Solar Questions

Byrogie wrote:

moonlitsouls wrote:

BurbMan wrote:
The cart looks good, but as was said be sure everything has a setting for lithium batteries.

You will want to upgrade the onboard converter/charger as CA Traveler mentions above. I have upgraded to Progressive Dynamics on my last 3 RVs and it's a vast improvement. the charging profile is such that you can put the unit into boost mode, that will output 14.4v and charge the batteries in about 2h of run time.

You can an upgrade kit from Best Converter that enables you to swap out the converter/charger and 12v load center without having to take out the enclosure and re-wire anything. Newer units will have a setting for Lithium batteries too.

It's a nice sunny day here in NY today! FYI, solar panels produce power whenever there is light, so they are producing even on a cloudy day, just not at full spec like they would in bright sunlight. If you have 400w worth of panels, they may still produce 100w of power on a cloudy day, enough to top off your batteries while you're at work.

I would also consider adding a multimeter like this that can clamp on and measure DC voltage. One of the things you'll want to do is start compiling data on panel output under various weather conditions and power usage under various scenarios.

One other thing that you should do immediately (if you haven't already) is to be sure that every single bulb in the camper is LED. I bought these 1141 replacement bulbs that have good color temp and lumen output and make updating the inside fixtures a breeze. A good speacialty bulb for the range hood is this one from SuperBrightLEDS.com.

Hey Don! I am in the process of reaching out to the manufacturer to see what make/model the stock charger is. Been learning a lot the last couple days. And yes, all my bulbs are LED. The rig is an Eagle Cap 811

Regarding the lithium battery pack , i decided to build my own 280ah pack , the prices for battle born and others were just too high. Hopefully i can find someone on here who can help me assemble.

I have a lot more research to do on this solar system because there is a lot i still dont understand, but little by little.

You will get a lot of help here:
diysolarforum.com

thanks, yeah its been good. ive been on there the last few days and on youtube a lot. boy let me tell you its a LOT to learn. Very complicated for me at least , especially with zero electrical knowledge whatsoever

moonlitsouls wrote:

BurbMan wrote:
The cart looks good, but as was said be sure everything has a setting for lithium batteries.

You will want to upgrade the onboard converter/charger as CA Traveler mentions above. I have upgraded to Progressive Dynamics on my last 3 RVs and it's a vast improvement. the charging profile is such that you can put the unit into boost mode, that will output 14.4v and charge the batteries in about 2h of run time.

You can an upgrade kit from Best Converter that enables you to swap out the converter/charger and 12v load center without having to take out the enclosure and re-wire anything. Newer units will have a setting for Lithium batteries too.

It's a nice sunny day here in NY today! FYI, solar panels produce power whenever there is light, so they are producing even on a cloudy day, just not at full spec like they would in bright sunlight. If you have 400w worth of panels, they may still produce 100w of power on a cloudy day, enough to top off your batteries while you're at work.

I would also consider adding a multimeter like this that can clamp on and measure DC voltage. One of the things you'll want to do is start compiling data on panel output under various weather conditions and power usage under various scenarios.

One other thing that you should do immediately (if you haven't already) is to be sure that every single bulb in the camper is LED. I bought these 1141 replacement bulbs that have good color temp and lumen output and make updating the inside fixtures a breeze. A good speacialty bulb for the range hood is this one from SuperBrightLEDS.com.

Hey Don! I am in the process of reaching out to the manufacturer to see what make/model the stock charger is. Been learning a lot the last couple days. And yes, all my bulbs are LED. The rig is an Eagle Cap 811

Regarding the lithium battery pack , i decided to build my own 280ah pack , the prices for battle born and others were just too high. Hopefully i can find someone on here who can help me assemble.

I have a lot more research to do on this solar system because there is a lot i still dont understand, but little by little.

You will get a lot of help here:
diysolarforum.com

Ditto on the battery build...I've only got room for one group 27 onboard, and I've been looking for ways to increase capacity within that footprint but I don't have the budget for some of these lithium batteries...that buys a lot of gas for the Honda 2000.....

Your transfer switch is so the inverter and the generator are not feeding at the same time?

You can let solar always charge, even when the battery charger is charging.

OMG - A DIY battery guy, love it! If your just getting your feet wet check out his guy, I believe he is the go to guru when it comes to this kind of stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/user/errolprowse

Oh, when you make your battery bank, be sure to post your notes/method and a photo or two.

BurbMan wrote:
The cart looks good, but as was said be sure everything has a setting for lithium batteries.

You will want to upgrade the onboard converter/charger as CA Traveler mentions above. I have upgraded to Progressive Dynamics on my last 3 RVs and it's a vast improvement. the charging profile is such that you can put the unit into boost mode, that will output 14.4v and charge the batteries in about 2h of run time.

You can an upgrade kit from Best Converter that enables you to swap out the converter/charger and 12v load center without having to take out the enclosure and re-wire anything. Newer units will have a setting for Lithium batteries too.

It's a nice sunny day here in NY today! FYI, solar panels produce power whenever there is light, so they are producing even on a cloudy day, just not at full spec like they would in bright sunlight. If you have 400w worth of panels, they may still produce 100w of power on a cloudy day, enough to top off your batteries while you're at work.

I would also consider adding a multimeter like this that can clamp on and measure DC voltage. One of the things you'll want to do is start compiling data on panel output under various weather conditions and power usage under various scenarios.

One other thing that you should do immediately (if you haven't already) is to be sure that every single bulb in the camper is LED. I bought these 1141 replacement bulbs that have good color temp and lumen output and make updating the inside fixtures a breeze. A good speacialty bulb for the range hood is this one from SuperBrightLEDS.com.

Hey Don! I am in the process of reaching out to the manufacturer to see what make/model the stock charger is. Been learning a lot the last couple days. And yes, all my bulbs are LED. The rig is an Eagle Cap 811

Regarding the lithium battery pack , i decided to build my own 280ah pack , the prices for battle born and others were just too high. Hopefully i can find someone on here who can help me assemble.

I have a lot more research to do on this solar system because there is a lot i still dont understand, but little by little.

One more thing...BestBoatWire is a good source of quality 12v wire in the large gauges that you'll need.

The biggest challenge that you're going to have is where to put all this stuff...there's not a lot of storage to start with in a TC. I had to swap out my crank-down Winegard TV antenna with a King Jack unit to free up enough real estate on the roof for 1-100w solar panel. You don't say what model TC you have but hope it's bigger than mine :)

Speaking of TV antenna you may want to do that swap anyway to improve your stealth camping profile....

The cart looks good, but as was said be sure everything has a setting for lithium batteries.

You will want to upgrade the onboard converter/charger as CA Traveler mentions above. I have upgraded to Progressive Dynamics on my last 3 RVs and it's a vast improvement. the charging profile is such that you can put the unit into boost mode, that will output 14.4v and charge the batteries in about 2h of run time.

You can an upgrade kit from Best Converter that enables you to swap out the converter/charger and 12v load center without having to take out the enclosure and re-wire anything. Newer units will have a setting for Lithium batteries too.

It's a nice sunny day here in NY today! FYI, solar panels produce power whenever there is light, so they are producing even on a cloudy day, just not at full spec like they would in bright sunlight. If you have 400w worth of panels, they may still produce 100w of power on a cloudy day, enough to top off your batteries while you're at work.

I would also consider adding a multimeter like this that can clamp on and measure DC voltage. One of the things you'll want to do is start compiling data on panel output under various weather conditions and power usage under various scenarios.

One other thing that you should do immediately (if you haven't already) is to be sure that every single bulb in the camper is LED. I bought these 1141 replacement bulbs that have good color temp and lumen output and make updating the inside fixtures a breeze. A good speacialty bulb for the range hood is this one from SuperBrightLEDS.com.

I was asking about the 120V stock RV battery charger when you run the gen or shore power.

CA Traveler wrote:
Stock charger right? Have you verified that it is compatible with the LI battery? They are not the same as flooded batteries.

if you mean the solar controller , its the Go Power that the dealer installed on the camper when the original owners upgraded it. It is compatible with lithium but im swapping that out for a victron mppt unit , is the solar controller what you're referring to? thanks