I typically get 7.8amps out of 120 watts of glass panels, 13.5kg, which in turn output from the controller is typically 9+ amps. Under ideal conditions up to 11.3 amps into 104Ah (4 x26AH) of gel batteries.
The 120 watts of solar panels do produce typically 122 watts but closer to 125 watts under ideal conditions. With water cooling 137 watts. I reckon with a bit more experimentation I might hit 140 watts.
86GTS said
09:29 AM Apr 19, 2022
DMaxer wrote:
Do you use this solar blanket in conjunction with solar panels 86GTS or is it used instead of solar panels. If in conjunction, does it have its own controller and is it just a simple matter of hooking onto the terminals?
Pardon my total ignorance but I do not know much about them.
-- Edited by DMaxer on Tuesday 19th of April 2022 08:51:10 AM
I use the blanket instead of panels.
The panels now sit in the shed doing nothing.
The blanket comes with a controller, Anderson plugs & alligator clips.
smwhiskey said
09:32 AM Apr 21, 2022
Just a slight diversion.
Where is the correct place to be measuring the Amperage produced? I've always measured between the regulator and the battery because as far as I'm concerned I want to know whats going into the battery not necessarily whats coming out of the panel. I do check volts produced on both sides of the regulator just so I know its working correctly.
Thanks
Phlipper said
10:30 AM Apr 21, 2022
Just buy a bigger wattage blanket than you need to compensate for lack of output. No type of panel delivers 100%, not even close, my house roof panels at best only deliver 70 % in ideal conditions.
Corndoggy said
12:35 PM Apr 21, 2022
Just a comment on the title of this thread, "Solar blankets - a rip off?". The only answer has to be "YES". For something that has been around for so long now and with the number of people interested or have them, the prices should be a lot cheaper, without any loss in the quality. Maybe I'm just turning into a Scrooge in my old age but I couldn't justify paying say $400 for a solar blanket, not that I can't afford that much money. I just think its a rip off.
Whenarewethere said
03:55 PM Apr 21, 2022
smwhiskey wrote:
Just a slight diversion.
Where is the correct place to be measuring the Amperage produced? I've always measured between the regulator and the battery because as far as I'm concerned I want to know whats going into the battery not necessarily whats coming out of the panel. I do check volts produced on both sides of the regulator just so I know its working correctly.
Thanks
Measuring between the solar panels & regulator will confirm that the panels are working & you will become familiar with the panels output & clearly be aware that a percentage of panels may not be performing if you have multiple panels. I get 7.8amps from 120 watts of panels & can measure each one independently.
Measuring between the regulator & battery, the voltage & amps will change a bit depending of the level of charge of the batteries. I usually have 9amps & up to 11.3amps from 120 watts.
If you only want one meter for amps stick it between the regulator & the battery.
86GTS said
04:26 PM Apr 21, 2022
Corndoggy wrote:
Just a comment on the title of this thread, "Solar blankets - a rip off?". The only answer has to be "YES". For something that has been around for so long now and with the number of people interested or have them, the prices should be a lot cheaper, without any loss in the quality. Maybe I'm just turning into a Scrooge in my old age but I couldn't justify paying say $400 for a solar blanket, not that I can't afford that much money. I just think its a rip off.
I paid $269 for a 200W solar blanket at Kings 4x4 Supa Store 3 years ago.
It included everything.
I also bought a 20 metre extension lead for $20.
Never looked back.
I paid almost $600 for my 120W Projecta folding solar panels 12 years ago.
They now languish in the shed doing nothing superseded by the blanket that charges batteries up twice as fast.
Phlipper said
06:17 PM Apr 21, 2022
86GTS wrote:
Corndoggy wrote:
Just a comment on the title of this thread, "Solar blankets - a rip off?". The only answer has to be "YES". For something that has been around for so long now and with the number of people interested or have them, the prices should be a lot cheaper, without any loss in the quality. Maybe I'm just turning into a Scrooge in my old age but I couldn't justify paying say $400 for a solar blanket, not that I can't afford that much money. I just think its a rip off.
I paid $269 for a 200W solar blanket at Kings 4x4 Supa Store 3 years ago.
It included everything.
I also bought a 20 metre extension lead for $20.
Never looked back.
I paid almost $600 for my 120W Projecta folding solar panels 12 years ago.
They now languish in the shed doing nothing superseded by the blanket that charges batteries up twice as fast.
Ditto....I paid $300 for my 200 watt solar blanket, plus made up a simple lightweight aluminum adjustable frame for about another $50. Maybe more expensive that standard panels, but all comes with Anderson plug connectors on a 5 metre extension cable and solar controller. All folds up into a neat, all in one, smallish attache like case that stows very nicely in the van or boot.
TimTim said
09:21 PM Apr 21, 2022
Solar blankets are an interesting topic and to some yes they are a rip off and to others they are the best way to fulfill their needs of being lightweight and portable. I know an elderly lady traveler who is unable to use anything else as she requires something lightweight and portable. It is obvious they do not suit everyone and there will be those that started with either a blanket or fordable panels and have since changed. For her solar blankets serve the purpose but to other they will not. Her's is a Kings and is still working after a good number of years.
If we look at Product Review there are only 7 reviews with 6 of those negative.
Interestingly a number of members here say they do not have issues with them, but I guess neither they or the lady that I know have written a review. So yes, reviews are a minefield. You could look at it another way in that Kings would of sold thousands upon thousands of them and yet there are only 6 negative reviews. One thing I can say, it does appear that Kings respond to the negative reviews which is more than I can say about many other companies.
I see that XTM solar blankets have also made a mention however there were concerns that there were no specifications. You can put the blame for this on the companies selling them and not putting the specifications on their wed sites. On the box the specifications are clearly stated so whilst in a store today I took photos for anyone interested. At least if you have an issue with them there are plenty of stores to return them and ignore any so called 1 year warranty and work on Australian Consumer Guarantee.
As for the output of solar blankets, remember that the output stated is when facing the sun directly in optimal conditions and at a temperature of 25C. In reality you will very rarely encounter those conditions and to obtain maximum output throughout the day you will need to play 'solar pixies' and continually move your blanket. A recent test I did with a semi flexible solar panel in late afternoon sun disclosed a 25% increase in output between laying it flat and tilting the panel towards the sun. Alternatively, rather than trying to prop your blanket up every few hours buy two and just lay them flat and do nothing.
People will say a product works well. Because it was delivered!
There is no data on actual performance.
86GTS said
04:32 AM Apr 22, 2022
Further to my opinion piece, the plain fact for me is, if my solar blanket charges my batteries in half the time that my old solar panels took to do it then they are OK.
Under all light conditions as well.
Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
Whenarewethere said
05:21 AM Apr 22, 2022
Half the time of what?
Whenarewethere said
05:28 AM Apr 22, 2022
Maybe I have gone a little overboard with measuring, but I do know what I get out of my setup under a range of conditions.
To date I have never seen any remotely useful data on a solar blanket.
Mike Harding said
07:54 AM Apr 22, 2022
86GTS wrote:
Further to my opinion piece, the plain fact for me is, if my solar blanket charges my batteries in half the time that my old solar panels took to do it then they are OK. Under all light conditions as well. Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
If only it were that simple....
yobarr said
07:57 AM Apr 22, 2022
86GTS wrote:
Further to my opinion piece, the plain fact for me is, if my solar blanket charges my batteries in half the time that my old solar panels took to do it then they are OK. Under all light conditions as well. Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
Surely you jest? Solar blankets are not even close in performance to panels. Cheers
Phlipper said
08:41 AM Apr 22, 2022
Solar Blankets may or may not be as energy efficient as regular panels, but a good size one is still sufficient for most casual campers needs ie: 200 watt. For me, the sheer convenience and versatility for those with with limited storage space, or ground area outweighs the need for best performance. I personally did not like the weight of regular panels, the larger size or the fragility. For long term campers I can see the benefit of regular panels, but for those on the move the blankets imo are ideal, even if more expensive { though prices seem to be dropping nowadays }
86GTS said
08:45 AM Apr 22, 2022
Mike Harding wrote:
86GTS wrote:
Further to my opinion piece, the plain fact for me is, if my solar blanket charges my batteries in half the time that my old solar panels took to do it then they are OK. Under all light conditions as well. Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
If only it were that simple....
It is, we only use the 110ahr in our caravan for lighting, piezo ignition on the gas burners & occasional TV.
Who needs technical specs, not me.
We did the same with our solar panels, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
That process worked for 10 years & 120,000kms of travel all over Oz.
No rocket science involved.
I'm not one of those guys you see constantly fiddling with their car, caravan & every other component of their camp.
I bought a car, caravan & everything else required to camp comfortably & haven't modified any of them because I'm not interested.
If it works leave it alone, that's my motto.
-- Edited by 86GTS on Friday 22nd of April 2022 09:32:32 AM
86GTS said
08:49 AM Apr 22, 2022
Whenarewethere wrote:
Half the time of what?
Half the time it took our solar panels to do the same job.
Our caravan only has a battery level indicator with 3 lights, red, amber & green.
The blanket brings it up to green from amber in around half the time it took the panels to do it.
86GTS said
08:53 AM Apr 22, 2022
yobarr wrote:
86GTS wrote:
Further to my opinion piece, the plain fact for me is, if my solar blanket charges my batteries in half the time that my old solar panels took to do it then they are OK. Under all light conditions as well. Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
Surely you jest? Solar blankets are not even close in performance to panels. Cheers
I can only state from my personal experience, my 200W blanket sh*ts all over my very expensive 120W folding panels.
Particularly in low light situations.
Whenarewethere said
09:22 AM Apr 22, 2022
Mike Harding wrote:
86GTS wrote:
Further to my opinion piece, the plain fact for me is, if my solar blanket charges my batteries in half the time that my old solar panels took to do it then they are OK. Under all light conditions as well. Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
If only it were that simple....
One could build scaffolding so the blanket is square to the sun!
Solar Blankets may or may not be as energy efficient as regular panels, but a good size one is still sufficient for most casual campers needs ie: 200 watt. For me, the sheer convenience and versatility for those with with limited storage space, or ground area outweighs the need for best performance. I personally did not like the weight of regular panels, the larger size or the fragility. For long term campers I can see the benefit of regular panels, but for those on the move the blankets imo are ideal, even if more expensive { though prices seem to be dropping nowadays }
:thumbs up: Exactly my point.
Hitting the road said
11:38 AM Apr 22, 2022
Brilliant, thanks for posting the photo of the XTM specs TimTim. I have been putting a spread sheet together as I am in the market for a new 200w solar blanket to use when touring in the 4wd.
Reading various blogs the opinion is that one needs to have at least 1.28m2 of actual solar panel to generate 200w. The Jaycar offering at 1.1m2, Repco's Drivetech at 1.22m2, and Kings at a woeful .68m2, fall well behind the Kickass at 1.52m2, HardKorre at 1.56m2, and the XTM at 1.94m2. All these measurements are the total area of the open blanket including joining panels etc of course so don't truly represent the area of actual solar panel.
I currently have 2 x 200w 18v folding panels which I have been using for quite some time with a camper trailer which has 2 x 140amp AGM batteries, charged through a 30A MPPT regulator. I ran 2 fridges with this, 1 x 65L fridge and 1 x 40L freezer, also ran a coffee machine once or twice a day through a 1500w inverter, along with the usual lights, water pump, phone chargers etc.
Mind you one of these panels I bought off EBay advertised as a 250w panel, but found when delivered the physical size was smaller then the alleged 200W I already had! No way was it 250w. I usually connect my panels in series rather than parallel too through the MPPT.
I achieve on a good day up to 43 volts to the regulator, amps vary as the MPPT controls that. But I generally get a solid charge to the batteries of at least 13v and up to 14v, the MPPT also controls what it puts out as required by the batteries.
I did buy a Kings 120w solar blanket a few years ago when i was first venturing in to the world of solar power generation, but find this barely covers running just one fridge through the day on a good day.
I think I'll be buying the XTM as it has the largest area when open, as well as the highest Amps spec at 11.02A, and 19 volts output. Advertised price currently $320.00.
Plus, at 200w and 19v I can even add it to my current array in either parallel or series to boost overall output without compromising the other 200w panels output.
Mike Harding said
12:58 PM Apr 22, 2022
86GTS wrote:
It is, we only use the 110ahr in our caravan for lighting, piezo ignition on the gas burners & occasional TV.
And that is the big difference: your power consumption is very, very low and I rather suspect a peddle dynamo would suffice for your needs :)
But for those of us using 1kWh to 2kWh or more per day all this technical stuff is important because otherwise we loose the contents of fridge/freezers on a regular basis or don't have any power for lights and such.
I began this thread in order to highlight the apparent deceit of many solar blanket sellers who are clearly claiming power output which is way beyond that which could be produced by a blanket of the area they are selling - if the blanket you have purchased suits your requirements then all is good for you but I have read nothing in this thread which indicates my concern is unfounded and I strongly recommend people think very carefully before they buy a solar blanket and, as a rule of thumb, halve the claimed power output.
Also: do not forget that it doesn't matter how much power your solar produces if the regulator cannot efficiently turn it into battery charging energy.
Despite all that is posted on forums by amateur "experts" producing a capable, in all areas of Australia, at all times of year, caravan solar installation is not a trivial or cheap task if the energy requirement is more than a few Wh per day.
Phlipper said
02:07 PM Apr 22, 2022
Whenarewethere wrote:
Mike Harding wrote:
86GTS wrote:
Further to my opinion piece, the plain fact for me is, if my solar blanket charges my batteries in half the time that my old solar panels took to do it then they are OK. Under all light conditions as well. Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
If only it were that simple....
One could build scaffolding so the blanket is square to the sun!
I made a very lightweight, collapsible, moveable, angle adjustable frame for my 200watt blanket, was easy and I just use straps to secure it on the rear of my vans bumber bar, and the blanket sits neatly in the van taking up little space when folded.
TimTim said
02:25 PM Apr 22, 2022
Thank you Hitting the Road. Im glad at least someone found the specifications useful.
Hitting the road said
02:31 PM Apr 22, 2022
"....and I strongly recommend people think very carefully before they buy a solar blanket and, as a rule of thumb, halve the claimed power output."
Would agree with that. For the average buyer looking for say a 200w output, (me right now), you are not ever going to realistically get that output continually. Most of us do the solar panel dance all day to achieve a reasonable input. That fails when you are not at the camp all day to "tend" to the solar panels. Hence the need to buy more capacity than you think you need.
There is no way to ever know how much truth there is in the claims made by the faceless EBay sellers. I guess in some cases the advertised "peak" output figures could be obtained in picture perfect conditions for a few minutes, the rest of the time you'll be well down on their claims.
As I wrote above one of the panels I bought off EBay was advertised as being 250w, I was still a bit green when i bought it, and is still advertised on EBay. Given the panel area is smaller than the "alleged" 200w output panel I already had I knew I had been suckered in. I learned my lesson...
The other thing that cracks me up, is that given 30% is roughly the incline angle needed in our part of the world to meet the sun, I have not yet seen a folding solar panel that will lay down to that angle, i had to cut and modify the supports on both my panels to allow them to lay at that angle...
Lozza56 said
08:38 AM Apr 23, 2022
agree with problems chasing sun with blankets etc, so I upgraded to fitting 300w solar panel on top of my car, fits in between roof rails, wires feed down to lithium battery in rear of car, running fridge 100% 24/7 , no more power problems, and time to relax
I typically get 7.8amps out of 120 watts of glass panels, 13.5kg, which in turn output from the controller is typically 9+ amps. Under ideal conditions up to 11.3 amps into 104Ah (4 x26AH) of gel batteries.
The 120 watts of solar panels do produce typically 122 watts but closer to 125 watts under ideal conditions. With water cooling 137 watts. I reckon with a bit more experimentation I might hit 140 watts.
I use the blanket instead of panels.
The panels now sit in the shed doing nothing.
The blanket comes with a controller, Anderson plugs & alligator clips.
Just a slight diversion.
Where is the correct place to be measuring the Amperage produced? I've always measured between the regulator and the battery because as far as I'm concerned I want to know whats going into the battery not necessarily whats coming out of the panel. I do check volts produced on both sides of the regulator just so I know its working correctly.
Thanks
Measuring between the solar panels & regulator will confirm that the panels are working & you will become familiar with the panels output & clearly be aware that a percentage of panels may not be performing if you have multiple panels. I get 7.8amps from 120 watts of panels & can measure each one independently.
Measuring between the regulator & battery, the voltage & amps will change a bit depending of the level of charge of the batteries. I usually have 9amps & up to 11.3amps from 120 watts.
If you only want one meter for amps stick it between the regulator & the battery.
I paid $269 for a 200W solar blanket at Kings 4x4 Supa Store 3 years ago.
It included everything.
I also bought a 20 metre extension lead for $20.
Never looked back.
I paid almost $600 for my 120W Projecta folding solar panels 12 years ago.
They now languish in the shed doing nothing superseded by the blanket that charges batteries up twice as fast.
Ditto....I paid $300 for my 200 watt solar blanket, plus made up a simple lightweight aluminum adjustable frame for about another $50. Maybe more expensive that standard panels, but all comes with Anderson plug connectors on a 5 metre extension cable and solar controller. All folds up into a neat, all in one, smallish attache like case that stows very nicely in the van or boot.
Solar blankets are an interesting topic and to some yes they are a rip off and to others they are the best way to fulfill their needs of being lightweight and portable. I know an elderly lady traveler who is unable to use anything else as she requires something lightweight and portable. It is obvious they do not suit everyone and there will be those that started with either a blanket or fordable panels and have since changed. For her solar blankets serve the purpose but to other they will not. Her's is a Kings and is still working after a good number of years.
. So yes, reviews are a minefield. You could look at it another way in that Kings would of sold thousands upon thousands of them and yet there are only 6 negative reviews. One thing I can say, it does appear that Kings respond to the negative reviews which is more than I can say about many other companies.
If we look at Product Review there are only 7 reviews with 6 of those negative.
https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/adventure-kings-200w-folding-solar-blanket
Interestingly a number of members here say they do not have issues with them, but I guess neither they or the lady that I know have written a review
I see that XTM solar blankets have also made a mention however there were concerns that there were no specifications. You can put the blame for this on the companies selling them and not putting the specifications on their wed sites. On the box the specifications are clearly stated so whilst in a store today I took photos for anyone interested. At least if you have an issue with them there are plenty of stores to return them and ignore any so called 1 year warranty and work on Australian Consumer Guarantee.
As for the output of solar blankets, remember that the output stated is when facing the sun directly in optimal conditions and at a temperature of 25C. In reality you will very rarely encounter those conditions and to obtain maximum output throughout the day you will need to play 'solar pixies' and continually move your blanket. A recent test I did with a semi flexible solar panel in late afternoon sun disclosed a 25% increase in output between laying it flat and tilting the panel towards the sun. Alternatively, rather than trying to prop your blanket up every few hours buy two and just lay them flat and do nothing.
Be very wary of the solar blankets off FleaBay.
People will say a product works well. Because it was delivered!
There is no data on actual performance.
Under all light conditions as well.
Place them on the ground, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
Half the time of what?
Maybe I have gone a little overboard with measuring, but I do know what I get out of my setup under a range of conditions.
https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t65231112/custom-6x20-watts-solar-setup-with-mppt/
To date I have never seen any remotely useful data on a solar blanket.
If only it were that simple....
Surely you jest? Solar blankets are not even close in performance to panels. Cheers
It is, we only use the 110ahr in our caravan for lighting, piezo ignition on the gas burners & occasional TV.
Who needs technical specs, not me.
We did the same with our solar panels, unfold them, plug them in & forget them.
That process worked for 10 years & 120,000kms of travel all over Oz.
No rocket science involved.
I'm not one of those guys you see constantly fiddling with their car, caravan & every other component of their camp.
I bought a car, caravan & everything else required to camp comfortably & haven't modified any of them because I'm not interested.
If it works leave it alone, that's my motto.
-- Edited by 86GTS on Friday 22nd of April 2022 09:32:32 AM
Half the time it took our solar panels to do the same job.
Our caravan only has a battery level indicator with 3 lights, red, amber & green.
The blanket brings it up to green from amber in around half the time it took the panels to do it.
I can only state from my personal experience, my 200W blanket sh*ts all over my very expensive 120W folding panels.
Particularly in low light situations.
One could build scaffolding so the blanket is square to the sun!
:thumbs up: Exactly my point.
Brilliant, thanks for posting the photo of the XTM specs TimTim. I have been putting a spread sheet together as I am in the market for a new 200w solar blanket to use when touring in the 4wd.
Reading various blogs the opinion is that one needs to have at least 1.28m2 of actual solar panel to generate 200w. The Jaycar offering at 1.1m2, Repco's Drivetech at 1.22m2, and Kings at a woeful .68m2, fall well behind the Kickass at 1.52m2, HardKorre at 1.56m2, and the XTM at 1.94m2. All these measurements are the total area of the open blanket including joining panels etc of course so don't truly represent the area of actual solar panel.
I currently have 2 x 200w 18v folding panels which I have been using for quite some time with a camper trailer which has 2 x 140amp AGM batteries, charged through a 30A MPPT regulator. I ran 2 fridges with this, 1 x 65L fridge and 1 x 40L freezer, also ran a coffee machine once or twice a day through a 1500w inverter, along with the usual lights, water pump, phone chargers etc.
Mind you one of these panels I bought off EBay advertised as a 250w panel, but found when delivered the physical size was smaller then the alleged 200W I already had! No way was it 250w. I usually connect my panels in series rather than parallel too through the MPPT.
I achieve on a good day up to 43 volts to the regulator, amps vary as the MPPT controls that. But I generally get a solid charge to the batteries of at least 13v and up to 14v, the MPPT also controls what it puts out as required by the batteries.
I did buy a Kings 120w solar blanket a few years ago when i was first venturing in to the world of solar power generation, but find this barely covers running just one fridge through the day on a good day.
I think I'll be buying the XTM as it has the largest area when open, as well as the highest Amps spec at 11.02A, and 19 volts output. Advertised price currently $320.00.
Plus, at 200w and 19v I can even add it to my current array in either parallel or series to boost overall output without compromising the other 200w panels output.
And that is the big difference: your power consumption is very, very low and I rather suspect a peddle dynamo would suffice for your needs :)
But for those of us using 1kWh to 2kWh or more per day all this technical stuff is important because otherwise we loose the contents of fridge/freezers on a regular basis or don't have any power for lights and such.
I began this thread in order to highlight the apparent deceit of many solar blanket sellers who are clearly claiming power output which is way beyond that which could be produced by a blanket of the area they are selling - if the blanket you have purchased suits your requirements then all is good for you but I have read nothing in this thread which indicates my concern is unfounded and I strongly recommend people think very carefully before they buy a solar blanket and, as a rule of thumb, halve the claimed power output.
Also: do not forget that it doesn't matter how much power your solar produces if the regulator cannot efficiently turn it into battery charging energy.
Despite all that is posted on forums by amateur "experts" producing a capable, in all areas of Australia, at all times of year, caravan solar installation is not a trivial or cheap task if the energy requirement is more than a few Wh per day.
I made a very lightweight, collapsible, moveable, angle adjustable frame for my 200watt blanket, was easy and I just use straps to secure it on the rear of my vans bumber bar, and the blanket sits neatly in the van taking up little space when folded.
"....and I strongly recommend people think very carefully before they buy a solar blanket and, as a rule of thumb, halve the claimed power output."
Would agree with that. For the average buyer looking for say a 200w output, (me right now), you are not ever going to realistically get that output continually. Most of us do the solar panel dance all day to achieve a reasonable input. That fails when you are not at the camp all day to "tend" to the solar panels. Hence the need to buy more capacity than you think you need.
There is no way to ever know how much truth there is in the claims made by the faceless EBay sellers. I guess in some cases the advertised "peak" output figures could be obtained in picture perfect conditions for a few minutes, the rest of the time you'll be well down on their claims.
As I wrote above one of the panels I bought off EBay was advertised as being 250w, I was still a bit green when i bought it, and is still advertised on EBay. Given the panel area is smaller than the "alleged" 200w output panel I already had I knew I had been suckered in. I learned my lesson...
The other thing that cracks me up, is that given 30% is roughly the incline angle needed in our part of the world to meet the sun, I have not yet seen a folding solar panel that will lay down to that angle, i had to cut and modify the supports on both my panels to allow them to lay at that angle...
agree with problems chasing sun with blankets etc, so I upgraded to fitting 300w solar panel on top of my car, fits in between roof rails, wires feed down to lithium battery in rear of car, running fridge 100% 24/7 , no more power problems, and time to relax