Brand new Van 3 New 120 amp hr batts 3 x 155 solar panels 7amp draw on waco compressor fridge and small draw on Jayco operating system. How long should this system operate the fridge in optimum conditions,as we live in southern Qld. and in the past 5 days have had full sun and fully charged batteries from 240v. I have disconnected the 240v and have been running on solar for the last 2 days and am down to 12.2v which I thought was quite low considering the supposed capacity. Any advice would be appreciated.
Do not claim to be an expert but my understanding is at 12.2V you are getting close to 60%. Getting low. I never let mine get below 12.0V. My understanding is 40% is as low as you ever want to get but if somebody knows better I'm not going to argue with them. Dave
Dave I reckon your system has a problem as on the specs you have given you have about 3 times the required generating capacity to run your fridge. Even first light in the morning your battery should still be at 3/4 full (about 12.4V) and by noon back to full capacity. If you have the means to test I suggest checking current from solar to battery to see if all panels are operating.
I would say you should check the system and see what is going on. A couple of meters are always good to see how much current is coming out and how much is going in, and that will tell you most of what you want to know. The solar controller/regulator may have these on its display if the current out is from there.
But you have a comfortable setup so it should do OK. Note the voltage of a battery does not tell you everything and it varies depending on factors like, the current being drawn, the point in the daily cycle, the temperature etc. The current in and out is the only way to know what is going on. Like your bank account
Solar has some tricks that you need to know and then it is just free and quiet for ever If there is a problem then fix it now or get someone to check it over, there may be a fault.
Phil as a point of interest is the van ventilated, ie Windows and all vents open ,otherwise this could cause the Fridge to overwork. We have been full-time in our 22ft van for 10 yrs now fitted with an older style White painted Waeco 220 litre fridge with Rear Full length Condenser. Also have 610 watts of Solar with 9yrs using 400Ah AGM's and found this Solar capacity worked way better than when it was a 420 watt system.
If you have read what Collyn Rivers suggests for a large 3 way fridge van set up for Free Camping with approx 200Ah of batteries the Solar required for a reliable system is 300 Watts. So for a Large 220 litre Waeco Compressor fridge Solar Wattage of 600 watts or more would be a more reliable way to go. This allows for the Flat mounting of panels efficiency loss and also Loss created from excess heat.
I have converted to Lithium Batteries 400Ah 14 mths ago and the Solar Array now is more effective charging these batteries way faster because of their Low Internal Resistance Qualities and allowing more independence free camping without using Generator which with the AGM's still needed to be used after a few Overcast days.
If you Didn't have heavier wiring installed on your solar set up you may never gain the full benefits of the system. I have a Jayco and the wiring for solar in my view is inadequate. Search this site using "solar" for appropriate cable sizing.
Hi - what temperature is your Waeco set at ? Also I guess your panels are fixed to van roof - so you only get max output for a few hours a day - does your van have a roof air cond and does this shade a panel . Are your panels in one string - or two or more ?
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I think you have sufficient solar and battery capacity.
WE have 480w of panels and previosly400Ah of batteries (now480Ah) and we had no problem running 12V Vitrifugo fridge generally and depending on battery voltage current draw was around 5-6 amps.
I would make sure you are feeding the batteries a good current (charge) as you say fine days. What current does your reg put out? Ours typically will be 10-20 amps and when really working 25 amps (have seen 28 amps) from our 30 amp reg.
Also check battery condition, one by one, remembering 1 battery NOT in top condition will effect the whole bank.
I would take each battery out and test and if necessary charge each separately with a smart charger.
Be methodical and look for any loose/corroded wiring joints especially at batteries.
Hope this helps
Cheers Baz
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Why is it so? Professor Julius Sumner Miller, a profound influence on my life, who explained science to us on TV in the 60's.
Get someone that really understands solar to check your wiring, the solar charger, and wire sizes. In my humble opinion a result such as this with a brand new van and all new equipment means that someone somewhere has stuffed up badly with the install of the system.
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I had a thought but it got run over as it crossed my mind.
I would think that a compressor fridge using 7A is only using that for about 35% of the time when the compressor is running, so that you are only using about 60aH/24hr day. In good weather I am surprised that you have a problem subject to the above comments.
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I would think that a compressor fridge using 7A is only using that for about 35% of the time when the compressor is running, so that you are only using about 60aH/24hr day. In good weather I am surprised that you have a problem subject to the above comments.
Not that simple ie IF the compressor is matched perfectly to the volume of fridge it is ideal.
Often you get a compressor that really struggles and for extra $ you get a better (read better capacity) compressor.
Waeco compressors (my 2 have Danfoss) are fitted to a range of volumes of fridge, so you get one that just does the job OR one that does it easily in relation to the volume.
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Why is it so? Professor Julius Sumner Miller, a profound influence on my life, who explained science to us on TV in the 60's.
Our Waeco 220L is set to 3 degrees on and 5 degrees off using an Electronic LCD Readout Thermostat not the original capillary tube type. It works way better than the original as their settings can fluctuate.
The 610 watts of Solar are all wired in Parallel together and it does have a centrally fitted Dometic/Electrolux AC which at certain times of the day it does partially shade one panel either side of the AC. But as they are all connected in parallel this does not cause any major drops like you would get if the panels were connected in Series.
To obtain max Sun Power if possible depending on the season I will orientate van as much east/west so Sun travels directly over the length of the van this can also reduce excess heating of the walls especially in Summer. This can be difficult in Winter especially down on the Southern Coastline areas where heating of walls is not an issue and I will orientate Sth/Nth to allow Sun which is on Low Angle in the sky to hopefully harvest more power. If not I connect our 200watts on the Ute through the 100Ah Lithium powering the ABR Sidewinder 30amp DC-DC Converter to top up the 400Ah Lithiums in the van.
If there is a problem then fix it now or get someone to check it over, there may be a fault.
