Doing Solar Again
I sold my toy hauler and bought a new one. I kept the Rogue 3024 charge controller and put in a Xantrex C35 that I had. It will do just fine for the new owner. Now I need about 400 watts of panels ...
Forum Discussion
Sun electronics sells a 140 watt 12 volt nominal panel for around $229. You can check their website for others. You will want something with a frame, so that you can bolt it to your roof.
What I do for roof mounts are 6" long of 2" angle aluminum from Home Depot, with three holes for the roof 3/16" and #10 screws. 5/16" hole for the 1/4" bolt to the panel frame.
For tilt rods, I used 1/8" thick 3/4" angle aluminum. 18" long is large enough for my panels. 5/16" hole in each end, with one going into the roof mount, one to the top side of the panel.
My problem is that 400 watts was plenty to charge my batteries, and I did not want to put excess wear on the roof, so I no longer tilt the panels. I would rather buy another panel, than to worry about wearing out the roof, or causing more than $150 in damage to it, or risk my life going up and down the ladder. . .
I used #10 UV rated wire in my original system, pair of 45 watt panels. Then added a 75W panel with the same wire, now about 15 amps. When I installed a pair of 120 watt panels, I ran a new #10 gauge line. While larger wire is recommended, it does work, due to the short wire length.
You could use 24 volt nominal panels or 12 volt in series, or whatever you like. Just remember that 200 watt panels are really large, and might be difficult to locate several of them on the roof, with all the vents and A/C that is already up there.
For my van, I plan on drilling a hole right in the middle of the roof, then go to the sidewall. On the roof, the hole will be covered by the solar panel. I will also be installing a fantastic fan there as well.
For my satellite dish, I put the hole over one of the A/C vent air ducts, and that worked out fine. When it did leak, it was into the air duct, and did not damage anything, we found the leak in minutes. Then repaired the leak (due to the wires twisting when tuning in the dish).
On my motorhome, there is a panel running along both sidewalls. I can remove that panel, and there are factory installed wires there, and I installed more wiring there.
Good luck!
Fred.
What I do for roof mounts are 6" long of 2" angle aluminum from Home Depot, with three holes for the roof 3/16" and #10 screws. 5/16" hole for the 1/4" bolt to the panel frame.
For tilt rods, I used 1/8" thick 3/4" angle aluminum. 18" long is large enough for my panels. 5/16" hole in each end, with one going into the roof mount, one to the top side of the panel.
My problem is that 400 watts was plenty to charge my batteries, and I did not want to put excess wear on the roof, so I no longer tilt the panels. I would rather buy another panel, than to worry about wearing out the roof, or causing more than $150 in damage to it, or risk my life going up and down the ladder. . .
I used #10 UV rated wire in my original system, pair of 45 watt panels. Then added a 75W panel with the same wire, now about 15 amps. When I installed a pair of 120 watt panels, I ran a new #10 gauge line. While larger wire is recommended, it does work, due to the short wire length.
You could use 24 volt nominal panels or 12 volt in series, or whatever you like. Just remember that 200 watt panels are really large, and might be difficult to locate several of them on the roof, with all the vents and A/C that is already up there.
For my van, I plan on drilling a hole right in the middle of the roof, then go to the sidewall. On the roof, the hole will be covered by the solar panel. I will also be installing a fantastic fan there as well.
For my satellite dish, I put the hole over one of the A/C vent air ducts, and that worked out fine. When it did leak, it was into the air duct, and did not damage anything, we found the leak in minutes. Then repaired the leak (due to the wires twisting when tuning in the dish).
On my motorhome, there is a panel running along both sidewalls. I can remove that panel, and there are factory installed wires there, and I installed more wiring there.
Good luck!
Fred.
