Easy Solar

[Janath]

Assume I know nothing! I don't. I just purchased an Aliner Scout with an electric refrigerator, air conditioner, and I need to use a CPAP when I'm sleeping.


I have one battery.


I am not wired for solar.


Camping should be limited to 3-4 days boondocking.


Should I purchase another battery and be done with it?


Should I purchase a Goal Zero Yeti 150 and a solar panel?


All input will be valued. Remember that I am starting at zero on the learning curve and I don't know what to plug in to what so please keep it simple.

[LTDunltd]

A second battery would be the easiest way to go.

The Goal Zero Yeti 150 is just a small 14Ah battery in a fancy box.
It's $200 for the battery & the 14 Watt solar panel is $330.

I installed a 100 watt system for $355. It consists of,
1 DOKIO 100 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar Panel $98
1 SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 Charge Controller by Victron Energy $226
( I went with a 100/30 amp controller for future expansion, 4- 100 watt panels.)
1 10 Gauge Pair 20 Feet Black + 20 Feet Red Solar Panel Extension Cable Wire MC4 Connector. $29.

I went with 20 ft of cable so there was enough to connect to solar panel to the controller and the controller to the battery wiring inside. Still have ~6 ft for future use.

I just got back from a 5 day camping trip and with the solar panel facing west, it still got enough sunlight to put the battery into float mode.

[Flybob]

You need to measure the power used the devices you plan to run.

You can not run the AC off batteries.
You can run a small electric fridge from a good battery set up ( two batteries) but you will need a few hundred watts of solar panel or small generator to recharge the batteries daily.
You need to check you CPAP. Some especially the ones with moisture use a lot of power. Before you buy anything, do your homework.
Add up your daily demands in DC AHrs. then you can configure a battery and charge system. Remember you should keep battery draw down to 50% capacity. Ie an 80Ahr battery should only be drained by 40AHrs. Also remember solar needs full sun and occasional re alignment to deliver rated power. Suggest you get a Kilawatt and driveway camp on shore power while you learn power demands. https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec...s%2C291&sr=8-3

[SlowrideHD]

If you really need your cpap to sleep, you need at least two good deep cycle batteries and a pure sine wave inverter dedicated to your cpap. That way you can turn your fridge off at night if you have to. Two batteries will be iffy about keeping a fridge, lights, fan and cpap running for more than eight hours.

I have a solar setup in a remote location with six 200 watt panels, eight Trojan T-105 6v batteries, in series to feed a 48 volt, 3600 watt pure sine wave inverter.

You might want to invest in a Honda (or similar) 2000i inverter generator to have reliable power when you need it.

[larry2c]

I have another option to SlowrideHD's comment. My wife has used a CPAP for years and her latest version runs on 24V DC via a transformer from 120V AC. Instead of buying an inverter - which are not that efficient - we purchased a 12V to 24V adapter (basically a step up transformer). It plugs into our 12V cigarette lighter outlet just like the old 12V CPAP did and it is drawing less than 1 amp when she's using it (not using heater or moisture).

You will still need more of a battery bank to do a 3+ day boondock trip but we feel that this option on the CPAP uses less power than an inverter and it only cost $80. This is the one we got

[tomkatb]

Small regular 12 volt batteries typically are good for 40 amps. Typically a night on a cpap. I used one on our boat often. 1 night or you damage the battery.

Check the requirements of the fridge. Generally to boondock you will need 4 batteries with the cpap, fridge and a generator to recharge every day. Unless the fridge is really small. One of those Dometic refrigerator coolers. My son has one. Really expensive. Small one is $800.

A 100 watt solar panel will get you half a night on the cpap on its best day. You need four or more.

We have a Honda 2200 watt for the occasional day. As we have a gas fridge I can go two days easy. I have 230 amps available.

[formerFR]

in reality, the 'solar' would only benefit you during the sun hours, as you have very little 'storage' for any amps that enough solar would provide for any type of 'overnight' usage of power... more batteries would be simpler, and use your generator a few hours before the night time arrives to 'store' the power for overnight.

[B and B]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

If you really need your cpap to sleep, you need at least two good deep cycle batteries and a pure sine wave inverter dedicated to your cpap. That way you can turn your fridge off at night if you have to. Two batteries will be iffy about keeping a fridge, lights, fan and cpap running for more than eight hours.

I have a solar setup in a remote location with six 200 watt panels, eight Trojan T-105 6v batteries, in series to feed a 48 volt, 3600 watt pure sine wave inverter.

You might want to invest in a Honda (or similar) 2000i inverter generator to have reliable power when you need it.

CPAP is more efficient using a DC to DC supply. I just bought 2 12 to 24 v power supplies for our Resmed S9 CPAP systems. I can get a night running 2 CPAPs with low humidity, furnace and residential fridge on two group 24 batteries.

Inverter is very inefficient.

[NJKris]

If you ever get a new CPAP, I love my Phillips, works on 12v, you just need the proper cord for it. I used to do a weekend of tent camping with one 12v marine battery that I would top off with a 16W solar panel. With heat turned off, that is what sucks up all all the juice. You don't need extra moisture when outdoor camping, or even in the RV, which you have to fight to keep humidity DOWN in.

[Jan Gerstner.]

"Suggest you get a Kilawatt and driveway camp on shore power while you learn power demands. https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec...s%2C291&sr=8-3[/QUOTE]"
When I looked at this on Amazon, it says for 120v use only. Meaning, I suppose, of no use on my RV 12v system that I want to power by solar. Please tell me if I am missing something.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Janath

Assume I know nothing! I don't. I just purchased an Aliner Scout with an electric refrigerator, air conditioner, and I need to use a CPAP when I'm sleeping.


I have one battery.


I am not wired for solar.


Camping should be limited to 3-4 days boondocking.


Should I purchase another battery and be done with it?


Should I purchase a Goal Zero Yeti 150 and a solar panel?


All input will be valued. Remember that I am starting at zero on the learning curve and I don't know what to plug in to what so please keep it simple.

You should look at the Goal Zero Yeti 1000 Lithium Portable Power Station at Costco.

[babock]

Originally Posted by Harkrader

"Suggest you get a Kilawatt and driveway camp on shore power while you learn power demands. https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec...s%2C291&sr=8-3
When I looked at this on Amazon, it says for 120v use only. Meaning, I suppose, of no use on my RV 12v system that I want to power by solar. Please tell me if I am missing something.

It will give you an idea how many watt hours your 120V items take. You can take those watt hours and convert to how many amp hours of 12V you would use if you used an inverter to power theses 120V items. Its close but not exact since inverters are likely only 90% efficient.

[tomkatb]

I have the killawatt device.

It is fun to use at home on the 110.

What you need is a voltmeter to read. The best ones show amp draw but, cost upwards of $150. Lots of information. Harder installation. Shunts etc.

I just studied the various 12 volt amp draw lists on the internet. Learn to manage power. No big deal.

Inverters are somewhat inefficient and batteries do not hold a lot of electricity. Just know P=IV. Added 20% for inverter loss.

I have a Bluetooth voltmeter, $39. 5 minute installation.

If you want to boondock and use inverters you need lots of batteries and ways to charge them. CPAP’s, furnaces, residential fridges, coffee pots, microwaves etc. use lots of power. Lights do not.

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by Harkrader

"Suggest you get a Kilawatt and driveway camp on shore power while you learn power demands. https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec...s%2C291&sr=8-3

"
When I looked at this on Amazon, it says for 120v use only. Meaning, I suppose, of no use on my RV 12v system that I want to power by solar. Please tell me if I am missing something.[/QUOTE]




Yes the kilawat meter is only good on 120V AC, but it if you are using an inverter to power AC devices from 12VDC it will provide usage data. If you are looking for a similar item for 12VDC only, you can use one of these.https://www.amazon.com/RC-Electronic...ateway&sr=8-46


Either way, before you invest in any power solutions, you need to understand your needs.

[dbledan]

Quickest way to get you started would be a 3000w+ inverter generator (assuming a 13-15k btu ac) and a second battery. These will cost you about $1100ish depending on the route you take for the inverter generator. Lots of threads for these but love my dual fuel champion 3400. You will need the generator regardless if you want to run the AC and it will also recharge your batteries. Two group27 batteries could get you through the night if you dont use heat on the cpap and the furnace fan does not run all night. Dont have an electric fridge so you would likely want to turn it off at night or get more batteries (just freeze water bottles during the day to keep it cold at night). Propane for the fridge is a much better option if available.

They have new cpaps that have moisture tabs instead of heaters for moisture now. May just need a new hose for yours. Then the cpap can run all night as draw is only a fan.

A smaller inverter generator 2000w etc will only run the AC and you will have to spend $350 on an easy start so may as well get two 2000w or one 3500w is better. If you have a cool cat then maybe a 2000w is enough but I defer to someone who has tried it. You dont want to JUST power the AC because you will need to recharge your batteries while running the generator.

Solar will only work during the day so you will need at least the second battery for overnights and for cloudy or rainy days the inverter will be needed as well to recharge. So start with the battery and inverter generator and add solar over time as you find the need. This way you don't oversize one particular system or purchase and you don't have to spend $3-5k all at once. If you end up running the AC all day you may find you dont need the solar. If you don't solar could work better for you bit the inverter and battery are needed in both cases.

Know that with lead acid batteries you should only take them to 50% to conserve life. You get the full use out of lithium but you pay more than twice the amount. Review the battery and solar threads about using the same size age and type when adding batteries.

Happy camping and good luck!

[Janath]

I have a Phillips Dreamachine too! Can you tell me please exactly what kind of cord I need to use overnight in my camper?

Thank you so much for your information.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Janath

I have a Phillips Dreamachine too! Can you tell me please exactly what kind of cord I need to use overnight in my camper?

Thank you so much for your information.

Shielded DC Cord for Respironics DreamStation Series Machines SKU# 1120746

I am using the Respironics Shielded DC Cord for System One 60 Series CPAP.

Check your part # in the 2018_Philips_Respironics_product_catalog