$50 to spend

[admin]

So I received a gift card from Northern Tool recently as part of a purchase I made. I shop there a couple of times per year but not for anything I use on a regular basis. With that in mind I basically have $50 bucks to blow with no real needs. I'm starting to think I could use this towards something for the camper. My first thought was for a solar panel, or maybe a 12v water pump. They have a decent looking 20w unit on sale here http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200578630_200578630

If my math is right thats 1.66 amps which comes out to maybe as much as 13 amps per day depending on conditions. I think thats should be more than enough to sustain our electrical needs from day to day. I have a 400w inverter that has the potential to outpace the recharge abilities of a 20w unit, but I cant think of a time we would be using anywhere near 400 watts if we are not already near shore power.


An unrelated idea would be a drill doctor...I think those are on sale for about $50 right now.

Honestly I could think of a lot of little items that I would never buy if I had to spend my money on them, but since this is almost free money I dont know what to do with it any suggestions?

[spot1]

Purchased a forged hitch & 7500lb 2" ball from Northern Tool. Needed a 1 7/8" wrench for the large shank 2" ball and Northern
Tool had a open/box end wrench on sale for $10. Now have a wrench too. They have plenty of stuff for towing & trailers.

[daplumbr]

The solar panel would be fun to play with and learn about solar. The one you've found at Northern does need a charge controller to connect to the battery, so that will be about another $25 for a cheap one. My experience with the amorphous cell panels is that the specs are optimistic, though the brand I use is Sunforce, not Npower. You should probably realistically expect no more than an amp of current and maybe 2/3 of the amp-hours you listed per day (less in the winter). With that in mind, you'll still produce enough electricity to recharge the battery from light usage. 

[pinstriper]

$50 buys a lot of tarps on sale at $1.50 a piece...

[admin]

The solar panel would be fun to play with and learn about solar. The one you've found at Northern does need a charge controller to connect to the battery, so that will be about another $25 for a cheap one. My experience with the amorphous cell panels is that the specs are optimistic, though the brand I use is Sunforce, not Npower. You should probably realistically expect no more than an amp of current and maybe 2/3 of the amp-hours you listed per day (less in the winter). With that in mind, you'll still produce enough electricity to recharge the battery from light usage. 

Yeah I do plan to get a charge controller at some point. Though my current plan does not include leaving it hooked up all the time, so unless I'm missing something I should be able to get by without one for now. I also agree the rated watts are probably going to be optimistic at best. Thats part of the reason I went with this size. I fell like its still small enough to have with us easily, but also produces enough to keep the battery topped off. What I really need to do is figure up how much my generic fan/light combos draw when in use. Considering that would be the majority of my power usage when we are away from shore power. Other than those lights we dont need much power except recharging small electronics.
According to a quick google search, they supposedly draw up to 1.3 amps each. With those numbers, and thinking about the more practical numbers I dont think I'll have much of an issue recharging the battery but it could be tight.

Time will tell for sure.

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/5273/thread" timestamp="1416841890" author="@admin"]
According to a quick google search, they supposedly draw up to 1.3 amps each.

[/quote][font size="3"]Sean,

Best to actually measure the DC current if you can. Mfr's numbers can be way off either way. For example, my Fantastic Vent fans draw about 50% of their specified current when running. The OEM fans actually drew more than their rating, 2 Amps vs. their rated 1.6 Amps. The lights will be close if incandescent, but much lower if LED. These numbers will make a big difference in your calculations.
[/font]

[admin]

According to a quick google search, they supposedly draw up to 1.3 amps each.

[font size="3"]Sean,

Best to actually measure the DC current if you can. Mfr's numbers can be way off either way. For example, my Fantastic Vent fans draw about 50% of their specified current when running. The OEM fans actually drew more than their rating, 2 Amps vs. their rated 1.6 Amps. The lights will be close if incandescent, but much lower if LED. These numbers will make a big difference inn your calculations.
[/font]

I totally agree, but with the rig packed up I wont be pulling it out for a while, so unfortunately google is my best estimate at the moment.
I do know they are incandescent bulbs so I expect them to be fairly close to the mfg's rating.

Either way, the solar panel will at least minimize the total drain on the battery. Best case, I can fully recharge in a single day.

[solds88]

[font size="3"]If you boondock a lot you might consider replacing your incandescent bulbs with LED technology. If you're not familiar with LED lighting you may want to compare the natural and warmer white to the cool white, as many people find the cool white to be harsh in comparison. When I converted one of my earlier TTs I purchased one of each and did a comparison. Bottom line, you'll save battery.   [/font]

[admin]

Yeah, LEDs are the way to go but I have no real need for them anytime soon. I only use the one or two lights rarely. We camp at one extreme or the other...either we are basically a tent on wheels, or we are plugged in with AC and a small fridge.
If we are without shore power we mostly use flashlights, and gas lanterns (outside) for lighting. Eventually I might switch to LED but I'm guessing I'll have rigged something else up beyond these little cheap combo lights.

[spot1]

Replaced all the interior lights with SuperBright LEDS & exterior door light with a LED. Have a Ramsond 1.25 amp solar panel & controller. When dry camping, run the lights & can watch a 2 hour movie on a 12V DVD player and recharge the battery to full charge in about 8 hours during the following day.

[daplumbr]

Sure enough, if you don't leave the panel hooked up all the time, you'll be fine. No danger of over-charging in that case and you'll save the current draw of a controller. I know you're simply using a gift card and are not out to spend money, but I'll toss in the mix that a good quality deep cycle battery really helps with solar installations. Others have chimed in on that too. Just keep your expectations reasonable and you'll be happy with solar!