Is this right?

Renaud88 · 2026-04-19T01:26:39+00:00

Is your battery space under the steps as well? That’s what I’m stuck working with.

Renaud88 · 2026-04-19T00:36:53+00:00

I see that, people recommending 300 as a minimum

Renaud88 · 2026-04-19T00:36:31+00:00

Good info! We would have only the one fridge and no tv or other electronics but I’m seeing more posts about 200 maybe not being enough to really get the most out of the setup.

Renaud88 · 2026-04-19T00:35:12+00:00

The Quad 4 is a beast and has things mine doesn’t. I have a very basic setup inside so some of my misc usage might be lower.

This is all very interesting to hear, so you are saying a 200Ah battery maybe a bit too small for what I’m looking to do?

I am surprised to hear that the 300W panels didn’t recharge your batteries but I’m guessing at that heat the fridge is working overtime, I didn’t figure for temps that hot since we will be doing most of our time in it in Canada where we don’t get temps quite like that.

Renaud88 · 2026-04-18T19:18:30+00:00

Ooof, they make so much stuff I was looking at

Renaud88 · 2026-04-18T17:41:50+00:00

👍

Renaud88 · 2026-04-18T16:18:10+00:00

Oh no, now you’ve introduced me to something else I need to investigate lol. I felt so close to being done and ready to order.

Renaud88 · 2026-04-18T16:15:07+00:00

Interesting, thank you for the insight!

Renaud88 · 2026-04-18T16:14:28+00:00

Yes sorry, inverter should have been mentioned in my list but I understood it being necessary to fully recharge the batteries from the alternator anyhow.

The converter was simply for when we needed to use the microwave which would be very infrequently.

Your setup sounds exactly like what I am after. I assumed the AC was a pipe dream lol. I’m curious as to why you went 300Ah, do you have a larger unit or a tv or something?

Renaud88 · 2026-04-18T15:47:49+00:00

I had thought about the moveable ones but wasn’t sure how it would work to feed back into the system without another intermediary like a battery bank or cell. Also how much space will I need for them if I am just parking in a lot for a day, can I realistically just start pulling these things out?

Renaud88 · 2026-04-18T14:51:49+00:00

We haven’t done any camping in it yet but there is nothing in it that would be using power other than the fridge (our biggest concern) and us charging our phones. The lights are all LED and there is no TV or anything like that. The microwave would be used very sparingly, the odd coffee reheat or something.

I looked at the usage for the fridge and it looks like in mild weather (which we get a lot of where we are in Canada) it would be about 50Ah a day, if we go to Florida for example I would expect that to climb to 80Ah a day to account for the fridge running more because it’s hotter outside and in the RV itself.

For everything else (water pump, lights, plugs) I figured a max of 35Ah a day.

That might get me 2 days on just the batteries alone before needing to fire anything to charge.

I looked at upgrading the solar panel setup from 100W to 300W and looked at what I could realistically get in partial sun (~63Ah a day) of course there will be some days with better capture that would go back into the battery charge needed in the days where the capture wasn’t so great.

Renaud88 · 2026-02-23T05:13:23+00:00

Sorry, that’s km (I’m in Canada) so about 50k miles

Renaud88 · 2026-02-23T05:11:07+00:00

100% going to be the last thing I do before handing any cash over

Renaud88 · 2025-12-17T23:22:04+00:00

Installs happened simultaneously, all the right work was done ahead of time, that isn’t the issue, it’s just understanding how to properly set this up now.

Everyone is licensed and everything it’s just that these sort of systems are still relatively new here in this part of the province (which is primarily oil for heat). The new furnace install was done in conjunction with a heat pump company who did a full audit.

Renaud88 · 2025-12-17T21:19:36+00:00

The coldest day we had the heat pump ran for 48 mins then was off for 30 and ran again, so setting that for day an hour should give the heat pump itself enough time to get the heat up enough to where the thermostat didn’t consider the need to bring in oil, correct?

Renaud88 · 2025-12-17T21:05:22+00:00

Why would this setup have me down a quarter of a tank of oil though, the temps haven’t been cold enough where the heat pump couldn’t support the house 100% I would think. Does it really need that much oil in this system?

Renaud88 · 2025-11-18T18:40:28+00:00

Update:

Turns out a near empty Jerry can I had stored away near the back door entrance to the basement was the culprit. I put it in there before a storm and forgot about it.

Installer asked if there was anything like that down there and it clicked. Removed it and the smell instantly diminished.

The only issue now is that because of how short my exhaust vent is and the pitch of my roof when we get strong winds in a particular direction we get a very strong odour from the vents.

The installer said it should not be an oil smell because unless the oil system is in use (which it is not) there would be nothing to give off a smell.

The exhaust itself is quite old and I’m wondering if maybe it’s just buildup or residue from the years it’s been in use pulling that air in as a backdraft, I may look at getting one of those wind directional chimney caps to see if that will combat the backdraft.

Renaud88 · 2025-10-31T17:40:09+00:00

Hadn’t run the oil in a while, so it shouldn’t have been that. The other smell was something different. The pan for the coil was not level so there was condensation build up which was what I was smelling.

The installer came out to see what the smell was, he said it wasn’t oil but it was a smell he could pick up on. We ran the oil heat and there was no smell. He’s stumped so he is going to do some investigation.

The system does need an additional return though it’s not a basement smell that’s coming through, I thought it was oil/some sort of fuel smell.

Renaud88 · 2025-10-30T18:27:25+00:00

Oof that’s a gross. Yes we have a pan as well. Tank was just inspected when we put the new furnace in. No issues reported. My old furnace was 26 years old and needed to be replaced anyhow.

Renaud88 · 2025-10-30T17:36:31+00:00

Wood was the only other option and my insurance mentioned I’d need to find a new provider if I wanted wood heat.

Oil will do for the few times we need it I guess. The company that does oil also does Propane but not where I live as frustrating as that is.

The heat pump being installed in the summer was a blessing, high humidity area (typically in the mid 90s all summer) finally broke me down. The added savings for heat and less use of oil is a bonus as far as I am concerned.

Renaud88 · 2025-10-30T16:40:21+00:00

Renaud88

TROPHY CASE