Routing Solar Wires Through Fridge Vent
Hi all! I am thinking about installing a solar system on my 2012 Jayco X19H. Have been reading a lot in the last few days, and I think that I would like to run the wiring through the Fridge Vent. ...
Forum Discussion
Expect to pay near $100 for a MPPT controller. Don't get the $25 ones.
They need some airflow, but on my last camper I put the controller under the dinette seat with all the food goods. Not a big space and no vents, and things were fine. Just dont put it in a shoebox. Anywhere it can get air is fine.
I use a Morning Star brand. It has some heft to it unlike the cheap plastic ones, I never noticed it getting hot.
The MPPT controllers, I could have told you all about them at the time I did the research, are the good ones, multi-level stage charging as opposed to your alternator that just sends out voltage blindly. It will help keep your batteries in good condition and last longer.
My solar panels, and I have had many over 5 campers, put out about 18 volts each. 18 is fine to use with a 12 volt controller and is common and expected numbers.
No need to double the voltage and try to get the controller to step it down. Stick with the voltage range you need. Wire is expensive, but not so much that you need to get crazy to save a few bucks.
Don't ask the dealer for advice. There are so many dealers who know nothing except how to push you into buying something.
side story:
I was talking to a salesman at a random event. He said how great RV fireplaces are, and I commented they are useless as a TV and wasted space.
Oh, no, they are a great heater he said.
I said, arent they just a giant electric heater?
He tried to argue that it is better and heats better. Well, it does because it is 3 times the wattage as a plug in electric heater… Then he went on to babble about how you plug into shore power and the "camper inverter turns the power to make it work" .
Umm, what? I asked…
Yea, its the converter and thats why it is such a great heater…
OK, thanks for telling me this, I have to go now.
Amazing how little he even knew about the most basic things in an RV.
They need some airflow, but on my last camper I put the controller under the dinette seat with all the food goods. Not a big space and no vents, and things were fine. Just dont put it in a shoebox. Anywhere it can get air is fine.
I use a Morning Star brand. It has some heft to it unlike the cheap plastic ones, I never noticed it getting hot.
The MPPT controllers, I could have told you all about them at the time I did the research, are the good ones, multi-level stage charging as opposed to your alternator that just sends out voltage blindly. It will help keep your batteries in good condition and last longer.
My solar panels, and I have had many over 5 campers, put out about 18 volts each. 18 is fine to use with a 12 volt controller and is common and expected numbers.
No need to double the voltage and try to get the controller to step it down. Stick with the voltage range you need. Wire is expensive, but not so much that you need to get crazy to save a few bucks.
Don't ask the dealer for advice. There are so many dealers who know nothing except how to push you into buying something.
side story:
I was talking to a salesman at a random event. He said how great RV fireplaces are, and I commented they are useless as a TV and wasted space.
Oh, no, they are a great heater he said.
I said, arent they just a giant electric heater?
He tried to argue that it is better and heats better. Well, it does because it is 3 times the wattage as a plug in electric heater… Then he went on to babble about how you plug into shore power and the "camper inverter turns the power to make it work" .
Umm, what? I asked…
Yea, its the converter and thats why it is such a great heater…
OK, thanks for telling me this, I have to go now.
Amazing how little he even knew about the most basic things in an RV.
