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Old 01-25-2021, 07:55 PM   #1
Traindude
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Solar battery maintainer

Thinking about purchasing this to maintain my batteries while the trailer is in storage. Any thoughts on this?
https://www.amazon.com/Fifth-Travel-.../dp/B07QK3GYVD
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Old 01-25-2021, 08:06 PM   #2
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How secure is your storage? I’d hate to see that much money grow legs.

BTW: welcome to the forum
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Old 01-25-2021, 08:39 PM   #3
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First, welcome to the forum. There's lots of information available for you to use and hopefully we can also save you some money...

That solar charger is a 13 watt, 3/4 amp charger (on a bright sunny day) and less on a cloudy day or when the sun moves as it rises/sets. So, most of the day, you'll get significantly less than 3/4 amp from it.

That said, the "phantom losses in your trailer from the stereo memory, the LP gas detector and the monitor circuits in the remote control/in-command system draw more than that charger produces, so you're going to wind up with a dead battery, even using it... I wouldn't expect it to do much more than just help empty your wallet.

And, as Chuck mentioned, being mounted at "chest height" on the easily accessible part of your fifth wheel, it probably wouldn't take long before someone else is finding out that it's not powerful enough to make a significant difference.
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Old 01-25-2021, 08:53 PM   #4
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At 13 watts it likely wouldn't keep a modern smart phone charged.
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Old 01-26-2021, 06:08 AM   #5
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If I had my fifth wheel at a public storage facility I would be Leary about my neighbors on either side having some kind of unattended charging system hooked up that could potentially short out and burn the trailer down and those around it. It says no charge controller is required on that size solar system. That seems like even less safety controls.. maybe safe but I would just remove the batteries if stored unattended for long periods
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Old 01-26-2021, 09:16 AM   #6
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I had a 3 amp, maybe 5amp, solar charger similar to that while in storage, I had the negative cable disconnected from the ground of the rv so no parasitic drains, had the + lead of the charger connected to battery #1 & the - lead connected to battery #2, checked the water levels monthly & this kept the batteries at 12.7+ volts every time I checked them. The difference was the storage was at home, no fear of the charger walking off & in Arizona so plenty of sunshine.
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Old 01-26-2021, 10:12 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin texans View Post
I had a 3 amp, maybe 5amp, solar charger similar to that while in storage, I had the negative cable disconnected from the ground of the rv so no parasitic drains, had the + lead of the charger connected to battery #1 & the - lead connected to battery #2, checked the water levels monthly & this kept the batteries at 12.7+ volts every time I checked them. The difference was the storage was at home, no fear of the charger walking off & in Arizona so plenty of sunshine.
As a "comparison", what Danny had was a 3 amp (36 watt) maybe 5 amp (60 watt) solar charger as compared to a 13 watt charger. That additional capacity will make a significant difference in satisfactory vs unsatisfactory battery charging results.
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Old 01-26-2021, 01:01 PM   #8
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If you search "cell phone charger for car" the results will typically be 15 watts for the "low end" chargers and 36 watts or more for a quality cell phone charger.
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Old 01-26-2021, 03:26 PM   #9
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Thank you all for the replying. Now I am more confused then ever. What I am looking to do is hook up some solar charger/maintainer to keep the batteries topped off while in storage. I understand that taking them out and bringing them home is the better way to go. I going to discount them from the Rv by pulling the negative off. Was hoping there was something that I could do with solar to keep them topped off. Any ideas are surly welcome and thank you in advance
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Old 01-26-2021, 03:36 PM   #10
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The charger I used was bought at Batteries+ for under $50, so if it walk off it wouldn't of been a huge loss.
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Old 01-26-2021, 03:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Traindude View Post
Thank you all for the replying. Now I am more confused then ever. What I am looking to do is hook up some solar charger/maintainer to keep the batteries topped off while in storage. I understand that taking them out and bringing them home is the better way to go. I going to discount them from the Rv by pulling the negative off. Was hoping there was something that I could do with solar to keep them topped off. Any ideas are surly welcome and thank you in advance
You can certainly do that, but a 13 watt solar panel will not be sufficient. Ohm's law states amps equals watts divided by volts. If watts =13 and volts = 12 then 13/12=1 Amp. That's a theoretical number based on pure math not accounting for the angle of the sun, the efficiency of the solar panel, the wire, etc. That's why you're example was 3/4 Amp and that's generous in my experience. F the battery remains connected the parasitic drains will drain more than that (remember those loads are at night as well).

I suggest you read a few articles on this subject. Here's a link to one that may help. https://www.renogy.com/blog/what-siz...a-12v-battery/
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Old 01-26-2021, 05:26 PM   #12
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Here is another source of RV Solar information. Go Power at www.gpelectric.com
Solar systems of 50 to 200 watts are affordable and easy to install and will do a good job of maintaining your batteries. If you get serious and want to install a system that will power your appliances up to and including the A/C unit you can do that, but you are looking at serious cash and more than likely a professional installation. A quality generator for the latter is a much better choice.

Our newest RV came with a 80W solar system, and I am adding a 100W panel for about $120.00 for a total of 180W. The next upgrade requires a new controller and heavier gauge wires.

"The rest of the story" ... No I don't need 180W just to maintain (1) std battery. The new RV has a 12V refrigerator pulling 8 t0 9 amp when running. When we stop for a 4 or 5 hour side trip, we want to extend battery life a little.

After spending a couple of days at the Tampa RV show it is apparent that 12V refrigerator's are here to stay, the gas/electric are either a option or not available in a lot of units. There will be a interesting learning curve on how to deal with the battery issues.
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Old 01-26-2021, 07:35 PM   #13
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Another observation and I believe a potential problem:"Voltage Regulator (Controller) is NOT needed for 12V batteries."
A controller is needed to keep from over charging the batteries. This is a very small output solar panel but there is the chance that you could overcharge the batteries.
I would suggest the option of removing the batteries and keeping them on an automatic battery maintainer. I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende.../dp/B00068XCQU
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Old 01-27-2021, 10:09 AM   #14
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OK I have FIRST hand experience with this exact device. It worked perfectly to keep my batteries topped off in my 2015 336bhs. I even had it in covered storage where i got about "3 hours" of sun in the afternoon at the front of the exposed end of the trailer. I would HIGHLY recommend this device. I left my trailer for 3 months, in covered storage, IN THE WINTER, in OREGON, where their is no consistent sun and it was still charged! So all the above posts saying this will never work is not true based on my experience. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this device especially if you have it parked outside. The amazon reviews say the same thing. I will add pics in next message. I never took it off it was great going down the road super strong ! just make sure the battery is fully charged when you put in storage. if your storage neighbors with their $50-300k rigs are going to steal your $150 solar charger, so be it, they can also steel your wheels, and anything else they want with a small rock, one of the rv keys that opens every storage hatch, etc. It was easy to install too, i just used a wire fisher for 20$ from home depot to fish it into the underbelly, had to loosen the screws holding that on tight (the underbelly). took longer to take the battery covers off.
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Old 01-27-2021, 10:20 AM   #15
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Old 01-27-2021, 10:26 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank G View Post
Here is another source of RV Solar information. Go Power at www.gpelectric.com
Solar systems of 50 to 200 watts are affordable and easy to install and will do a good job of maintaining your batteries. If you get serious and want to install a system that will power your appliances up to and including the A/C unit you can do that, but you are looking at serious cash and more than likely a professional installation. A quality generator for the latter is a much better choice.

Our newest RV came with a 80W solar system, and I am adding a 100W panel for about $120.00 for a total of 180W. The next upgrade requires a new controller and heavier gauge wires.

"The rest of the story" ... No I don't need 180W just to maintain (1) std battery. The new RV has a 12V refrigerator pulling 8 t0 9 amp when running. When we stop for a 4 or 5 hour side trip, we want to extend battery life a little.

After spending a couple of days at the Tampa RV show it is apparent that 12V refrigerator's are here to stay, the gas/electric are either a option or not available in a lot of units. There will be a interesting learning curve on how to deal with the battery issues.
Frank has many good points here, one thing I will add is keystone is making many of their models with either the gas/electric fridge or the electric only inverter style. For example, in my 2021 montana, there is a 3854BR model and a 3855BR model, the only difference is the 55 model is the electric fridge with invertor. It is clear keystone acknowledges there is demand for both(for now). I sprung for the 3854 model because i like running the gas fridge in storage a day or two before we leave(no plug ins). Good info!
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Old 01-27-2021, 07:50 PM   #17
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Thank you . I do have a question for you then. Do you use the factory discount? I too live in Oregon so hearing your first hand experience with this is great.
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Old 01-27-2021, 08:51 PM   #18
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so on that cougar of mine i connected it to the battery, and then when i was in storage i just used the red factory disconnect to off. Does that answer your question? The parasitic draw was not enough to drain the battery, or should i say, the solar panel was enough to keep up with it.
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Old 01-27-2021, 08:56 PM   #19
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Yes it does thank you so much
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Old 01-28-2021, 05:38 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by nellie1289 View Post
so on that cougar of mine i connected it to the battery, and then when i was in storage i just used the red factory disconnect to off. Does that answer your question? The parasitic draw was not enough to drain the battery, or should i say, the solar panel was enough to keep up with it.
I'm not challenging your enthusiastic testimonial for the product. No I don't own one so I can't give a "first hand" review. What I can comment on are the facts as I see them, given the information that's available. I also don't know what parasitic drains are on your camper, i.e. what systems are retaining memory, if the element in the CO detector is still functioning, what the Ah capacity of your batteries are, Joe what the "fully charged" status was when you stored your unit, what the status of the batteries were when you went back to it, or what the actual output of your solar charger is.

I read what Amazon reviews that were available There are 18 reviews and according to Amazon 76% are 5 stars. By my math, 76% of 18 is 13.68 so I don't know how that number was derived. Anyway, 9% or 16.2 people rated 4 stars, and 15% or 2.7 people rated it 3 stars. Must be something wrong with my calculated as I've be never seen a fraction of a person. Moving on.

I can only read the 5 star reviews. When I click on the "show all reviews" or use the filter to narrow down the reviews it still only displays the 5 star reviews. Maybe it's me. Anyway, it seems like the majority of the reviews were on the ease of install and two mentioned the efficiency but with little more than anecdotal comments.

With that said, the advertised "charge rate is 3/4 Amp." Now the vast majority of any advertising is going to publish a "best case" number. So like the mpg claims on a new car I question that number but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. For the purpose of this analogy I'll use the 3/4 Amp even though that number most likely came from some test under '"ideal conditions" such as full direct sun exposure with a new solar panel with no obstructions such as dirt, dust, or water spots or other debris or obstructions.

Winter daylight hours in Portland OR in winter is between 8-9 hrs. So at best let's say 3 hrs full sun and we all know it's sunny almost every day there right? With the angle of the winter sun the sunlight intensity will drop off rapidly on either side of that. Three hours of full sunlight producing 3/4 Amp per hour is 2 1/4 Ah of charge. Take your parasitic drain in amps and multiply by 24 for the daily drain on the battery. That's what the solar panel needs to replenish as an average over time. If the parasitic drain is 1/8 Amp per hour then it will consume 24/8 or 3 Amp hours. I know that the 3/4amp capacity is totally dependent on a direct angle to full sun exposure to operate at "maximum output" setting on a fixed object will not produce it's full potential.

So I'm not refuting your claim of great results. What I'm saying is anyone considering solar should research all the available facts and do the math. Find out what the needs are, what the requirements in storage capacity and production would be to meet those demands and plan accordingly. It's really no different than computing water needs, there are X amount of people that consume Y gallons per day and I can store Z gallons in my tank. When Z is deplete I must have a plan to refill it.
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