Re: [a/s] 6volt vs. 12 volt?benefits and feasibility

[Randall Reynolds <aplaceinthewoods@xxxxxxxxx>]

Solar Panels can indeed be installed on most RV's I
had room for 5 large ones. I can still use 3 fantastic
fan vents, crank up DSS satellite antennae, and use
the air conditioner. The panels don't impede anything.
The biggest challenge is to anchor the panels on your
roof bows (or rafters). You wouldn't want to have one
"floating" and bouncing on aluminum with no support
underneath. I had a professional do mine. My cost for
the whole system was $5000.00 dollars, 6 years ago,
that does not include the cost of batteries, and
cables. They were about $920.00, and recently the
replacements were $550.00.  The $5000.00 includes 5)
Siemens panels at 75 watts each, 1) 1500 watt Trace
inverter charger, and a SCI regulator and monitor. I
would imaging the prices have come down now. Most
people wouldn't need this big of a system, I admit I
got a little carried away. You know boys and their
toys, every time I think up a new system, or gadget I
want the biggest I can get..he! he! he! he! he! he! A
character flaw in me I guess.
The cost is not a regret. The savings can be immense
if a person used them a lot. We use the inverter for
our mountain cabin to run things like the computer, in
power outages. It is especially nice in the violent
Arizona thunderstorms to use the inverter, and get off
the grid! We are pleased, more so with the ability to
have no more dead batteries, (not once in 6 years).
Total independence when out of "grid" areas, with all
the power we can use for free. Your deep cycle
batteries last twice as long, as they are charged all
the time, not just when you are going somewhere. I
recently replaced all of mine, (they weren't bad, just
getting old at 6 years old). They last so long it is
hard to know when to replace them. I see people go
through RV batteries every two years when using a
converter.

And thanks to those that pointed out my error on
series and parallel wiring, I do know the difference,
but obviously was real tired last night. I would hope
that people would read up on all of this before taking
the plunge. I as well, recommend a professional for
the job. The man that did mine had done Airstreams and
other brands by the dozens, and really knew what he
was doing. In the 6 years it has been installed, I
have not had ONE problem with it in anyway, it has
been a flawless set-up. And I am very happy with it! I
hope I have answered some of your questions, I am sure
there will be more input from members. Everyone should
have at least 1) panel in this day and age just to
keep your batteries charged!
Randall

PS. Your system is only as good your battery bank.
Batteries need to be closely maintained replaced at
the appropriate time. Deep Cycle Marine RV batteries
usually have a manufacturer recommended life of 3
years or so. And that is a generous figure. A lot of 
RVers have tired batteries and don't even know it:
dead cells, low electrolyte, etc.....I am pretty
familiar with batteries and how they are built. The
company I worked for, for 10 years had 95% of the
world market for battery separator design. It was our
technology and patents that made the Gel Cel possible.
All of the long life "Diehard" and Marine batteries of
today, would never exist without this company's
development of the latex separator! Batteries still
have a long way to go, however, and new designs are
coming out all the time!