Forum Discussion

BurbMan's avatar
BurbMan
Explorer II
Jun 04, 2020

Question on solar wiring

So I just ordered this Renogy 100w solar kit with 10a PWM charge controller.

This is going into a truck camper with one group 27 flooded battery, I just need some minimum power to charge cell phones, run the fridge and watch some TV at night.

The controller has simple 2-wire connections for panel, battery, and load. My plan is to wire right to the battery and not connect anything to the load terminals, since the battery is already connected to the DC distribution panel in the camper.

That means when I'm on shore power both the converter and the solar will be trying to charge the battery. Am I right in thinking that when the converter charges the battery, the solar controller will sense that it's charged and turn off solar charging?

I have a small 150w inverter, would I be better off connecting that to the load terminals on the solar controller or straight to the battery?
  • Yosemite_Sam1's avatar
    Yosemite_Sam1
    Explorer
    Jun 04, 2020
    Yes, that's the way to. do it. It all runs to/thru the battery.

    And that's the function of the controller.

    You might also want to buy yourself MC4 connectors so you don't have to open up your battery case every time you need to connect and disconnect the solar panels when setting up and decamping.
  • jdc1's avatar
    jdc1
    Explorer II
    Jun 04, 2020
    DC power hates to travel. Your inverter is better served going straight to the battery terminals.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Jun 04, 2020
    Whether the converter will 'win' or the controller will depends on the voltage settings of each. Oftentimes they work in tandem.

    Straight to battery. If you connect to the controller my understanding is it will not work at night, and the amperage is very low.
  • Boon_Docker's avatar
    Boon_Docker
    Explorer III
    Jun 04, 2020
    Connect both the inverter and charge controller to the battery. When you are plugged in both the charge controller and converter may charge the battery at the same time. They both play well together.
  • BurbMan's avatar
    BurbMan
    Explorer II
    Jun 04, 2020
    Great thanks guys! As far as connections, I plan on mounting the panel on the roof so it will be hardwired to the battery.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Jun 04, 2020
    Hope you have more room on the roof.. solar is magic and you're going to love it.
  • Yosemite_Sam1's avatar
    Yosemite_Sam1
    Explorer
    Jun 05, 2020
    2oldman wrote:
    Hope you have more room on the roof.. solar is magic and you're going to love it.


    True dat!

    So much peace of mind for so little money.

    Hoping for better capabilities for solar panels so we can be completely off grid nor dependent on shore power.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    Jun 05, 2020
    BurbMan wrote:
    Great thanks guys! As far as connections, I plan on mounting the panel on the roof so it will be hardwired to the battery.


    Wiring:

    panel-->charge controller-->catastrophic failure fuse-->battery bank-->fuse-->inverter

    You may wish to add a switch between the panel and the controller.

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