I installed a Victron monitor a while back .I have 2 8D batteries for the house. Each 245 amps with a total of 490.
When I set the monitor upI used 50% discharge which gives me 245 available amps in the monitor setting. I am dry camping using propane and running my fans . Battery monitor shows 81% At what % should I Recharge ?
Stump the generally accepted idea is 50% but more cycles will be obtained if you recharge at a higher percentage of remaining amps, and less if you recharge at less than 50%. Also remember that with lead acid tech the last 10 to 20% will take more time to put in. I would cycle between 60 to 80% for longevity and less fuel used.
Also would think about solar if your dry camping.
Thank you. Yes I am researching solar. I thought I'd try to get a feel for how many watts I'd need based on my usage. When the time comes to replace the 8D I am planning on going to 6v sets.
But for now ll run what I brung!
Stump, I would reset the BMV to the full capacity of the battery set next time you are sure it is fully charged, that may take 24 hrs on a charger. At 50% State of Charge (SOC) you will be at a resting voltage of about 12.2 volts. Recharge at no less than 50% SOC and charge until it gets to 100%. Charging to less than that will eventually reduce capacity. Battery cycles will double or more if you stay between 75% and 100% SOC.
Increasing battery capacity is always a good plan.
Figuring out how much power you use at different times of the year is a good first step for a solar plan. Most LP refrigerator coaches will use about 2000 watts a day. Coaches with residential refrigerators will use 3000 - 3400 watts. Every coach and user is different.
Watts on the roof x 8 hrs of sun x 25% overall efficiency will give you a pretty good average daily production number. It will be 1/2 of that in the dead of winter and 2-3 times that on those few perfect summer days. To average about 2000 watts per day you will need about 1000 watts on the roof.