Community Forums

sgtjoe · 09-12-2021, 12:26 PM

My 2001 Tradewinds came with two Solar Panels from the factory. My question is will they power my fully electric fridge now that I no longer have the propane fridge? If not should I get some more Solar Panels so I don't have to use my generator going down the road? Have any of you gone full residential fridge and had Solar Panels installed? What was the cost?

Richard S. · 09-12-2021, 01:35 PM

The panels that national were just a trickle charge. You will need at a minimun 300 wats A good charge controler and a MIN of 4 6 volt house battries.

sgtjoe · 09-12-2021, 01:43 PM

Any thoughts on cost? My MH already has 4 heavy duty 6 volt batteries.

Richard S. · 09-12-2021, 03:07 PM

https://www.renogy.com/solar-kits/

You should work with a solar expert, do the math to find your exact requirements

the docktor · 09-21-2021, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtjoe

Any thoughts on cost? My MH already has 4 heavy duty 6 volt batteries.

I have a 200 w solar panel and it won’t run the fridge. I also fed the fridge from the inverter but that didn’t seem to work either. Guess it needs a generator ( or propane if it isn’t a domestic fridge

SteveJ. · 09-21-2021, 05:00 PM

If you just go pole to pole at RV parks there really shouldn't be a need for solar as the alternator should cover the current draw and there won't be a lot of battery charging to do.

Boondocking would be a whole other thing with most run of the mill resi fridges. $$$$. Model number and brand of the fridge?

Marine359 · 09-21-2021, 05:24 PM

A 12v compressor fridge will consume between 30 amphrs and 65 amphrs per day depending on ambient outdoor temperature and sidewall shading. If you plan to replace all of those amps using solar, you can’t do it with a single 100-120w portable panel. You’ll need 250-300w of rooftop solar with good sun to replace all that consumption. My experience has been that a 120w solar panel can produce maybe 30amphrs per day under ideal solar conditions. In less than ideal conditions, it’s tough to keep up with the current draw of a 12v fridge on solar alone. We really didn’t want to run our propane generator, but we just couldn’t capture enough sun (east coast) to avoid it.