Iflyfish Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 I have an "87 21' Sunrader, bath in back. I am looking at solar and it seems I need two 6v deep cycle batteries. I am trying to figure out where to put the batteries. I have looked at rear factory fiberglass storage box and it is not strong enough. Ideas? What did you do? Thanks, Iflyfishintheslowlane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 (edited) Why do you "NEED" 2 batteries? What you need is 12v. The common group sizes for 12v batteries are 24, 27, 29, 31. Check the size of the of your space and see what the largest battery that will fit. Normal 2x 6v yields around 200 AH. a size 31 12v has around 110 AH. How big solar of a solar panel set up are you planning? A 100w panel will produce around 30 AH a day, so the panel size will sorta tell you how much battery it will support. Haven't you fished this stream before? Edited October 29, 2018 by WME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iflyfish Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 23 hours ago, WME said: Why do you "NEED" 2 batteries? What you need is 12v. The common group sizes for 12v batteries are 24, 27, 29, 31. Check the size of the of your space and see what the largest battery that will fit. Normal 2x 6v yields around 200 AH. a size 31 12v has around 110 AH. How big solar of a solar panel set up are you planning? A 100w panel will produce around 30 AH a day, so the panel size will sorta tell you how much battery it will support. Haven't you fished this stream before? Thanks WME, I have been trying to sort this out for some time. I had two deep cycle 6 volt batteries in parallel in my Winnebago View. I understood that was the best way to store the most electricity from my solar panels. I am looking at 200w panels. I have a large capacity 12 volt battery and use a cpap. I doubt that one 12 volt will handle a couple of days of boondocking. I was wondering if anyone else has installed 2 deep cycle 6volt batteries in their Sunrader. Space is tight. I have seen aluminum boxes for batteries that mount on the rear fender. I am concerned about putting that much weight on the bumper. Maybe I could add another 12 volt in parallel, that would only require me to find one spot for the additional battery. I imagine I will have this done in the spring and am trying to think it thru first. Prior posts have led me to believe I will need 200w of solar, now to the issue of storage. Thanks, I have Iflyfishedthistreambefore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iflyfish Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 I ran across this video where they used the storage area beside the driver's door to place the two six volt batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86Dolphino Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 what an awesome rig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Iflyfish said: Thanks WME, I have been trying to sort this out for some time. I had two deep cycle 6 volt batteries in parallel in my Winnebago View. I understood that was the best way to store the most electricity from my solar panels. I am looking at 200w panels. I have a large capacity 12 volt battery and use a cpap. I doubt that one 12 volt will handle a couple of days of boondocking. I was wondering if anyone else has installed 2 deep cycle 6volt batteries in their Sunrader. Space is tight. I have seen aluminum boxes for batteries that mount on the rear fender. I am concerned about putting that much weight on the bumper. Maybe I could add another 12 volt in parallel, that would only require me to find one spot for the additional battery. I imagine I will have this done in the spring and am trying to think it thru first. Prior posts have led me to believe I will need 200w of solar, now to the issue of storage. Thanks, I have Iflyfishedthistreambefore Two parallel 6 volt batteries will give you 6 volts with a lot of current. Two series 6 volt will give you 12 volts. Two parallel 12 volt will give you a lot of current at 12 volts. A 100 watt panel will take care of a cpap unit no problem. In a pinch you can all was start the camper and charge the batteries with 60 amps. I have a hard time getting my head around huge battery banks and big solar panels in a camper, the power demands really are not that high unless you intend to bring the house with you microwave blender and electric heat. I have a camper with a portable solar panel it is a 100 watt panel I run a Fantastic fan, ham radio gear, TV water pump etc. I have two 80 amp batteries I can go indefinitely with that set up regardless of the weather. Mind you I have done a lot to reduce power demands all the lights have been replaced with LED's I have a accumulator on the water pump to reduce run time, small TV just little things. A case in point I had 13 lights in the camper all of them on drew 23 amps! The LED's now numbering 15 draw less than 3.5 amps and generally there are no more than 2 on at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) OK 200w of solar, working backwards.... A quality 31 group battery is 120AH, If you follow the blather about deep cycle batteries. 50% is the proper discharge point for optimum battery life vs usage. a 100w solar panel will do about 30AH a day...200w=60 AH...50% discharge of a 31 group battery is 60 AH...like wow almost a perfect match. Using large wiring to connect the 2nd battery to the power panel the batteries don't have to be side by side. Maineah's point about load is VERY important. If you are cursed by excess funds take a look at LiFEP04 batteries and matching solar chargers. A 30 lb 125 AH LiFEP04 battery will have equal usable power to your proposed 125lb 2x 6v golf cart batteries. The Li batteries will have a 4000 charge cycle life at 90% discharge vs 500 at 50% discharge for deep cycles batteries FWIW My wife uses a CPAP. Ive set her up with a 12v dc power cord, so there is no inverter loss. We had a 12v reciptical go south on a camping trip so she had to sleep on the couch and run the CPAP off the RV engine battery cigarette lighter plug. She used it for 2 days and I was still able to start the RV engine without using the booster. So her unit uses less power than we thought. Disclaimer.. My setup is 2 CG-2 6v golf cart batteries and 280w solar. Even in the summer it gets cold at 10,000ft so running the heater (35,000 btu) and CPAP and all the other stuff, Ive gone to 50% discharge over night. I won't reach 100% charge on cloudy days on sunny days it takes about 8 hr to get to100%. I'm measuring things for another 100w panel P.S. Went fishing 6 times this summer. Did good at the lakes in a Kayak. In the mountain rivers the wild native fish were a lot smarter. 2 Brookies and a Cutthroat there. Edited October 31, 2018 by WME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iflyfish Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 Love those brookies! Life is good in the slow lane. Thanks for your input WME. Appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iflyfish Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 18 hours ago, Maineah said: Two parallel 6 volt batteries will give you 6 volts with a lot of current. Two series 6 volt will give you 12 volts. Two parallel 12 volt will give you a lot of current at 12 volts. A 100 watt panel will take care of a cpap unit no problem. In a pinch you can all was start the camper and charge the batteries with 60 amps. I have a hard time getting my head around huge battery banks and big solar panels in a camper, the power demands really are not that high unless you intend to bring the house with you microwave blender and electric heat. I have a camper with a portable solar panel it is a 100 watt panel I run a Fantastic fan, ham radio gear, TV water pump etc. I have two 80 amp batteries I can go indefinitely with that set up regardless of the weather. Mind you I have done a lot to reduce power demands all the lights have been replaced with LED's I have a accumulator on the water pump to reduce run time, small TV just little things. A case in point I had 13 lights in the camper all of them on drew 23 amps! The LED's now numbering 15 draw less than 3.5 amps and generally there are no more than 2 on at the same time. Thanks Maineah. Great input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 WME has the right ideal for current draw it's all about what you expect to do. In the cold weather I only camp where I can plug in and run my electric heater I'm paying for the space and power I'm going to use their power. In an emergency yes I can sleep overnight with the propane heater but I don't expect to make it a habit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iflyfish Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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