Poquito
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Posts: 231 
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'68 10' Serro Scotty Sportsman
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Post by Poquito on May 24, 2021 3:26:15 GMT -8
I have solar power for my fantastic fan and interior lights. I don't usually boondock (Covid year exception), and want to know if there is a non complicated way to make the vent fan and lights operable by solar or 110, like a combo? Living in FL, I use the vent fan a lot. I kept it on a good part of a day camping in MI and the battery drained and had to recharge it with the 110 electric connection from the camp ground post. Seemed kind of silly to have solar battery stuff going on while plugged in for electric for the fridge & water pump. but the FL sun should keep the solar charged enough to run it day and night, don't you think? Only thing is I plan to leave FL behind this year and may not have a blistering sun to power all the time. Thoughts?
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Post by vikx on May 24, 2021 9:57:58 GMT -8
Solar and batteries just don't last when running a motor, unless you have a LOT of solar and a battery bank. I would think the Fan will run all day but start pulling the battery down at night with the system you have.
To run the fan on 110, purchase a 5-6amp converter. They are not very expensive. Most have a cigar socket but you could also hard wire the converter. Attached to the fuse block, the converter should run the trailer 12 volt system with careful use.
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lexcentric
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'56 Dalton Frame-up rebuild - New axle. waiting for better weather to put new walls up
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Post by lexcentric on May 27, 2021 9:49:41 GMT -8
Solar and batteries just don't last when running a motor, unless you have a LOT of solar and a battery bank. I would think the Fan will run all day but start pulling the battery down at night with the system you have. To run the fan on 110, purchase a 5-6amp converter. They are not very expensive. Most have a cigar socket but you could also hard wire the converter. Attached to the fuse block, the converter should run the trailer 12 volt system with careful use. So if I understand this correctly, this converter is basically the same more-or-less as the charger for a laptop? The "power brick" that steps 110V to 12v DC (in some cases)? I'm in the process of designing my system, so it's nice to see how other folks are approaching these kinds of things. In this use case, you would power the 12V system directly from 110V shore power rather than pulling shore power in through a battery charger and powering the 12V system from the battery as "normal?" I like the idea of being able to run lights & fan off the battery when necessary and shore when available, but what is the best practice in this case? I thought I read somewhere that it is best to keep the 12V system with the battery as a buffer/regulator, does that logic still hold true, or is that just simply one approach? |
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Post by danrhodes on May 27, 2021 12:10:28 GMT -8
I just run everything from 12V. If I have shore power, a battery maintainer keeps my battery charged for all my 12V use. Even a basic battery maintainer can sustain a 3A charge current which is enough for a fan and lights and device charging.
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Post by vikx on May 27, 2021 21:50:25 GMT -8
To run the fan on 110, purchase a 5-6amp converter. They are not very expensive. Most have a cigar socket but you could also hard wire the converter. Attached to the fuse block, the converter should run the trailer 12 volt system with careful use. [/quote]So if I understand this correctly, this converter is basically the same more-or-less as the charger for a laptop? The "power brick" that steps 110V to 12v DC (in some cases)?
I'm in the process of designing my system, so it's nice to see how other folks are approaching these kinds of things.
In this use case, you would power the 12V system directly from 110V shore power rather than pulling shore power in through a battery charger and powering the 12V system from the battery as "normal?"
I like the idea of being able to run lights & fan off the battery when necessary and shore when available, but what is the best practice in this case? I thought I read somewhere that it is best to keep the 12V system with the battery as a buffer/regulator, does that logic still hold true, or is that just simply one approach?[/quote]
I thought you wanted to run without a battery. I use 6 amp chargers in my house to power USBs via a cigar plug.
I install a complete 12 volt system in my trailers, including a battery, maintainer or converter for charging, fuse block, lights, cigar socket, etc. Not sure if a computer charger would be heavy duty enough to run everything, maybe. My lighting has the original 110 fixtures and I add a couple of 12 volt lights and the two systems are usually separate. (just the maintainer) When I have a Progressive Dynamics converter, it runs the 12 volt system very well and can power the Fan all day. The maintainer can't quite keep up if you're running the Fan and/or lots of lights.
The above is different from a modern RV where everything but the outlet recepticles is 12 volt. (lights, water pump, circuit board for the fridge, etc) The 110 runs into the electrical distribution center, where it powers the 110 breaker box also the converter. The converter powers the 12 volt system and charges the battery.
My trailers have the two systems; a complete 110/breaker box and a separate 12 volt system. Very similar except for the 110 lighting which modern RVs usually don't have.
I like to have the battery buffer the 12 volt power and always add one.
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