Solar advice

Steve and Julie

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Were getting a 200ah lithium battery . will be running a compressor fridge and a 12volt TV and eventually getting a Chinese diesel heater and obviously charging phones.have seen on the discount section you can get a 270wat solar kit for around £300 . Whas asking if folks think this will be enough for our needs. Thanks in advance
 
I would have thought that would be loads, even in winter. We have a 160w panel and 110 ah battery (not lithium) no TV, compressor fridge, charging phones and tablets. They were perfect in summer. Winter, the compressor fridge struggled a bit and wasn't really needed due to temps. So turned it off. Others will be more knowledgeable but seems plenty. Of course it all also depends on mileage driven and light to charge it and how long off grid.
 
Don’t know enough about Lithium but I have currently got an almost identical system to what REC has just described & all ‘Just’ ok with my Fulltime Lifestyle, But TBH Boxy will be up graded to a 200ah Battery & Possibly a better Controller this year.
Currently-
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Two days same park up, Grey, Cloudy, LOTS of Rain
 
Well then it would very much depend on adding up ALL your Daily power Drain expectations, Times this Figure by 3 to allow for Crappie Weather Or Extra unexpected Drain On Occasion. THEN ALSO ADD the minimum Amps that you need to leave in the Battery Bank so not to cause damage.
This then allows you to design a suitable Solar catchment in Order to Harvest (That) amount working on Around 50% efficiency of Panels especially if mounted flat as a guide.
The Replenishment of the Battery Bank & The Panels themselves are also directly linked to how much Engine time or Other Means of charging that you may use on a daily basis.
So,,,Pencil, Paper, Calculator, Coffee & Donuts is where I would start 👍
 
Just remember in the depths of winter solar more or less useless. So if parked up for any length of time and using tv, fridge, lights and heating etc etc you will soon deplete your batteries regardless of what type they are.
I have a 21” Avtex tv which uses approx 40 watts / 3.3 amps an hour, it doesn’t take many hours viewing the tv to quickly eat into your battery capacity if parked up for a few days and that’s without everything else you will be using.
Thats why I carry a genny lol 🤫🤫🤫🤫
 
If you’ve gone to the expense of a 200ah lithium battery, it would be a shame not to go for a Victron Orien battery to battery charger while you’re at it. They love higher charging rates and feeding it 30 amps/hour anytime the engine is running helps a lot this time of year.
 
Been out all day today using the heater, tv and soundbar. Including a half hour drive. Still got 98%.
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We don't wild camp that often due to both of us still working. But need to upgrade our current lead acid battery as when we stayed at Hereford last summer our battery was dead after one evening of TV watching luckily we were next to jeff and we plugged our hook up lead into his van
 
If you’ve gone to the expense of a 200ah lithium battery, it would be a shame not to go for a Victron Orien battery to battery charger while you’re at it. They love higher charging rates and feeding it 30 amps/hour anytime the engine is running helps a lot this time of year.
We have a Stirling b2b fitted in our van it has settings for lithium so assume I can just adjust settings for the new battery when it arrives
 
Yes you should see a real return if you reset to lithium. I cant testify to Stirling’s performance, but lifepo4 batteries will take so much more charge. I would use your Bluetooth to see exactly what is going in from your adjusted Stirling before doing anything else. You could be lucky and find it gives your battery everything it needs this time of year. Good luck 👍
 
Our Citroen relay has a smart alternator so should supply a good charge so I'm led to believe it doesn't take long to charge the lead acid that's currently fitted so I'm hoping for good results with the lithium
 
Our Citroen relay has a smart alternator so should supply a good charge so I'm led to believe it doesn't take long to charge the lead acid that's currently fitted so I'm hoping for good results with the lithium
Thats fine if you have a b to b fitted set to charge lithium, if not your smart alternator may drop below usable voltage in it‘s efforts to save energy and actually be less effective. Be very careful about how you plan to charge a ’drop in’ lithium exchange battery.
 
I can just about keep up with 200w solar and voltronic duo mppt regulater, fridge in summer but of in winter as not required, 12v tv and led lights, winter for about 4/6 weeks useless.
 
You have to start somewhere, im looking at 2 x 270amps 12v at the same cost but there diy.
If you move on after 3 /4 day in winter it will be good, just take a radio and turn the telly off on the last day it will be all right.
50 amps a day, is twice as much as the bambi used.
 

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