using solar power to power AC/ fridge and microwave

[Scott1957]

I have an 1860SS with 400W of solar on the roof and 4X100 lithium batteries so about 4.8 kilowatts of electricity and would like to power the AC, Fridge and microwave when I'm not plugged in. I know that I will need a softstart on the AC as my inverter is 2,000 watts however I'm not sure how to modify the wiring. Right now the inverter is powers the 7 outlets in the camper an nothing else.

From what I have read I need to install a transfer switch near the converter panel and that would do the trick but wanted to double check before I purchased a transfer switch and ran a power line from the inverter (front of the trailer) to the converter in the back of the trailer.

Has anyone done this and if so what do I need to do. Thanks in advance for your help.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Scott1957

I have an 1860SS with 400W of solar on the roof and 4X100 lithium batteries so about 4.8 kilowatts of electricity and would like to power the AC, Fridge and microwave when I'm not plugged in. I know that I will need a softstart on the AC as my inverter is 2,000 watts however I'm not sure how to modify the wiring. Right now the inverter is powers the 7 outlets in the camper an nothing else.

From what I have read I need to install a transfer switch near the converter panel and that would do the trick but wanted to double check before I purchased a transfer switch and ran a power line from the inverter (front of the trailer) to the converter in the back of the trailer.

Has anyone done this and if so what do I need to do. Thanks in advance for your help.

If you do some research on the Keystone website, you'll find, in the SolarFlex pages a FAQ section that explains "why can't I make my SolarFlex 200 a 400 and why can't I make my SolarFlex 400 a 600?

Part of the SolarFlex 400i (now the 440i) is that it comes from the factory with ONE inverter and a SECOND inverter loop (which is intended to install the second inverter to power the air conditioner circuit.

What I believe you're saying is that you want to rewire your current air conditioner to connect with the existing 2KW inverter after installing a soft start ???

Here's the link to the SolarFlex FAQ: https://www.keystonerv.com/solar-faqs

Scroll down to near the bottom of the webpage and you'll see a series of questions about "Why can’t I build out my SolarFlex 200 to be like the SolarFlex 400i?" and "Why can’t I build out my SolarFlex 400i to be like the SolarFlex 600i-L?"

The discussion about the differences in what you have and what you're trying to accomplish should get you started on what you'll need to do to change/rewire to get close to your goal...

That said, 4 100 amp/hr lithium batteries and 400 watts of solar panels is not going to get you the power you need to run the air conditioner, refrigerator and microwave, assuming you actually want to use those appliances more than a few minutes daily.....

[peanut]

You will need MUCH more battery power than 400ah to run your AC. MUCH more. A typical 15K BTU RV AC will run for about 1/2 hour on one 100ah lithium battery according to Battle Born. That is probably fairly accurate no matter what brand lithium you have.
( https://battlebornbatteries.com/run-...ium-batteries/ )

Considering that you need to run the frig also (which itself could use up to 100ah of battery power per day) - and you want to throw the micro in there, too - your 400ah battery bank would be completely dead in less than three hours. Probably much less.

And considering that you (probably) have only a 30 amp solar charge controller, it would take over 10 hours - with a constant 30 amp charge - to completely recharge your batteries from solar alone. Good luck with that. You won't get that many hours of good solar charging each day no matter where you are.

For what you want you need a generator.

[fjr vfr]

You can't in any practical way run an ac with solar. Like peanut said, you need a generator for the ac.
I have run an ac with a 2000 watt generator and soft start...was not fun. In order to do the job the generator ran nearly full throttle most of the time, very load. A bigger generator like 4000 watts or more is much better.
Also 400 watts of solar is not very much. I have 1000 watts on my roof and the "rule of thumb" is only count on about 1/2 of what you have as output.
You should read Will Prowse IV's book Mobile Solar Power and teach yourself. He also has Youtube videos as well as do some other people.
Good luck learning

[JBM3M]

Originally Posted by peanut

You will need MUCH more battery power than 400ah to run your AC. MUCH more. A typical 15K BTU RV AC will run for about 1/2 hour on one 100ah lithium battery according to Battle Born. That is probably fairly accurate no matter what brand lithium you have.
( https://battlebornbatteries.com/run-...ium-batteries/ )

Considering that you need to run the frig also (which itself could use up to 100ah of battery power per day) - and you want to throw the micro in there, too - your 400ah battery bank would be completely dead in less than three hours. Probably much less.

And considering that you (probably) have only a 30 amp solar charge controller, it would take over 10 hours - with a constant 30 amp charge - to completely recharge your batteries from solar alone. Good luck with that. You won't get that many hours of good solar charging each day no matter where you are.

For what you want you need a generator.

Exactly, so don't waste your time and lots of money

[Stangfire]

Solar will not run an AC unit. Honda has a real nice 3200w generator that is "suit case" style. Meaning one person can carry it. Pair that with a soft start and you have a nice set up for the hot days off grid.

[glock35ipsc]

I'm not familiar enough with your unit; does it have a rooftop, or wall mount AC? I run the 8000 BTU wall mount AC in my 1750RD (microwave too) off battery/solar with no soft start needed. But if you have a rooftop unit, it probably draws a lot more current then mine, especially inrush current.

[jxnbbl]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

I'm not familiar enough with your unit; does it have a rooftop, or wall mount AC? I run the 8000 BTU wall mount AC in my 1750RD (microwave too) off battery/solar with no soft start needed. But if you have a rooftop unit, it probably draws a lot more current then mine, especially inrush current.

What is your solar setup?

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by jxnbbl

What is your solar setup?

720W total; 400W on the roof, 320W portable. Each on their own charge controller.

[peanut]

Originally Posted by jxnbbl

What is your solar setup?

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

720W total; 400W on the roof, 320W portable. Each on their own charge controller.

Trying to determine the capabilities of a solar setup - what you can use/run and how long you can do it - are dependent on all of the components in the system. They are all interrelated. Knowing the size of the solar panel array is not much use without knowing the size of the batter bank, what type of batteries and their charge/discharge characteristics, the size and type of solar charge controller, and the size and capabilities of the inverter.

How large of a battery bank will determine how long you can use the stuff you want to use.
The type of battery and it's characteristics will determine how many amps it can supply. A LA battery can usually supply enough CCA's to start most anything. Lithium's have a maximum and peak discharge amp limits built into the BMS and may not have enough oomph to start up an appliance.
The charge controller (along with the size of the solar array) will determine how well and how fast you can charge those batteries.
Inverters have maximum AC output limits and too much start up current (or using too many appliances at once) could cause it to go into overload and shut down.

You can't really tell how a system may or may not function without knowing about all of the components.