quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
A small honda generator is easy to not be heard in the house, by anyone. That is my experience.

I have a couple of Honda generators. The small one is a Honda EU2200i 2200. It is very quiet and runs a long time on a tank of fuel. Anything Solar powered would be a supplement to the Hondas.

As someone whose house and water treatment and pressurization system is powered by off-grid solar, I’ll say that solar is great, however it only works when the sun shines. Our system automatically fires a (nominal) 8KW propane powered generator if the battery voltage goes low. I have been *much* more comfortable since installing a transfer switch and gaining the ability to temporarily replace the propane powered generator while my diesel powered arc welder / 10KW generator should the propane powered unit hiccup.

Me, I’d have plenty of battery bank, a generator (or better yet generators) to top the batteries off, and solar to the extent it makes sense to minimize how much I need to run a generator. YMMV.

Thanks for the replies.

Ended up ordering the Anker 757 Powerhouse.
Anker 757 Powerhouse

I liked how it has the new LiFeP04 lithium batteries instead of the Lithium-Ion. Similer to the BLUETTI but the BLUETTI did not have a 1000Wh capacity. The Anker is a little bigger but the weight of the unit was more manageable than the BLUETTI 2000

The Anker had the best warranty at 5 years.

300w battery I have runs the CPAP about 20hrs in elk camp where it’s roughly 35 degrees. I say that for reference.

I would not skimp on solar panel capacity. I have one meant to recharge phones etc 12”x18” I’m guessing. It isn’t over capacity by any measure. One must chase the sun, October is part of the problem.

If you are going to run CPAP off of a solar or battery system, which would normally be 12 volts, look into getting a 12 volt power cord to connect the CPAP to the 12 volt system. I got mine from the Manufacturer of my CPAP, surely yours offers this also. Check your owners manual. You can plug your CPAP into an inverter (inverter converts 12 volt to 120 volts) but you will lose some power to inefficiency and heat. It's more efficient to run CPAP directly from a 12 volt source.

In Solar, or a battery system, every watt counts.

Also, if you don't need the CPAP Humidifier running, turn off the humidifier, that saves quite a lot of watts of power.

If you are going to add solar to your RV, or want to update it, look into getting a 24 or 48 volt system, instead of the traditional 12 volt system. If you get 24 or 48 volt solar panels, charge controller and LiFePO batteries, you can save a lot of money as the 24 or 48 volt system will use much less expensive power cables. Running a 12 volt sysem with a lot of solar and a lot of batteries requires MUCH thicker copper cables which are MUCH more expensive than lesser diameter cables when you go up to 24 or 48 volt systems. The price of copper is outrageous now.

I've been experimenting with Solar for awhile, mainly to run my Ham Radio system on battery power through Solar, instead of Commercial Power. My goal is to run my home ham radio system as well as a mobil or portable ham radio system in a RV when I winter in Arizona next winter. I also use a CPAP and wanted to have battery backup power.

Over the last Black Friday I purchased a Solar Panel Suitcase, it has 2 100 watt Solar Panels, which gives me 200 watts, built in solar controller, and folds back together. It's quite sturdy and meets my goal of portability or stationary use. I also purchased a 100 AH LiFePO 12 volt battery and a Jackery 1000. Prices were very good last Black Friday.

I love the idea of Solar for smaller systems, it works great, easy to understand and repair/update, add on, etc.

It's an excellent idea to spec out your Solar System with the idea of future expansion. Buy the components that will allow you to add on, because you most likely will later on. Oversize the Solar Controller, Inverter and such. Definitely get the copper cables/wires a size or 2 larger than you think you need.

BTW LiFePO means Lithium Iron Phosphate battery.
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Costco has the Jackery 880 with two 100W solar panels plus a Jackery 290 on sale as a bundle while supplies last for anyone interested. You basically get the two panels free at the bundle price.