New solar panels need answers

[khiggy]

Hi we are adding solar panels to our fleetwood jamboree. It is supposed to be solar ready. We know nothing about solar. I bought 2, 200watt solar panels. We are replacing our 2 old house batteries with 2 Lifepo4 batteries( LiTime 12V 100Ah Lithium LiFePO4 Battery 4000-15000 Cycles for RV, Backup Power, Solar) LiTime 12V 100Ah Lithium LiFePO4 Battery 4000-15000 Cycles for RV, Backup Power, Solar - Walmart.com. The old batteries are 6v. These are 12v. I think they are run in series. If we run the new ones parallel will our inverter that is installed with our rv able to handle it?? We are hooking the solar panels into a new

Victron Energy BlueSolar MPPT TR 150V 45 amp 12/24/36/48-Volt Solar Charge Controller.​

Are we doing everything right?
Kellie

 

[DonTom]

The old batteries are 6v. These are 12v. I think they are run in series.

The six-volt batteries were in series, so they add to 12 volts. Two 12-volt batteries cannot be in series, or you will have 24 volts and that will do a lot of damage. The 12-volt batteries can be put in parallel as long as they are the same age and type. That will double your current capacity but the voltage will only be just a little higher with the lith batteries, so that is what you want to do. They probably will not charge to full with your old converter, but that is not a big issue.

Your solar should be able to charge them to full anyway.

-Don- Barstow, CA

 

[WME]

The factory charger/converter will typically only charge Lifepo4 to 80-90%. It doesn't harm them, just not a full charge. If your converter has a Lifepo4 function, never mind the open statement.
Your charge controll is good stuff, but overkill for your listed solar panels. Figure out the max voltage VOC and amps ISC and decide how your going to hook them up, series or parallel. Then match that to a 150% larger SCC. A generic guess would be 25v and 20 amps in parallel or 50v and 10 amps in series. IF you might want to add more solar later then it will allow for that.
If not then the 100/30 series are $100 cheaper

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

To the last question, it's not a matter of the inverter handling the batteries, it's the other way around. I don't know what inverter came with your RV, finding that out would give an indication how well your batteries will handle the load of an inverter. Generally speaking if your 2 6V batteries could handle it, likely 2 lithiums will too.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[khiggy]

Thanks guys that really helped. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

[khiggy]

The factory charger/converter will typically only charge Lifepo4 to 80-90%. It doesn't harm them, just not a full charge. If your converter has a Lifepo4 function, never mind the open statement.
Your charge controll is good stuff, but overkill for your listed solar panels. Figure out the max voltage VOC and amps ISC and decide how your going to hook them up, series or parallel. Then match that to a 150% larger SCC. A generic guess would be 25v and 20 amps in parallel or 50v and 10 amps in series. IF you might want to add more solar later then it will allow for that.
If not then the 100/30 series are $100 cheaper

In your opinion, what is the best way to hook up our solar panels with our situation? Series or parallel?

 

[HueyPilotVN]

Parallel for both the panels and batteries