Living fulltime in your bus?

[Ralph7]

       I have a 13 cu. ft. house frig, microwave 1000w, all LED lights, satlite TV setup, etc.  My solar is  4ea. 210watt x29.9volt and a Morningstar MPPT 60amp controller, 2000watt /100amp Magnum inverter charger, 6 golf cart batts. It will run fine if I have 5-6 hours of bright sun, a 3000si Honda is the backup.
     Frends have less watts and do very well, all depends on what you want, BUT the most importent is the size of the wire used, most wire to small.
     I have only been in my bus fulltime 2 1/2 years so far so good, it goes fast.
     Take your time lookin at busses!!!!!!

[harleyman_1000]

 Ralph, am I figuring correctly, that you have 840 watts solar?

[Ralph7]

      Yes on 840watts@ 29.9volts, it maxes out the  60amp controller. I use a 12volt system.
       Also have an 8cu. ft. 12/24volt freezer, it is extremely efficent, holds -15 to-20 in 80degree days. it was about $1250.00 but worth it, NO propane, just electric. NOT high DC amp draw!!!
        Most 100- 140watt lanels are 19.9volt.
        On a sunny day I have seen 50plus amps@ 13.8V heading to the batts.

[harleyman_1000]

I am totally ignorant when it comes to solar. What is the difference between 19 volts and 29 volts in usage or whatever.

[Oonrahnjay]

I am totally ignorant when it comes to solar. What is the difference between 19 volts and 29 volts in usage or whatever.   

    In practical terms, not a real difference.  In terms of designing a system, it makes a difference in that panels must be combined and wired together -- that means that some systems will be higher voltage direct from the panels.  That panel output (total) gives you the watts available, which is the important thing.  But every solar system has to have a controller and distribution sub-system and that design is what gives you the actual usable voltage.  So, some people get 12V (for vehicle use) from a solar array that produces 19V and others get 12V from panels that produce 29V (similar for 24V etc.).  So, basically, you have two different voltages in a solar system and the details of the system design are the important factors in deciding how much power (and this is a very non-technical term on purpose) and at what voltage you actually put into the vehicle.  As usual, other factors (many panels tend to be wired to produce higher voltages but this isn't written in stone) make some design details more efficient or cost effective, but most things can be "varied" to suit your needs.

    But the above is very non-specific.  If you're interested in solar, check out some of the good, basic websites for the in-depth details on how they work.

[harleyman_1000]

 Ok but for solar dummies like me, which set up would be best for occasional high usage such as a coffee pot( mine turns off after brewing, and uses a cafe pot) and a microwave?

[Oonrahnjay]

Ok but for solar dummies like me, which set up would be best for occasional high usage such as a coffee pot( mine turns off after brewing, and uses a cafe pot) and a microwave? 

      "Occasional high usage" implies to me a good house-battery bank and an inverter.  You'd have a hard time getting dependable power out of a solar system to run high usage items.  What a solar system is good for is providing a fairly continuous low-intensity flow of electricity to charge the batteries -- the solar charging is "small amounts for a long time" while the use you're talking about is "large amounts for a short time".  And solar depends on cloudiness, hours of daylight on a given day, orientation of the panels towards the sun, size of panel array, etc. and will vary across the hours of the day.  Like most things, you could spend a lot of money for a larger capacity system but whether that would help you much is a question of design, capacity of charging, capacity of storage, and demand of use; no sense in paying for capacity that you don't use. 

      The actual voltage of the panels into the controller is probably the least important part of the equation (except that larger capacity system tend to have higher-panel-voltage but that's related to design which is dictated by the parameters you would put into the system calculations). 

      I'm trying not to overload all this with jargon but make it informative -- hope it helps.    BH   NC   USA

[harleyman_1000]

My head is spinning, but slower than before your all's help   

[bobofthenorth]

      The actual voltage of the panels into the controller is probably the least important part of the equation (except that larger capacity system tend to have higher-panel-voltage but that's related to design which is dictated by the parameters you would put into the system calculations). 

I'd argue that the panel voltage is hugely important at the design stage.  You can carry a lot of watts at a lot less amps on a high voltage serial arrangement.  That translates into lower wire gauges and less power loss in transmission.  Jack Mayer's website is a good starting point for anyone serious about designing a well thought out solar system. 

[Scott & Heather]

Don't want to interrupt...but we have been fulltiming for two year solid now. This is our first winter up north in the coach. And tonight it's 14 F. And inside the coach it's 73 F. Works for us. I sing for a living and also do remote computer support. Between the two, we are financially comfortable. I'm 30 wife is 28 and we are planning on bringing a couple of little ones into our lives at some point.


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[Jerry W Campbell]

  I have been thinking about solar and boonedocking. Is 1200 enough to run everything except for microwave and ac? 

   We have found 1000 watts is enough. The problem is you can not get 1000 watts from 1000 watts of panels. You need 1/3 more. That's why we got 1500 watts. We are currently living in a place with only 5 hours of sun.
We also live in the bus full time. We work during the summer and travel south in the winter
  Today we leave from Mexico to head back to Oregon. About 3000 miles. It will take us about a month and a half.
Good Luck
Jerry