I need to upgrade my solar system. Tell me what you've got.

[Ripit]

Ive got a Outfitter apex 8 with the following; one 120 watt panel wired with #10 14' to a Blue Sky 2000e controller wired with #10 14' long to 2 12 volt Powervolt batteries, Magnum ME2012 inverter/charger, Honda EU2000i genny.
Appliances:
Tundra fridge 12 volt only
Microwave
Water heater propane/12v
Furnace propane
Car am/fm/cd radio
2 Fantastic Fans
Electric jacks
Cooktop propane
2 fluorescents interior
4 1141 lights interior
5 1411 lights exterior
Polar cub roof A/C
Future addition; LED 19" TV 120v or 12v not sure yet and Jack Antenna

Here's what I'm planning for my upgrade;
Add 2 more 120watt or similar panels
Replace Blue Sky 2000e with Prostar 30 amp and move close to batteries and rewire with # 6 wire and add Trimetric 2025 Rv
Install 4 new Trojan T105s
Tell me what you think. Thanks.

[Ripit]

okan-star wrote:
Hey Ripit , I recall in another thread you said you had room in the basement for more batterys . Is that where your thinking of adding them ? Is your Outfitter a fiberglass tub or a wood -alum framed one?
The Outfitter I had was 2004 w/wood ,aluminum frame , there was an out side acsess panel on the pas side near the bat box , I moved my water pump with an accumulator into that area so it was quieter
I dont think there is any way that on my Outfitter the lower basement floor would hold up even one quarter the weight of one battery
Its top and bottom luon foam core light alum frame. I saw the whole construction of it when one of the holding tanks came loose and the bottom blew out and dropped down 2" while on jacks one day (Bob came to Ca and picked it up and fixed it)
Maybe suport from the upper walkon floor
If its a fiberglass tub , may not be a problem sorry I brought it up

There is a aluminum 4 Battery Box under the Dinette seat on the rear. Its cut into the basement so there is still storage under the dinette seat. I just switched out the two 12 volt Powervolt batteries and installed two T-105's. Going to see what difference this will make.

[clotus]

delosholly wrote:
Had to say it:
My solar system has Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Also composed of Pluto and a lot of asteroids. Have not had to do any upgrades, but did have to "reconfigure" Pluto.

My thoughts exactly 🙂

[bluelinewall]

http://www.wholesalesolar.com/RV.html

Try this link, the people there were great and the prices are good. I have had no problems with the system. I can use all the power I need all day and night and by the time I wake up in the morning the batteries are all charged up ready for another day.

[gregdennis53]

We have two Kyocera KD140GX-LFBS 140 Watt 12 Volt Solar Panels and a Morningstar controller on our Lance. Purchased via Northern Arizona Wind and Sun. Battery is always fully charged, so they must work.

Happy Camping.

[DWeikert]

I now have 275W worth of solar and the BlueSky 2000e controller. 1 Kyocera 135w and earlier this year I added a second 140W. I don't have a microwave, but that 275w was enough to keep the compressor fridge running all summer with the batteries (2 grp31) topped off before noon. I did replace all the lights with LEDs. Made the difference from something like 3 amps/bulb to 0.1 amp/bulb.

I'd recommend just adding 1 more panel before upgrading your controller and adding 2 panels. Of course, if you have the money and are looking for some place to use it...

Do your homework before adding a panel. They need to be similar regarding max voltages if in parallel or max current if in series. I suspect you'll want to run them in parallel.

EDIT PS: I don't have A/C either, but I hope you're not trying to run that off batteries/solar...

[mark_be]

msiminoff wrote:
I'd really want to know is how much power the fridge is using...

My norcold takes .4 or .7 with fan running.

[okan-star]

Hey Ripit , I recall in another thread you said you had room in the basement for more batterys . Is that where your thinking of adding them ? Is your Outfitter a fiberglass tub or a wood -alum framed one?
The Outfitter I had was 2004 w/wood ,aluminum frame , there was an out side acsess panel on the pas side near the bat box , I moved my water pump with an accumulator into that area so it was quieter
I dont think there is any way that on my Outfitter the lower basement floor would hold up even one quarter the weight of one battery
Its top and bottom luon foam core light alum frame. I saw the whole construction of it when one of the holding tanks came loose and the bottom blew out and dropped down 2" while on jacks one day (Bob came to Ca and picked it up and fixed it)
Maybe suport from the upper walkon floor
If its a fiberglass tub , may not be a problem sorry I brought it up

[crosscheck]

Ripit,

We have about the same set up except that I have all LED's(which I hope you will switch out), I have no A/C and our fridge draws 4.6A when cycling, yours I think 3.2A.

Our fridge is on 24/7 even though the cycling times vary depending on inside temps, door openings, temperature of food placed into fridge. It is the single largest drawer of power.

The only reason we have used our generator for so few hours to charge the batteries after 250 nights of dry or boondocking camping is because of 4 batteries that could be charged by alternator and solar. 2 batteries would have meant more genny time when the sun is iffy which for some is OK.

Dave

[msiminoff]

Hi Ripit,
There are a lot of ways to skin this cat, and what you have proposed is entirely reasonable... assuming you can tolerate the additional weight, space, & $$$ cost. My personal opinion is that you can probably get by comfortably with much less.... He's my 2¢:

If I were in your shoes, the very first thing I'd do is make a power budget. I'd really want to know is how much power the fridge is using... after that I'd evaluate the daily use of the lights, microwave, furnace, etc. I don't own a Tundra, but I'd bet that thing consumes ~30A/h per day in hot weather which means that your single 120W panel should be able to keep up with clear skies/no shading.

Definitely add the TriMetric! While this device isn't necessary, it is cheap & handy and will help you to keep tabs on your battery SOC and how much power you're using.

Replace all of the incandescent and fluorescent lights with LED's. This is a fairly expensive undertaking and will probably never pay-back the initial $ investment, but if you are trying to shave Amp-hours then this simple lighting upgrade is low hanging fruit. I bought mine at LED Trailer Lights. I have never had an LED fail and I'm happy with the (warm) color temperature I selected... of course there are lower price sellers out there. Caveat emptor.

Get rid of those Powervolt batteries! That said, four T-105's is a lot of weight and space in a pop-up truck camper and it's hard to imagine that you need 400+A/h (again, make a power budget). I think that you'll find that ~200A/h is sufficient and that you can get by with two T-105's or two 12V deep cycle batteries. You have a large (MSW) inverter and microwave, can I assume you would like to power the micro' from the batteries?? If that's the case then you may want to consider AGM's instead of FLA's as they will have less voltage sag during this kind of high-current/short-duration use.

Keep the BlueSky 2000e. It's a very good solar charge controller and more than adequate for your current solar system and future upgrades.

If your power budget indicates that you need more solar (you probably do) then I suggest that you start by adding only one more 120W panel. A total of 240W should be more than enough for your TC and would be a good match for the ~200A/h of battery I previously recommended. Since you already own the generator and 100A charger you can re-charge quickly on days when you don't get enough sunshine on the panels.

If you camp in cold weather get a catalytic heater. They're compact, safe, and efficient.

When you go shopping for a TV I suggest that you choose a 12V one. It will be more efficient than a 120V one and also because you have a MSW inverter which may affect image quality.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
-Mark

[crosscheck]

Ripit wrote:

crosscheck wrote:
Ripit,

I have the Blue Sky 2000 , 330w solar, 4 6V AGM Trojan batteries in a battery box under the dinette. Started out with 190w but in the 95F desert heat, my NovaKool, AC/DC,7.5cuft fridge/freezer sucked a bit of juice. Added the 140W panel and things are good.

I have a Honda 2000i which in 250 dry or boondocks nights camping(1hookup), has only run 2 hours to charge the batteries.

We also have a 2000w inverter/charger, micro/convect, LED,s everywhere, 2 speed heater, TV, radio, electric jacks, roof, 2 fantastic fans(no A/C).

Add more solar and increase the battery AH,s.

Remember, I can always charge my batteries with the alternator or genny if I have no solar, but if I have lots of solar and little storage capacity,(batteries) ,when the sun goes down or if you have some cloudy days, you will have to be care full with your electrics.

God luck,

Dave





Good luck

Dave

Dave. Thanks for the input. Your right on with what I have been thinking. I'd like to increase my solar panel wattage to 350 +/- and get 4 6v Trojans. I know it's over kill on the panels but not on cloudy days. Do you have a 120v or 12v TV? I'm not sure yet if I want to add a large 245ish or two 120ish watt panels. Still working on that.

Ripit,

LED's were installed at the factory so I am not familiar with what I have or the amp output. I know they are cool to the touch. There is a huge amount of info re: LED's on this forum. Try some searches or ask.

My TV is 120V. After hiking/biking all day every day, having a few drinks, preparing food, starting the campfire, playing the guitar, there is no time for TV. We just use it sometimes for reviewing the days fotos.

Make sure you upgrade your battery capacity. It is a better idea to use 150AH from a reserve of 400AH(4 batteries) and replace daily(we only use about 75AH max), than the same draw down with a reserve of 200AH(2 batteries).

Dave

Dave

[delosholly]

Had to say it:
My solar system has Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Also composed of Pluto and a lot of asteroids. Have not had to do any upgrades, but did have to "reconfigure" Pluto.

[Shadow_Catcher]

The Morningstar MPPT is one of the best and a good choice and yes if you feed the load through it there is a limit. However I wired our Sun Saver MPPT so that it feeds only to the 150AH battery.
You may be a bit light on the wire you may want to check the voltage drop http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html
I used 10ga because I have a high voltage panel and the voltage drop is not a concern, and the controller sits on top of the AGM battery and the wire from the controller to the Victron battery monitor shunt is in inches.

[Ripit]

crosscheck wrote:
Ripit,

I have the Blue Sky 2000 , 330w solar, 4 6V AGM Trojan batteries in a battery box under the dinette. Started out with 190w but in the 95F desert heat, my NovaKool, AC/DC,7.5cuft fridge/freezer sucked a bit of juice. Added the 140W panel and things are good.

I have a Honda 2000i which in 250 dry or boondocks nights camping(1hookup), has only run 2 hours to charge the batteries.

We also have a 2000w inverter/charger, micro/convect, LED,s everywhere, 2 speed heater, TV, radio, electric jacks, roof, 2 fantastic fans(no A/C).

Add more solar and increase the battery AH,s.

Remember, I can always charge my batteries with the alternator or genny if I have no solar, but if I have lots of solar and little storage capacity,(batteries) ,when the sun goes down or if you have some cloudy days, you will have to be care full with your electrics.

God luck,

Dave





Good luck

Dave

Dave. Thanks for the input. Your right on with what I have been thinking. I'd like to increase my solar panel wattage to 350 +/- and get 4 6v Trojans. I know it's over kill on the panels but not on cloudy days. Do you have a 120v or 12v TV? I'm not sure yet if I want to add a large 245ish or two 120ish watt panels. Still working on that.

[BobsYourUncle]

Artum Snowbird wrote:
Now, as an alternative, why not carry a Honda 2K generator instead. That will only weigh about 100 pounds

I have a Honda 2K generator. It is actually only 46 pounds dry! very easy to carry like a suitcase.

Good suggestion - 🙂