150 watts of solar using Lance factory wiring????
I picked up 3 Kyocera KT50 50Watt panels today for almost nothing and would like to put them on my 2009 Lance 845. These are older panels that I think have been discontinued, but the person I got them from says they were never used and while it may be hard to tell, they sure look like that may be true. I have 2 Crown 31DC130 130AH batteries and may decide to add more solar watts later. This Lance will mostly be used as a traveling camper and will not spend many days in one spot, so I am hoping the larger truck wiring I installed takes care of most of my charging needs. That being said, I can also see us taking the camper off occasionally if it looks like we are going to spend several days camped in a base camp and travel to other tourist sites in the general area. I do have a generator for backup but would only like to use it as a last resort.
Here is the spec sheet on these panels.
Kyocera KC50 specs.
Anyway, I would like to use the Lance factory 12ga solar wiring from the roof down to the charge controller. I can use larger wire/cable from the controller to the batteries, so that is not an issue. I really would like to avoid pulling or routing new, larger wiring from the roof down to the solar charge controller. I installed a Trimetric 2030 and wired in a second battery that sits in the bed of the truck and pulling new wires/cables is not a lot of fun in a smaller truck camper like this 845. If possible, I would like to just plug into the Lance installed molded connector already on the roof, but if I have to remove the plug and install a roof junction box, it would not be a huge deal to me.
My main questions are as follows.
1, AM I wasting my time starting with just 150 watts? Open roof space is somewhat limited on this roof, but I think I would be able to find room for at least another 100 watts.
2, Can I wire the panels in parallel and use the 12ga Lance wiring from the roof to the charge controller. I am going to guess that the total length of this wire would be under 10ft, maybe around 7-8 ft. If I went this way I would probably use the Bogart SC-2030 as it will interface with the Trimetric 2030 I already have installed. What is the largest total watts I could get by with running with this set up?
3, Wire the panels in series and use a MPPT controller. If done this way, I would want to add some bypass diodes to the wiring to limit the effect any shading had on the output. From what I have seen, MPPT controller are more expensive then a PWM controller and Bogart does not offer one that would interface with the Trimetric. Anyone have a recommendation for an affordable MPPT controller with a remote panel?
Thanks!
Here is the spec sheet on these panels.
Kyocera KC50 specs.
Anyway, I would like to use the Lance factory 12ga solar wiring from the roof down to the charge controller. I can use larger wire/cable from the controller to the batteries, so that is not an issue. I really would like to avoid pulling or routing new, larger wiring from the roof down to the solar charge controller. I installed a Trimetric 2030 and wired in a second battery that sits in the bed of the truck and pulling new wires/cables is not a lot of fun in a smaller truck camper like this 845. If possible, I would like to just plug into the Lance installed molded connector already on the roof, but if I have to remove the plug and install a roof junction box, it would not be a huge deal to me.
My main questions are as follows.
1, AM I wasting my time starting with just 150 watts? Open roof space is somewhat limited on this roof, but I think I would be able to find room for at least another 100 watts.
2, Can I wire the panels in parallel and use the 12ga Lance wiring from the roof to the charge controller. I am going to guess that the total length of this wire would be under 10ft, maybe around 7-8 ft. If I went this way I would probably use the Bogart SC-2030 as it will interface with the Trimetric 2030 I already have installed. What is the largest total watts I could get by with running with this set up?
3, Wire the panels in series and use a MPPT controller. If done this way, I would want to add some bypass diodes to the wiring to limit the effect any shading had on the output. From what I have seen, MPPT controller are more expensive then a PWM controller and Bogart does not offer one that would interface with the Trimetric. Anyone have a recommendation for an affordable MPPT controller with a remote panel?
Thanks!
