How much is too much battery capacity?

[G1969]

I currently have 2x280ah Fogstar, and I am planning adding another to make a total of 840ah, this is tied into upgrading the solar to 700w. Now my question is- do I go all out and fit a fourth, I have the room and the payload but is this being greedy to have 1120ah?? Does the extra cost outweigh the additional benefits? Any one else have 4 fitted and or have / need this capacity? My logic would be fit and forget and run what we want when we want but…??

 

[rosalan]

Enough, not too much, is when there is no more space on the roof and your suspension can take no more. Only you know your needs.

 

[B+W vanman]

On here?
About 150,000 posts……

 

[Tombola]

Depends on your usage versus top up capacity via solar and b2b.
Try the 3 see how you get on,
Or is you current setup constantly falling way short.

No good carrying extra weight if you are never gonna use it

 

[LostInSpace]

but is this being greedy to have 1120ah

Not so long as you leave plenty for the rest of us.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Richard n Ann]

We've got 80ah. 64ah usable. It's just enough for the short nights in summer with the 150w solar providing most of the power

 

[Lenny HB]

The problem is the more you fit the more power you tend to use so it's never ending.
I fitted 460AH and now wish I'd fitted 600Ah but do I really need it?

 

[Carpmart]

It’s a new world now!

Five years ago when I got 400Ah of lithium everyone said I was a fool and would never need that much!

It’s a bloody lithium arms race now!

Keeping it charged is the issue… In SE Spain with roof partially shaded, 600w roof, 320w floor standing panels and I generated just over 3kwh of energy yesterday which is a little bit more than 70% of what we use in an average day!

Still not quite enough solar on dull days! More than enough (600w) without the floor panels in April to Sept…

 

[LesW]

Handy for a bit of Arc Welding..

 

[cyberyacht]

I felt I was 'cutting edge' four years ago when I fitted 300W of solar and 240AH of lithium. It now seems that that would be considered 'entry level'.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[autorouter]

I felt I was 'cutting edge' four years ago when I fitted 300W of solar and 240AH of lithium. It now seems that that would be considered 'entry level'.

This reminds me of Bill Gates' famous statement - "640kB of memory should be enough for anyone". If a new battery technology came out that was ten times more efficient in space and weight at a reasonable cost, most people would fit ten times more capacity I'm sure.

 

[funflair]

The problem is the more you fit the more power you tend to use so it's never ending.
I fitted 460AH and now wish I'd fitted 600Ah but do I really need it?

Yes

 

[StillGoing]

This reminds me of Bill Gates' famous statement - "640kB of memory should be enough for anyone". If a new battery technology came out that was ten times more efficient in space and weight at a reasonable cost, most people would fit ten times more capacity I'm sure.

Bill Gates denied ever saying that.

 

[WESTY66]

I currently have 2x280ah Fogstar, and I am planning adding another to make a total of 840ah, this is tied into upgrading the solar to 700w. Now my question is- do I go all out and fit a fourth, I have the room and the payload but is this being greedy to have 1120ah?? Does the extra cost outweigh the additional benefits? Any one else have 4 fitted and or have / need this capacity? My logic would be fit and forget and run what we want when we want but…??

Yes you’re being greedy

Who on earth put that idea in your head?

 

[jumar]

And..Why not indeed...

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[mikash]

This reminds me of Bill Gates' famous statement - "640kB of memory should be enough for anyone". If a new battery technology came out that was ten times more efficient in space and weight at a reasonable cost, most people would fit ten times more capacity I'm sure.

Absolutely. That'd mean the energy density would be in the realm where electric heating would be becoming viable for some people.

 

[JockandRita]

We are using 610A of Lithium, with 320W of solar. We are currently pitched up in Spain, so no regular functioning of the 60A B2B.
We use what we want when we want in the way of electrical appliances, and only becase we are stationary for long periods, I need to charge up via EHU once every 10 to 12 x days. That is our sole mains usage.

We feel that 610A is enough for our needs.

HTH,

Jock.

 

[jumar]

We are using 610A of Lithium, with 320W of solar. We are currently pitched up in Spain, so no regular functioning of the 60A B2B.
We use what we want when we want in the way of electrical appliances, and only becase we are stationary for long periods, I need to charge up via EHU once every 10 to 12 x days. That is our sole mains usage.

We feel that 610A is enough for our needs.

HTH,

Jock.

Amazing how demands change and what's available to meet those demands..
Our Hymer was fitted with a 90ah Lead acid battery and 150 w solar panel when it was built.
It now has 400ah lithium, and 400w rooftop solar panels with a 200w freestanding one too..
Without doubt how most of us use our motorhomes now greatly differs from, say 10 years ago..
We are drifting away from how we used to do things, and are now more self contained, I believe this is great advantage to most , but not necessarily everyone..
There are still some that insist on EHU even though they have a very sustainable set-up...
But...our very advanced lithium/solar powered vans remain at the mercy of nature... A cloudy day means limited charge...a second cloudy day...we start getting twitchy...our meters and gauges are viewed more often than the TV...it becomes an obsession....the same goes for when the sun reappears .....how many amps is this natural source providing... interesting stuff actually..

 

[JockandRita]

But...our very advanced lithium/solar powered vans remain at the mercy of nature... A cloudy day means limited charge...a second cloudy day...we start getting twitchy...our meters and gauges are viewed more often than the TV...it becomes an obsession....the same goes for when the sun reappears .....how many amps is this natural source providing... interesting stuff actually..

Ha ha Martin, you are absolutely "spot on" with that last paragraph, especially the the almost paranoid monitoring of energy levels. It would be even worse for me if our Lithiums had Bluetooth as well as the Victron kit.

Our usage is greater than our energy harvesting, but if we were "on the road" every two or three days, we wouldn't need to rely on mains charging at all.


Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Carpmart]

Amazing how demands change and what's available to meet those demands..
Our Hymer was fitted with a 90ah Lead acid battery and 150 w solar panel when it was built.
It now has 400ah lithium, and 400w rooftop solar panels with a 200w freestanding one too..
Without doubt how most of us use our motorhomes now greatly differs from, say 10 years ago..
We are drifting away from how we used to do things, and are now more self contained, I believe this is great advantage to most , but not necessarily everyone..
There are still some that insist on EHU even though they have a very sustainable set-up...
But...our very advanced lithium/solar powered vans remain at the mercy of nature... A cloudy day means limited charge...a second cloudy day...we start getting twitchy...our meters and gauges are viewed more often than the TV...it becomes an obsession....the same goes for when the sun reappears .....how many amps is this natural source providing... interesting stuff actually..

You’re describing me… the anxiety is real!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

Amazing how demands change and what's available to meet those demands..
Our Hymer was fitted with a 90ah Lead acid battery and 150 w solar panel when it was built.

When we first went camping EHU was unheard of. Our first caravan had one 75Ah battery and we could survive a week with that.

Ha ha Martin, you are absolutely "spot on" with that last paragraph, especially the the almost paranoid monitoring of energy levels.

I panic when my batteries are down to 50% and I've still got 240Ah left.

 

[funflair]

We currently have 120ah lead acid and a single solar panel, we are driving most days and the sun is shining so it all works, I say “all” that’s lights water pump and compressor fridge so it feels like we have gone back to the dark ages when we had a caravan and our only battery gauge was when the lights went out.

 

[MichaelT]

We've just done 6 weeks in Spain without hook up. We have 510a batteries with 400w roof solar and a 200w portable panel. We used the portable panel on a few days where we could get away with camping behaviour but mostly relied on roof panels and driving so the B2B's could work.

Never got below abut 65% and that included cooking with an air fryer/slow cooker most days, kettle and running fridge on inverter an hour a day, TV 4 hours a day etc.

As to the question the more you have the more you can use, not needed in summer when lots of sun about but handy in winter to allow you to last longer off grid but you somehow have to replenish it all.

 

[Dolmen]

I currently have 2x280ah Fogstar, and I am planning adding another to make a total of 840ah, this is tied into upgrading the solar to 700w. Now my question is- do I go all out and fit a fourth, I have the room and the payload but is this being greedy to have 1120ah?? Does the extra cost outweigh the additional benefits? Any one else have 4 fitted and or have / need this capacity? My logic would be fit and forget and run what we want when we want but…??

Just go for it, having 1120ah and 700w solar sounds fantastic, even if you only need a 100ah lead acid and a 40w panel. Same reason folks have a six bed house and drive a Range Rover, you have it simply because you can, doesn’t need any reasoning or rationale; enjoy.

 

[G1969]

Just go for it, having 1120ah and 700w solar sounds fantastic, even if you only need a 100ah lead acid and a 40w panel. Same reason folks have a six bed house and drive a Range Rover, you have it simply because you can, doesn’t need any reasoning or rationale; enjoy.

Thanks all, Just need to persuade the wife

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[G1969]

We've just done 6 weeks in Spain without hook up. We have 510a batteries with 400w roof solar and a 200w portable panel. We used the portable panel on a few days where we could get away with camping behaviour but mostly relied on roof panels and driving so the B2B's could work.

Never got below abut 65% and that included cooking with an air fryer/slow cooker most days, kettle and running fridge on inverter an hour a day, TV 4 hours a day etc.

As to the question the more you have the more you can use, not needed in summer when lots of sun about but handy in winter to allow you to last longer off grid but you somehow have to replenish it all.

Thanks, my logic is yes we would use more- ie induction hob etc / less gas , so hopefully in addition to less anxiety it would have a pay back at some point.

 

[Carpmart]

Thanks all, Just need to persuade the wife

Easy, no upgrade, no hairdryer/straighteners etc

 

[Fdhadi]

We have 2 x 100ah batteries and no solar.
The current Motorhome is our 3rd and we’ve had the same set up on all 3 over the last 20yrs.
We very rarely use campsites.
Please help, what am I missing out on?

What I will admit to is having 2 x SafeFill gas bottles which are a godsend.

 

[The Wino]

It's just the same as me saying I've got 8 guitars but I need another one! It's a hobby spending on our hobbies anyone with a certain amount of battery capacity and solar that doesn't have medical equipment needing power has an option either tailor demand to match supply or supply to match want. There's no right or wrong answer to if it's a wise spend of money.

 

[mikash]

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}