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Old 03-31-2021, 12:23 PM   #21
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I camp about 30 days per year. If discharging 80% means I only would get 220 charge cycles, my batteries would only last 7 years. Thinking of it that way, who cares if you discharge 80%, right? Most of those 30 days camping I'm on shore power anyway. So an occasional deep discharge probably won't even be a factor. Just don't go below the 20% minimum S.O.C., about 11.6v
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Old 03-31-2021, 01:48 PM   #22
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In case you are interested, here are the loads I measured on our 2021 2509S. The lights are LED:
Parasitic 0.5A
Fridge: 1A avg/day (~20AH/Day)
Single Light: 0.4A
Main Lights: 3A (6 of them)
Inverter (no load/parasitic): 1.25 amps
TV off (parasitic): .02A
TV on: 2A
Antenna amp 0.15 amps
Roku: .25 amps
Watching TV ~ 3.5A
Wifi ranger 0.15 amps
Stereo 0.6 amps
Furnace: 10A
Tank heater: 10A

So just with the fridge and parasitic loads I loose 30AH/day. If I can get 3 amps averaged over 10 hours from solar it gets replenished. The furnace is the real killer, it could suck up 100AH if it ran 1/2 the day. Unfortunately I don't have any real world experience.
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Old 03-31-2021, 04:53 PM   #23
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Interesting Alan. Thanks. I'm assuming your fridge is the evaporative type and the draw is the control panel?
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Old 04-01-2021, 06:03 AM   #24
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Interesting Alan. Thanks. I'm assuming your fridge is the evaporative type and the draw is the control panel?
Yes; it is a propane/120V fridge. From what I've heard I'd expect the draw on a 12V fridge to be at least 3X that.

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Old 04-01-2021, 09:41 AM   #25
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Yeah, there is another thread where new owners are getting screwed on the fridge due to supply chain issues. I'd rather let my fridge sip a little propane than sap my batts.
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Old 04-03-2021, 08:53 AM   #26
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I added 2 additional flexible panels to the roof, with 2 6v 224AH batteries. All my camping is dry camping, I've never plugged the camper in except at home. I carry a small generator, but have never needed to use it, even camping in inclement weather. I've found with my setup I can camp for 3 nights, getting zero solar due to weather/trees, and not discharge below 70% or so. with the 3 solar panels, even getting nominal sunlight generally recharges the batteries each day.
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Old 04-04-2021, 11:58 AM   #27
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good batteries kgstakes. You'll notice they are each rated 225Ah. So that's total between them as they are wired in series (voltage doubles, current remains same). Using the 50% minimum state of charge rule (60% Wildwanderer mentioned is more applicable to those dual purpose or starter batteries mentioned, like what's in a car), you have about 112 amp hours of power available to you before needing to recharge.
Ok that all sounds good, but not knowing much about amp hours. What's that in "real time" say average usage. Yeah I know everyone is different but give me an idea of what I can expect out of my batteries. 10 hours, 12 hours, 20 hours before recharge??

Solar panel is always charging, even on cloudy days (some what) and if we boondock in our home state (Nevada) most days are clear skies lots of sun.

I'm going to get a generator for really hot days of summer, which that will change battery cycle.

I'm asking with the batteries I have, say no solar panel, no shore or generator, how long would they last if we used battery power for lights, fans, etc.

Just an estimate. Not looking for hard figures (cause everyone is different)
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Old 04-04-2021, 02:25 PM   #28
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When I overnight (only one night at a time) without shore power, my batteries are down to 80% SOC by morning running a few lights, maybe a little water pump use, magic fan on low, and running my CPAP all night without heater activated. And fridge running on propane of course.
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Old 04-04-2021, 02:48 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by AlanMoor View Post
In case you are interested, here are the loads I measured on our 2021 2509S. The lights are LED:
Parasitic 0.5A
Fridge: 1A avg/day (~20AH/Day)
Single Light: 0.4A
Main Lights: 3A (6 of them)
Inverter (no load/parasitic): 1.25 amps
TV off (parasitic): .02A
TV on: 2A
Antenna amp 0.15 amps
Roku: .25 amps
Watching TV ~ 3.5A
Wifi ranger 0.15 amps
Stereo 0.6 amps
Furnace: 10A
Tank heater: 10A

So just with the fridge and parasitic loads I loose 30AH/day. If I can get 3 amps averaged over 10 hours from solar it gets replenished. The furnace is the real killer, it could suck up 100AH if it ran 1/2 the day. Unfortunately I don't have any real world experience.
Thanks for doing that. Looks very reasonable and will probably to apply to a lot of similar FR TTs.
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Old 04-04-2021, 03:22 PM   #30
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I camp about 30 days per year. If discharging 80% means I only would get 220 charge cycles, my batteries would only last 7 years. Thinking of it that way, who cares if you discharge 80%, right? Most of those 30 days camping I'm on shore power anyway. So an occasional deep discharge probably won't even be a factor. Just don't go below the 20% minimum S.O.C., about 11.6v
In support of that approach, getting 220 cycles rather than 750 represents a ~70% reduction in life cycles. However, that does not mean you only get ~30% of the usage, because you're getting more Ah per cycle.

If you compare total Ah consumed over the life of the two approaches, the difference is a ~50% reduction, not 70%. Economically that's not great but it's not as bad as if you compare strictly on the number of cycles.

In the end it still will last "only" 7 years (or whatever) but you got more energy out of them compared to someone with exactly the same number of 50% charge cycles and you didn't have to recharge them as often, in the process.

(This assumes that 80% DOD only shortens the life and doesn't cause significant functional damage.)

Code:
Capacity	225 Ah
				% reduction
Depth of DC	50%	80%	
Cycle life	750	220	71%
Lifetime Ah	84,375 	39,600 	53%
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Old 04-08-2021, 08:03 PM   #31
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Solar

I have a 2020 Geo Pro 19fbs with the same solar setup. I have only had to depend on the batteries for 24 hours during a PG&E power shut off.
I ran the TV couple of lights till bedtime then a CPAP machine and the heater over night and still had about 1/2 charge when the sun camp up. Just have to try and cut back on power use.
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Old 04-08-2021, 08:57 PM   #32
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We have a 2019 Geo Pro G16BH with the stock 100W solar system paired with two 12V lead acid batteries.

Can any of you share your experience relying on this system for boondocking?

Is it sufficient to keep the batteries charged to run the lights, heater blower, fan, and the slideout/awning a few times each day? We understand the microwave and A/C would be out of the question, which is fine. The refrigerator would be run on propane and we'd also be fine just using a cooler and ice.

We live in sunny Colorado and would get lots of sun in most spots but what about when we have to be in a partially shaded area (e.g., in the trees) and also what about in other less sunny areas of the country, such as the Pacific Northwest?

Eventually, I'd like to upgrade to more panels and lithium batteries, but I'd like to know what I can do with the stock setup.
You can’t do much with stock set up unless you have a generator for recharging batteries. 100 watts is not enough to fully charge batteries unless you aren’t using any power. For 2 batteries, minimum would be 400 watts of solar.

I would invest in a 2000 watt gen if you are boondocking. I have 940 watts of solar, 3 lithium batteries, and occasionally still use the generator boondocking (mostly when sun not out). When I had the same set up with 4 lead acid batteries, I used the generator almost everyday for an hour or 2 in the morning to help with recharging.

The generator is a much more important (and cheaper!) component then the solar system.

That said, I like my solar system with the lithium batteries. I don’t worry about power anymore. Water is now my limiting factor.
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Old 04-08-2021, 11:17 PM   #33
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I have 2020 19fbs with dual 6v batteries and the single 100w panel.
Didn’t plug in the entire summer with weekend use.
As for 7 day use, in full sun days (mostly - some overcast days), watching a movie every night from phone with HDMI cord, using everything else as needed (lights, fridge, showering, dishes, etc) - the batteries were charged back up to 100% by afternoon.

Now full week in the fall, parked in full shade- running furnace through most evenings to keep comfortable and regular use of water pump and heater, movie every evening. Not wasting power but not being stingy, batteries were nearing 50% by end of week.
Everyone is different on their usage, but if that panel can grab some sun, every bit will extend your time running without plugging in.
I guarantee your power will outlast your fresh and grey water tank if you shower some and wash dishes.
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Old 04-09-2021, 10:46 AM   #34
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I have a 2020 Geo Pro 19fbs with the same solar setup. I have only had to depend on the batteries for 24 hours during a PG&E power shut off.
I ran the TV couple of lights till bedtime then a CPAP machine and the heater over night and still had about 1/2 charge when the sun camp up. Just have to try and cut back on power use.
The furnace is your big power thief. Apparently the blower and ignition system are real power suckers when the heat kicks on, and of course how often it does all depends on ambient temp and how many warm bodies are in trailer. I'm accustomed to 65 during day, 60 at night during winter.
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Old 04-10-2021, 04:14 PM   #35
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I added 2 additional flexible panels to the roof, with 2 6v 224AH batteries. All my camping is dry camping, I've never plugged the camper in except at home. I carry a small generator, but have never needed to use it, even camping in inclement weather. I've found with my setup I can camp for 3 nights, getting zero solar due to weather/trees, and not discharge below 70% or so. with the 3 solar panels, even getting nominal sunlight generally recharges the batteries each day.
Are you two additional panels also 100W each?

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Originally Posted by jlynn721 View Post
For 2 batteries, minimum would be 400 watts of solar. I have 940 watts of solar, 3 lithium batteries, and occasionally still use the generator boondocking (mostly when sun not out). When I had the same set up with 4 lead acid batteries, I used the generator almost everyday for an hour or 2 in the morning to help with recharging.
This is quite different from everything else I've read so far. What is it that kills your batteries so quickly?

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I have 2020 19fbs with dual 6v batteries and the single 100w panel. Didn’t plug in the entire summer with weekend use. As for 7 day use, in full sun days (mostly - some overcast days), watching a movie every night from phone with HDMI cord, using everything else as needed (lights, fridge, showering, dishes, etc) - the batteries were charged back up to 100% by afternoon.

Now full week in the fall, parked in full shade- running furnace through most evenings to keep comfortable and regular use of water pump and heater, movie every evening. Not wasting power but not being stingy, batteries were nearing 50% by end of week.
Everyone is different on their usage, but if that panel can grab some sun, every bit will extend your time running without plugging in.
I guarantee your power will outlast your fresh and grey water tank if you shower some and wash dishes.
Thank you! This is great real-world info to have and makes me feel a little better.
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Old 04-10-2021, 05:55 PM   #36
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This is quite different from everything else I've read so far. What is it that kills your batteries so quickly?
Some people have enormous RV's and run power like they are home. Powering big TV's inside and outside their RV's, powering residential size fridges, etc. They run giant inverters too, and run microwaves, the whole nine yards. I have a different view of camping.
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Old 04-11-2021, 06:51 AM   #37
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I'm with NJKris. If you want to camp like you're at home, buy a 3500 watt generator and run it all the time. We tent camped for many years, and have a hybrid, which feels a little like a tent. We are careful with our electrical use. No inverter, minimal heater use (we use sleeping bags), and a small television. Our two 6 volt batteries are generally at 80% after one night. I don't think there is any excuse for not having at least one 100 watt solar panel and charge controller. You can get both for $140 on Amazon. Why wouldn't you?
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Old 04-16-2021, 11:38 AM   #38
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Battery use in G19 FD

My personal experience, which is just 7 week long trips over the last year is the 100 watt solar panel is more than enough during the day and recharges the battery to 100% by 10:30am. When we run short of battery power is when we go off daylight savings time and head into the trailer around 7:00 pm and stay there. When my wife and I were camping in the summer we never even thought about the batteries (2ea 12 volt Interstate deep cycle batteries and a 100 watt solar panel).
In November (West Coast) we went inside the trailer about 6:30pm, used the lights, had dinner, ran exhaust fan and then watched a 2 hour DVD. At the end of the movie I tried to turn on the heat to warm the trailer up. It wouldn't come on because the batteries had drained to the point it didn't have enough power to run the fan. I checked the "light" on the panel and saw it was "empty." I didn't know enough to look at the solar panel. By 11 am the next morning the batteries were back up at 100%. What I realized is that during the Nov - March months in California we are inside the trailer earlier, and the solar has stopped charging the panels around 5:30 - 6:00pm (time change).
I learned about the 50% rule and became concerned I had damaged my batteries. I called Interstate and was told the battery can drop to 11.9 volts and it will come back up to 12.4 volts with no power draw. 12.4 is 50% The damage that occurs to a battery by dropping below 12.4 and staying there is when it recharges it creates heat and sulfur on the plates which will decrease the life of the batteries.

I now use my generator in the evening to top off the battery before 8:00 pm so I don't have to worry about the battery life. I use a Honda EU 2200i which is quiet and powers everything except the air conditioner. I have a companion generator for using the air. I think a great option would be 1 2200 watt generator and the soft start system for the air conditioner.
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Old 04-29-2021, 10:25 PM   #39
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Yes, they can be discharged that low, but not advisable, as every time you do that you reduce the number of charge cycles you get out of potential life. The 50% rule is a good compromise between getting as much battery time out of battery, and still having batteries last over time. If you do discharge that low, the quicker you fully re-charge helps. You never want to leave it in such a discharged state for any length of time.


This is from MKbatteries site:



If you abuse the battery and worry more about other things than babying batteries, then the following usage could last you 6 years based on your information.


3 nights of boondocking twice a month for 6 months out of the year, or once a month for the year.


You can also go for a week a month for 6 months and could last 5 years.


You should expect 5-6 years from those batteries anyway, so why not abuse them for what they are?
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Old 04-30-2021, 10:33 AM   #40
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Yeah, after doing the math for how many charging cycles I would lose, and how often I would actually discharge them that low, not going to lose sleep over going below 50%. I keep them charged on a smart charger when trailer is covered, solar keeps them at 100% with cover off. I am anticipating having them for 10 years. There is no reason heavy duty deep discharge batteries won't last that long properly maintained (watered, kept charged, lightly used. We only RV a month per year total so far, and mostly with leccy hookups.)
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