Solar wiring question
Currently I have 2 100 watt panels on top of the trailer (VOC 21.6 volts, ISC 6.34 amps, VPM 17.4 volts, IMP 5.75 amps) with a 30 foot run of 12ga wire to the charge controller. Last fall my system...
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Found a good price on 8ga wire so I can go that route. I'll have to do some measuring because I just don't remember but looking at my order from a few years ago when I purchased the system it came with 40 feet of 12ga and I added another 50 feet. I cut the 90 feet in half and ran the lines off the roof and I remember I did have some waste when I got to the charge controller but not sure how much. But I'm all of 40 feet and probable a little move. Panels are at the rear of a 28 foot toy hauler thats all of 10 foot tall at the center fridge vent. I did extend the panel pigtails out a ways, probably had 3 foot of pigtail per panel.
My reasoning for getting rid of the MC4 connectors is there out in the weather all year, buried under snow all winter and when they did fail it was a pain getting on the roof. I got the smallest guy in camp, backed the pickup up to the trailer, set a camp table on the tailgate then two of us boosted the guy from the table to the trailer roof. This was the second day of a 10 day hunt so I ended up running the genny way more then usual to keep the batteries up because the solar just wasn't doing good even after the guy fiddled with the connections. So I figure a weatherproof box with the cables in a bus or ground bar will be better then the MC4's.
My reasoning for getting rid of the MC4 connectors is there out in the weather all year, buried under snow all winter and when they did fail it was a pain getting on the roof. I got the smallest guy in camp, backed the pickup up to the trailer, set a camp table on the tailgate then two of us boosted the guy from the table to the trailer roof. This was the second day of a 10 day hunt so I ended up running the genny way more then usual to keep the batteries up because the solar just wasn't doing good even after the guy fiddled with the connections. So I figure a weatherproof box with the cables in a bus or ground bar will be better then the MC4's.
