Added additional rooftop solar to our Micro Minnie

[Fred 2106DS]

Last weekend I added an additional 120 watts of rooftop solar to our 2106DS Micro Minnie, giving us a total of 400 watts on the roof. Our previous setup consisted of 280 watts (one 180 W and one 100 W panel) on the roof and a Zamp 120 watt portable suitcase, which consisted of two hinged 60 watt panels. This portable suitcase wasn’t used much, due to its weight and bulkiness. I decided to mount the two 60 watt panels on the roof after checking to see that they would fit and still give me pathways to move around on the roof for maintenance and cleaning.

I separated the panels and removed the ground support hardware and solar controller. Using AM Solar mounts for 35mm Zamp panels; I mounted the two panels on the roof, one on each side of the AC. AM Solar mounts make it fairly easy to tip the panels for cleaning under them, grabbing more sun or removing the panels completely.

Everything seems to be working as planned. In the past week I’ve seen a peak current of 21.5 amps and a peak 24 hour cumulative reading of 139.6 amp hours, with a mix of sun and clouds.

Almost forgot, I also needed to shorten the TV antenna lifting arms by 11” to clear the one panel.