Quote:
Originally Posted by 73shark
You need to find the parasitic current draws and turn them off. My 50W panel charge rate is about 2 AH to 4 AH per day. AFAIK, that is for the BIM and solar charge controller. Keeps the two batteries @ 100% 24/7.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bsedor
Can you tell us what you disconnected to get to such as low parasitic draw (2-4 AH per day)?
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Keeping it succinct (for once!
)… Shut off
everything that can be shut off through the main disconnect or through its own switch.
I've said it before on other threads, the minimum size of solar panel to maintain house batteries by solar alone is to take the amp-hour capacity of your batteries, and get at least that many watts of solar panel. So for an Interstate with 160 amp-hours of house battery, you need at least 160 watts of solar panel, with an appropriate charge controller. The stock 50w panels on older Interstate or 100w panels on the latest models just aren't big enough to maintain the batteries by themselves if
anything is left turned on.
Fortunately, you have an on-board Onan generator. And proper generator maintenance requires operating the generator at least once a month anyway, whether you need it or not, just to keep the moving parts lubricated so the generator doesn't seize up when you really need it if you try to start it after letting it sit for too long. So if you have to run the generator anyway, you might as well make it part of your normal battery charging routine by turning on the inverter/charger in charge mode every time you start the generator. Just make sure there's enough charge left in the batteries to even start the generator!