12V Off Grid Solar PV & RV

Thank You very much, perhaps this will allow people that have or want 12v systems enjoy the forum a little more.

Ok, since the post was edited and the " Any Thing Small " was highlighted bold there must be some kind of restrictions ( undefined ) being levied on this section for the systems discussed here. I guess that means my 45 ft Class A Prevost Motorhome system ( 1,300 amp hr ) won't be welcome here or my Houseboat ( 2,100 amp hr total, 3 systems ) , both have Xantrex SW-3012 Inverters and Solar assisted power.

Since we know that the systems are 12v, it must be a limit for Inverter size or amp capacity of the Battery bank ?? Is this correct ??

I'd like to see RV in the forum title only because it would draw people with RV's to the section that would hold the most info pertaining to them.

Some RV's have fairly good sized systems. Those big MH's can hold a lot of panel, especially the ones with trailers. Add in huge battery bays and some of these guys can run their roof top airs as easy as I do the little window shaker we use. Our system of 750w on the trailer and 230w on the truck at one time would have been considered large but not any more. Cheap panels have really opened it up for RV'rs and that works all the way down to affordable folding portables that allow many to get their feet wet and gain an understanding before going hog wild on their roof.

Anything Small
was highlighted by myself, because there appear to be 2 factions in the 12V world. Those who respect the power packed into batteries, and those who build massive parallel banks waiting to be blown up.

As the smartgauge site covers the parallel difficulties quite well, I won't go into them.


I've seldom seen a massive parallel bank with individual fuses, like a solar PV combiner box, 2 in parallel, not too much of a problem, but 4, 5 or 6 in parallel, you are playing with a bomb when one of the batteries dies and the others start dumping hundreds of amps into it.

So, I'm making this initial post as a stickie, and encourage future posters to "Start A New Thread" for their discussions.

I'll start another thread now, for massive parallel banks.