Initial Solar Results

 I arrived in Quartzsite in the afternoon. The trailer had been outside for 4 days with no electrical load except for the 3.1 watts the refrigerator draws when the gas is flowing. I reset the meter totalizer when camp was set up in Quartzsite. I then took readings each morning before sunrise to make sure panel output wasn’t influencing the readings. Each morning I would use the heater enough to bring the temperatures up to the lower 60’s and then shut it off, letting the battery recover for 5 minutes before taking the readings.

		Cumulative	Daily	Start of Day
		Ampere Hours		Voltage
	Day 1	10.0	10.0	12.58
	Day 2	25.7	15.7	12.57[1]
	Day 3	44.3	18.6	12.61[2]
	Day 4	68.4	24.3	12.52[3]

I’m super pleased with how things turned out. Since we already had the trailer equipped with a step ladder, tilting the panel is easy enough, and doesn’t require the ladder to be moved around to reach the hand knobs. The panel keeps up with our demands nicely, even though I never cleaned it after installation and it quickly showed some dusty spots as a result. Should have done this mod years ago!

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[1] I went to the ‘big show’ and drove around checking out other areas. I was only home in the afternoon

[2] worked on the computer much of the day, charging it twice, and then to BJ’s cousin for dinner and part of the evening

[3] I used the computer all day with it plugged in, expressly to try to create more load. The overnight temps got down to 39 degrees so I used the heater for well over 45 minutes before the morning reading.