Solarizing FRED

We have owned a generator for quite a few years. 

We bought it not long after Hurricane Ivan blew through this part of the world in 2004.

The purchase was a good move. Though it wouldn’t supply all our electrical needs down at the other place, it will power everything in our small cabin. This ability to supply all our electrical power needs, especially for air-conditioning during the hot months, is the major benefit of keeping the generator.

There are a few downsides to owning and using a portable gasoline powered generator.

They are terribly noisy. The big store out of box varieties tend to be fuel hungry. Fuel to run the generator must be stored and rotated. Pull the starter cord and all your neighbors know you have electricity and gasoline at your place. A carbon fuel powered generator … because of the hassle involved in dragging the heavy thing out of the shed, listening to the noise it generates while making electricity, then doing the chores to properly store it away … really isn’t practical for the frequent short-term power outages that are part of ordinary life.

The LAST thing we want on the road is a generator disrupting the peace and quiet. Even the smaller and more costly versions make more noise than we care to listen to and it would be terribly rude to subject others to the noise.

Our getting set up to go on a long adventure in FRED, our 1993 Chevy van that we have converted into a home on wheels, prompted us to investigate and pursue a solar powered generator. After considering our alternating current needs, we purchased a 100 Watt solar package from Renogy. The package came with the 100 Watt panel, charge controller, and the necessary cables to hook it up. Apart from the contents of the Renogy package, we purchased a 122 amp-hour deep-cycle marine battery and a 400 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter. The small mobile system is complete and supplies us with ample and clean alternating current for our life on the road purposes.

It is also quiet.

Other than the almost inaudible fan on the inverter, or the beeping sound the inverter makes when you turn it off, the system is silent as it goes about its business of harvesting free sunlight, converting free sunlight into 12 Volt energy, storing it in the battery, converting 12 Volt DC into 120 Volt AC, then supplying clean electrical current to the few electrical devices that we consider essential.

We talked about installing the panel on top of the van but opted to not. The 100 Watt panel, when not in use, rides safely in a compartment beneath the queen sized bed.

There are a couple of reasons for not installing the panel on the roof. The first is to eliminate any possibility of leaks. It can be done and is done a lot. I personally don’t want to have that one more thing to worry about out on the road. The second is that we can park FRED in the shade and set the panel in the sun. As the earth rotates, we simply adjust the angle and direction of the panel to make maximum use of the free energy being provided to it by the sun.

We carry three candle lanterns with us that are designed to burn the smaller sized votive candles. The lanterns give off a little light. They are better for ambiance than anything else so some exterior lighting was in order.

Amazon to the rescue.

The magnetic solar lights stick onto the outside of the van. Each unit supplies 70 lumens of light. The package tells us that each unit will provide 4 to 8 hours of light from a full charge. The two units … 140 lumens … attached to the outside of the van under the awning will provide plenty enough light to illuminate our outdoor living room. They can also be brought inside and hung to provide additional lighting inside if needed.

We have yet to decide on exactly what we will do for fixed inside lighting. This is one of the tweaks that we need to take care of. The decision on the fixed lighting will be made after making a few more short tweaking trips in FRED.

Finding our way around inside in the dark with flashlights is doable but just barely. Our J5 Tactical flashlights are great lights but they leave a lot to be desired inside the van. Our old Coleman battery lantern that uses 4 D-Cell batteries is antiquated. It was state of the art at one time and was used on many camping trips. It gives off some light but not nearly enough light to use it as a house light. There is also the issue of having to regularly replace the batteries.

Amazon to the rescue again.

The solar lamp has 12 super bright light emitting diodes, provides 9 to 20 hours of light from a full charge, comes with a remote to turn it on, off, and select the light output, and the 6 Volt panel. The lamp also has a USB port for charging a cell phone. It can also be screwed into a 120 Volt light socket to charge the battery. It’s quite a neat little package that delivers 80 lumens of light.

Something that we are considering is some type of motion activated light for outside that will have a dual purpose. One is that it will provide outside light if we need to go outside at night for some reason or another. The other is for security. Any uninvited or unannounced visitor will be illuminated when their movement activates the light.

We have a great little motion activated solar light on the front of the cabin. We also ordered it from Amazon. It works amazingly well to light up the small area in front of the cabin and the cabin steps when motion activates it. The model is made to be attached to something solid with a small screw. A couple of stick-on magnetic strips will easily modify one so it can be magnetically attached to the outside of the van.

Pursuing A Fresher Course

Our life has gotten a lot simpler over the course of the past year.

Getting to the point of a lot simpler has been a heck of a process. It hasn’t been an easy one but it has certainly been worth it. It takes a lot of work to go from what was to what is, especially when what is follows a direction that is so contrary toward the ideals of what was. It has also taken time … a good bit of time … to get all the proverbial ducks swimming in a straight row.

The only major thing that is running interference with our quest for simplicity, at this point in our adventure, is finishing up the remaining weeks of employment at the far side of the county. The long commute is winding down in a hurry. Spinning the hamster wheel is very soon to be a thing of the past where we are concerned.

We will, once the commute is behind us, retire into what we call the perpetual camper lifestyle.

The lifestyle suits us. It may not be the preferred cup of tea for everyone but it suits us like finely tailored clothes.

The 12’ X 24’ tarp makes a great awning for Fred.

I pondered for a while on the best way to attach the tarp. The idea that kept sticking in my head was to use eye-screws on the driver’s side as attachment points. We tried it but didn’t like it. The easiest, and best, way we discovered was to simply stake the tarp to the ground on the driver’s side and pull it over the top. I stake the tarp a few feet out from the van. That allows for ventilation, makes for privacy, and keeps the sun off the side windows.

The awning poles are made from 2” Schedule 40 PVC pipe. 

The center pole is 7’ tall. The two side poles are 6’ tall. The coupler is glued only onto the bottom half so the poles come apart for storage when traveling. I drilled the top caps and inserted and nutted stainless steel carriage bolts to make the pins. The caps are glued on. I thought about saving a few nickels and leave off the bottom caps but decided the few nickels would be nickels well spent. The bottom caps keep dirt from getting clogged in the bottoms then making its way into the van.

The last thing to setting up, and the first thing to taking down, is to attach the tie-down ropes to the front and back bumpers. The tarp can’t flap on top of the van when the wind blows. The added contour to the tarp assists in water running off when it rains.

Our solar generator is a 100 Watt package deal that we got from Renogy.

The solar thing isn’t complicated unless you are trying to understand the ins and outs of the technology. Nor is it expensive. Not in comparison to the cost of solar in the early days.

I think there are two primary issues regarding a solar set-up for a van.

The first is to determine just how much of the sun’s free power you need. 

Our need is simple and easily supplied by the solar set-up we’ve chosen. The 100 Watt panel converts sunlight to 12 Volt current then feeds it through the charge controller to the 122 Amp Hour deep cycle marine battery.

The second is the power inverter. 

Modified Sine Wave or Pure Sine Wave? 

Modified inverters are quite inexpensive. Pure costs significantly more. Our need involves powering sensitive electronic devices. Considering the devastating effect that Modified Sine Wave can have on sensitive electronic devices, it made good sense to go ahead and spend the bucks for a Pure Sine Wave inverter. What we have is a 400 Watt inverter that supplies more than enough clean AC current to meet our need.

We had a real treat last week.

Dan and Brenda spent a few days with us.

We crossed paths with Dan and Brenda on Facebook. The crossing was one of those events where a life-long relationship budded. It was great to finally be able to spend some quality face-to-face time with them and we look forward to meeting up with them again out there on the road somewhere once we pull the trigger and take the big leap.