Who can help me pick out a 600 watt solar sytem?

IAMICHABOD wrote:
I know this is not what you asked for but I thought I might throw it out there.On of our members,a moderator, had a system installed by This Guy and was very pleased with what he got. The price is a bit over your budget but that is the installed price.

Link to the thread mentioned here

I'll give it a read.

I know this is not what you asked for but I thought I might throw it out there.On of our members,a moderator, had a system installed by This Guy and was very pleased with what he got. The price is a bit over your budget but that is the installed price.

Link to the thread mentioned here

mromberg wrote:
I'm trying to put together a 600 watt solar system for my soon to be purchased 2017 Class A Fleetwood Bounder. The coach is equipped with 4 100ah 12 volt batteries and a 2000 watt inverter. It also has a Samsung residential fridge.

This is a classic case of a RV manufacture trying to "save a buck" !

Four 6v golf cart batteries (size GC2) will give you about 420 AH of storage and well likely last longer and are the same price or less than 12V "dual purpose" batteries. AGM batteries are nice (zero maintenance) but expensive.

Personally, I would want an inverter/charger/auto transfer switch instead of a converter/charger and stand alone inverter. Maybe a bit more expensive, but easier to wire and MUCH easier to use !

If you plan to boondock a lot, a true DC refrigerator is more efficient than a residential unit. You probably will not find one as large and if you are on "shore power" most of the time you are camping, it does not matter.

The Victron Energy Battery Monitoris one of the best you can buy. There are several models, depending on what "additional" bells and whistles you want.

On the panels them selves, the first thing you need to decide is what physical size. "Standard" home panels are 2m x 1m (over 6' by over 3') and 72 cells. These are difficult to handle it you are on a roof. You can easily find 1/2 size panels, 1m x 1m and 36 cells, easier to handle but more connections. The other consideration is monocrystalline vs. polycrystalline. Mono are more efficient but cost more. 200W per square meter is consider "good".

I do not have enough experience to recommend brands beyond the battery monitor. For the charge controller, you probably can not go wrong with any of the name brands.

At the moment, the Chinese built panels have a large tariff. Some distributors are getting around this by purchasing from suppliers in other parts of Asia. There are some solar panels being built in South Korea.

Your budget may need some augumentation. WindyNation's 400 watt system is $720 but you'd also need two extra panels at a hundred each. With wire, connectors, DiCor etc. I believe you'd be over. IMO 400 battery amp hours would be on the low side too.

https://www.windynation.com/MPPT-Polycrystalline-Solar-Kits/Windy-Nation-Inc/WindyNation-WNI-400-Watt-4pcs-100W-Solar-Panel-Kit-Trakmax-MPPT-40-A-Solar-Charge-Controller/-/342?p=YzE9NDc=