The Grand Tour
Banned
So the scenario that we're talking about here would be my wife and I full-time boondocking in a self-converted Sprinter 170 extended 3500 dually. It was suggested that I start a separate thread (this one) when the subject of LiFePO4 came up.
We were talking about using a 2,500 watt Cummins-Onan propane generator under the floor behind the rear axle, powering a smart charger, to recharge the LiFePO4. No solar. The Sprinter alternator(s) would be invited to the party.
And specifically, I had asked about using a smaller LiFePO4 battery. It seems to me that I would not need several days of battery capacity, since we'd be living in it, and thus able to use the generator every day to recharge, and the alternator would be there to contribute electrons on a daily or near-daily basis. Is there any reason that I'd need more than 24 hours of usable battery capacity?
Our biggest power hog would be a high-efficiency compressor-type chest refrigerator/freezer that reportedly draws 1.3 Ah/h (31.2 Ah in 24 hours). We'd have 12VDC LED interior lighting, periodic use of a 12VDC fresh water pump (for showers and such), and one or two 12VDC roof fans. Our laptops and cell phones would be charged off the 12VDC panel. No toaster, hair dryer, electric water heater, electric stove, toaster oven, electric space heater, or anything else like that. Our hot water, oven, and stove would be on propane. We'd have a 120VAC inverter of some sort for any incidental electronics beyond what I've already mentioned, but probably not a pure sine wave one, probably not very big, and it would be shut off when not in use. Our 10,000 BTU heat pump would be run directly off the generator, through the 120VAC panel.
A 150 Ah LiFePO4 had been suggested, using it all the way down to 5-15%, but I'm wondering if we could comfortably get away with something smaller.
We were talking about using a 2,500 watt Cummins-Onan propane generator under the floor behind the rear axle, powering a smart charger, to recharge the LiFePO4. No solar. The Sprinter alternator(s) would be invited to the party.
And specifically, I had asked about using a smaller LiFePO4 battery. It seems to me that I would not need several days of battery capacity, since we'd be living in it, and thus able to use the generator every day to recharge, and the alternator would be there to contribute electrons on a daily or near-daily basis. Is there any reason that I'd need more than 24 hours of usable battery capacity?
Our biggest power hog would be a high-efficiency compressor-type chest refrigerator/freezer that reportedly draws 1.3 Ah/h (31.2 Ah in 24 hours). We'd have 12VDC LED interior lighting, periodic use of a 12VDC fresh water pump (for showers and such), and one or two 12VDC roof fans. Our laptops and cell phones would be charged off the 12VDC panel. No toaster, hair dryer, electric water heater, electric stove, toaster oven, electric space heater, or anything else like that. Our hot water, oven, and stove would be on propane. We'd have a 120VAC inverter of some sort for any incidental electronics beyond what I've already mentioned, but probably not a pure sine wave one, probably not very big, and it would be shut off when not in use. Our 10,000 BTU heat pump would be run directly off the generator, through the 120VAC panel.
A 150 Ah LiFePO4 had been suggested, using it all the way down to 5-15%, but I'm wondering if we could comfortably get away with something smaller.
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