Solar panels for dummies

[Lesherp]

I would like to have solar before our big trip in May. We camp a lot where there is no electric hookups and hate the noise of the generator. I think I have read everything here but am not sure what to buy or exactly how it works.

Technology is changing constantly, so I imagine some of the older information may no longer be pertinent. From what I have gathered I will need a couple of panels , brackets to attach them to the trailer, some kind of super adhesive tape to glue the brackets to the trailer, a controller, a way to connect the two (wire) and probably some kind of fuse.

I live in the Pacific NW where there is limited sun part of the year, and a lot of trees. It looks like we will be traveling to the SW in winter and/or spring now that we are retired so we would really like to have solar. I have a generator, but would like to eliminate using it even at home if that is possible. I am for the most part a, get your most bang for the buck kind of guy, even if that means buying something a little more expensive to begin with.

I would appreciate any suggestions as to exactly what equipment I should purchase. How many watts should the panels have? Is there a difference in controllers? Would one better meet my needs? Type of wire. What kind of fuse to use. Has there been any problems with the adhesive tape talked about in the posts?

If I understand correctly power from the panels is run to the controller and it is wired directly to the battery. At this point I get a little confuse as to how it all works. What happens if I am connected to shore power also. Will I need turn one off or disconnect something?

[Bill]

Lots of good questions. Let me start with some thoughts, and many other members will follow up.

How many watts in the panels? Stay away from the little panels, like 15 watts or 25 watts. General concensus seems to be that two or three 80 watt panels is pretty good. You would have trouble carrying more than that, though it could be done.

Your panels could either be roof-mounted as you describe, or portable ground-mounted. Roof-mounted are easy to use, but depend on parking your TM in a spot that will be sunny all day. Although you get lots of electrical power, your trailer becomes uncomfortably hot inside, especially if you are camping in the desert. Ground-mounted enable you to park your TM in the shade, moving your panels into the sun and pointing them south no matter which way the TM happens to be facing. Lots of discussion in the Solar Power forum.

You need a controller, whose function is to stop the solar system from over-charging your batteries when they are full. A simple and cheap controller is perfectly adequate for the small systems we are discussing. More expensive controllers (called MPPT) will extract more charge from each hour of sunlight, but for a small system are so expensive that it is cheaper just to buy another solar panel if you need more capacity.

You can run the solar charger system and any other charger at the same time. No need to think about switching one off and another one on, etc.

Try going to Arizona Wind and Sun http://windsun.com/ for a lot of good info. Although they sell solar setups from an associated web site, their mission here is to educate potential solar users so they know what to buy.

Hope this helps.

Bill

[ThePair]

I don't have solar, I don't plan in the near future on getting it -- no need for me, currently.

However, I would look at these guys: http://shop.rvsolarnow.com/RV-solar-Kits_c8.htm

Why? They're solar-in-a-suitcase systems, which look like they'd need minimal modification to wire into a battery (with a disconnect). Portable = aim it at what little sunlight you can find, without having to worry about parking the TM in a particular location/orientation. Don't bring them when you don't need them, etc. Not too pricey, either, best I can tell. Expandable, if you find that your initial estimate of need isn't enough, you can add on another portable panel.

It's something I would seriously consider, just passing along another option!

(again, I don't have solar and have had no dealing with this company, just thought the product showed promise for our kind of set-up)

+1 on windsun.com

Very unbiased info with simple to understand explanations

The RVSolar site looks very interesting. As someone with the factory solar panels, there is a real need to have a system which can be tilted and moved around. The sun is rarely where you need it! As an aside, it seems I remember someone who designed and roof-mounted their own system a couple of years ago. The instillation seemed to be interesting at the time. Maybe a search would find it...

[Lesherp]

I am thinking that the portable unit might be the best way to go.

It seems like set up time would be minimal. The chances of being able to have your panel in the sun would be greater. With the extension cord you would be able to place and orient it up to 40 feet from the trailer. I talked to the manufacture and the only difference between the economy and pro is the controller. The pro displays battery voltage, output, amps, total amp/hours produced, and percent of battery charge. I think my clipper monitor will do most if not all of that.

I was concerned about leaving the panels unattended. The handle is attached with tamper proof screws so a security cable can be used. The alarm padlock that comes with the pro can be purchased for $25 if wanted. The mounted units would be a little more theft proof but I think this would be acceptable a lot of the time. When it isn't just use them when in camp.

I would not have to worry about hail or cleaning that were the negative factors I saw in roof mounted panels. The only advantage I see to mounted is charging when traveling.

[Panamapat]

Originally Posted by Lesherp

I would like to have solar before our big trip in May. We camp a lot where there is no electric hookups and hate the noise of the generator. I think I have read everything here but am not sure what to buy or exactly how it works.

I’m a big fan of solar power and have a medium size setup at our remote cabin (2-240 watt panels, MPPT controller, 4-6v golf cart batteries, Trimetric battery monitor). When we got the 2720SL, we wanted to camp in remote areas but did not want to use our backup Honda generator we have at the cabin. We ended up taking a combination of changes to maximize our ability to boondock with our Trailmanor.

1) Batteries – we replaced the two tired 6-V golf car batteries with new ones from Sams club (220 A-H) as the older ones capacity was down to around 100 amp hours.

2) Lighting Battery Load – replaced all of the incandescent light bulbs in the camper with LED bulbs from Amazon and cut the lighting load by 90%. (from 10 amps down to 1 amp with all lights on)

3) Heater battery load – the heater pulls around 6 amps and with cold weather really draws down the batteries as it runs quite a bit. We added an Olympian Wave-6 catalytic heater which uses no battery power.

4) Battery Recharging – two approaches; 1) added a 100 watt portable solar panel and 2) added a dedicated heavy duty charging circuit (using welding cables) from the 4Runner battery/alternator all the way back to the 2720SL battery bank.

5) Battery monitoring – added a Trimetric to keep an eye on the battery charge level – really takes the guesswork out of the state of charge.

The combination has worked well for us. We typically use no more than 40 amp-hours in a 24 hour period. The solar panel usually recharges the battery so long as we have full sun most of the day (max 6 amps per hour). With no sun, we can go around 3 days before we need to recharge the battery as we don’t like to let the battery discharge much more than 50%.

When the 4Runner is plugged into Trailmanor via the heavy duty plug and charging cables, the battery recharges as much as 45 amps per hour with engine idling. The 4Runner consumes around 1/3 gallon per hour idling. I’ve not had to use this option very often as solar usually does the trick. This option is also handy for fully recharging theTrailmanor battery bank when towing. Even with the refrigerator running in battery mode (10 amp draw), the battery bank usually arrives fully recharged.

I can provide more details and pictures if interested.

Pat

[Lesherp]

I now am considering another option. While I was doing some research I ran into a company called AM Solar that has free shipping and is only about 100 miles from where I live. They have a 150 watt panel and their rocker foot mount comes with the 3M tape (don't have to buy more than I need) and it looks like this mount would make it easy to dismount the panel for portable use when that would be advantageous. I think 150 watts could very well be all I need and would give me the flexibility of leaving it mounted or setting it up where there is sun. The disadvantage of the 150 watt panel over what I was considering, a fixed and a smaller portable panel, is that it is 58" X 26" and 26 lbs. It would always require 2 people if you wanted to make it potable. However, I would get a controller that would allow me to add a smaller portable panel later if I decide I need it. I do have a few questions though.

If I put handles on each end it seems like with the trailer down it would not be that difficult for two people to reach up and take it down. I have never handled one of these panels. Does anyone see any problem moving and setting it up??

I am planning on mounting the controller in the battery compartment at the rear of my TM. I am thinking I will use 10/2 AWG tinned marine wire. How much wire will I need for the run from the rear shell to the compartment??

I am considering using the cord management kit that hareyrv used with power pole connecters at the panel for connecting a 50' wire for portable use.

http://trailmanorowners.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=11022

I would like to know how others have run and attached their wire to the trailer. Do you think I could somehow use this wire running to the battery box and add an additional length with power pole connectors for portable use??

I can't figure out any functional difference between the Morningstar ProStar controller and the Sun Saver model. It looks like I can get the 20 amp Sun Saver for a little less than the 15 amp ProStar. Would one of these better meet my needs??

http://www.solar-electric.com/pros15solcha.html
http://www.solar-electric.com/ss-20l.html

AM solar caries the Sun Saver and states that can be mounted in the battery compartment. I am hoping to get everything I can from them and save on shipping.

The 150 watt panels have tyco connectors (not MC4) does this present any problems I am not aware of??

http://www.amsolar.com/home/amr_1363...lar_panel.html

Hopefully at some point soon I will figure out what I want and how to do it and actually get started. Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.

From what I understand the MPPT controllers are more efficient , they made sense when panels were more expensive, but now with the prices way down per watt, they aren't necessary unless you are limited to a smaller panel. I installed a Prostar 15 and Kyocera 140 panel last year and the performance was impressive compared to the factory 85 watter with the cheap controller. I made sure that I could add another panel later if I wanted, but that would be crazy for me. I don't use any inverters.

[tgpmd1]

Originally Posted by Panamapat

2) Lighting Battery Load – replaced all of the incandescent light bulbs in the camper with LED bulbs from Amazon and cut the lighting load by 90%. (from 10 amps down to 1 amp with all lights on)

Which lights did you purchase from Amazon?