Quote:
Originally Posted by hylasw
My current batteries are just plain lead acid 12 volt marine deep cycle batteries I bought at Costco Interstate brand. What would you suggest that is not to expensive but will last dry camping using a Renogy Solar suitcase 100 watt
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A 100 watt solar charger is not much for dry camping. That 100 watt will not be anywhere near realized depending on latitude, angle of the solar panel to the sun, shadows from foliage, cloud cover and loss thru the controller and cables. Then you must consider the number of hours of direct sunlight that's hitting the solar panel. Most folks gry camping use 200 watts as a min. and many carry a generator as a backup for recharging the batteries.
It depends on what you desire to with the energy that's stored as what your needs will be. Your batteries if they have CCC or cold cranking amps written on them are not true deep cycle batteries. IMO the best way to start off is to change out the battery boxes if they won't accommodate golf cart batteries (they are taller) and replace the batteries with two 6 volt golf cart batteries connected in series. They will give you the most "bang for the buck". There are many posts on the forum concerning this subject. Do a search and you will find plenty of reading material.