ewarnerusa wrote:


Because wasting is...well...wasteful? Sure, this isn't a lot of wasted amps we're talking about and not worth buying a lot more stuff just to be "wasting" less. But a $25 heating element plus wiring and my time is play money if it works as described in the manual and/or as the thread I linked to. Rephrasing this, it an idea to offset a little bit of propane used for water heating when boondocking.

StirCrazy wrote:

...People seem to get on this "we are waisting solar power when our batterys are full" kick every now and then. you are not waisting it, it is always being radiated and you can only waist somthing you have control over like a kitchen faucet left running for no reason. other wise we could say anyone who doesn't have a solar panel is waisting energy.

now personaly I think the idea of a deversion load is kinda neat and a 12V water heater eliment would be awsome to save a bit on propane, I have two issues though.

you are using a PWM controler so you are waisting solar energy by not having an efficient controler

second I am not sure of it will put out enough energy to make the element hot enough to keep it above the temp where it starts the burner up again, it might though...

ewarnerusa wrote:


First paragraph seems oddly nitpicky, in many situations the panels are able to harvest more energy than the immediate demand and to not utilize that capacity is wasting it. Let's call it wasting the capacity rather than wasting the current then.

PWM vs MPPT, yeah I get it. MPPT technology can squeeze out more amps in certain situations. But the PWM controller and 12V panels are a sunk cost from over 10 years ago.

This diversion current will never fully substitute the gas burner for primary water heating. But any electric heat input to the water can in theory offset the propane btus required to heat it up to the setpoint. I usually turn on the water heater first thing in the morning, off once breakfast duties are done, then on again for dinner duties followed by shutting off until the next day. This works for our boondocking style of camper use.

ewarnerusa wrote:

I like the space heater idea. Our typical camper use doesn't call for space heating during solar hours, but doing something like that would address a concern I have with my water heater idea. I feel I should have a thermostat control just in case the water is already at design temp. If the scenario is that the thermostat says no more heat allowed, then the diversion current has nowhere to go. The CC manual makes statements about making sure the diversion load can accept all diverted amps otherwise...something? That part requires more research. I think it dumps it back into the battery, which at this point doesn't need any more charging. Or maybe makes magic blue smoke??

Chum lee wrote:

As previously hinted at, if you have a 2/3 way absorption type fridge, why not divert the excess power generated to that and save some propane? Clearly, if you have a 2 way fridge, you'll need an efficient inverter capable of generating at least +-500 watts on a duty cycle of at least 50%. Just keeping your 1500 watt PSW inverter online full time may be enough to waste enough excess power to solve your issue doing nothing else. IMO, 280 watts of solar wont be enough to run the fridge full time, but hey, it's a start. You'll be spending a lot of time doing load management.

Chum lee

ewarnerusa wrote:


A different take on this idea^^ I wonder if instead of a 12V water heater element I could explore a refrigerator 12V element? Is there harm in adding variable/inconsistent heat (less than the OEM 300 watt AC power element) to the ammonia in an absorption fridge? This is just a brainstorm, I definitely don't want to swap out the AC side of the fridge.

EDIT: I clearly don't know exactly how the ammonia is heated in an absorption fridge, just that this is part of the process. But first google search showed a promising success for a similar idea. This is a Dometic fridge, mine is Norcold. https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8/ad........ting-element-to-rm2510-fridge-16224.html