Solar crunch time! Please review my plan.

[Chilepalace]

I would like begin my first post with a big thank you to all who have shared their knowledge and experience on this forum. Without that, I probably wouldn't be entering the solar jungle!

I hope you will take a look at my plan,(will try to keep it short), and alert me to any big mistakes I am about to make.

The rig: 27' 5er, 2 Trojan T-105 batteries. Lots of dry camping, however our power needs are minimal. No plans for a large inverter or power hungry appliances. LED's already installed. Usually camp in warm, sunny places, often at 11,000ft. elevation.

The equipment:
Solar Cynergy 300W kit from Solarblvd. $415/free shipping.
Includes:
2 150W mono panels
Solar Cynergy 20amp controller(probably not use).
40' of 10Ga. cable w/mc4 connectors, 2 mc4 Y connectors.
8 'Z' brackets(won't use).

Trimetric SC2030 controller kit from solarseller.com. $340 w/shipping.
Includes:
30amp PWM Controller and 2030RV monitor.
500amp shunt.
Monitor wiring harness and temp. sensor w/connectors.

Battery cables,fuses, disconnects, panel mounting hardware: <$200? So maybe do this for just under $1000. Worth it?

My main questions for all of you:
Is the above controller & monitor a good choice for my system?
Would an MPPT controller justify the extra cost? I have been trying to research the Tracer 4215Bn with Mt50 remote monitor. Haven't had any luck finding adequate info.(or suppliers) on these units.

Wire size: Approx. 12' run from panels to controller, is 10 ga. supplied in the kit adequate? 4' controller to batteries, 4ga. welding cable OK?

Thank you for any comments/suggestions you care to share.

[time2roll]

Unless the budget is very limited I would always recommend aiming for the high side on solar. This allows for other than perfect circumstances. It is a myth to think you can size the system to consistently arrive at 100% charged just as the sun is setting.

150w per battery is the high side, 100w is about middle, 50w is the low side.
JMHO.

[pianotuna]

Hi BFL13,


You need more wattage with a tiny bank because the depth of discharge is going to be greater. The extra wattage may carry the parasitic loads both earlier and later in the day, easing the strain on the (tiny) battery bank. That said, at about 85% state of charge there is not much point in having more than 150 watts per 100 amp-hours of bank, because the bank will only accept 12.5 amps per 100 amp-hours.

The exceptions are full time and inverter use. If there is lots of inverter use then it may be wise to max out the solar system.

[BFL13]

An AH is an AH. Doesn't matter if you are doing a 50-100 on two batts or a 75-100 on four batts.

If it takes a 200w panel to do that, then of course the 200w will be a higher proportion of the bank size with the two batts. That is not to be confused with saying you NEED a higher proportion, just that it IS a higher proportion.

You also have the time factor in the AH. If you have longer days of sunshine, you don't need as many amps. You can have a good set-up for the summer that would be no good in the winter with its shorter daytimes. Also you use more furnace and lights on longer in the winter.

Flat or tilted? Aiming? In May at 49.3 N Lat, with a 130w panel, I got 56AH/day flat, 70AH tilted aimed South, and 90AH aiming it while tilted. (sunny all day, no clouds)

So first you need to know how many AH/day you will have to replace. Then figure how much solar that will take depending how you do it (flat or?) and when and where. That will turn out to be a certain proportion of your battery bank size. But you could have one or a dozen batteries it doesn't matter for how much solar you need.

How much battery you need could be affected by how much solar you have though 🙂

[Fisherguy]

Really? I mounted my inverter vertically about 3 years ago with the front facing out (if you know what I mean?)

Barry, I've read a few places with a smaller battery bank you should increase the solar wattage. I guess the thinking is if you'll be drawing them down to a lower SOC and you'll need wore to get them back up, specially up here where the sun is lower on the horizon¿?
We have a 600 w inverter, watch maybe 2-4 hours of sat tv per day.

[BFL13]

jrnymn7 wrote:
Does it matter how one mounts an mppt controller? Does it have to be upright vertical or can it be upright horizontal, or even laying flat on its back? My cabinet is 12" high, and the Tracer 3215BN is 11" tall. I'm considering either laying it flat, or on a 45 degree tilt back.

The controller needs cooling air around it, but AFAIK it doesn't matter how you mount it. Inverters and converters say horizontal but that is about how their fans vent through them.

[jrnymn7]

Does it matter how one mounts an mppt controller? Does it have to be upright vertical or can it be upright horizontal, or even laying flat on its back?

My cabinet is 12" high, and the Tracer 3215BN is 11" tall. I'm considering either laying it flat, or on a 45 degree tilt back. The cabinet will be power vented on hot days.

[pianotuna]

Hi BFl13,

Four of my "marine" deep cycle batteries are 10 years old, the others are 6 years old. That is what automated equalization can do for an owner.

I agree it is about amp-hours used. When I was part time I had lots of solar for my needs. Now that I'm full time I could use three times as many watts of panels.

[BBFD]

To the OP - it is downright scary how much your system is identical to what I am doing. Same kit, same upgrade to Bogart, same batteries, same high elevation camping, minimal power use, etc. For those wondering on the change out of the controller, the price from Solar Blvd for the kit is great considering it includes free shipping. You can essentially throw away the POS controller and be better off than buying panels, wire and brackets individually and paying freight.

For my system I will 'likely' add one more 150W panel down the road but just want to get this system installed. My new TH is not delivered until Tuesday so need to get the basics done first. As has already been mentioned, the 10ga may or may not be good when getting up to 450W so I am thinking about going with a combiner box and then either 6 or 8ga wiring down to the controller as that gives me future expansion capability.

We can both compare notes when done to see how we both end up working out!

[BFL13]

I had 210w (an 80 and a 130) up there on about 40 ft (one way distance) of #8 and I got full amps (5 plus 8 = 13) to the battery no problem.

We do just fine with 200 something watts and four batteries, so you would think with two batteries you could get by with half that! It is all about your daily AH usage, not about panel watts vs battery AH, which PT is always on about so you can equalize with the solar once in a while.

Just equalize with something else and then you can have a good set-up without so much solar. IMO a single 150 would be fine with two batteries and say a 60AH/day usage rate. A single 250 would do that if each day were half cloudy. So it is also about expected sunshine for where and when you camp.

[jrnymn7]

Call Trimetric... I talked to a gentleman there last fall, and seem to recall him saying they will upgrade your 2025 to a 2030, if you buy their solar controller.

[Fisherguy]

Thanks Barry, I still have too many questions and I like to have a better idea what I'm doing before I get started. Poly or mono, series or parallel, what type of controller etc. Like the idea of the Trimetric 2030 but I already have the 2025..?

I'm limited to 2 batteries so if I'm reading this right because of that I need more watts on the roof, I only have 8ga prewired up there so putting the panels in series allows me to put more watts up there on the 8 ga, but then if 1 panel is partly shaded the total output is greatly reduced, right?

I saw some 150 watt panels for a good price but not sure if a 40" x 40" will fit up there, will check this weekend when I change my skylight. Like to have at least 300 watts with the ability of adding another 150.

We're gone most of June, hopefully I can figure it all out in time for our Sept trip. I'll be buying from the US, shipping to Blaine and picking it up.

Anyhow, don't want to hijack this thread but it sounds like we're both trying to figure this out.

[BFL13]

Fisherguy wrote:
..............

Considering going solar myself, lots to learn......

Act fast, like right now!!! A new meaning for "crunch time" 😞

Panel prices are going way up as we post! The tariff Canada has recently put on Chinese made panels has taken effect, so only old stock a dealer has is still reasonable. Also our dollar is in the sewer which doesn't help.

eg, I was at wegosolar yesterday where you can still get their last 245 watters for $282, but not for long. Meanwhile the 100w and 150w panels just went up by about $100!!!! You would need the Eco-W or other MPPT controller for the 245w.--check eBay for prices on those.

Another dealer on the Island has the same story. Yipes!

Or you can buy in the States, where as usual, prices are much better if you can get there without taking a costly ferry!

[jrnymn7]

Tracer BN Series Manual

4215BN $154

[pianotuna]

X2. I had plenty of solar when I was part time, but now that I'm full time I could use triple what I have.

Muddydogs wrote:
You are going to find that peoples opinion of solar are all over the map on this forum. One of the reasons for this is that everyone camps different so power needs very

[Muddydogs]

Fisherguy wrote:
You say his system would be marginal then say he'll be fine?

You are going to find that peoples opinion of solar are all over the map on this forum. One of the reasons for this is that everyone camps different so power needs very and another reason is guys just don't know but feel they need to post something which is usually regurgitated numbers and info from other posts.

All I can post is from what I know and I know that my Windynation 200 watt kit with cheap controller keeps my trailer up and running through 4 days of 30 degree weather with partly to mostly cloudy skies, lots of rain and some snow. I kept the heater on 60 during the night and ran it a few times during the day to keep the chill out of the unit. Each night the grandkid got to watch a movie on the TV powered through the inverter.

I was pulling between 30 and 60 AMP's a day into my batteries and my battery voltage never dropped below 12.0 volts which I figured was great considering the lack of sun and my solar panels being covered with snow until they melted off about noon. I need to rig up a extension handle with a snow push end so I can clear off my panels instead of waiting around for the sun to do it.

So from what I have experienced through two late fall hunting trips and an early spring camping trip is 200 watts takes care of my needs by keeping my trailer systems up and running and keeping me warm in weather down to zero degrees. I am going to add 2 100 watt panels to use as a portable set up for the times I park in the dark shade or during the Fall just to be able and get a little move out of the low sun angle.