Re: [VAC] Trace Inverters...

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tom,
 I had looked at the Cruising Equipment 'e-Meter' long ago and bought
one from your recommended source at Jade Mountain.
(http://www.jademountain.com/) The Cruising Equipment e-Meter is sold
under several different names, including Link. I'm strongly considering
getting one for my electric golf cart.

My buddy and I spent the better part of a week installing 2, 75-watt
solar panels on the roof of my trailer, building a control panel, and
wiring the whole schmere. Of course, my criteria for such stuff is
"Earthquake-Proof", so it might be a bit overdone. :-) We incorporated a
10-amp PWM controller, a 10-amp ammeter, the e-Meter, a switch and fuse
for the array, a fuse block near the batteries, and more. The trailer
has 2, Group 24 batteries that are rated at 85 AH each and are probably
good for 60 AH/ea. in actual practice.

Although I've not yet gotten around to replacing a couple of the light
fixtures with flourescents, I'm careful to keep usage of those to a
minimum, and have replaced several of the incandescent bulbs that drew
1.3 amps with ones that use only .6 amps. We've been out twice, for 4
days each time, with no electrical hookups. Our usage so far has been
under 20 AH for an evening, and that's pretty well recovered by noon the
next day. I expect to use as much as 40-50 AH daily in future camping,
but that should be no problem that I can see.

I took great pleasure this past w/e in watching one fella attempting to
charge his battery with his P/U truck and suffering from limited or no
lights. Others in the campground (a county park that's not really a
campground, no hookups at all) were doing similar things and/or running
generators during the day to replace the juice used the previous night.

The 115VAC cord hasn't been plugged in since the solar system was first
energized; I think the StatPower charger is superfluous. It's sure nice
to know that my batteries are always topped off and ready to go.

                                       <<Jim>>