Seeking Senior Solar Specialist

We installed solar on our coach this winter while at Quartzsite. It works great. With only two 6V batteries and a small 1,500 Watt inverter we can run everything except the A/C and the microwave. By noon my batteries are fully charged and they are healthier because they are topped off daily.

Now my question. We have come east and will have a full hook up all summer, including a 50A connection.

Ok, now my question. Should I disconnect the solar for this extended period that it will not be needed or will the controller handle my concerns?

It is great to be traveling and not have to worry about having a hook up that evening or burning a lot of fuel to run the generator for several hours.

Second question, since I don't use the generator much, what is the minimum time I should run it to keep it in shape for when I will need it?

Glenn

don't know about the solar question, but as far as running the generator:

We ran ours once a month for an hour and changed the oil and cleaned the filters etc about every three months on our "on-the-job" generators when we were not up and running daily or at least several times a week. We had sporadic use becaue we usually had shore power, but at a job start-up we had no power so used the generators. Also used for back-up as we were pretty rural and often lost shore power during storms, etc. Never had any problems with that schedule...

I am NOT a solar expert, however I do have acomment about the generator.
The first motorhome I had was a class "C". I only used it for a few months a year, so it sat a lot. Some mice got into the generator and made a nest in there and chewed up the wireing and windings, etc. It was a costly repair as even though I had purchased an extended warranty, the warranty did not cover all of this repair. I have since learned a trick.
Go to your favorite big box store or Wal*Mart and buy a package of those electronic mice repellers. They plug into the 110 VAC outlet and they DO WORK. I put one in each room of our house "out in the country" and for almost two years never saw any evidence of mice. NONE. I put in an extension cord in the RV so I could place one by the generator and in the 3 years since, NO MORE MICE. They work great. If you are in an area that mice are abundant you can have pretty much piece of mind that they will stay out of the RV or you house, etc.
Also I do a monthly PM where I start the generator and run it for about 5 minutes "with a load on it". I also do other things such as start rhe engine (diesel), run the a/c units if not being used, do maintenace on the batterys (clean the posts, cables, check and add water), check tire pressure. This has saved me time as I picked up a nail a couple months ago and had a slow leak. I caught it and was able to have it repaired before I was going to "hit the road".
Any way, I would like to hear more info about the "solar" rigs.
Frank

Glenn, We leave our solar on all year, even when we have hook-ups. I don't turn on the charger and let the solar controller keep the batteries topped off. It's worked fine for the past 3 years. With AGM batteries, the battery system doesn't need any attention (or worries).

larry

Sure, rub it in. You have AGM batteries. Since we retired in the same pay grade it must be that you either invested wisely or actually had a well paying job in "retirement".

Now that I am a certifiable old fart in that I now wait patiently for the 4th Wednesday of every month for the Social Security check to land, I can start thinking about AGMs and other niceties of the fulltiming lifestyle.

I trust you on solar and, besides, that is what I was thinking anyhow.

We are in Savannah, GA volunteering at Fort Pulaski National Monument (four days on three days off for a full hook up) until August when we do our annual thing at the MAC Nationals of the NHRA in Indy. After my high school reunion in October we will be back here at Pulaski for the winter (kinda found a home here). So if you or anyone else on the board here get to Pulaski, ask for us and we will give you the very special VIP tour.

See ya down the road,
Glenn

Glenn,

We made a little money from selling the sticks and bricks house. We enjoyed buying a few "luxuries" when we started fulltiming.

We're working in California, then heading as far East as Arizona this winter. Thanks for the offer of the VIp tour, but not this year.