Newbe questions

[Skip51]

Will be picking up new 2400w this Friday and have some questions.

1 given my couch batteries are down to 25% and I have 200w of solar cells in full sun, can anyone give me a guessamit on how long it will take to recharge the batteries to 100% with no additional load besides smoke detector, ect?

2 I'm sure I'm not the only HAM out there. Any suggestions on running co-ax from dash to rear ladder (I plan on using ladder as a antenna mast). Any unexpected surprises such as noise from the dc/ac inverter or leds?

Great forum, looking forward to being able to contribute to it.

[Rkloud9]

Congrats on your new 2400W!

Is the dealer installing the solar panels, or are you getting the Zamp portable array to plug into the mfr. supplied outlet?

How do you know that the batteries are down to 25%? My understanding is that if the batteries are in fact drawn down to 25%, they will be damaged, and their life and capacity reduced. 50% is the recommended amount for lead acid batteries.

I have been doing research, but have no real world experience. From what I have read, in a perfect world, 200 watts of 12 volts coming off the panels would supply about 18 amps per hour of charging to your batteries. But there are many variables, and you will probably be lucky to get half of that. The batteries supplied by FR are always changing, so it is hard to say what their capacity is... The best they could be is in the 80 amp hour range each (160 amp hour total). If your batteries are down to 25%, they need 120 amp hours, or about 11-12 hours charging just from the panels, provided there are no loads on the system. Driving the RV will charge them much faster, as the engine alternator provides at least 220 true watts of charging power, or about 20 amps per hour.

Don't know much about Ham radio, but mounting the antenna mast to the back ladder sounds like a great idea... Seems like the easiest route would be underneath.

Have a great time with the 2400W! We have had ours about a month, and all we want to do is be in and around it.


Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400W
Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[Skip51]

Guess I should have used 50% as not to confuse things. What I'm after is real world numbers from experience rather than calculations from spec sheets as to charging times. Battery monitors are fairly simple to install and and near the top of my list of Mods. As to the solar cells, when I do get them I'm planning on a portable setup, plugged in the Zamp outlet. I don't want to have to pick a site based on how much sun will be on my roof.