Portable Solar for occasional use

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Thats great to know for when I decide to add another panel to the setup.
 
The solar kit arrived today.

I did not want to drill any holes so mounted the Controller in a storage compartment and fished the cables up through a drain hole.  I might move it later but it's fine for now.

Getting 4.5amp when the sun comes out.

 

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Looks good Stephen. Renogy makes a good product. Just curious... how far is the controller from your battery-bank? If you have a few minutes, you should do a little experiment that shows the effects of shading. With your panel facing the sun, look at your Trimetric and note how many amps the panel is putting out. Then put a piece of cardboard (or similar) over one of the corner solar cells and note the difference in the panel's output. Then shade two cells and note the difference. By the time you shade 3 cells, your panel will be putting out almost no power - even though the overwhelming majority of cells aren't shaded. It really drives home the importance of not allowing your panels to become shaded. Welcome to the world of RV solar!

Kev
 
The main problem with a portable solar system is having it "grow legs" and disappear while you're away from the campsite.  Small, high priced generators like the little Hondas have the same problem but at least the generators can be secured to the trailer with a heavy a chain or moved out of sight while you're gone.  It's harder to secure or conceal a couple of solar panels.
 
Had my portable for many years, still have it, never grew any legs, arms or other appendages!
 
I sure will do Kev.

The controller is about 5 foot from the battery bank.

I plan to use the lock from my Ems and chain it to park bench.  To be honest we will proably only have it out when I am near by.

My wife was not impressed when I told her I got the kit.
 
Hi Kev,

Did not get a chance to perform that test yet, will do so when it comes out of storage.

All,

Now that I am happy with the contoller install I am ready to purchase another portable panel, I have thought about roof mounting but decided against it.

My existing system has a 20 ft cable running to the contoller. I plan to use a branch connector to tie in to this cable. Renogy told me I have to use a panel of similar voltage.

I am leaning towards getting another Renogy folding panel which is 250$, before ordering has anyone used mixed brand/wattage of panels in a portable scenario?

I do really like the protective case that comes with the Renogy.



 
If I have my panels connected and I run the genset for an
Hour or so will both charge the batteries?  Also if on shore power will deploying the solar allow for a faster charge?
 
Both voltage sources are active, but the higher voltage tends to dominate. Whether the result is faster charging or not is hard to say, but probably not, or very little. The battery(s) can only accept so much charging rate anyway, and chances are the onboard charger is already providing that max rate. Battery charging is not at all like filling a water tank - two hose are not automatically faster than one.
 
Thanks Gary,

I have been doing a lot of years work so questions keep popping in to my head.

If the generator is running will the 12volt items still drain the battery or will they powered from the convertor, I am sure it's the latter but wanted to be 100% sure.

Also realistically how much amps an hour could I expect the genset contribute to the battery?

When I did my audit I did not include any generator run time, I know it will get used for an hour in the morning and evening.
 
Sounds good fellow Michigan dweller

I did spend night in Alpena on our Huron tour when we first moved from Europe.
 
You can leave your solar plugged in while the genset is running and it won't hurt anything, but as Gary said, you won't notice any faster charging times. And yes, your converter will power both the 12 volt house systems and the charger while the generator is running, so your batteries won't drain - they'll charge. How many amps your generator will put into your batteries depends on the charging stage (bulk, float etc.) the output capability of the charger and other things in the coach that are running. The converter shares its output with the charging circuit and other things that require power.

When our house-batteries are below about 85% SOC, the battery monitor indicates that the charger's output in the bulk charge stage is 150 amps. When the batteries are fully charged, however, the charger's output indicates only 1 or 2 amps (if nothing else is on.) Your charger's max output is probably less, but your battery monitor will display how many amps it's putting into the batteries at any given time.

Kev
 
That great to know Kev.
Unfortunately my rig is in storage now so cannot test anything out.

Renogy have 30$ off the 100w mono portable (no contoller model) and offered me a further 5% off, I need extension cable and 2 branch connectors bringing the price to 258$.

The only issue is I order now it will spring before I can test it, and if any issues will be outside the return period, but if I wait it could go up in price.


 
We have 160 watts go power mounted on roof... so no legs can move, nothing ever to set up... we love it... generator goes in truck, but is like a lost puppy, never fired up all summer.... absolutely love our solar... of course use gas coffee pot.. and very little tv... but then, we are camping!!
 
If I may step in and ask a question along these lines...We just returned from a 12 day stay in Quartzsite. I deployed two of my three 100 watt panels while boondocking to find out how well my current solar setup would work. The panels and controller did there jobs well but my factory 1000 watt inverter decided it didn't want to participate. Every time I switched on the inverter from the factory installed remote switch at the main control board I would get an overload fault code. Even with nothing turned on. Generater had to be used each day instead, I was not happy camper. This coach has had its share of electrical gremlins since day one, I have had to replace many components over the last year since purchase...My new question for those that know is I want to replace the 1000 w inverter with a 2000 watt or bigger PSW inverter. Is this just a matter of unplugging the old and connecting the new? I have seen things like transfer switches and a few other things that I am not sure about...What do you guys think?? many thanks in advance..
 
I would think that before you did anything else, you should figure out why your system is not working as you expected.  If you would provide some more details, someone on here may be able to help.

What do you have for a battery bank?

What brand and model do you have for an inverter?

What brand and model do you have for a solar controller?

What size and how long are the cables running from the battery bank to the inverter?

Perhaps, others will have more questions.
 
That's a shame you had an issue, at least you had a generator.

All,

I just purchased another 100W portable setup without charge controller.  It was 226$ with branch connector (30$ off panel plus 5% pf total)
That brings me to 200w for a total cost of 555$ (Zamp was 950$ for 200w and Go power 700$ for 160w).

They will easily store under the bed and only take a few minutes to setup.



 
Just to follow up in case anyone is thinking of going down the same route as me.

Getting two 100w panels make them far easier to carry and store than one big one.  At 27 by 20 inches each folded they are not in any way ungainly.



 

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