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Help!  Looking for input on how to power my DC circuits with solar - was told by an old RV repair guy that my 200 watt solar panels (1200w inverter) and my (new) deep cycle battery are not adequate to run the DC circuits on my 1988 Dolphin.  Said I’d need more batteries, or a generator.  Pretty sure I’ve seen setups like this that work??  The Air Conditioner, fridge, and cabin outlets all work on shore power but I only have cabin lights when running on the (new, charged) battery.   Any help is appreciated.  

Edited by ibewine@gmail.com
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Well your air conditioner is not going to run on solar. You said how to power my DC currents but the air conditioner and the outlets in your camper are AC power. Most of our fridges run on propane. If someone has installed a dorm type fridge that is going to need AC power too. The old guy was right. You need a generator

Linda S

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1 hour ago, ibewine@gmail.com said:

I think I did manage to make that impression - what I meant was that neither the outlets (DC right?) or the fridge/AC will run off the battery... 

 

The outlets (like in your home) requires A/C voltage to work. Your Fridge (If like a dorm  fridge)and air conditioner also need A/C. No battery powered inverter will do that.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/26/2020 at 2:50 PM, ibewine@gmail.com said:

Help!  Looking for input on how to power my DC circuits with solar - was told by an old RV repair guy that my 200 watt solar panels (1200w inverter) and my (new) deep cycle battery are not adequate to run the DC circuits on my 1988 Dolphin.  Said I’d need more batteries, or a generator.  Pretty sure I’ve seen setups like this that work??  The Air Conditioner, fridge, and cabin outlets all work on shore power but I only have cabin lights when running on the (new, charged) battery.   Any help is appreciated.  

It sounds like you just want the cabin lights to run on solar?  200 watts is more then enough for that.  Cabin lights should also work when on shore power.  You may have a 12v wire issue. 

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If you have lights the DC system works with some caveats. The engine will charge the battery to run the lights the converter/charger will charge the battery when plugged in if all is well. That has nothing to do with the outlets that is a complete different system never the two shall meet. A very cheap tester can be had for AC voltage to check outlets (hardware store $5) I use one in my camper that remains plugged in to check campground wiring as a safety measure. So as you have heard the AC and an inverter is not feasible it draws just too much current for battery use with out a very elaborate solar/battery system. A small inverter would work fine for say a phone charger or to power something like a laptop charging system that will provide a few watts for small stuff. My Nova Star had a standard cigarette lighter socket that is a easy spot to use for a small inverter with like plug. So as an example making 120 volt AC from a battery will require something along the lines of 10 times the amount of current from the battery than running on 120 volts so a 100 watt light bulb will require a 1000 watts of battery power so you can see where that is going

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1 hour ago, Maineah said:

If you have lights the DC system works with some caveats. The engine will charge the battery to run the lights the converter/charger will charge the battery when plugged in if all is well. That has nothing to do with the outlets that is a complete different system never the two shall meet. A very cheap tester can be had for AC voltage to check outlets (hardware store $5) I use one in my camper that remains plugged in to check campground wiring as a safety measure. So as you have heard the AC and an inverter is not feasible it draws just too much current for battery use with out a very elaborate solar/battery system. A small inverter would work fine for say a phone charger or to power something like a laptop charging system that will provide a few watts for small stuff. My Nova Star had a standard cigarette lighter socket that is a easy spot to use for a small inverter with like plug. So as an example making 120 volt AC from a battery will require something along the lines of 10 times the amount of current from the battery than running on 120 volts so a 100 watt light bulb will require a 1000 watts of battery power so you can see where that is going

Just to add to this.  Cell phone .some laptops and tablets can plug strait into the battery with no need for inverter. Cigarette out let is easy to install if not already in there.  Any gas station or Amazon will have a USB adaptor.   Again 200wt in solar is still plenty. A week of rain might change that.  

   Gets complicated after that.  24v systems and much more battery to run a.c.. And that's just for a few hours if that.  

  Take all the lights to led. About 8$ on Amazon for 12.  Saves a mass of power usage. 

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