What can you do with solar?
Hi, Please reply with what your solar system can do to enhance your RV'ing experience. Please list the number of watts, Charge controller, inverter (if any) and amp-hours of battery bank 256 ...
Forum Discussion
Solar Panels
2 80 Watt Sunwize panels:
Voc 22.5
Vmp 17.0
Isc 5.08
Imp 4.7
2 130 Watt Solarland panels:
Voc 21.6
Vmp 17.2
Isc 8.36
Imp 7.56
Total Imp, ignoring the panel differences in Vmp and Voc, 24.52Amps
Controller: Blue Sky Solar Boost 2000E 25 Amp MPPT controller. ( I know, not a lot of cushion, but the controller is over current protected.)
Batteries: 4 242 AH 6V Gcs for a total of 484 AH
Inverter, Xantrex Prosine 2.0 pure sinewave inverter/charger. (100A charger)
The panels are supplied with a combination of 12 and 10 guage wire. The 130s are connected with #10, the 80s with # 12.
From the junction on the roof to the controller input is #10, 20 feet each direction. (Poor install, only needs to be 6 feet at most.) I'm going to up grade this when we get home.
Controller output to batteries is about 7 feet of #10 to the battery connection point formerly used by the converter. From these terminals #6 wires lead somewhere. The batteries are on the other side of the rig and further aft, at a guess, 10 to 15 feet one way.
There are no #6 connections at the batteries however, only 2 3/0. to the (+) and 2 3/0 to the (-). One of these 3/0 pair is to/from the inverter. The other is the DC feed but I cannot find where it connects to the #6 so don't know the over all length. In any case, that feed is probably OK though when I rewire the input I may change the output to #6 over all.
I have seen in the past at this location 19 Amps out of the controller. This when the batteries were low.
Strangely, recently (over the last few weeks) I have not seen over 12.5 Amps, even when there is high load available. I even pulled the shore power, enabled the inverter, and switched the fridge to AC and could still only get less than 13 Amps at 1:00PM in full sun. (February in Southern Mexico.) Recently, most days it won't get the batteries to a full charge. The charge indicator on the Blue Sky remains steady, and never gets to the steady blinking stage indicating at least 90% charge. I am beginning to suspect a poor or failed connection to one or more of the solar panels. :h That will have to wait until spring as well. Meanwhile I rely on the Xantrex and shore power to make sure the batteries get fully charged at least every few days.
USEAGE:
We boondock in many places in Mexico when the shore power is often out of spec, and also on our way to and from home, Wallmart, Rest Areas etc.
Satellite receiver, TV, CD player, ham radio (low useage) Microwave (short time use—coking veggies etc. we don't try to cook a roast!)
And of course soon after leaving (or a few days before arriving in) Mexico, the furnace fans.
Running 4 80AH group 24's as we did for almost 5 years, we often ran out. We haven't really stressed the new (in October) 6Vs yet but they are providing what we expected.
Since CG voltage often climbs too high at night here and the Xantrex cuts it off, once the Air Conditioner in switched off in the evening we enable the Xantrex invert function. When CG voltage rises too high the Xantrex takes over.
We run the two fans at medium speed all night, the battery voltage in the AM, prior to sun hitting the panels, is seldom less than 12.6, never less than 12.5, according to the Xantrex remote panel, which is as accurate as a one decimal readout can be. (I have checked it against a DVM at the batteries several times.)
I was thinking of adding another panel or two, but not until I find out why my panels are not giving me 20 amps when there is both sun and load available. Then I may find it not worth the cost of the panel and new controller. (Unless I move a couple of panels to the stick house to run my ham radio station. . . . :B )
edited to correct typo.
2 80 Watt Sunwize panels:
Voc 22.5
Vmp 17.0
Isc 5.08
Imp 4.7
2 130 Watt Solarland panels:
Voc 21.6
Vmp 17.2
Isc 8.36
Imp 7.56
Total Imp, ignoring the panel differences in Vmp and Voc, 24.52Amps
Controller: Blue Sky Solar Boost 2000E 25 Amp MPPT controller. ( I know, not a lot of cushion, but the controller is over current protected.)
Batteries: 4 242 AH 6V Gcs for a total of 484 AH
Inverter, Xantrex Prosine 2.0 pure sinewave inverter/charger. (100A charger)
The panels are supplied with a combination of 12 and 10 guage wire. The 130s are connected with #10, the 80s with # 12.
From the junction on the roof to the controller input is #10, 20 feet each direction. (Poor install, only needs to be 6 feet at most.) I'm going to up grade this when we get home.
Controller output to batteries is about 7 feet of #10 to the battery connection point formerly used by the converter. From these terminals #6 wires lead somewhere. The batteries are on the other side of the rig and further aft, at a guess, 10 to 15 feet one way.
There are no #6 connections at the batteries however, only 2 3/0. to the (+) and 2 3/0 to the (-). One of these 3/0 pair is to/from the inverter. The other is the DC feed but I cannot find where it connects to the #6 so don't know the over all length. In any case, that feed is probably OK though when I rewire the input I may change the output to #6 over all.
I have seen in the past at this location 19 Amps out of the controller. This when the batteries were low.
Strangely, recently (over the last few weeks) I have not seen over 12.5 Amps, even when there is high load available. I even pulled the shore power, enabled the inverter, and switched the fridge to AC and could still only get less than 13 Amps at 1:00PM in full sun. (February in Southern Mexico.) Recently, most days it won't get the batteries to a full charge. The charge indicator on the Blue Sky remains steady, and never gets to the steady blinking stage indicating at least 90% charge. I am beginning to suspect a poor or failed connection to one or more of the solar panels. :h That will have to wait until spring as well. Meanwhile I rely on the Xantrex and shore power to make sure the batteries get fully charged at least every few days.
USEAGE:
We boondock in many places in Mexico when the shore power is often out of spec, and also on our way to and from home, Wallmart, Rest Areas etc.
Satellite receiver, TV, CD player, ham radio (low useage) Microwave (short time use—coking veggies etc. we don't try to cook a roast!)
And of course soon after leaving (or a few days before arriving in) Mexico, the furnace fans.
Running 4 80AH group 24's as we did for almost 5 years, we often ran out. We haven't really stressed the new (in October) 6Vs yet but they are providing what we expected.
Since CG voltage often climbs too high at night here and the Xantrex cuts it off, once the Air Conditioner in switched off in the evening we enable the Xantrex invert function. When CG voltage rises too high the Xantrex takes over.
We run the two fans at medium speed all night, the battery voltage in the AM, prior to sun hitting the panels, is seldom less than 12.6, never less than 12.5, according to the Xantrex remote panel, which is as accurate as a one decimal readout can be. (I have checked it against a DVM at the batteries several times.)
I was thinking of adding another panel or two, but not until I find out why my panels are not giving me 20 amps when there is both sun and load available. Then I may find it not worth the cost of the panel and new controller. (Unless I move a couple of panels to the stick house to run my ham radio station. . . . :B )
edited to correct typo.
