Solar for habitat on an FMTV

[Ohiobenz]

Coach,
That's heavy reading, but it led me to this which did/does a very good outline...

https://evannex.com/blogs/news/can-you-power-an-rv-on-solar-energy-and-a-tesla-battery

 

[Ohiobenz]

Time to bump a little...
I just picked up a small induction cooktop for the project.
Also a 15K Dometic rooftop AC unit which is going onto the cab for when driving.
Meanwhile my habitat layout is changing due to the planned addition of a pass-through from the cab.
Tesla batteries are still the plan for habitat power. With the 28vdc 3.5KW Mil diesel generator as backup and supplemental to PV panels. I investigated a 110/220AC generator powerhead but nixed that idea.

Right now new 14x20 tires and 3.07 gears occupy my wallet, so batteries and PV panels are on the back burner till summertime...

 

[Ohiobenz]

Great blogs to follow:

https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/toms-tech-blog

 

[Bill Nutting]

Great blogs to follow:

https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/toms-tech-blog

Join

 

[coachgeo]

curious where people are on this now

like one area of confusion is Amp Hours..

batteries list their Amp hours... and if you connect bunch of 12v together.... you ADD their amp hours...

but if you connect them to increase voltage.... to say 24v or 48v.. the amp hours so NOT add up.

butt... higher voltage inverters... convert to 110v and 220v more efficiently. So the question is... do higher voltage banks; with appropriate inverter, draw less power from the battery bank thru the more efficient inversion process... thus.... even though amp hours do not add up.. does it work more efficiently so the amp hours you got mathematically... in real world effect get drawn from much less?, significantly less? or they drain about the same so your screwed cause amp hours did not add up compared to if you has stuck with a string 12v bats and their high amp hour addition ?

 

[Ohiobenz]

curious where people are on this now

Still wrapping up the cab portion.
Going to a bigger pass-through
But backup generator is where it was planned to go.


There's a lot of action on Morton's tech page in the response section.

 

[ramdough]

One issue with Tesla batteries is that they do not offer the same number of cycles as a lifepo4 battery. They also can burn easier. They are more geared towards high storage and high loads in a small package . A lifepo4 battery is geared towards number of cycles.

Ultimately imho the lifepo4 battery is cheaper in the long run because it will last many times longer for the same capacity.

Just my .02




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[SausageGuy]

This guy tests a lot of solar equipment and is interesting. He lives in a solar RV as well.

https://www.youtube.com/user/errolprowse/videos

 

[Ohiobenz]

There's a reasonable sized group who have been running Tesla batteries for several years without any of those issues.
If they were that unreliable Tesla, and other similar vehicles, would be replacing batteries on a regular basis.
If the system is set up correctly it should last for years in an RV application.

But, to each their own.

 

[Ohiobenz]

Here are the most recent installation instructions, regardless of which battery you use:

https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/toms-tech-blog/updated-tesla-module-rv-installation

 

[Reworked LMTV]

Lets move this thread please.

I have 7.2 kw in my back yard. All my system was designed and installed by me. I use Outback and Midnight Solar. End use habits largely determine design capacity and delivery.