Solar v aux battery v generator

[Rowdman]

Hello All,

We've decided it's time to try some free camping so I need some advice as to how to power the van.

Does anyone have any stories, ideas or proposed solutions ?

Solar, aux battery and generators appear to be the main options.

I'd love to see some thoughts.

Thanks,
Rowdman.

 

[chartrock]

There is a lot lot of 'what ifs' in your qestion, Rowdman. How long would you free camp, what lights do you have, do you run TV, video, games etc, what size battery do you have in the van.

In my case, I have a 120 AH AGM battery, run LED lights, TV only, and charge phones and camera batteries. I have spent no more than 3 nights free camping at any one time but have a 100W portable solar panel and have not come close to running out of power. I also have a second battery in my tug which is used for my Waceo fridge, and which can also be charged by my solar panel.

I'm sure others on the forum can offer other suggestions.

 

[zerosecta]

Hi mate, it's not a matter of batterie vs. solar vs. gennie. The battery is a given so it's really just a matter of how you keep it charged while free camping so it just solar vs. gennie.

Chart rock has knocked the nail on the head with his post, you simply need to work out your consumption rate and then it wil be easier to make the choice.

Ultimately it comes downs to how quickly\frequently you need to recharge your battery, if your consumption is high then you may be better off with gennie, if low then solar would be the way to go...

Of course there are pros and cons for each, solar is green, set and forget, silent, buts that's about it. Gennie on the other hand is noisy and requires petrol etc. but it can also provide 240v for microwave and so on...

 

[Coastrunner]

Hi Champ.
My van came with a 100AH battery and a 110 Watt solar panel permanently mounted to the roof. I also have a generator.

Over the years I`ve mainly only needed battery power for lighting. I`ve recently changed all my lighting over to LEDs [thanks to the LED thread from Boots}, and now, even with all my lights on use just over 2 amps per hour. I also have a 12 volt tv that I take in the van with us, but to be honest I have hardly ever watched tv when away. I think it uses around 3.5 amps per hour anyway. So my power usage does`t really put a strain on my battery. The solar re-charges my battery every morning when the suns up.

So when I`m free camping or camping on unpowered sites, I need to use my fridge and oven on gas and the lights on battery power. I also have a 150W inverter, so I can use my electric razor or plug in a laptop if I really wanted to. My van came with a couple of internal 12 volt sockets for charging iPhones, iPods etc.

The only thing I can't use when away on unpowered sites is my microwave and air conditioner. Keep in mind, if you do want to use your air cond or microwave, even toasters, hair dryers and other electrical appliances you will need to run a 2KV generator. I was told that the microwave and air cond run on around 1.2 to 1.5 KVs. I think hair dryers are similar too.

So if my van didn`t come with a generator, I probably would`t buy one. I`m happy with the solar panel recharging unit on its own.

 

[mfexpanda]

We use all three
Depends where we are and what our needs are

 

[jdonly1]

We recharge with a 2 kva gennie and also use it to power the microwave

 

[Coastrunner]

Also keep in mind that not all campsites welcome the use of generators.

 

[relgate]

Also keep in mind that not all campsites welcome the use of generators.

Yes. I understand that Genies are a no no in national parks

 

[Rowdman]

Hi guys,

Some fantastic replies. Thanks very much for your efforts. I think I get the gist.

Essentially, we only intend the occasional 1-2 night free camp stay in a national park as part of a longer break. The 3 way fridge can handle the food (on gas), the heater/aircon may need to be used I guess, the microwave may be needed, a laptop is our tv, phones are charged overnight and some lights are normally on for a few hours before bed.

Perhaps a solar panel could do the job and avoid the gennie noise ( if we avoid the heater/ air con ) ?

Am I on the right track?

 

[chartrock]

Sounds right to me Rowdman. Solar panel with a good battery will handle it all bar air con and microwave.

 

[jdonly1]

The battery should be fine for a couple of days ,I think we have used it for 4 days with out a top up

 

[Coastrunner]

I think you're on the right track.

If you haven`t already done it, change all your lights over to LED lights. See the thread in the Technical sections. It`s so easy to do. Even I did it.

Doing that, drops the light power usage down by about 90%.

As you said if the fridge and stove are on gas, and it`s only the lights on battery power you`ll never need to worry about losing power. Maybe get yourself a 12 Volt fan to compensate for the air con while unpowered. The gas cook top can sub for the microwave too.