Re: [A/S] Watts the deal ?

[Chris Elliott <celliott@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Dave ,
I `ve got a 67 caravel as well , and have put 2 6 volts over the axle under the couch 
in the middle compartment , and have 2 85 watt panels on a folding frame , A 10 ga 
cord which I run thru the hose access place underneath .I bought gel cells to get 
around the venting problem , but if you build a box you could vent it into the stink 
pipe in the closet , just remember that its lighter than air, so you want to vent it 
up , not down. You want the batteries secured  down well , and they weigh alot so need 
the weight spread out and not on a place where they will break an outrigger or upset 
the balance of the trailer.
    I dont use a lot of juice , but run a tv and all the lighting I want , I boondock 
alot , and dont like to plug in much because of the aluminium wire in the 67 `s , it 
works ok , but isnt legal anymore or safe I suppose.
    But anyway you need to add up all the amp hours from the appliances you ordinarily 
use , find out what the average hours of sunshine per day in your area ,and get enough 
panels to supply your amp hours used . Lots of solar websites can tell you more.RV 
solarelectric is agood one if I remember . I have a friend in the bisiness if you want 
to write me off line ,he works on either coast ( or in between !)
     I live in an area that gets 3 hours of sun a day , and this time a year it is 
less than that average . I have a friend who is staying in the caravel as a guest 
house for a couple of days  ,and I was thinking that he must be using up the  batterys 
as he was leaving outside light on etc , so I checked the meter ,and they were at 
12.94 volts this morning . The hydro flame heater is keeping it warm enough ,and it 
dos`nt have a fan to use amps.!
    So I guess the system is enough for this time of year .I put together a single 
panel  which I am using for traveling in the summer , it is easier to fit thru the 
door when I`m leaving camp.
   There are pictures in the files section of the yahoo group ,under solar caravel
       Have a suuny day !
     Chris  67 caravel