Home solar panel on RV...anyone attempted?

Yes thats the charge controller. Works great with my twp panels in series. 560 watts and about 70 volts in.

Ill have a better idea come camping season as I have just been doing driveway tests.

Ep ever discontinued that model. I dont know why. This is the new model.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077HQPV1Y/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_6_w

lawrosa wrote:
Dont know why it wasnt posted, or maybe I missed it on my re-read... What batterys do you have?

Your 1000 watt inverter may be set for crazy alarm voltages. My krieger inverter is a 10 volt cut off with a 10.5 volt alarm.

You do realize when you runn a 1000 watt load from the inverter you are drawing 90 amps from the batterys?

Standby losses are about .5 amps.

Now you think a 3000 watt inverter will fix it? Nope. It will be worse. Technically if you tried to draw 3000 watts thats 250 amps... Ha ha ha.. LOL.

Let us know the batts you have.

Maybe its

1. you have 6 volts and they have higher resistance why the voltage drop.
2. The inverter has a high alarm value like 11.5 or something. ( post actual models.
3. You dont have enough battery and/or wire is so small you have too much voltage drop

What to do>

1. Make coffee in a stove top percolator.
2. Warm food the old fashioned way. Pots, pans, oven,
3. Forget the microwave. Buy jiffy pop. Warm coffee on the stove..

12v offers lower resistance possibly. I have not proven this yet. But I still use 12 volters.

Watch this video. Sorry I mumble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2ttT8fFLc

And this draw test with toaster over..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p-oNT8YDIs&t=1351s

Thanks for the info. I currently have an old XPower by Xantrax 1000 inverter connected to two 6v golf cart batteries with 220ah. However, after further investigation I have figured out that my wire might be the culprit. I thought I had wired it with 2awg but, in reality it was 4awg wire. I plan to replace the old 1000watt inverter as the new one has a remote switch and it was really too good of a deal to pass up. I know it will drain the batteries faster but, other than the coffee maker we really use very little power on a regular basis.
In the 1st video I noticed your charge controller. By chance is This the controller you have? If so, how has it worked for you?

Using AWG 6 is a good idea, then the voltage drop will be only 0.095 V.

I have been using this inline circuit breaker for 7 years now between the panels and controller, works great.

..

Boon Docker wrote:
I would go with with minimum 8 AWG for the run from the controller to the batteries.

Six foot run at 13 volts / 20 amps.
Loss with 12 AWG = 0.38 volts (way too much voltage drop)
Loss with 8 AWG = 0.15 volts (still a bit high)

I appreciate the info. I was thinking 6awg from the controller to the batteries. However the run from the batteries to the 3k inverter is another story. The inverter came with 0AWG wire but, it's only 15" which is about 4' short. What I was thinking was to use the provided 15" 0AWG wire to a 400A waterproof breaker mounted to the tongue of the trailer, then continue to the inverter with more 0AWG wire.
Final piece of the puzzle what size breaker should be used between the panel and the controller. I haven't settled on which controller but, I do know it will be 35A or 40A based on what's needed.(335w panel to 2x 6v battery bank) The reason for a breaker is to give me a simple way to disconnect the panel if any work needs to be done. It's not something I intend to use regularly.Thoughts and or suggestions?

Dont know why it wasnt posted, or maybe I missed it on my re-read... What batterys do you have?

Your 1000 watt inverter may be set for crazy alarm voltages. My krieger inverter is a 10 volt cut off with a 10.5 volt alarm.

You do realize when you runn a 1000 watt load from the inverter you are drawing 90 amps from the batterys?

Standby losses are about .5 amps.

Now you think a 3000 watt inverter will fix it? Nope. It will be worse. Technically if you tried to draw 3000 watts thats 250 amps... Ha ha ha.. LOL.

Let us know the batts you have.

Maybe its

1. you have 6 volts and they have higher resistance why the voltage drop.
2. The inverter has a high alarm value like 11.5 or something. ( post actual models.
3. You dont have enough battery and/or wire is so small you have too much voltage drop

What to do>

1. Make coffee in a stove top percolator.
2. Warm food the old fashioned way. Pots, pans, oven,
3. Forget the microwave. Buy jiffy pop. Warm coffee on the stove..

12v offers lower resistance possibly. I have not proven this yet. But I still use 12 volters.

Watch this video. Sorry I mumble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2ttT8fFLc

And this draw test with toaster over..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p-oNT8YDIs&t=1351s

I would go with with minimum 8 AWG for the run from the controller to the batteries.

Six foot run at 13 volts / 20 amps.
Loss with 12 AWG = 0.38 volts (way too much voltage drop)
Loss with 8 AWG = 0.15 volts (still a bit high)

TobyG wrote:

Boon Docker wrote:
TobyG, what is the distance between the panel and the charge controller and what distance between the controller and the batteries?

both runs will be 5-6' max.

scratch that, I miss-read the 1st time. The run from the panel to controller is less than 10'. I'd say closer to 8'based on where I think I can run the cable. The run between the controller and the batteries is 5-6'.

westend wrote:
You don't state the size of the inverter and that will dictate your highest current draw and your largest cable size. Most inverters have wire sizes applicable to the current. Your panel won't develop more than about 20 amp charge current so the smallest sized wire from controller to battery would be 12 AWG. 36V and maximium current from the panel would indicate 12 AWG also to be adequate.

FWIW, since I decided to have the least loss of harvest possible and had to order 100' of 4 AWG, I decided to use it for most of my runs. I bought the cable at Waytek Wire, they are local to me. A good online seller that will make custom wire pieces is Genuinedealz.com.

Here is a wire gauge calculator: Calculator

Thanks! I will check out that site for wire. I currently have a 1000watt inverter (modified sine) but, I just came across a great "open-box" deal on a 3000watt inverter with a remote on/off switch also mod-sine. What I found with the 1000w is it didn't like the load my coffee maker put on it and keep beeping at me even though the coffee maker was only 900w. The new 3k inverter states to use 00awg wire and a 500-amp ANL fuse if hard wired. Does this sound like overkill?

Boon Docker wrote:
TobyG, what is the distance between the panel and the charge controller and what distance between the controller and the batteries?

both runs will be 5-6' max.