Started Solar Array

[Firelime]

I have to few lose ends to tie up but overall it came together good. The system will eventually have up to 5 panels totaling 800 watts and 4 EGC2 batteries. I have not yet decided if that will include 2 SC-2030's or a TriStar MPPT 60. We'll have to see when we get there.
The system currently includes:
- Trimetric 2030
- SC2030
- 1 Solar Cenergy 160 watt panel

First was to build the bus bars and panel mounts. The panel mounts use nylon washers to add some tension to the pivot end while allowing it to pivot freely and not gouge.




The combiner box on the roof has plenty of room to expand.


The 1st panel mounted up. The wires will be held down with tan Eternabond tape (all I currently have is white). The panel tilts at 5° on the roof now; so I need to build some risers to tilt the panels to 30°.


Trimetric mounted up.


The SC-2030 wired up. I need to cut and re-crimp the phone cable so there is not excess. I'm really digging the hydraulic crimper. I makes very nice crimps.


I'm looking forward to not having to take the generator to the places we only need it for charging.

[Firelime]

Searching_Ut wrote:


I'm a transplant, stationed at Hill for a couple years, then decided to retire from the AF and stay here rather than take a 5th overseas tour.

Where did you get the parts to make your Terminal blocks? You have some good fabrication skills. Everything looks clean, lined up, nicely done countersinks etc.

Thanks! I'm a machinist by trade. Although now I'm the process engineer where I work. But I have access to all of our machinery. It was nice to get away from the desk and build something. Makes you miss the simplicity of it.

[Searching_Ut]

Firelime wrote:

Searching_Ut wrote:


....

I grew up in Syracuse, out by the causeway. Parents still live there.

I'm hoping to have 3 panels up by the end of the year.

I'm a transplant, stationed at Hill for a couple years, then decided to retire from the AF and stay here rather than take a 5th overseas tour.

Where did you get the parts to make your Terminal blocks? You have some good fabrication skills. Everything looks clean, lined up, nicely done countersinks etc.

[Almot]

Crabbypatty wrote:
While I only head out for a week at a time, I chose not to tilt the panels and use fixed mounts. 4 panels = 428 watts into two trojan t-125's. Ive found that when extreme ie, 3 college kids laptops, phones tv, water pumps etc, the batts fully charged up in the late afternoon. I might add two more panels.While tilting or trackers are the most efficient, my choice was to have it be autonomously and not have a another thing to add to my list when camping. However I have seen others add a portable panel, one or two and leave them on the ground tilted.

3 laptops probably account for most of your energy use. Pumps don't draw much since they don't run much. TV - very little, if a recent model. Phone is nothing. For one or two people with similar loads, i.e. one laptop/TV/pumps, the biggest draw would be LP fridge - could draw 10-12 AH a day, and then 300W flat panel would keep batteries full. It's 110V items that need 1000W+ inverter that drain batteries fast. MW, coffee maker, hair drier.

Portable panel really shines when it comes to tilting - no roof climbing there. But, with them being 100W max (for practical reasons), the appeal is lost on me. 120-140W flat panel will harvest that much in summer, when not shaded.

[Crabbypatty]

While I only head out for a week at a time, I chose not to tilt the panels and use fixed mounts. 4 panels = 428 watts into two trojan t-125's. Ive found that when extreme ie, 3 college kids laptops, phones tv, water pumps etc, the batts fully charged up in the late afternoon. I might add two more panels.While tilting or trackers are the most efficient, my choice was to have it be autonomously and not have a another thing to add to my list when camping. However I have seen others add a portable panel, one or two and leave them on the ground tilted.

[Firelime]

Searching_Ut wrote:


I'm just a couple miles down the road from you, out in Syracuse.

My initial panels were impulse buy and I only ordered 2 100 watt as battery maintainers, went to 400 watts right at initial install, brought it up to 500 watts after trip to Estes park and other Colorado areas, then 600 watts after couple trips each to Flaming Gorge and Island Park prior to heading out to Washington coast for a couple weeks. 1000 watts should be my final upgrade to get the rig ready for longer term use as we retire in May. I found 400 watts to be more than enough when we were in Lake Havasu Area, and 600 Watts lacking in Seattle and when camping in this area October and November.

I grew up in Syracuse, out by the causeway. Parents still live there.

I'm hoping to have 3 panels up by the end of the year.

[Searching_Ut]

Firelime wrote:

Searching_Ut wrote:
Nice start. Weather here in Utah is starting to get to the point where I should be climbing on the roof and finishing mine up in the next few weeks. Got the RV pad poured just prior to the weather turning bad in the fall, so now I have some place to work on the rig, which is too big to fit in the driveway. I'm going the dual SC 2030 route and have everything in the garage for upgrading to 10 Grape 100 Watt panels in two banks of 500 watts. Keeping all 10 panels in parallel should work out great for the widely varied sort of camping we do.

Keep posting with updates as you progress.

Where in Utah are ya, if you don't mind? I'm up in the Roy area. Yeah the weather has been awesome this week in the 70's. Stark change from the 30's a week or so ago. Makes it hard to go to work.

I was originally go to put 24 volt panels on the roof. On this roof however, the placement and angles wouldn't work as well as I would like. Putting the 160's on will still allow me to walk around the roof and if I decide to go with the Tristar MPPT instead of the dual SC-2030's I can still run series-parallel. I agree with the camping. Down in Moab we won't really see shading, but up in the Uinta's partial array shading will likely occur.

I'm just a couple miles down the road from you, out in Syracuse.

My initial panels were impulse buy and I only ordered 2 100 watt as battery maintainers, went to 400 watts right at initial install, brought it up to 500 watts after trip to Estes park and other Colorado areas, then 600 watts after couple trips each to Flaming Gorge and Island Park prior to heading out to Washington coast for a couple weeks. 1000 watts should be my final upgrade to get the rig ready for longer term use as we retire in May. I found 400 watts to be more than enough when we were in Lake Havasu Area, and 600 Watts lacking in Seattle and when camping in this area October and November.

[westend]

Firelime wrote:

Almot wrote:
Wires on the roof need to be covered. PWM and parallel install (?) complicates the wiring, and those red-black cables probably don't have same level of UV protection as MC4 cable.

I think leaving generator home will be doable, where you are. As long as you don't need A/C. Or there is no snow on the panel :)...

You'll probably end up not using tilting often. Too much pain unless you stay put for a week or longer. 800W is a lot of solar, and you are not that far North.

I plan on using Eternabond to cover the wires. Just waiting for the tan color to get here. The white on the roof would really stand out, which is what I have. Yeah, I'm not sure how often I will tilt the panels, but it's nice to have that option. 800 watts is a bit, but I don't really like the Dometic fridge I have and am really contemplating putting in a residential down the line. We are fairly power hungry too.

I'm in MN and have my trailer parked on my property for the Winter. I have a single 235W panel, now, and it is tilted at about 58 degrees to the South. It stays like that through the Winter, keeping my batteries charged and power available for the few times I'm out there. It works well since the snow can get extreme up here and the South facing module sheds it after a day or two of sunshine, no matter what temperature is outside. Tilt is good.

I also have a small 120V fridge. The battery capacity and panel selection are basically designed to run the fridge.

I'm planning on adding another module, maybe two, and more battery to possibly allow a small air conditioner to run for awhile when we experience sweltering conditions. If we are parked in a tropical or desert environment, then campground power or a generator will come into play for air conditioning. After breaking the barrier into free power, I got interested in what else I can do with solar charging. YMMV.

[Firelime]

Almot wrote:
Wires on the roof need to be covered. PWM and parallel install (?) complicates the wiring, and those red-black cables probably don't have same level of UV protection as MC4 cable.

I think leaving generator home will be doable, where you are. As long as you don't need A/C. Or there is no snow on the panel :)...

You'll probably end up not using tilting often. Too much pain unless you stay put for a week or longer. 800W is a lot of solar, and you are not that far North.

I plan on using Eternabond to cover the wires. Just waiting for the tan color to get here. The white on the roof would really stand out, which is what I have. Yeah, I'm not sure how often I will tilt the panels, but it's nice to have that option. 800 watts is a bit, but I don't really like the Dometic fridge I have and am really contemplating putting in a residential down the line. We are fairly power hungry too.

[Firelime]

Unyalli wrote:
Nice job so far. Might I ask do you know about flooded lead acid battery charging? Specifically getting the absorb phase correct?

- Jeff

I pulled the charging specs for the batteries and have entered those into the Trimetric. But I am always open to learning and advice.

[Firelime]

Searching_Ut wrote:
Nice start. Weather here in Utah is starting to get to the point where I should be climbing on the roof and finishing mine up in the next few weeks. Got the RV pad poured just prior to the weather turning bad in the fall, so now I have some place to work on the rig, which is too big to fit in the driveway. I'm going the dual SC 2030 route and have everything in the garage for upgrading to 10 Grape 100 Watt panels in two banks of 500 watts. Keeping all 10 panels in parallel should work out great for the widely varied sort of camping we do.

Keep posting with updates as you progress.

Where in Utah are ya, if you don't mind? I'm up in the Roy area. Yeah the weather has been awesome this week in the 70's. Stark change from the 30's a week or so ago. Makes it hard to go to work.

I was originally go to put 24 volt panels on the roof. On this roof however, the placement and angles wouldn't work as well as I would like. Putting the 160's on will still allow me to walk around the roof and if I decide to go with the Tristar MPPT instead of the dual SC-2030's I can still run series-parallel. I agree with the camping. Down in Moab we won't really see shading, but up in the Uinta's partial array shading will likely occur.

[Searching_Ut]

Nice start. Weather here in Utah is starting to get to the point where I should be climbing on the roof and finishing mine up in the next few weeks. Got the RV pad poured just prior to the weather turning bad in the fall, so now I have some place to work on the rig, which is too big to fit in the driveway. I'm going the dual SC 2030 route and have everything in the garage for upgrading to 10 Grape 100 Watt panels in two banks of 500 watts. Keeping all 10 panels in parallel should work out great for the widely varied sort of camping we do.

Keep posting with updates as you progress.

[Lwiddis]

I am considering a second controller for the TT's back panels. Any opinions?

[Unyalli]

Nice job so far. Might I ask do you know about flooded lead acid battery charging? Specifically getting the absorb phase correct?

- Jeff

[Almot]

Wires on the roof need to be covered. PWM and parallel install (?) complicates the wiring, and those red-black cables probably don't have same level of UV protection as MC4 cable.

I think leaving generator home will be doable, where you are. As long as you don't need A/C. Or there is no snow on the panel :)...

You'll probably end up not using tilting often. Too much pain unless you stay put for a week or longer. 800W is a lot of solar, and you are not that far North.