RV solar with generator backup?

[PNW_Steve]

Run the gen enough to beautify the help. I wouldn't worry too much about it charging the batteries. Sometimes out on the desert it's nice to cool the RV before bed and we run the gen for a bit with the AC. I have a fold up 100 watt solar panel that keeps the house battery up to run the lights(all LED) start the gen, charge phones, kindles and pads). We usually use bottled water to flush tollet(doesn't need to be dumped as often and to cook/wash dishes bathe outside with a bucket and a cup to pour water over to rinse off(lakes and rivers for bath tubs). Once a week a run to town for groceries tops everything up nicely.

Sometimes I think that it might be cheaper in the long run to get a club membership and stay at a RV park than have to deal with extensive solar set ups.

While we do prefer boondocking to (expensive) RV parks we are not quite that rustic

We do have a composting toilet but sponge baths are out. Morning requires coffee and a shower.

We carry enough tankage for about 10 days without hookups. One night in an RV park and we can fill, dump and laundry then another 10 days boondocking.

[AWS]

Run the gen enough to beautify the help. I wouldn't worry too much about it charging the batteries. Sometimes out on the desert it's nice to cool the RV before bed and we run the gen for a bit with the AC. I have a fold up 100 watt solar panel that keeps the house battery up to run the lights(all LED) start the gen, charge phones, kindles and pads). We usually use bottled water to flush tollet(doesn't need to be dumped as often and to cook/wash dishes bathe outside with a bucket and a cup to pour water over to rinse off(lakes and rivers for bath tubs). Once a week a run to town for groceries tops everything up nicely.

Sometimes I think that it might be cheaper in the long run to get a club membership and stay at a RV park than have to deal with extensive solar set ups.

[PNW_Steve]

Sounds like a plan. Domestic tranquility usually requires some compromise and (re)evaluation of priorities.

Happy Wife = Happy Life

[J.P.M.]

That was pretty much the plan.

All of my heat generating appliances are currently propane and I was shopping for a French press.

Then I was made aware that blow dryer and curling iron ARE required even when boondocking. That shot my energy budget all to heck.

I can't, practically, install that much solar/battery to support that so I have given in to the idea of running the generator for an hour or two in the morning to support the big loads and get a head start on battery charging for the day.

Sounds like a plan. Domestic tranquility usually requires some compromise and (re)evaluation of priorities.

[PNW_Steve]

Short hair cut, Tea pot/french press/stove top percolator. and a frying pan/kettle, problem solved. Propane is your friend. Sinead O'Connor and Susan Powder are HOT. We use our microwave to store bread and cookies in.

That was pretty much the plan.

All of my heat generating appliances are currently propane and I was shopping for a French press.

Then I was made aware that blow dryer and curling iron ARE required even when boondocking. That shot my energy budget all to heck.

I can't, practically, install that much solar/battery to support that so I have given in to the idea of running the generator for an hour or two in the morning to support the big loads and get a head start on battery charging for the day.

[AWS]

Short hair cut, Tea pot/french press/stove top percolator. and a frying pan/kettle, problem solved. Propane is your friend. Sinead O'Connor and Susan Powder are HOT. We use our microwave to store bread and cookies in.

[Mike90250]

Not sure how it is relevant but here goes:

2002 Bluebird A3RE

4x L-16 batteries in series.


inverter is a Xantrex Prosine 1800/24

Charger is an Iota DLS-27-40

Solar is not 24 volt. Closer to 75 volts.....

OK, you didn't list the Midnight (I've got a classic 200) I thought the controller was A3RE but I guess that's the host rig. Mystery solved

[PNW_Steve]

Mod note. - Mike90250 was attempting to locate your Bluebird A3RE controller

Not quite sure what to say about that.......


Charge controller is a Midnite Classic 150.

The vehicle that it is installed in is a Bluebird A3RE.

[PNW_Steve]

now we're getting somewhere, these were very beautiful high-end coaches 'back in the day'... and can make a great 'home' even now...

I would wonder if the stock unit came with a more standard 12v system, versus 24v, which is not common in the industry... if so, I would wonder why someone had gone to the trouble to change it. With 4 parallel 6v house batteries, making a 24v output, it makes sense, but the amp hours are now half(?) of what most other 12v rvs have usage of, with the same size and number of batteries, which sounds more like what you want when you want more 'time' off-grid without the generator running. Maybe it comes out equally in the end though - it sounds like it's only really done to match a 24v solar output.

But, I suppose if your usage is really as you say, minimal and mostly in the a.m., then maybe it will work just fine. Your generator will most likely always be in play, used in the a.m., and probably late night before bed, etc. If you have enough solar to offset most of your usage during sun hours, then you'll probably not need the generator unless you need the air conditioners.

All in all, I don't think that your worries about what someone else has mentioned about the charge controller being affected by the generator is warranted. There's really no 'connection' between the two, other than the battery bank itself. I imagine also that the charge controller has settings to customize the stages of charging, which may be why the other owner was not seeing the length of time they expected, if their internal settings were not correct. Maybe they had it set at 80% and did not realize it.


Travel, park where you want, and enjoy! You'll do just fine.

No, there was no solar from the factory. IMHO: It's a very bad practice to run 12 volts on systems exceeding 1kw. "you gotta look outside of the 12volt box"

I have worked hard to select appliances/components for minimum power consumption. LED lights, lowest power TV (52watts) and running as many loads "native" 24vdc as I am able. I still had a 1.9kwh daily energy budget. Then my wife let me know that her hair dryer etc were daily necessities, even when on the road. There went my energy budget. Another 1-1.5kwh daily. I can't fit enough solar and batteries to accommodate that. Heck, I was willing to give up my electric coffee maker for making coffee on the propane stove

I wouldn't say my usage is "minimal". I guess that is a matter of perspective. Correct, with the current plan, we will have our large loads run between 6am - 8am with the generator running. That should support coffee maker, hair dryer and get a little head start on the battery charging.

The solar charge controller and the shore power charger both connect to the battery. When the generator runs, the shore power charger will provide charge current as will the solar charge controller. That is the "connection"

Thanks for the input.

S.

[PNW_Steve]

A properly configured setup, cannot confuse or burn out a charge controller. Many things can do that, but not in a proper setup

Example - my system has XW inverter, Classic MPPT Controller, Morningstar MPPT controller, Iota Charger and an antique generator. All gear was carefully selected for over a year, to match loads and appliances, before I bought anything. Nothing has interacted poorly, except for a bad batch of diesel fuel from chevron. Not understand how things are supposed to work and violating operation conditions can fry things.

I tried to look up your charge controller, but your model number didn't match anything on the india web page. With 75V of PV, I hope it is a MPPT style controller.

The charge controller is fairly common. Here is a link: http://www.midnitesolar.com/productP...tOrder=1&act=p

It is an MPPT and rated up to 150 volts input.

I have been doing something similar over the last 18 months. Measuring loads, documenting and building my energy budget. Selecting components to match.

I had a bit of a hitch when my wife made me aware that her electric hair dryer and curling iron were not staying home when we go on the road. I can't practically put enough solar & batteries in to support them. That led me to the idea of running the generator every morning to support my big morning loads.

Then I read a couple of accounts of folks having issues that I would like to avoid. From the response so far, I doesn't sound like it is a terribly common problem and I'm just going to have to try and hope it runs smoothly.


Mod note. - Mike90250 was attempting to locate your Bluebird A3RE controller

[NCmountainsOffgrid]

now we're getting somewhere, these were very beautiful high-end coaches 'back in the day'... and can make a great 'home' even now...

I would wonder if the stock unit came with a more standard 12v system, versus 24v, which is not common in the industry... if so, I would wonder why someone had gone to the trouble to change it. With 4 parallel 6v house batteries, making a 24v output, it makes sense, but the amp hours are now half(?) of what most other 12v rvs have usage of, with the same size and number of batteries, which sounds more like what you want when you want more 'time' off-grid without the generator running. Maybe it comes out equally in the end though - it sounds like it's only really done to match a 24v solar output.

But, I suppose if your usage is really as you say, minimal and mostly in the a.m., then maybe it will work just fine. Your generator will most likely always be in play, used in the a.m., and probably late night before bed, etc. If you have enough solar to offset most of your usage during sun hours, then you'll probably not need the generator unless you need the air conditioners.

All in all, I don't think that your worries about what someone else has mentioned about the charge controller being affected by the generator is warranted. There's really no 'connection' between the two, other than the battery bank itself. I imagine also that the charge controller has settings to customize the stages of charging, which may be why the other owner was not seeing the length of time they expected, if their internal settings were not correct. Maybe they had it set at 80% and did not realize it.


Travel, park where you want, and enjoy! You'll do just fine.

[Mike90250]

......

That is the root of my question. I have heard from a couple of folks that generator run time in the morning has "confused " their charge controller causing erratic behavior.
I would like to avoid duplicating their problems

A properly configured setup, cannot confuse or burn out a charge controller. Many things can do that, but not in a proper setup

Example - my system has XW inverter, Classic MPPT Controller, Morningstar MPPT controller, Iota Charger and an antique generator. All gear was carefully selected for over a year, to match loads and appliances, before I bought anything. Nothing has interacted poorly, except for a bad batch of diesel fuel from chevron. Not understand how things are supposed to work and violating operation conditions can fry things.

I tried to look up your charge controller ( Bluebird A3RE ), but your model number didn't match anything on the india web page. With 75V of PV, I hope it is a MPPT style controller.

[PNW_Steve]

yes, everything IS relevent... I'm not sure how anyone could come to a conclusion that a generator run time, while charging your battery bank in the a.m., would have any effect on your solar charge controller - but if that 'person' has an issue, it sounds more like it's their own charge controller...

why is your battery bank running at 24v versus 12v? was this as the factory in
Ft.Valley Ga built it? I used to live near Bluebird/Wonderlodge...

so you're feeding 75volts of solar into a 24v charge controller? I don't imagine this setup was from the factory.

OK,. I have read two accounts of the problem and want to avoid having the same.

Why 24v? Because 12 volts is impractical for a system of this capacity . There are some great stickies on here that give a better explanation than I can.


No, it didn't come from Georgia this way.

[NCmountainsOffgrid]

yes, everything IS relevent... I'm not sure how anyone could come to a conclusion that a generator run time, while charging your battery bank in the a.m., would have any effect on your solar charge controller - but if that 'person' has an issue, it sounds more like it's their own charge controller...

why is your battery bank running at 24v versus 12v? was this as the factory in
Ft.Valley Ga built it? I used to live near Bluebird/Wonderlodge...

so you're feeding 75volts of solar into a 24v charge controller? I don't imagine this setup was from the factory.

[PNW_Steve]

Wired correctly, there should be no issue.

No shore power. : the SP charger has no idea if you are running the RV engine or the PV panels charging the battery.
On shore power : Do instructions state "Never start your engine while on shore power " I doubt it. Engine alternator should not cook SP , neither should PV panels.

Not sure that I understand your response .

The shore charger and the solar charge controller both connect directly to the battery bank (with o/c protection) engine and alternator should have no effect. Did you mean generator?

That is the root of my question. I have heard from a couple of folks that generator run time in the morning has "confused " their charge controller causing erratic behavior.
I would like to avoid duplicating their problems