hagamuffn Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/415535706240251/?ref=search&referral_code=undefined These lithium batteries, charge controllers, inverters, and panels came popped up locally in southern oregon. I just happened to cash out some bitcoin i recently regained access to, so $1k is doable for us right now. I'm curious on any of yalls thoughts on this setup. much appreciated ahead of time. cheers, hagamuffn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Don't know how hard it would make it 12v RV useful, but it would be killer in an off grid cabin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagamuffn Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Just now, WME said: Don't know how hard it would make it 12v RV useful, but it would be killer in an off grid cabin. we are planning on living in our dolphin until we can build a more permanent tiny home/ off grid cabin. thinking it may be worth the overkill now as an investment for later. figure all the components would still be just fine in 5 years when im more settled and got some land to throw some stuff on. As far as right now is concerned, we plan on charging portable power tool batteries, and having enough power to run a tv/dvd, laptops, wifi, phones, fans, and our LED lighting. seems like that nissan leaf battery would do more than enough for full time rv living, especially with 400w of panel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 OK basic question, how do you go from 48v to 12v? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagamuffn Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Just now, WME said: OK basic question, how do you go from 48v to 12v? good question, i'm looking into it now. i guess i just figured the inverter would also regulate voltage. but i dont know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagamuffn Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Just now, WME said: OK basic question, how do you go from 48v to 12v? it appears there are dc to dc converters for just these situations https://www.altestore.com/store/voltage-converters/dc-to-dc-voltage-converters-c511/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 OK the first one is the only one (Samlex IDC 200C) rated at 48v in. It has a 16 amp out @12.5v. So you need to go through your RV and up grade all the light to LED and reduce the total DC draw. Check water pump and vent fans. Just something to think about your power panel has 8 or 9 15amp 12v circuits. The 48v inverter has a 1500w output, it doesn't say if its Pure Sine or Modified Sine.. 1500w Pure Sine MAY run a micro wave but that will not run an RV roof AC.Lots of modern things don't like modified sine. In the bad old days you could charge a 48v LiFePo4 battery stack and then discharge it as 4 cell packs in series and then parallel those for more amps out. With the smart balancer's in modern batteries I don't know if this would work. In any event you would end up with a unused stack of 2 cells. Maybe they could run all the USB charge ports. The solar panels are a killer deal if you decide to go a different route. With the amps in those batteries be very careful when trying things, LiFePo4 batteries burn with the prettiest blue flames and make very noxious fumes...Don't ask... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagamuffn Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Just now, WME said: OK the first one is the only one (Samlex IDC 200C) rated at 48v in. It has a 16 amp out @12.5v. So you need to go through your RV and up grade all the light to LED and reduce the total DC draw. Check water pump and vent fans. Just something to think about your power panel has 8 or 9 15amp 12v circuits. The 48v inverter has a 1500w output, it doesn't say if its Pure Sine or Modified Sine.. 1500w Pure Sine MAY run a micro wave but that will not run an RV roof AC.Lots of modern things don't like modified sine. In the bad old days you could charge a 48v LiFePo4 battery stack and then discharge it as 4 cell packs in series and then parallel those for more amps out. With the smart balancer's in modern batteries I don't know if this would work. In any event you would end up with a unused stack of 2 cells. Maybe they could run all the USB charge ports. The solar panels are a killer deal if you decide to go a different route. With the amps in those batteries be very careful when trying things, LiFePo4 batteries burn with the prettiest blue flames and make very noxious fumes...Don't ask... we are already in the process of reducing our dc draw. leds switched out, and fans next. not really trying for a microwave, and the a/c we may just get rid of. so, im not too concerned about high draw usage. ive also read and watched plenty already on the topic of these types of battery packs being highly dangerous fire hazards. The panels really did seem like the sweetest deal, and my biggest hesitation has been that leaf battery. It seems like more and more of these electric car batteries will become available and more easy to integrate into tiny home/ rv setups. ill probably pass on the leaf battery for now and grab some panels. we just replaced our coach battery with another 12v marine deep cycle. any ideas on what i should supplement it with? another lead/acid? Lithium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 You can get creative each one of the battery packs are basically 6 volts the stack is series wired two packs will give you around 13.7 volts will with in the voltage tolerance of a 12 volt system. So you could end up with 3 12 volt packs parallel the 3 and use a 12 volt solar panel. The 12 volt solar panel on a good day will produce in excess of 20 volts so regulated you have a pretty good charging system. Or skip the whole ideal and buy a pair of Li Po 12 volts and parallel them. I can run all most indefinitely with two standard deep cycles ($200) and a 100 Watt panel granted I have no interest in the likes of a micro wave but I can run DC fans (nice 5" computer fans) all my lights ham radio water pump etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Well if your talking a cabin in your future, you need to decide on how much power your going to need, are you going to have a generator at the cabin? Then buy a reduced kit for your RV. That way the RV solar set up can be a building block for the cabin. IMHO buy one of the panels and check it out if its a gooder the buy 4 more and stash then for the future. The electronics, solar controller, inverter, charger (if you have a generator), are going to be common stuff. The batteries are going to require the most thought/budget. Buy the best battery you can afford A 100ah 12v li battery, one of the 325 w panels with a matching controller would give you the equivalent of perpetual motion. It would also burn a big hole in your bitcoin$$. A suggestion would be buy a panel matching E-bay controller and use the battery you have and gain some practical solar experience. FWIW My wife uses a Cpap machine at nite and it runs direct off 12v. We also run the RV heater a lot. My set up is a 280w panel, an MPPT controller and two EGC-2 Sam's Club batteries. By sunset I'm at 100% each day. The batteries were $125 ea and give me a useful 115AH (rated 230ah). Sam's/Costco batteries are good, they have a proper warranty and there stores everywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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