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Norcold AC amp draw and solar garage?


Steph and Dud B

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With some big life changes happening - first Steph's cancer and now our son getting married - we've changed plans and decided that our current home in CT will be our retirement home after all. That means making some changes to the property. #1 will be adding a detached garage/barn, and that will have a bay for Eggcelsior. Until now, she's lived outside in full sun.

There was a plus to that. With the lithium and solar we never had to plug her in at home, at least not until now when we're getting freezing weather. (Lithionics advises keeping the 315 aH batteries on the charger in freezing weather to power the internal battery heaters.) But when we put her in a garage, the solar will be gone. We'll have to plug her in.

How much power will she need? Up until now we ran the fridge on gas in the yard and the solar kept up. Now, we'll need to run the fridge on electric. Anybody know how many amps the fridge draws on AC? (I'm having trouble searching the University with my Android devices since the site redesign. When I enter a search phrase the Android keyboard won't let me hit Enter to start the search. A topic for a different post.)

I was also wondering... Could we put solar panels on the roof of the garage and run a cable to the Zamp port on the outside of Eggcelsior?? Has anyone ever done anything like that? Would the cable run be too long? It would be cool...

Stephanie and Dudley from CT.  2022 LE2, Hull #1150: Eggcelsior.

Tow vehicle: 2016 GMC Sierra 6.0 gas dually 4x4.

Our Oliver journey: Steph and Dud B's RV Screed

Where we've been RVing since 1999:

ALAZCACOCTDEFLGAIDILINIAKYLAMEMDMAMIMNMSMOMTNENVNHNMNYNCNDOHOKORPASCSDTNTXUTVTVAWAWVWIWYmed.jpg.b96241bad6752dec89d25af6ffbc8d99.jpg

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31 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

 

I was also wondering... Could we put solar panels on the roof of the garage and run a cable to the Zamp port on the outside of Eggcelsior?? Has anyone ever done anything like that? Would the cable run be too long? It would be cool...

You can put panels on your garage roof, no worries, but you must add a solar controller right at the trailer, because the external solar port just connects directly to the batteries. Easy to do.…

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5478-how-to-remote-mount-the-controller-of-a-suitcase-solar-panel-not-inside-the-trailer/

In your shoes I would remove the Zamp PWM controller in the Ollie and replace it with a more efficient Victron MPPT one, and use the old Zamp for your roof charge controller. Kill two stones with one bird - a double upgrade. You will need to figure out how to cover the big ugly hole where the Zamp is located. I installed an iPad Mini 2 there, to run the Victron Connect app, interface with my Garmin inReach, and some other stuff.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5357-how-to-mount-a-tablet-computer-in-place-of-the-zamp-controller/

John Davies

Spokane WA

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Are you not anticipating having an electrical service panel in the new structure? Seems to me the expense to add rooftop solar that will only serve to charge the ollie batteries could be better spent. Who knows, you might even wish to add an HVAC system in the future.

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Yes, we'll have a service panel in the new building but we just got news that our utility provider is requesting to DOUBLE their rate: "Eversource supply rates will double from 12.05 cents per kWh to 24.2 cents per kWh, resulting in an $84 per month increase for the average user."

Solar would also help keep the trailer charged during power outages, which are becoming more frequent and longer here. A week ago we lost power for 14 hours after a very small storm.

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Stephanie and Dudley from CT.  2022 LE2, Hull #1150: Eggcelsior.

Tow vehicle: 2016 GMC Sierra 6.0 gas dually 4x4.

Our Oliver journey: Steph and Dud B's RV Screed

Where we've been RVing since 1999:

ALAZCACOCTDEFLGAIDILINIAKYLAMEMDMAMIMNMSMOMTNENVNHNMNYNCNDOHOKORPASCSDTNTXUTVTVAWAWVWIWYmed.jpg.b96241bad6752dec89d25af6ffbc8d99.jpg

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