New proposed solar setup

[Jayflight]

I have always used Renogy products. But we are expected to do another install and Renogy seems to be lacking with larger wattage panels. They seem to have tons of 100 watt panels. But I am limited with space and really wanted to combine wattage in fewer panels, taking up less space. And really want to reduce the amount of holes created and all the extra wiring and connectors. I see that Rich Solar has larger rated panels of my desired setup a simular rating in a kit form with all the related hardware and wiring to the controller and batteries.

But with 600 watt solar, they list a 40 amp MPPT controller. The last time I dealt with this, 40 amps was just under the 600 watt threshold and not suggested for that amount. So I went with a 60 amp MPPT controller and was very happy with it. I do plan on hooking up a 2,000 watt inverter, with a lite load demand, with no lithium batteries of course. So what say you guys?

 

[Ex-Calif]

Sounds like a plan but why no Lithium batteries "of course"?

With an array that size you should at least consider real deep cycle 6V batteries.

 

[Jayflight]

Well with travel trailers you are limited with room to place batteries. So you need to maximize ah in smaller areas without adding excessive weight to the hitch area, which is normally the standard location for them. I plan to add 200 AH, which worked well last time in two batteries. I am now finding single 200AH batteries now with less than the weight of one deep cycle 100AH battery in 12 volt. I am sticking with 12 volt for simplicity unless I can get a better idea from reading and talking things over with some people in the ever evolving field of solar now. Its moving at break neck speed, just like all other electronic areas.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Well with travel trailers you are limited with room to place batteries. So you need to maximize ah in smaller areas without adding excessive weight to the hitch area, which is normally the standard location for them.

Lithium batteries fit in the same footprint and are about 30% lighter than a similar capacity lead acid battery. And you can use their full rated capacity without browing out or damaging the battery so you actually get more usable storage per battery.

 

[Jayflight]

Until I find lithium batteries for the price of Group 31 deep cycles , $140 interstate batteries , I can deal with the extra weight for two and get 200AH , plus or minus. I was more interested in any experience with dealing with Rich Solar and keeping the amount of panels on the roof down to a minimum, dealing with today's supply change challenges too.

Renogy is still not offering combined wattage at a reasonable price in one panel and I will never keep this camper over two years at most, if all conditions stays the same. Health issues are not getting any better, but we do want to have something readily accessible to use if we are up to it. So thats my reasoning for keeping things simple and less expensive. And I would need to upgrade my converter if charging with in house converter too with land or generator power.

 

[Robert K]

I am running 3 Bouge 180 watt panels in series. Using the Rich 40 amp mppt.
Have 4- 6 volt gc-2 215 amp hr giving me 430 ah at 12 volt with my volt meter set to 215 useable amp hr.
Seems to be working pretty good. Using AiLi volt meter,doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Victron but a good starter @$44.

 

[Jayflight]

I am running 3 Bouge 180 watt panels in series. Using the Rich 40 amp mppt.
Have 4- 6 volt gc-2 215 amp hr giving me 430 ah at 12 volt with my volt meter set to 215 useable amp hr.
Seems to be working pretty good. Using AiLi volt meter,doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Victron but a good starter @$44.

Thxs, I don't have room for four batteries. And there are are plenty controllers that works really well instead of the Victron. So far I don't get their prices. But I am no electrical garu that would know the specifics inside that makes them stand taller than the others.

 

[Robert K]

I would go with lithium but I'm not sure about the cold temp charging. When we left on trip south 4 wks ago it was -12°.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Thxs, I don't have room for four batteries. And there are are plenty controllers that works really well instead of the Victron. So far I don't get their prices. But I am no electrical garu that would know the specifics inside that makes them stand taller than the others.

They come in matching blue enclosures that make for a nice looking installation. And they talk to one another via a built-in data buss so you can get a display panel that displays all of the system parameters on one screen.

 

[Jayflight]

So does anyone know anything about these lithium batteries? These batteries have the built in heater in them. They build one without the heater, which is about 100 bucks less. These are 100 AH batteries.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NHVHHN9

 

[wrybread]

Another thing you might consider is building a battery from individual cells. Eve cells are really well rated and cheap:

EVE 280Ah Prismatic LiFePO4 cell

This is EVE 280K V2 version which is standard Charge 1C 280Ampere and discharge 1C 280Ampere. There are another EVE 280K V3 version which is 0.5C 140Ampere Charge and 0.5C 140Ampere discharge. V2 EVE280K with higher charge discharge rate. V3 EVE280K with lower C rate but 5% higher real capacity...

www.evcomponents.com

That's $118 for 280 amp hours (they also make other sizes including 100ah). You'll need 4 of them to make 12 volts, so that's $472, plus a BMS which is about another $100 I think. But that's about $600 for 280 amp hours aka 3800 watt hours. 15 cents a watt hour! That's comparable to Trojan T105 golfcart batteries, with the added advantage of being able to use all of their rated capacity instead of a small fraction of it, and, relatively speaking, they last forever. So they're actually way cheaper than lead acid batteries.

Here's a video of someone assembling Grade B versions of those cells, which I wouldn't do unless you've worked with these before, but this should get you started with building the batteries:

But if you do want to save even more $$, you can try your luck with Grade B cells. The folks at the diysolar forum can probably help you there.