BCM Community

I have an issue that I've been mulling over the past few weeks.  I am trying to determine if a battery bank/inverter set-up is right for me.  I have a Prosine 2.5 inverter but no batteries yet.  I have held off on batteries because I am not sure the set up is practical for my use.  My heat and air set up uses 2 mini-split heat pumps and being in the south it seems that there is rarely a time when I'm not using some type of climate control.  So for the most part I have to run the generator when traveling or boondocking and shore power when available.  To me this negates the usefullness of a battery bank unless I am overlooking something and if that is the case I'm sure I'll be quicky reprimanded.  Thoughts?  Ideas?

Your usage determines what you need.  If you have been using your coach and never thought to yourself, "I wish I had a battery bank and inverter setup," then it is doubtful that you need it.  However, there are places like National Parks that strictly limit generator use.  If you have intentions of visiting those places, you will want to have a working inverter.  I have been in parks that allow generators during the day, but found that people were rarely turning them on.  I would hate to be the only one in such a place that's supplying my neighbors with noise and fumes.  I sure is nice when things are quiet.

I have been doing fine without since I began using the bus 3 years ago.  If I thought I could run one of my mini splits for a few hours overnight it might be worth it.  My Sanyo mini split has an inverter compressor so t is varable speed and does not always draw a big load.  That being the case it may be worth looking into.  The inverter was just one of the things that I bought early on that "you have to have" in a conversion and 3 years later I still haven used it.

I have a small battery bank, but it is sized to suit my application.  I have 240 ah at 24 volts nominal.  My use is typical house stuff, which it can run for a long time - a week anyway, including the small 120vac usage like computers, my 4G wifi hub, TV, etc.  I have a 3,000 watt pure sine inverter - I run my AC 15K btu rooftop unit from the alternator going down the road, and for up to an hour when stopped for lunch.  This works perfectly for me, and the size of the battery bank and inverter means I can make coffee with the AC on, etc.

Last think for me will be to select a charger.  Right now I just use the alternator and a 5 amp trickle charger.

Brian