The Grand Tour
Banned
Please bear with me- I'd like to explore a different direction than what we'd previously planned.
Instead of starting with our expected electrical usage and working forward to develop an electrical system that will supply those needs, I'd like to start (for the purpose of discussion) with the single 250A alternator of the gas Sprinter and work backwards, to see how much electrical capacity we can realize, without generator, solar, or shore power.
LiFeP04 charges faster than AGM or flooded-cell, which I would expect would reduce the amount of time that we would need to run the engine every day to recharge.
Would we need to actually drive the van to recharge, or would the stock 250A alternator put out enough at idle to power the DC/DC charger to it's full potential?
Would a larger DC/DC charger recharge the LiFeP04 battery faster than a smaller one, like using the 60A Sterling as opposed to the 30A Sterling?
FWIW, I'm spit-balling our electrical consumption at less than 100Ah per day. LED lights, one ceiling fan, cell phones, and generous use of our laptops. We would not be planning on powering an air conditioner off of this. Our stove/oven/water heater would be propane. Our largest energy hog would be our refrigerator. We're looking at the Dometic CFX 95DZW, which is rated at 1.3Ah/h in 90F ambient temperatures, with a 41F internal temperature (31.2Ah per day).
And I don't think we need a ridiculous amount of battery capacity, because we're going to be living in it full time, so we'll be able to run the engine every day and/or drive it every day to recharge.
Instead of starting with our expected electrical usage and working forward to develop an electrical system that will supply those needs, I'd like to start (for the purpose of discussion) with the single 250A alternator of the gas Sprinter and work backwards, to see how much electrical capacity we can realize, without generator, solar, or shore power.
LiFeP04 charges faster than AGM or flooded-cell, which I would expect would reduce the amount of time that we would need to run the engine every day to recharge.
Would we need to actually drive the van to recharge, or would the stock 250A alternator put out enough at idle to power the DC/DC charger to it's full potential?
Would a larger DC/DC charger recharge the LiFeP04 battery faster than a smaller one, like using the 60A Sterling as opposed to the 30A Sterling?
FWIW, I'm spit-balling our electrical consumption at less than 100Ah per day. LED lights, one ceiling fan, cell phones, and generous use of our laptops. We would not be planning on powering an air conditioner off of this. Our stove/oven/water heater would be propane. Our largest energy hog would be our refrigerator. We're looking at the Dometic CFX 95DZW, which is rated at 1.3Ah/h in 90F ambient temperatures, with a 41F internal temperature (31.2Ah per day).
And I don't think we need a ridiculous amount of battery capacity, because we're going to be living in it full time, so we'll be able to run the engine every day and/or drive it every day to recharge.