Question on solar wiring

[BurbMan]

So I just ordered this Renogy 100w solar kit with 10a PWM charge controller.

This is going into a truck camper with one group 27 flooded battery, I just need some minimum power to charge cell phones, run the fridge and watch some TV at night.

The controller has simple 2-wire connections for panel, battery, and load. My plan is to wire right to the battery and not connect anything to the load terminals, since the battery is already connected to the DC distribution panel in the camper.

That means when I'm on shore power both the converter and the solar will be trying to charge the battery. Am I right in thinking that when the converter charges the battery, the solar controller will sense that it's charged and turn off solar charging?

I have a small 150w inverter, would I be better off connecting that to the load terminals on the solar controller or straight to the battery?

[pianotuna]

BurbMan wrote:
Great thanks guys! As far as connections, I plan on mounting the panel on the roof so it will be hardwired to the battery.

Wiring:

panel-->charge controller-->catastrophic failure fuse-->battery bank-->fuse-->inverter

You may wish to add a switch between the panel and the controller.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

2oldman wrote:
Hope you have more room on the roof.. solar is magic and you're going to love it.

True dat!

So much peace of mind for so little money.

Hoping for better capabilities for solar panels so we can be completely off grid nor dependent on shore power.

[2oldman]

Hope you have more room on the roof.. solar is magic and you're going to love it.

[BurbMan]

Great thanks guys! As far as connections, I plan on mounting the panel on the roof so it will be hardwired to the battery.

[Boon_Docker]

Connect both the inverter and charge controller to the battery. When you are plugged in both the charge controller and converter may charge the battery at the same time. They both play well together.

[2oldman]

Whether the converter will 'win' or the controller will depends on the voltage settings of each. Oftentimes they work in tandem.

Straight to battery. If you connect to the controller my understanding is it will not work at night, and the amperage is very low.

[jdc1]

DC power hates to travel. Your inverter is better served going straight to the battery terminals.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Yes, that's the way to. do it. It all runs to/thru the battery.

And that's the function of the controller.

You might also want to buy yourself MC4 connectors so you don't have to open up your battery case every time you need to connect and disconnect the solar panels when setting up and decamping.