Battery banks?

[GMC Tank]

I've been running a 200 amp hr battery (renogy) in my rig. Seems to be enough power, fridge and lights. I added a Keurig (dont judge me, I also use percolator ). I wanted a bit more power and ordered another 200 amp hr battery. Is this overkill? I'm also thinking about getting a diesel heater. I do have Ctek DC to DC running so the bank does get charge while I'm moving (I have solar too). What's everyone else using battery wise?

 

[RaD Overlanding]

Great post! I'll be watching this one as I am having a system designed right now. I had a friend of mine do a quick setup for me (to see what I would need to buy), and he came back with 400 amp hours would run my equipment for I think it was 4 days without a recharge. I am now having another buddy design me something, for comparrison.

My requirements are, diesel heater, fridge, lights, air pump, charges, and cpap machine.

I'm excited to see what others are running as well, so I'll be watching this thread.

Rick

 

[grubworm]

i use a 200ah fed by 200w solar. runs cooler, lights and fans with no problems. i have a diesel heater and its hooked up to a 35ah dedicated battery.
so far the renogy is working great. our other trailer has 100ah also fed by 200w solar and also does well running a cooler,, lights and fans

400ah is a lot storage, but items like that keurig will eat up a good bit of power heating that element. i have 2 inverters i have for a back up, but usually anything hooked to the inverter will zap power quickly. heating elements and compressors are power hogs...thats why im glad the wife doesnt want a hair dryer on trips....id be buying another 130 pound battery...

hummm, a keurig overlanding...

 

[OTH Overland]

We are running on a 100ah battery and for winter camping we run a diesel heater all night, 12 volt heating blanket for a couple of hours, fridge, camp lights, and battery heating pad if its really cold. End up with about 50% battery remaining after an overnight. Takes around an hour and half to top it back off from the DCDC charger. We do have a 1000 watt inverter which we use on occasion for charging cameras etc, but never for anything high wattage. For us travelling almost every day when on a trip, this is plenty of power and not much weight. If we stayed longer would go to 200ah. We have found it very nice to have the Jackery 300 along in the winter, so you can plug a 12 volt travel blanket in and put it in the camp chair to keep your back half warm when sitting at the fire. No one said we have to rough it for winter camping, and a warm wife is a happy one that will keep going on my idiotic winter adventures.. lol

 

[reaver]

I'm currently using a 100Ah Aolithium LiFePO4 battery. When stationary, we've been using a 120W solar panel. When in motion, the battery is charged via a 20A Renogy DC-DC charger.

This battery can run the 40L fridge, 2 cpaps, lights, water pump in the trailer, and a 12v blanket for 8 hours, and still have 60% left.

I recently added a diesel heater to my kit. I went out last weekend with the kiddo, and ran the heater all night, my cpap, charged a phone and tablet, and still had 87% battery.

Currently, my battery gets moved between the Xterra and the trailer. I'm planning on picking up a second battery that will live in the X full time.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

We are running on a 100ah battery and for winter camping we run a diesel heater all night, 12 volt heating blanket for a couple of hours, fridge, camp lights, and battery heating pad if its really cold. End up with about 50% battery remaining after an overnight. Takes around an hour and half to top it back off from the DCDC charger. We do have a 1000 watt inverter which we use on occasion for charging cameras etc, but never for anything high wattage. For us travelling almost every day when on a trip, this is plenty of power and not much weight. If we stayed longer would go to 200ah. We have found it very nice to have the Jackery 300 along in the winter, so you can plug a 12 volt travel blanket in and put it in the camp chair to keep your back half warm when sitting at the fire. No one said we have to rough it for winter camping, and a warm wife is a happy one that will keep going on my idiotic winter adventures.. lol

How does the jackery hold up to cold weather? I was looking over their website and saw the operating temp ratings and thought it didn't look like it would be a good fit for winter power.

 

[OTH Overland]

The Jackery is rated to operate (draw power from) in 14 - 104 temps, charging can only happen above 32 degrees. We have only used the Jackery a couple of times in weather cold enough to get the unit below charging temps in the car at night. In that case we have to wait until the car heats it back up while driving so we can charge it. We take the small one up in the tent at night and it lives between our pillows and has not gotten below charge temps yet. The Jk has a dedicated Lifepo battery, and I installed heating pads under the battery that switch on when we are using the rig and ambient temp drops down to 35 degrees, we have been camping in sub zero temps and the battery stayed above freezing.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

The Jackery is rated to operate (draw power from) in 14 - 104 temps, charging can only happen above 32 degrees. We have only used the Jackery a couple of times in weather cold enough to get the unit below charging temps in the car at night. In that case we have to wait until the car heats it back up while driving so we can charge it. We take the small one up in the tent at night and it lives between our pillows and has not gotten below charge temps yet. The Jk has a dedicated Lifepo battery, and I installed heating pads under the battery that switch on when we are using the rig and ambient temp drops down to 35 degrees, we have been camping in sub zero temps and the battery stayed above freezing.

I used to do more winter camping with some friends of mine. we used to challenge each other to see who could ride out the weekend with the least amount of "comfort". we would sleep in holes in the snow or a tarp over a branch.
now that I am getting older I am looking for more comfort and maybe enough power to run a diesel heater for a weekend and have a nice warm tent. seems like every time we go out its raining now and not snowing which makes for a miserable weekend lol. Basically temps could be anywhere from 10 C to -45 C ( usually closer to -15 to -25 ). I was thinking about getting a kit with solar panels, but if they don't charge in the cold they may not be any good to me.

 

[Longshot270]

We are running on a 100ah battery and for winter camping we run a diesel heater all night, 12 volt heating blanket for a couple of hours, fridge, camp lights, and battery heating pad if its really cold. End up with about 50% battery remaining after an overnight. Takes around an hour and half to top it back off from the DCDC charger. We do have a 1000 watt inverter which we use on occasion for charging cameras etc, but never for anything high wattage. For us travelling almost every day when on a trip, this is plenty of power and not much weight. If we stayed longer would go to 200ah. We have found it very nice to have the Jackery 300 along in the winter, so you can plug a 12 volt travel blanket in and put it in the camp chair to keep your back half warm when sitting at the fire. No one said we have to rough it for winter camping, and a warm wife is a happy one that will keep going on my idiotic winter adventures.. lol

How does the jackery hold up to cold weather? I was looking over their website and saw the operating temp ratings and thought it didn't look like it would be a good fit for winter power.

If you have issues, you can try putting it in a cheap igloo cooler. Any heat generated by the unit charging and discharging will have a better chance staying close with a little bit of insulation. If you need a bit more heat, a 20-40 watt incandescent bulb puts out a surprising amount of heat in a confined space and would be a cheaper way to test the concept.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Will a battery bank eventually need a bailout?

 

[freak4life]

Will a battery bank eventually need a bailout?

Yes, every battery will eventually reach its life time limit of charging cycles. Some batteries just have more charging cycles in them.

 

[reaver]

Yes, every battery will eventually reach its life time limit of charging cycles. Some batteries just have more charging cycles in them.

This. AGM batteries typically have about 400-600 good cycles of being discharged to 50%. Lithium is about 800-900 at about 75% discharge. Lifepo4 is about 4000-5000 at 100% discharge (5000-8000 at 75% discharge).

The biggest issue with lifepo4 batteries is that they CANNOT be charged if the cells are below 32°F. Doing so can permanently damage the cells and render them useless. Now, there are things you can do to mitigate the issue. They sell batteries with heating elements built in, that automatically turn on to keep the battery warm. A good Lifepo4 battery will also have what's called "low temperature cutoff". This disables the internal charging circuit on the battery, allowing you to use the battery when it's cold.

You can also add a heater to a non-heated battery. I wrapped mine with a 35W insulated anti-freezing pad for an rv water tank. The heating pad has a built in thermostat so that it turns on at about 35° and turns off at about 55°. I also wired it to an inline switch mounted to my battery box, so I can disable it when it's not needed at all.

This setup has worked great so far this winter.

 

[lhoffm4]

I love all the input. Based on what I'm reading, I might add a small gas generator/inverter combo to the mix. It's pretty much the same price range as an additional 200ah bank, but may offer some additional benefit of providing charging/on demand power when solar is not the best charging option (cloudy day, night time)?

Just like in the world of batteries, there are options for generators. I ordered the components (cells and associated components) to build my 200ah bank. It cost @ $350 when completed. A significant savings over commercially available offerings but I dare say competitive in function. Probably saved 50% or more doing it that way. I also found a Champion 2500 Watt inverter/generator at a pawn shop (like new/used) for $300. New they are about $600. Still a bargain if you are in the market for a high end gas generator/inverter that can run upwards of $1500+ new.

If I had not found my generator when and for the price I paid, I would certainly had built a second battery bank. I run the same things many do- fridge, lights, CPAP, phone charging, etc. The 200ah bank I have works for me, as a bare minimum. One of my kids gifted me a Bluetti EB70 at Christmas last year. Now THAT is a super cool gift, but more importantly it showed me I did not NEED the power of another 200ah bank. It is a lot smaller (figuratively) than the diy bank, but nicely augments what I have and for what I need. I can charge either from the truck power while driving, from Solar when in camp during the day time or by the gas Genny if solar is not an option...

All this to say consider options like a generator, even if you are completely invested in the idea of solar. Like an old Drill Instructor used to say (scream) "Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it"... Or maybe his was "Improvise, adapt and overcome ... Maggots!". Ha ha.

Good luck in your quest for power!

 

[grubworm]

Will a battery bank eventually need a bailout?

in time, all will fail.
this battery bank went 'woke' tackling the climate agenda and ultimately went broke.
just part of having a 2 battery system...lithium or lead acid...

 

[Kent R]

I've been running a 200 amp hr battery (renogy) in my rig. Seems to be enough power, fridge and lights. I added a Keurig (dont judge me, I also use percolator ). I wanted a bit more power and ordered another 200 amp hr battery. Is this overkill? I'm also thinking about getting a diesel heater. I do have Ctek DC to DC running so the bank does get charge while I'm moving (I have solar too). What's everyone else using battery wise?

What type of battery are you using?

 

[GMC Tank]

Great post! I'll be watching this one as I am having a system designed right now. I had a friend of mine do a quick setup for me (to see what I would need to buy), and he came back with 400 amp hours would run my equipment for I think it was 4 days without a recharge. I am now having another buddy design me something, for comparrison.

My requirements are, diesel heater, fridge, lights, air pump, charges, and cpap machine.

I'm excited to see what others are running as well, so I'll be watching this thread.

Rick

Big reason I'm adding the second battery is the fact (or opinion) that you're not supposed to run AGM down too much or it will ruin them. So to say I had a 200 amp hr battery wasn't really true if I cant use 200 amp hrs. I feel like having 400 amp hr bank will NOW give me 200 amp hrs

 

[GMC Tank]

i use a 200ah fed by 200w solar. runs cooler, lights and fans with no problems. i have a diesel heater and its hooked up to a 35ah dedicated battery.
so far the renogy is working great. our other trailer has 100ah also fed by 200w solar and also does well running a cooler,, lights and fans

400ah is a lot storage, but items like that keurig will eat up a good bit of power heating that element. i have 2 inverters i have for a back up, but usually anything hooked to the inverter will zap power quickly. heating elements and compressors are power hogs...thats why im glad the wife doesnt want a hair dryer on trips....id be buying another 130 pound battery...

hummm, a keurig overlanding... View attachment 252756

View attachment 252755

Hahaha yeah the Keurig is a weird mod. I found one in a thrift store for like $10. It's a slim one. I just said it would be cool to mount it in my truck topper shelf. At camp we grind beans and use a percolator. But I figure when we're on the road driving we can stop real quick and make coffee, hot chocolate or tea and hop back on the road. My CTEK charger has the ability to recognize when the truck is running and switches from the renogy battery to the truck battery/alternator. So if I'm running compressor or anything of the inverter while the truck is running it wont run down my rear battery

 

[GMC Tank]

We are running on a 100ah battery and for winter camping we run a diesel heater all night, 12 volt heating blanket for a couple of hours, fridge, camp lights, and battery heating pad if its really cold. End up with about 50% battery remaining after an overnight. Takes around an hour and half to top it back off from the DCDC charger. We do have a 1000 watt inverter which we use on occasion for charging cameras etc, but never for anything high wattage. For us travelling almost every day when on a trip, this is plenty of power and not much weight. If we stayed longer would go to 200ah. We have found it very nice to have the Jackery 300 along in the winter, so you can plug a 12 volt travel blanket in and put it in the camp chair to keep your back half warm when sitting at the fire. No one said we have to rough it for winter camping, and a warm wife is a happy one that will keep going on my idiotic winter adventures.. lol

Idiotic adventures hahaha. I with you there. My wife never realized she would have to hold so many wrenches, hold things up, watch me fiddle with my gear and rig and basically watch me get annoyed until the projects done!

 

[GMC Tank]

I'm currently using a 100Ah Aolithium LiFePO4 battery. When stationary, we've been using a 120W solar panel. When in motion, the battery is charged via a 20A Renogy DC-DC charger.

This battery can run the 40L fridge, 2 cpaps, lights, water pump in the trailer, and a 12v blanket for 8 hours, and still have 60% left.

I recently added a diesel heater to my kit. I went out last weekend with the kiddo, and ran the heater all night, my cpap, charged a phone and tablet, and still had 87% battery.

Currently, my battery gets moved between the Xterra and the trailer. I'm planning on picking up a second battery that will live in the X full time.

I have a Renogy lithium in my Xterra. I usually go out in my GMC so I have no clue how well the lithium works. Have yet to put it to a test. My Xterra electrical setup is less sophisticated than in the GMC but it will probably do the trick

 

[GMC Tank]

I love all the input. Based on what I'm reading, I might add a small gas generator/inverter combo to the mix. It's pretty much the same price range as an additional 200ah bank, but may offer some additional benefit of providing charging/on demand power when solar is not the best charging option (cloudy day, night time)?

Just like in the world of batteries, there are options for generators. I ordered the components (cells and associated components) to build my 200ah bank. It cost @ $350 when completed. A significant savings over commercially available offerings but I dare say competitive in function. Probably saved 50% or more doing it that way. I also found a Champion 2500 Watt inverter/generator at a pawn shop (like new/used) for $300. New they are about $600. Still a bargain if you are in the market for a high end gas generator/inverter that can run upwards of $1500+ new.

If I had not found my generator when and for the price I paid, I would certainly had built a second battery bank. I run the same things many do- fridge, lights, CPAP, phone charging, etc. The 200ah bank I have works for me, as a bare minimum. One of my kids gifted me a Bluetti EB70 at Christmas last year. Now THAT is a super cool gift, but more importantly it showed me I did not NEED the power of another 200ah bank. It is a lot smaller (figuratively) than the diy bank, but nicely augments what I have and for what I need. I can charge either from the truck power while driving, from Solar when in camp during the day time or by the gas Genny if solar is not an option...

All this to say consider options like a generator, even if you are completely invested in the idea of solar. Like an old Drill Instructor used to say (scream) "Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it"... Or maybe his was "Improvise, adapt and overcome ... Maggots!". Ha ha.

Good luck in your quest for power!

I've considered a little generator as well. I'm thinking about a propane generator. I carry so much propane it seems like a good choice. I use propane for my cooking stoves, lanterns, pop up furnace, water heater and a burner I use to boil water. I Cant live without prop!