RVwiki for vanfolk and others who live in vehicles

electrical:solar:charge_controller

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:40+00:00

Words of wisdom: “Any Solar is better than no solar, but having too much solar is difficult. The best solar systems are those which can keep the batteries the happiest. Happy batteries are those which are recharged quickly after depletion.” - SternWake Solar charge controllers

electrical:solar:shallow_cycling

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:42+00:00

Note: this information should be regarded as experimental. It is being tested by secessus. Beginners may want to start with a gentle intro to solar. Here is a trimmed-down version of this page. microsolar without deep-cycle batteries This article describes a small, cheap, simple, space-efficient solar configuration that may be of use to car-dwellers or minimalist vandwellers.

electrical:solar:frugal

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:40+00:00

Making the most of your solar setup [this is a dump of a reddit post I made; will clean up later. fs] This page is more about making do with what you already have than about about what to buy if you are starting from scratch. system sizing Large solar installs are can be useful but are overkill (in size, output and expense) for many campers. Even

electrical:solar:pwm_tweaking

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:42+00:00

Tweaking a PWM controller for maximum power PWM controllers are inexpensive and durable. Their chief downside is their ability to generate power is limited when battery voltage is low (MPPT output is unaffected by battery voltage). This page is intended to help people get the most out of their PWM system. It assumes the 'dweller owns

opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:52+00:00

Words of wisdom: “We have a lot of people here who get all excited, move into a van, then quit after just a couple months. The fact that they get disillusioned means they were “illusioned” to begin with. So don't be “illusioned”.” -- lennyflank Note: this area is for

electrical:12v:alternator

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:34+00:00

Words of Wisdom: With a isolator you would run the truck early to get a fair amount of the bulk charging done and let the solar finish it off the rest of the day. -- jimindenver Alternator charging Note: this is a basic overview. More details available on the

electrical:12v:alt_and_solar

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:34+00:00

Note: although this page was written with alternator-augmented solar charging in mind, the general principles also apply to solar+shore power charging and solar+generator charging. Also see Deciding on a Power Mix. " Solar and DC-DC alternator charging are going to be the best practices for maintaining charge in one's battery bank. It only requires a little math, a little discipline to stick with the math, and the right expectations about solar intake.

opinion:frater_secessus:controllers_and_dollars_per_watt

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:52+00:00

fixme NOTE: this is a rough draft. Costs based on prices on Amazon of Renogy controllers where available. cost analysis of small controller / panel combinations " For about the same price a second solar panel can give 100% more power. Above about 300 to 400 watts MPPT is financially advantageous.

electrical:solar:output

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:40+00:00

Words of wisdom: “In theory, Imp * Vmp = panel Watts. There's an awful lot in the real world that can affect that.” -- Cariboocoot Factors affecting solar panel output For various reasons it will be a rare event when your panels put out their full rated power

electrical:solar:nonessential

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:40+00:00

opportunity loads [based on http://www.chargetek.com/basic-information.html] Solar power installations are generally designed as if the load[s] will be steady around the clock. This can lead new folk into buying too much battery. In practice, actual loads may be heavier in the daytime (as when working with power tools) or at night (as when watching movies or running a forced-air furnace).

opinion:solar:sizing

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:56+00:00

Words of Wisdom: “You have to build for winter, and figure out what to do with the extra electricity in summer.” -- timselectric power system sizing - the Big Picture This article focuses on designing a DIY power system from scratch. See this article for a sample walkthrough of how it might be applied for a given use case.

electrical:12v:directcharginglfp

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:36+00:00

DRAFT Words of Wisdom: “With a few basic design considerations, and an alternator design newer than 25 years old, a direct charging system [for LiFePO4] can be safe, effective, and provide significant benefits. - midwestdrifter Direct charging LiFePO4 banks There is an

electrical:solar:shunt_tweaking

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:42+00:00

Tweaking a configurable shunt controller [ Note: this article was written by secessus about the type of controller seen on the right. They are called CMTD among other names. ] A configurable shunt (single stage) controller can be a very good deal, sometimes less than $10 shipped. While they share the same lower-yield issues with PWM and for the same reason

opinion:frater_secessus:dead_battery

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:54+00:00

DRAFT How to handle a dead house battery If your house bank is dead and nothing is working we have both short-term and long-term problems. Let's start with the short term issues. first things first In addition to you having no power in the van, sitting at very low states of discharge is damaging to both lead (Pb) and lithium (Li) batteries. It is important to get battery voltage off the floor

electrical:12v:drop-in_lifepo4

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-01-31T17:42:51+00:00

Drop-in Lithium (LiFePO4) TL;DR * the most common lithium chemistry for 'dwellers is LiFePO4 (LFP hereafter), an extremely stable version of Li-Ion. * there are two basic types of LFP batteries: drop-in (pre-made retail batteries) and DIY (built from components by the user)

opinion:more_power

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:52+00:00

DRAFT " “It is cheaper and easier to use less power than it is to make more power.” – highdesertranger" " ...the why is important. If you are trying to meet a specific performance goal you can save money by identifying performance bottlenecks and upgrading the relevant components. If you want to do the upgrades because they sound like

electrical:12v:eternal_absorption

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:36+00:00

Note: this is for deep cycle lead chemistries only! Lithium batteries should not be held at full voltage. Words of wisdom: " “As long as... you cycle the battery daily, you could set float voltage to [Vabs] too without worry. Only when you stop cycling the battery do you need to return float voltage to more regular 13.2v levels.

opinion:frater_secessus:charging_faster

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:52+00:00

charging faster isn't always better There is a common misperception that charging one's battery banks faster is better or that having more charging capacity guarantees faster charging. Here are some reasons it is not always true: lead-acid Lead batteries

electrical:12v:power_mix

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:38+00:00

DRAFT Power mix Having a mix of power generation approaches will usually be more dependable and less expensive than relying on only one. For example, it is expensive (and maybe impossible) get Big Current with solar alone and difficult (or even impossible) to complete charging on alternator alone. But

electrical:12v:charging

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:36+00:00

Words of wisdom " “Three stage chargers are easier on your batteries, charge them faster, fuller and help you use less water” – HandyBob" " A [ shore power ] charger is a stiff source with unlimited energy and time. Your solar is a very soft source of unknown power and only a few hours to get the job done. - sunking

electrical:solar:rationing

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:42+00:00

Words of Wisdom: It is cheaper and easier to use less power than it is to make more power. -- highdesertranger Rationing solar power Sometimes normal awareness is not enough to keep a solar setup functioning with usable power. In these situations one might need to take steps to minimize loads and maximize power generation.

opinion:frater_secessus:cheap_build

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:52+00:00

a longer-form answer to this thread frugal camper builds Building a functional camper on a big budget is easy - pay someone to do it. Doing it on a budget requires research, patience, and work. " > Tips and tricks to being a cheap o?" tl;dr If you read nothing else:

electrical:solar:status

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:42+00:00

Words of wisdom: "If you want to see lots more amps coming out of the [charge controller], put on a [significant] load... in the middle of a sunny day. -- John61CT" Is my solar working? TL:DR * if the panel voltage shown on the controller is ≤Vmp then the controller is making as much power as it can

lifestyle:faq_solar_generator

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:48+00:00

Solar generators Words of wisdom: “These aren't aimed at people that know what they are doing.” -- LastTreeStar TL;DR These things are EXTREMELY expensive for the capacity, however they do offer a lot of convenience. For those with plenty of money who value ease and speed over capacity and run-time, an argument can be made for these if your power needs are small-to-medium and you are only taking short trips in your vehicle.

opinion:frater_secessus:panelsizesforinsolation

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:54+00:00

Words of Wisdom: “I'm not sure people always grasp the concept of “minimum” either; they tend to think it means “all that you really need” when it fact it means “the least you can get away with provided everything else goes right”. After all, the sun does not shine brightly every day.

food:coffee

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:42+00:00

Making coffee With Propane (or other fuel) Like with almost all cooking in a van (and anything to do with generating heat), making coffee is much easier when using propane. Heating water on a camp stove uses no electricity, although it does require a bit more labor.

opinion:frater_secessus:car_micropower

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:52+00:00

Note: this is a streamlining of the shallow cycling article. Micropower for car-dwellers People with minimal power needs (a few amps a night) may be able to get by using just a bit of charge off the vehicle's starter battery. It can be done for about $25, or about $100 with 100w of solar if one shops around.

electrical:solar:charge_controller_setpoints

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-24T22:58:40+00:00

Solar charge controller setpoints Solar charge controller, converter, and DC-DC charging behavior is guided by setpoints, which are settings stored in the controller. They may or may not be configurable by the user. The two most important setpoints for battery life and performance are charging voltages: