Hello All, and thanks in advance for any replies:
Yes, I read the many posts about parasitic drains on the battery, even when the battery disconnect switch is "off". My questions is: Why is my 300w solar panel system (yes, it's exposed to awesome direct sunlight) not able to keep up with these "parasitic" drains from LP/CO2 detectors, and leave my battery dead after 2 days being off shore-power?
When I returned to the trailer two days after disconnecting from shore power, there is no power for anything (yes, I turned on the battery disconnect switch to "on"). Power-meter says 1V from battery. When I look at the MPPT60a controller, all four LED lights are flashing, but the panel itself is unresponsive to control buttons on the front panel. OK, so I conclude that the panel itself is getting power form the solar cells, and a power-meter indicates I'm getting 13V from the solar cell input leads. The four-flashing LEDS indicate the battery voltage is too low to charge.
OK, maybe it was a bad battery from the factory. I replaced the battery with another lead deep-cycle unit, Regardless, a completely drained battery can become unable to function properly and retain a charge - charged this new battery and verified 13.7 V output with power meter. Installed the new battery. Fridge and lights, etc. work in the trailer. Then I repeated the process and shut off fridge (any verified all lights and appliances were off) and disconnected the battery via the disconnect switch. No, did not disconnect negative cable - I wanted to see if this would happen again. And it happened again - Yes, the solar charging output switch was "on" sending power to the battery, yes, the battery disconnect switch was "off", cutting power to the 1V bus in the trailer (except for the parasitic items).
So, what am I supposed to conclude here about this solar panel charging system? That it's useless for boon-docking, and basically does nothing?
What am I missing here? Where have I gone wrong?
Yes, I read the many posts about parasitic drains on the battery, even when the battery disconnect switch is "off". My questions is: Why is my 300w solar panel system (yes, it's exposed to awesome direct sunlight) not able to keep up with these "parasitic" drains from LP/CO2 detectors, and leave my battery dead after 2 days being off shore-power?
- yes, fridge was off
- yes, solar panels were clear and clean
- yes, the solar-power disconnect switch was left "on" so it was feeding > 12V to the battery
- Standard deep-cycle lead battery
- Everything is brand new from factor: bought this travel October 2023
- Trailer is winterized and disconnected from shore power
When I returned to the trailer two days after disconnecting from shore power, there is no power for anything (yes, I turned on the battery disconnect switch to "on"). Power-meter says 1V from battery. When I look at the MPPT60a controller, all four LED lights are flashing, but the panel itself is unresponsive to control buttons on the front panel. OK, so I conclude that the panel itself is getting power form the solar cells, and a power-meter indicates I'm getting 13V from the solar cell input leads. The four-flashing LEDS indicate the battery voltage is too low to charge.
OK, maybe it was a bad battery from the factory. I replaced the battery with another lead deep-cycle unit, Regardless, a completely drained battery can become unable to function properly and retain a charge - charged this new battery and verified 13.7 V output with power meter. Installed the new battery. Fridge and lights, etc. work in the trailer. Then I repeated the process and shut off fridge (any verified all lights and appliances were off) and disconnected the battery via the disconnect switch. No, did not disconnect negative cable - I wanted to see if this would happen again. And it happened again - Yes, the solar charging output switch was "on" sending power to the battery, yes, the battery disconnect switch was "off", cutting power to the 1V bus in the trailer (except for the parasitic items).
So, what am I supposed to conclude here about this solar panel charging system? That it's useless for boon-docking, and basically does nothing?
What am I missing here? Where have I gone wrong?
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