Whole house Inverter/Solar? 2003 Adventurer 35U

[dunkonu23]

Originally Posted by vsheetz

My converter is a deck type, which simply plugs into a 120vac outlet. It's located under the refrigerator. I installed a ~$15 wireless switch inline with the AC power cord to the inverter. Positioned the switch near a air circulation vent so its power indicator light shines through so it's easy to tell if on/off.

A touch of the wireless fob switch and the converter is off/on as needed.

My inverter has a wireless fob switch as well, so I keep the two fobs together

So you turn off the inverter when you want to charge the batteries?

Thanks for the reply.

Scott

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by dunkonu23

So you turn off the inverter when you want to charge the batteries?

Thanks for the reply.

Scott

When the inverter is on, the converter is off - this is a must to avoid the charging loop. But the inverse is not always true. The solar system provides for most all of the battery charging, so the converter is seldom powered on, even when on shore power.

[dunkonu23]

Originally Posted by chboone

Here is some good reading about solar. HandyBob's Blog « Making off grid RV electrical systems work
If you do go with 12V deep cycle batteries, make sure what your getting are TRUE deep cycle batteries. Most Marine/RV deep cycle batteries are not true deep cycle batteries. They are basically a starting battery with characteristics of a deep cycle batteries. The difference is most Marine/RV deep cycle batteries are thin plate, true deep cycle are thick plate batteries. According to Trojan battery their thin plate batteries have a charge cycle life of 600, thick plate have 1200 cycles. Basically if you see a deep cycle battery with CCA and CA ratings it is not a true deep cycle. Trojan does make a few, very few Marine/RV 12V thick plate batteries.
All solar panels have STC, Standard Test Conditions @ 25°C or 77°F and NOCT, Nominal Operating Cell Temperature @ 47°C or 116.6°F. Unless you will alway be using yours in cool weather and constantly adjusting the panel angle to track the sun, most of the time your panel output will be closer to the NOCT rating. I am in the process of installing 530 watts, 4 - 130 watt panels on my roof. The NOCT rating is 93 watts and I am building my system based on that rating. If I get more I'll be a happy camper. If you are going to more batteries and power the whole coach, I would suggest you look at higher wattage panels. Sorry for being so long winded.

Thanks for that link and insight. I am now reading the "The RV Battery Charging Puzzle". I did find out that my house battery is not a true deep cycle yesterday when I was doing preliminary research on just how to do this. I have literally TONS of roof space with which to work. I can get higher wattage panels, but I would like to stick to flush, flexible panels as I have read horror stories of panels blowing off while traveling. I have also read about folks making air dams to stop this from happening. Frankly, the flush mount panels just seem easier and will cause me less frustration.

I will read about ratings, as well. I am a complete neophyte when it comes to solar power. I am also limited, perhaps severely by the number of batteries I can use if I choose to not use a storage compartment. So, this has to work out on a number of levels for me to be able to justify the initial outlay. Research is key.

Thank you again!

Scott

[pasdad1]

Scott,

If you like the flush mount panels, this company makes some of the best. They are making most of them in the USA as well ! Which I always try to support.

http://aurinco.com

Look on the "bargains" page


I really think you are making too much of a deal out of panels blowing off roofs....I think it is a really rare occurance.

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by pasdad1

Scott,

If you like the flush mount panels, this company makes some of the best. They are making most of them in the USA as well ! Which I always try to support.

http://aurinco.com

Look on the "bargains" page


I really think you are making too much of a deal out of panels blowing off roofs....I think it is a really rare occurance.]

Agree.

[nothermark]

FWIW I would not do what you want. Since you are going that route it is worth mentioning the the Inverter/converter combinations I looked at the manuals on had a built in transfer to solve one of your problems. You need to know that to properly set up your wiring. What the one's I looked at did was switch distributed AC from pass through when on shore or generator power to the Inverter output when on battery. In use the AC input transfer switches between generator and shore power then feeds the inverter/converter that in turn feeds the distributed AC. If you go to a unit like that all you need to do to have it run and a full time inverter is shut off the AC. As long as the generator is off and the cord not plugged in you are fine. You should be able to charge the batteries off the solar while discharging them with the inverter.

You may run into trouble if you have AC available. I would consider putting in a disconnect relay that shut off the solar when the AC supply line to the inverter/converter powered up. That would be a simple way to avoid parallel charging path problems. Any electrical supply should be able to sell you a heavy duty relay with 115 VAC nominal coil. They might call them contactors. Same thing but controls industry lingo. Wire the coil to the inverter input and connect the contacts so the solar is connected when the coil is off.

[John Hilley]

I can get higher wattage panels, but I would like to stick to flush, flexible panels as I have read horror stories of panels blowing off while traveling. I have also read about folks making air dams to stop this from happening. Frankly, the flush mount panels just seem easier and will cause me less frustration.

I have read all the solar posts in several forums for 12 years and haven't seen one where they lost a panel going down the road or being blown off with wind.

[dunkonu23]

Originally Posted by John Hilley

I have read all the solar posts in several forums for 12 years and haven't seen one where they lost a panel going down the road or being blown off with wind.

I found a couple. I'll post links when I can. Just because you never saw them doesn't mean it hasn't happened and hasn't been documented.

I agree with the earlier posts about my concern, but it is my concern, therefore it is valid.

Scott

[dunkonu23]

Here are two links...

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/sola...ml#post1775940

Forums

Improper installation in one, bad maintenance (?) in the former.

Edit: I'm sure none of would want someone to get hurt by a solar panel flying off. Sure, it's a rare thing, but I just do not want bad things to happen. I am extremely safety conscious. I want to minimize this possibility, likely to the extreme, but is who I am.

Back on track.

Scott

[Jerry J]

How are the panels attached? Glue? Is there any problem with heat affecting the panel efficiency because they are on the roof and not raised?

[pasdad1]

Originally Posted by Jerry J

How are the panels attached? Glue? Is there any problem with heat affecting the panel efficiency because they are on the roof and not raised?

I guess you are asking about the flat panels, similar to the ones made by
http://www.aurinco.com

Well they are made to exacting standards for salt-water marine use......

They say you can use 3m VHB tape, screws, or both. With the tape about 1/8 inch thick, there would be some airflow under the panels.

[pasdad1]

They also make some mounting rails as well.

[dunkonu23]

Some flexible solar panels like Unisolar (out of business--sad, too... they were right around the corner from my place of work) are self-sticking. I would not trust that alone, though. To combat any air getting under any conformal solar panel, I was going to run a bead of Dicor over, under, and outside the edges of the panel.

In my research, I have also learned that some flexible panels which are 3mm in thickness can suffer from cupping of solar cells due to heat. So, I am looking for 5mm thick panels.

Scott

[Harry B]

Flex panels don't have only upsides to them.
They are more expensive
Produce less output due to running hotter (no ventilation under panel.
The cells dimple causing road dirt collection thus reducing output.

Boat environment is different. For one there is no road dirt to contend with. Just be aware of the downside of these panels as well.

[Luv2go]

Originally Posted by dunkonu23

Here are two links...

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/sola...ml#post1775940

Forums

Improper installation in one, bad maintenance (?) in the former.

Edit: I'm sure none of would want someone to get hurt by a solar panel flying off. Sure, it's a rare thing, but I just do not want bad things to happen. I am extremely safety conscious. I want to minimize this possibility, likely to the extreme, but is who I am.

Back on track.

Scott

I hear your concern, however from what I read both of those panels were installed using no hardware, just adhesive. Most installations I've seen use some type of hardware into the roof to attach the panels. In my case, I used 10 wellnuts with aluminum angle bracing per 195W panel to hold the L-brackets to the roof decking. The combo of wellnuts and Dicor lap sealant insured a leak-free mount to my TPO roof.

It's been over 5 years and about 40,000 miles since the install, there is no hint of any issues regarding the mounts. I inspect them almost every time we go camping and have had to tighten one of the tilt mount wingnuts once but no other issues.

[chboone]

Here's a multi part blog by The Wanderman about his experience with flexable solar panels. It does turn out good. However, he doesn't disclose the company he got his panels from. You can contact him, and he will do the install for you.
Sorry forgot to attach link.
http://www.thewanderman.com/2011/11/...ap-part-1.html

Chuck

[LakotaWolf]

It's my understanding that in the Class C van type RV's, The van is totally independent of the coach. Meaning, the alternator under the hood only charges the battery under the hood, and the coach battery is charged by the converter using the shore power cord or the generator.

My idea was to change the van alternator to a 100 amp unit, run a heavy cable back to the coach battery, and run a DC to AC inverter for the a/c and fridge while driving down the road. I could mount the inverter close to the shore plug and use a 30 amp to 20 amp plug adapter to plug into the inverter. Of course I'd have to wire in a feedback kill switch to the converter.
Once at the RV site, I could just hit the kill switch, turn off the inverter, unplug the 30 amp cord and plug in into the shore AC power.

Does this sound feasible?

[bruceh]

I have had 3 class Cs. They all charged the coach batts from the alternator.

[dunkonu23]

Originally Posted by Luv2go

I hear your concern, however from what I read both of those panels were installed using no hardware, just adhesive. Most installations I've seen use some type of hardware into the roof to attach the panels. In my case, I used 10 wellnuts with aluminum angle bracing per 195W panel to hold the L-brackets to the roof decking. The combo of wellnuts and Dicor lap sealant insured a leak-free mount to my TPO roof.

It's been over 5 years and about 40,000 miles since the install, there is no hint of any issues regarding the mounts. I inspect them almost every time we go camping and have had to tighten one of the tilt mount wingnuts once but no other issues.

I know. I only put up two links. There were more, but it's all good. I know I am being extremely anal about this, but I have learned to accept that about myself.

Scott

[dunkonu23]

Originally Posted by chboone

Here's a multi part blog by The Wanderman about his experience with flexable solar panels. It does turn out good. However, he doesn't disclose the company he got his panels from. You can contact him, and he will do the install for you.
Sorry forgot to attach link.
WanderMan: A Better Solar Charging Mouse Trap.PART 1

Chuck

Chuck,

I read the blog and bookmarked it. Lots of good information in there. I am in a different situation in that I have TONS of roof space to use for solar so custom panels will not be necessary. Plus, he used 3mm thick panels. I am looking for 5mm thick panels to avoid heat related cupping.

Thanks for sharing! The wiring information will be very useful!

Scott