
We had played the Radio all the while we were camping, and even with a puck light on in the evening for our pooch, there showed NO significant draw down from the battery.
It was an interesting, and educational, outing this past weekend. A great learning experience, knowing now we can be more at ease with our future fair-weathered boondock days. We don't do cold or extreme heat as our pooch doesn't do well in either weather. She's getting to old for it.
Hope our little Solar experiment will help others as they maybe try their hand at it.
Best of luck...... Happy Camping!
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