Solar, ARB Fridge, Sears Platinum PM-1 - Group Size 31M QUESTIONS

[dwh]

When the inexpensive lead acid battery goes hopefully it will still be under warranty and the cycle be restart.

Not exactly, as battery warranties are usually of the "pro-rated" type. So you can get a new battery, but you'll have to pay something for it.

[LandCruiserPhil]

Originally Posted by LandCruiserPhil
When the inexpensive lead acid battery goes hopefully it will still be under warranty and the cycle be restart.

Not exactly, as battery warranties are usually of the "pro-rated" type. So you can get a new battery, but you'll have to pay something for it.

You may want to revisit what type of batteries you are purchasing if they are pro-rated from the purchased date

Even my inexpensive lead acid battery is from Walmart and carries a 2 year free replacement. I also have Optima and Platinum batteries in my other vehicle which also carry a 2-3 year free replacement.

[xplorer]

Great thread.

1. Since my technical expertise involving electrical issues is rather limited, this thread had helped a lot.

I am planning a 30+ day trip during which we will be camping in remote areas with no hookups to electricity. We will probably not stay at any location for more than 1 night.

My goal: Install a 47 qt ARB fridge freezer either in my vehicle or in my trailer that will be a stand alone system that does not depend on the vehicle system to charge or keep charged a new 900 amp deep cycle the fridge/freezer will be connected to. The battery will be exclusively for the fridge.

In this thread I have learned that a 100 amp solar panel would most likely be sufficient to keep the battery charged. I do plan to have a trickle charger that I can use to keep the battery topped off at night if we do stay in a "civilized" campground that has hookups.

If I have it figured right and I may not, refer to #1 above, the fridge draws .87 A/H and in a 24 hour period (no charging) the draw will be 20.88 A/H. Even without sunlight the fridge should run for quite a while on the 900 amp battery.

With full sunlight on the panel it should have an output of around 5.81 A/H so the battery should be maintained at a full, or near full, capacity during the day. 8 hours of sunlight ought to provide a bit over 46 A/H.

Questions:

Does the panel have to be in full sunlight to produce a charge?

Does vibration effect the operation of a solar panel?

I've simplified this thought process so what have I left out? Again, refer to #1 above :O)

Thanks for any and all help. Again, this thread is very informative.

[wrcsixeight]

900 amp battery... this is cold cranking amps, not capacity. Amp hours or reserve minutes are measures of capacity. A Optima battery rated at 54 amp hours can have over 900 cca. A deep cycle battery rated at 115 amp hours can be rated at 550 cca. CCA is a worthless rating unless you are cranking the engine.

Your solar panel(100 watts, not amps) is unlikely to output it's rating even if you move it every half hour to face directly into the unshaded sun. Any shade and the output drops significantly, not just the % of the panel shaded but a huge percentage more.

Trickle chargers are nearly useless at charging a large battery, unless you have days and days. Get a 10 amp or better charger.

You should absolutely take advantage of whatever juice you can get from alternator to accessory battery.

The ARB fridge figure you quote is probably best case consumption. Low ambient temps, without opening. Expect and plan for 20% higher consumption, and double that if travelling with a woman.

[xplorer]

Great, thanks. This is good. Always good to learn about something you don't know enough about

Looks like I have to rethink my system. I currently run an Optima battery as primary in the vehicle and maybe all I need to do is get a beefier alternator to keep it and a secondary battery charged. The second one I am hoping to dedicate to run only the fridge at night when camping. I would hope to isolate the second one from the primary at night so it would run the fridge and not drain the primary. Perhaps with a battery isolation switch? Or, just unplug it from the vehicle?

Thanks again, it is appreciated. It is still confusing but I am getting there.

[SoCal_80]

Great thread.

1. Since my technical expertise involving electrical issues is rather limited, this thread had helped a lot.

I am planning a 30+ day trip during which we will be camping in remote areas with no hookups to electricity. We will probably not stay at any location for more than 1 night.

My goal: Install a 47 qt ARB fridge freezer either in my vehicle or in my trailer that will be a stand alone system that does not depend on the vehicle system to charge or keep charged a new 900 amp deep cycle the fridge/freezer will be connected to. The battery will be exclusively for the fridge.

In this thread I have learned that a 100 amp solar panel would most likely be sufficient to keep the battery charged. I do plan to have a trickle charger that I can use to keep the battery topped off at night if we do stay in a "civilized" campground that has hookups.

If I have it figured right and I may not, refer to #1 above, the fridge draws .87 A/H and in a 24 hour period (no charging) the draw will be 20.88 A/H. Even without sunlight the fridge should run for quite a while on the 900 amp battery.

With full sunlight on the panel it should have an output of around 5.81 A/H so the battery should be maintained at a full, or near full, capacity during the day. 8 hours of sunlight ought to provide a bit over 46 A/H.

Questions:

Does the panel have to be in full sunlight to produce a charge?

Does vibration effect the operation of a solar panel?

I've simplified this thought process so what have I left out? Again, refer to #1 above :O)

Thanks for any and all help. Again, this thread is very informative.

If you are only staying one night in each place why the need for solar? Keeping things simple why not just charge off f the vehicle's alternator? I don't think a panel will be able to keep up with the fridge since you will be driving during the day and stopping in the evening I assume. With only a few hours of decent sun each day the battery will never fully charge and it will eventually be drawn down.

[concretejungle]

agree with the above post.

I am in a similar position now with my setup.... running a engel fridge and running it off my starting battery (optima yellow top). I am deciding if i want to keep it this way and just carry a booster pack with me in an emergency (once i jump it off i can leave it running long enough to charge the battery back up). Or, should i wire up a dual battery system (more expensive).....

[concretejungle]

Just for information purposes, after reading through this thread i decided to run a driveway experiment. I have a engel fridge wired up through a 12v blue sea outlet in the rear of the truck. I ran 6 gauge wire from the battery back with a 25amp fuse in line. I have a optima yellow top (i will get battery info when i get home this evening) that is about 5 or 6 years old. I tested the voltage at the battery before plugging in the fridge... it was at 12.52v. Last night i plugged the fridge in and set it to the coldest setting (i do have the travel bag on it). I just went home a lunch and checked the voltage after almost 14 hours of running.... the battery is currently at 10.50V. I'll check it again tonight and post back up.

[concretejungle]

well i would say this experiment was a failure. Just got home and after almost 21 hours of the fridge running, my battery is ready 9.57V ..... and the truck won't start. Which makes sense considering the starter needs 12V to start. Sooooooo i guess you really do need a separate battery for accessories.

[Robert Bills]

Your battery was only at 85% charge when you started your experiment, and fully discharged after 14 hours with the fridge running. http://www.mmbalmainauto.com.au/PDF/..._batteries.pdf

You may have a charging issue, or your battery may be old and tired.

You should put your battery on a good charger, fully charge it to 12.7 volts, have it load tested, then try your experiment again.

When new, the WallyWorld Group 31 battery in my trailer would run my fridge for 3 days before the battery voltage dropped to 12.2v (50% state of charge). As the battery aged the time to 50% charge dropped.