Previous Owner’s Solar Install? 2009 Chalet WF231JR

[Tadrith Bear]

Hi! So, long story short, i just bought a used 09 class C and the previous owner had solar installed on it. I want to check that it's setup right before I'm off on an adventure and find out that it's not doing what i assume it should be.
How should a properly installed solar system tie into an RV's electrical system? Either an explanation or block diagram, or link to an informative article would be helpful

[Eagle5]

Hi Isaac,
Could you please take a picture of your panel(s), and if possible get a model number? If you have any installed controller for the panel(s), the information on that will be needed as well. We have many folks here who know about solar panels, so that will help them answer your question.
Thanks, Eagle5

[powercat_ras]

At a high level solar consists of solar panels wired to a charge controller wired to coach batteries with a protective fuse or circuit breaker in the wiring on both sides of the charge controller. MPPT charge controller is better than PWM, more efficient.

The charge controller provides battery protection so that if batteries are fully charged they don't get overcharged. It often also has diagnostic and information display or LEDs so you can see its working and see how much energy is being collected and delivered to the batteries. It has settings that allow it to be configured to match the type of batteries you have.

Roughly speaking:

If solar panels are mounted flat on roof without ability to tilt them they typically produce about 50-70 % of their wattage rating as the sun is not hitting them straight on, most in summer and least in winter. You can expect to get about 15-25 amp-hours per day of 12 volt battery charge per 100 watts of solar on a day with full sun and panels not shaded depending on time of year.

Even a small portion of a solar panel being shaded will greatly reduce the output of that entire solar panel, so it's important to understand that for choosing where you park if you are wanting to power from solar.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by powercat_ras

Roughly speaking:

If solar panels are mounted flat on roof without ability to tilt them they typically produce about 50-70 % of their wattage rating as the sun is not hitting them straight on, most in summer and least in winter. You can expect to get about 15-25 amp-hours per day of 12 volt battery charge per 100 watts of solar on a day with full sun and panels not shaded depending on time of year.

Powercat is correct about tilting but the majority of us don't have tilting panels and many of those who do almost never tilt them. It's a pain unless you're going to be in one spot for an extended period of time. Unless the mechanism is powered (unlikely and expensive) you have to go on the roof to tilt the panels. I had tilting mounts on a TT and, aside from testing them, I don't recall ever tilting my panels in actual practice.

[Tadrith Bear]

I finally was able to focus on the solar installation. I've included pictures of the panels and brand name. It seems model numbers are underneath which would require installation. From the previous owner i got that they're 170W panels, and bpsolar has been out of business for about 10 years so these have definitely been around for a while. It seems like they're BP Solar BP 3170N > 170 Watt 35 Volt Solar Panels.

I've included pictures of the original solar controller, no brand name, no model number, no volt or amp ratings, and no mounting process, it was just bouncing around in the same bay with two massive deep cycle batteries bouncing with it.

The 4th picture is the new 150v 60a MPPT solar controller I've mounted and am in the process of wiring in.

Thank you for helping me to understand the system and I'll post again later when I'm finished all the wiring!

[Morich]

It's sometimes amazing how much some will invest in a project---up until they get into mounting it!
We once ran across a fellow whose thing was coffee. He had mounted the biggest, bulkiest, most complex Keurig I've ever seen into a converted truck. He must have invested $500-1000 in the machine but was looking for wire as it had fallen out on the trip!
He said he did not want to put screw holes in the shelf and thought it heavy enough not to move! WRONG!

[Tadrith Bear]

Originally Posted by Morich

It's sometimes amazing how much some will invest in a project---up until they get into mounting it!

I agree! I totally get why they didn't feel like going through the effort, but at the same time, it's necessary! But then again, at best i can find that same solar controller they did install for $20 online, so if it got smashed, ordering a new one probably would have been easy enough (sadly)