Solar charging

[pinstriper]

Other than AC. That's just unpossible on batteries that you can carry.

[admin]

Well, AC powered by solar isn't impossible. It just may not be feasible for a quicksilver. These guys (while inexperienced it seems) put a lot of money into their solar system and they are able to maintain their batteries while running only on solar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0rZY5uotKI

Not practical for most of us, but still possible if you have the time, money, and desire.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Hmmmmm. 960 watt solar + 3kW inverter + 700 AH Li battery - QS6 = - infinity.  Hmmmmmmm   
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[whoofit]

Everything is possible with enough lithium. Trust me.

I was going to go lithium batteries this time around. Then found out you need to heat them in the winter in order to charge them. Plus, there is a lithium shortage from all the cottage industry designer drug makers extracting from Sudafed.

[pinstriper]

Thats why I qualified my statement. The batteries to do this all day would be what....6 ? 10?

And 3500watts of solar is a shit-ton of panels.

[sbgirl96]

Money aside, can you imagine trying to get all those panels and equipment onto a QS6? lol

[pinstriper]

No, I cannot. And I have a powerful imagination.

[admin]

I'm picturing something like this

[david]

Those solar chargers listed, at 21 or fewer watts, are more suited to charge up your laptop, tablet, phone or similar than to keep your trailer battery charged. If you are going to install a solar panel, go for at least 100 watts. 100 watts is the sweet spot in 12V solar panels. You can buy one for $110 including shipping if you are a member of Amazon Prime. If you need more watts than that, and I suspect you won't, then buy two.

Here is some math and rules of thumb:

Most single trailer batteries have about 70 amp hours of capacity and most of us only use 15-20 amp hours daily. A 100 watt solar panel laying flat in full sun will make 25-35 amp hours each day. So the 100 watt panel will keep your battery fully charged if you get full sun at least every other day and you use the typical amp hours each day. More watts also compensates for afternoon shading, because many campsites are in the shade at least part of the day. In that case a 100 watt panel might only produce 10-15 amp hours each day, but even that will extend your batteries from lasting 2 days to almost a week, as long as the sun shines.

Here is a simple system that costs about $200-250. All it takes is a little wiring to put it together. The controller is waterproof, so you could mount it to the back of your solar panel if the distance to the batteries is short- say 10' or on the side of the battery box if it is longer. The panels are Chinese made, like most of them and I have never seen any complaints about Chinese solar panels. They make a gazillion of them. The controller is American, well at least American design and QA management and are from a major supplier of solar controllers- Morningstar. I have a system like this on my boat and it has kept the batteries charged nicely while on a mooring away from shorepower.

Here are some simple instructions for building a solar system and mounting the controller on the outside of your battery box:

Mount the controller near the outside of your battery box using a couple of #10 or larger screws and nuts. Then get as many feet of MC4 cable as you need to go from the panel to the controller. For 25' of cable, you will need to use a pair of MC4 10 gauge cables like these- https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Panel-Extension-Cable-Connectors/dp/B00KDNQQRK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1480515257&sr=8-8&keywords=mc4+cable. You can use 12 gauge if the distance is less. 100' is probably the practical maximum as there would be too much voltage drop otherwise.

Then wire a short MC4 pigtail cable like this to the input of your solar controller- https://www.amazon.com/Grape-Solar-GS-MC4-CC-6-Inch-Conversion/dp/B00MS8AKRU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1480515257&sr=8-7&keywords=mc4+cable. You can use automotive type clamp connectors or butt crimp connectors. Finally wire the output of the controller to the battery lugs using a couple of short lengths of stranded 12 gauge cable. Use an inline fuse in the positive wire to protect it like this one- https://www.amazon.com/AutoEC-Inline-Waterproof-Fuse-Holder/dp/B013JG8GIY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1480516741&sr=8-5&keywords=inline+fuse

When you get to your campground, place the solar panel in a sunny spot. Run the MC4 extension cable from the panel and plug it into the MC4 pigtails on the controller. Make sure that you maintain polarity when you hook up the extensions. Then you are in business. When you are ready to go home, disconnect the extension cable and flip up the pigtail into the battery box to protect it while traveling.

Solar panel-  https://www.amazon.com/HQST-Watt-Polycrystalline-Solar-Panel/dp/B018BOK9WU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479928915&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=100+watt+solar+panel&psc=1

Waterproof controller-  https://www.amazon.com/Morningstar-SK-12-SunKeeper-Charge-Controller/dp/B007NYZ5VU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479929271&sr=8-3&keywords=morningstar+pwm+charge+controller

David

[ajreaper]

I have not gone the solar panel route for recharging as I have not found myself out long enough off grid to require it.  I always make sure the battery is fully charged before heading out and use solar rechargeable lights in the camper instead of the 12 volt supplied lights and use a Goal zero Yeti 150 for charging phones, tablets, cameras etc.  In this way I can stretch out the battery life for quite a while.  We also can recharge phones, the Yeti and other devices when we are in the car heading off someplace- that extends the battery life in the camper for a long long time.