Solar wiring issue
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Mar-27-2017 03:05 PM
I don't want to drill holes through my rv roof and found that I could easily run my solar power lines down my fridge exuaghst vent. Thus gives me great access to everything I need.
Question is, can I just use the power lines coming from my battery to the fuse and breaker box to back feed my solar to charge the batteries? Or do I need to run new lines all the way back to the batteries from my control?
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Apr-01-2017 02:50 PM
BarberArias wrote:pianotuna wrote:
It is not a good idea to "back feed" (which you are really not doing)
The way my trailer is setup is hard for me to tie into the batteries without drilling holes through the roof. Unless I drop down in the kitchen area which also contains my breaker / fuse panel. I don't plan on back feeding through the panel just tie in to the wires feeding the panel. My under belly of the trailer is sealed since it has the cold weather package so getting wires back up to the front of the trailer has numerous obstacles. I feel like this will be the cleanest way to install. The loss of power shouldn't be a issue, currently we only need to charge the batteries every 3 days with the generator. Hopefully the 2 100w panels can keep up with that even with the loss of power in the lines.
Thoughts?
I had a similar problem with my kitchen at the rear and batteries at the front. I ending up running down the bath room grey tank vent, cut a hole in the side of the vent pipe inside the basement and straight to the battery compartment. I used an electrician snake to pull the cable down from the roof. Then gorilla tape over the new hole in the vent pipe to seal it.
2012 Cougar High Country 299RKS 5th wheel, Mor/Ryde pinbox, 300w of solar
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Mar-30-2017 09:23 AM
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Mar-30-2017 06:26 AM
BarberArias wrote:mike-s wrote:
How are you planning on mounting the panels? Glued to a fiberglass roof?
I'll still screw brackets to the roof with lap sealant all over it.
You might want to check out the videos at www.amsolar.com especially on out they secure the mounting feet in fiberglass roofs. There feet come with 3m tape on them which is all that is used.
2021 Coachmen Spirit 1943RB
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Mar-29-2017 04:20 PM
mike-s wrote:
How are you planning on mounting the panels? Glued to a fiberglass roof?
I'll still screw brackets to the roof with lap sealant all over it.
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Mar-29-2017 03:03 AM
How are you planning on mounting the panels? Glued to a fiberglass roof?
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Mar-28-2017 06:47 PM
The above is the way I installed my 200 watts seven years ago and have never had any complaints.
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Mar-28-2017 06:22 PM
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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Mar-28-2017 06:12 PM
pianotuna wrote:
It is not a good idea to "back feed" (which you are really not doing)
The way my trailer is setup is hard for me to tie into the batteries without drilling holes through the roof. Unless I drop down in the kitchen area which also contains my breaker / fuse panel. I don't plan on back feeding through the panel just tie in to the wires feeding the panel. My under belly of the trailer is sealed since it has the cold weather package so getting wires back up to the front of the trailer has numerous obstacles. I feel like this will be the cleanest way to install. The loss of power shouldn't be a issue, currently we only need to charge the batteries every 3 days with the generator. Hopefully the 2 100w panels can keep up with that even with the loss of power in the lines.
Thoughts?
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Mar-27-2017 10:05 PM
Here are some reasons why.
Many controllers state that they will burn out if they are connected to the panels but not connected to the battery bank.
When in storage you would want to disconnect the battery bank from the RV. Wiring directly to the bank allows it to be charged while in storage mode.
Wire from the controller to the battery bank may be larger than what is used from the bank to the distribution box.
The charge controller ought to be as close to the battery bank as possible.
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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Mar-27-2017 06:48 PM
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Mar-27-2017 04:47 PM
Yes, you can do that. It's not really a backfeed. However, depending on the length of the wire run to the batteries, the size of the wire, and the amount of solar, you could have significant voltage drop. Meaning less than ideal performance.
2007 Tundra DC 4X4 5.7, Alcan custom rear springs, 2009 Cougar 245RKS, 370 watts ET solar, Victron BMV-712, Victron SmartSolar 100/30, 200AH LiP04 bank, ProWatt 2000.