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05-24-2024, 01:58 PM
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#1
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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How many amp/hrs?
For those who dry camp or boondock with LiFeP04 batteries.
How many amp/hrs or watt/hrs do you have installed?
I know it varies greatly by individual need/usage. Just wondering what the average of our members would be.
I just installed 460 amp/hrs and am thinking of an additional 230 for 690 amp/hrs @12v total. An hour or two of Air conditioning would be nice for those lunch break and rest stops while traveling without the Genny.
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2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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05-24-2024, 09:06 PM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Alton
Posts: 2,897
M.O.C. #24086
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Install a SoftStartRV on the AC unit you want to run. It will help a lot.
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Daryl and Marianne,
2019 3130re 20th Anniversary Edition
2016 F350 Lariat
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05-25-2024, 06:17 AM
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#3
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Daryles
Install a SoftStartRV on the AC unit you want to run. It will help a lot.
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They were one of the first and best Mods. Been running them on both units for several years.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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05-25-2024, 06:17 PM
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#4
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Established Member
Join Date: May 2021
Location: Fredericksburg
Posts: 22
M.O.C. #28785
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Creeker,
We have 300ah of lithium on our rig and will run one A/C for an hour as we're approaching a campground. Battery will drop from 100% to about 40% within that hour, so we make sure we get back on shore power ASAP.
__________________
Scott and Michelle, Baxley & Finnegan
Retired Air Force
2020 3791RD, 2019 Ford F350 SRW, 6.7l 4X4
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05-26-2024, 07:14 AM
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#5
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Alton
Posts: 2,897
M.O.C. #24086
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RoamingRetirees
Install a DC-DC charger and it will help support running the AC while you are driving.
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...hlight=charger
__________________
Daryl and Marianne,
2019 3130re 20th Anniversary Edition
2016 F350 Lariat
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05-26-2024, 09:54 AM
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#6
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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Scott - Thanks for the info and another good idea of running the AC an hour or two before arriving at campsite. We've had interior temps of upper 90's many times upon arrival.
Daryl - Excellent use for the dc to dc chargers. I actually purchased one a couple years back. I ended up giving it and installing it to/for my Dad and his Travel Trailer. He and Mom are both 80 and still getting out there camping. He needed it more than me at the time as he had Lithium batteries that wasn't working well with his trucks charging system. He was blowing truck charging circuit fuse.
I may just purchase another and install for myself now with the Lithium batteries.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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05-29-2024, 03:54 PM
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#7
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: everywhere, USA
Posts: 300
M.O.C. #28634
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I have 12kw of batteries, 1700 Watts of solar panels. 2 soft start for my AC's and a 30amp to 30amp DC/DC charger to the truck. We boondock in the desert in AZ during the winter without any issues. Of course we do not need to run the AC's. Only 2 times did I need to run my generator when we had multiple cloudy days in a row.
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2021 Montana 3761FL, 11.5kw LIFPO4 batteries & 1700 watts of panels w/ Multiplus II 3K inverter and 30amp DC to DC charger from truck. 8k Dexter axles w/ Kodiak disc brakes.
2019 6.7 diesel F350 DRW with Banks derringer and 4"exhaust, airlift bags, 25k B & W Companion hitch, 45 gal. aux. diesel tank and 14k Winch, just in case!
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05-29-2024, 04:39 PM
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#8
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd & Mary
I have 12kw of batteries, 1700 Watts of solar panels. 2 soft start for my AC's and a 30amp to 30amp DC/DC charger to the truck. We boondock in the desert in AZ during the winter without any issues. Of course we do not need to run the AC's. Only 2 times did I need to run my generator when we had multiple cloudy days in a row.
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Nice hefty system Todd. Did you keep it at 12 volt or step up to 24 or 48 volt?
Edit - After re reading your using a 30 amp DC to DC charger, I'm assuming you kept it at 12 volt.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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06-01-2024, 09:54 AM
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#9
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: everywhere, USA
Posts: 300
M.O.C. #28634
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Creeker
Nice hefty system Todd. Did you keep it at 12 volt or step up to 24 or 48 volt?
Edit - After re reading your using a 30 amp DC to DC charger, I'm assuming you kept it at 12 volt.
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For ease of obtaining replacement parts in desolate areas I kept the system at 12v And I didn't have to install a 24/12v converter in the rig. It works well for us. I got a 50% discount on the 12v batteries, that made my decision easy!
so instead of over 9k they cos me about 5k.
__________________
2021 Montana 3761FL, 11.5kw LIFPO4 batteries & 1700 watts of panels w/ Multiplus II 3K inverter and 30amp DC to DC charger from truck. 8k Dexter axles w/ Kodiak disc brakes.
2019 6.7 diesel F350 DRW with Banks derringer and 4"exhaust, airlift bags, 25k B & W Companion hitch, 45 gal. aux. diesel tank and 14k Winch, just in case!
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06-01-2024, 07:13 PM
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#10
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Established Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Auckland
Posts: 19
M.O.C. #20506
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We only boondock and have 400ah lithium. Just increased solar from 1200watts to 2400 and that’s about it on our 35’ Montana. We consume about 65-70ah a day during summer and are full by lunchtime. During winter, we only travel during better weather and use about 80-95ah in winter. Before we doubled our solar, 3-4 days was our limit boondocking, before we returned to home base. Ideally, I’d now like to increase our lithium, but it’s not an urgent need. Appreciate everyone’s comment here.
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06-03-2024, 08:41 AM
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#11
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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Todd - 50% off will always sway my decisions. Price was the main reason I waited until now to switch to lithium. No way was I paying $1000.00 for a 100amp/hr 12 volt battery. Competition has brought the prices way down in addition to much larger single batteries now available.
Robev - Thats a bunch of solar! I would imagine your battery bank stays 100% when the sun is shining. If we were in the open areas of the west more often I would do the same. Nearly all of our dry camping is in national forests or heavily shaded state parks here in the east. We use ground deployed portable solar panels with long extension cables when we can. Bulk of our charging comes from our Honda Genny's though. I've added an additional charger so we can easily get 100+ amps of charge to speed things up.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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06-03-2024, 02:14 PM
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#12
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Established Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Auckland
Posts: 19
M.O.C. #20506
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Use of portable solar?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Creeker
Todd - 50% off will always sway my decisions. Price was the main reason I waited until now to switch to lithium. No way was I paying $1000.00 for a 100amp/hr 12 volt battery. Competition has brought the prices way down in addition to much larger single batteries now available.
Robev - Thats a bunch of solar! I would imagine your battery bank stays 100% when the sun is shining. If we were in the open areas of the west more often I would do the same. Nearly all of our dry camping is in national forests or heavily shaded state parks here in the east. We use ground deployed portable solar panels with long extension cables when we can. Bulk of our charging comes from our Honda Genny's though. I've added an additional charger so we can easily get 100+ amps of charge to speed things up.
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We live in the southern hemisphere, in New Zealand, and right now it’s the middle of winter, about the shortest day, and one of our new 200watt panels, during the installation process, as an experiment… I laid flat on the ground and it was pulling about 3.66 amps and they are rated at just under 10amps. (9.97). I then tilted it to capture the most I could from the sun and the current increased to 6.68amps. I have spoken to people that use portable panels before but didn’t quite appreciate just how much moving them, and following the sun nearly doubled the solar capture such a diligent process would produce. So you are on the right track if you boondock in forested areas.
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06-07-2024, 12:31 PM
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#13
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robev
We live in the southern hemisphere, in New Zealand, and right now it’s the middle of winter, about the shortest day, and one of our new 200watt panels, during the installation process, as an experiment… I laid flat on the ground and it was pulling about 3.66 amps and they are rated at just under 10amps. (9.97). I then tilted it to capture the most I could from the sun and the current increased to 6.68amps. I have spoken to people that use portable panels before but didn’t quite appreciate just how much moving them, and following the sun nearly doubled the solar capture such a diligent process would produce. So you are on the right track if you boondock in forested areas.
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We have friends with 800 watts on their roof. Our 400 watts on the ground nearly always does better than theirs. Often double through an entire day.
Some sites in heavy tree cover they get nothing. Of course the roof mounted panels are much, much more convenient and charges while driving. I'm convinced having both roof mount and portable ground panels is the way to go. We plan to do just that after retirement when we can spend more time in the western US where the skies are open. But even then, we will never be without a Generator.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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06-07-2024, 01:40 PM
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#14
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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I decided to go ahead and order another 230 amp/hr battery. This will give us a total of 690 amp/hrs @12.8 Volt or 8.8kw . I'm trying get to where we can run our bedroom AC at night for several hours if needed.
My thinking is closing the bedroom door and opening the dump vent on the AC where all the air dumps straight into the bedroom. Set the thermostat to low where the fan will run constantly. The compressor shouldn't run more than 20 minutes out of an hour. Hopefully less as the outside temps drop during the night. Fridge will be on propane with nothing else running on 120 volt. Lots of variables I know. Looking forward to giving it a try. I can always go one more 230 amp battery.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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06-13-2024, 06:24 PM
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#15
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Creeker
My thinking is closing the bedroom door and opening the dump vent on the AC where all the air dumps straight into the bedroom. Set the thermostat to low where the fan will run constantly. The compressor shouldn't run more than 20 minutes out of an hour. Hopefully less as the outside temps drop during the night. Fridge will be on propane with nothing else running on 120 volt. Lots of variables I know. Looking forward to giving it a try. I can always go one more 230 amp battery. ![EEK!](images/smilies/eek.gif)
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Received, charged and installed the third battery for 690 amp/hrs or 8.83kw. I'll be giving my theory above the test tomorrow night. Its going to be a harsh test with this major heat wave hitting today. High in the 90's tomorrow with a low of 74 tomorrow night. We will be dry camping for the next 5 nights. I'm going to get it cold as a meat locker in the bedroom before turning off the Genny around 10:00PM. I'll set the thermostat to 70 and let her rip.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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06-14-2024, 07:37 AM
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#16
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Alton
Posts: 2,897
M.O.C. #24086
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I would cool the whole rig while you have the gen running. More cold mass will help maintain the temperature.
I tested our batteries (552Ahs lithium) on a 2000w inverter running the bedroom AC unit (SoftstartRV installed).
It pulls a LOT of current. As the battery voltage went down the current draw went up to maintain the load. I only ran the system for 13 minutes.
Closing off the other vents and dumping into the bedroom (door closed) is a good idea. It won't take too much effort to maintain that area.
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08-18-2024, 01:34 PM
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#17
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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For anyone interested - We have used our bedroom AC overnight in the above described scenario with excellent results. Probably around a dozen nights. We've used anywhere from 250 to 450 amp hrs depending on overnight temps. I used an infared thermometer to check cable/fuse/equipment temps the first few nights of use as I was a little nervous about such a high amp draw from our 12 volt system. Everything stayed well within range with no problems. I'm very pleased with our system.
Our overnight temps have fallen into the 60's and hoovered around 70 a few times as well. I would not try it with 80 degree nights but then again, we wont be dry camping where its 80 at night. lol
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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08-19-2024, 08:25 AM
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#18
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Olmsted Falls
Posts: 245
M.O.C. #20364
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Do you have a 2K or 3K inverter? Our 2024 came with a 2K from factory and am considering upping to 3K because we have a residential fridge.
__________________
Rick & Joyce Jones
RMC(SW) USN Ret.; AT&T Ret.
2024 3231CK, IS, 400W Solar, Slide covers, Predator Gen,, 2016 Chevy High Country 3500 Diesel Dually with Timbren SES
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08-19-2024, 10:47 AM
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#19
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Charleston
Posts: 488
M.O.C. #23094
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I'm currently running a Samlex PST 2000 watt. I actually purchased a Samlex NTX 3000 to replace the smaller 2000 but haven't installed it because the 2000 is doing everything I ask of it and is a higher quality inverter than the NXT. I do carry the 3000 under the bed just in case the 2000 fails. I oversized cables when installing the 2000 so it will be easy to replace if needed.
We do switch our Fridge and Water Heater over to gas when running the bedroom AC at night. If I had a residential style fridge, I think I'd go with the 3000 watt.
__________________
2019 Montana HC 310RE
2010 Wildcat 29RLBS
2014 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7
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