New ideas for solar panel installation - Page 2

Craigrrr · 01-11-2018, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klpauba

Man, an induction cooktop? What kind of power does that pull?

it is a single burner induction cooktop, 1500 watts , but the thing is, you don't use it for long it will boil water in under 2 min. just for an example of the speed it has to heat up and cook food. I do have a 200 AH battery bank

**Bill** · 01-11-2018, 07:56 AM

That's a really nice installation / conversion, Craig. My Dad, who was quite handy, would have been proud to do this to his Suburban. Of course, he had to cope with a wife and two young boys, a mid-size Airstream, and mid-1950's technology, so his challenge was a bit different. Nice work!

Bill

Craigrrr · 01-14-2018, 08:01 PM

Thanks Bill, the wife and I just got back from a 3 night camp with it on the Colorado river at the Cibola AZ BLM land . A real cool feature I liked a lot was the led motion sensor light I mounted on the side, when you want or need to get out in the middle of darkness the light comes on when the door opens and if someone comes creeping up on you, they are in for a surprise.

rmschooner · 07-24-2019, 05:08 PM

I am a new TM owner and have been enjoying the forum here. I am interested in the concept of adding flexible Renogy 160 watt flex panels w/ MPPT controller on top of my TM and to the Leer canopy of my F150. I could add batteries in the back of the pickup truck to gain some battery capacity beyond the two lead acid batteries on the tongue. We don't have factory air, so we will be adding some sort of A/c in the future. I have a Champion 3100 dual/fuel gen set that will also live in the pick up under the canopy. It will be vented for exhaust. Thoughts on wiring the two battery banks and panel arrays together? Two MPPT controllers?

**B_and_D** · 07-24-2019, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craigrrr

Thanks Bill, the wife and I just got back from a 3 night camp with it on the Colorado river at the Cibola AZ BLM land . A real cool feature I liked a lot was the led motion sensor light I mounted on the side, when you want or need to get out in the middle of darkness the light comes on when the door opens and if someone comes creeping up on you, they are in for a surprise.

Would you please share the led sensor light that you bought?

I just installed a LED dimmable light in the front hatch and love it...

**rickst29** · 07-25-2019, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmschooner

I am a new TM owner and have been enjoying the forum here. I am interested in the concept of adding flexible Renogy 160 watt flex panels w/ MPPT controller on top of my TM and to the Leer canopy of my F150. I could add batteries in the back of the pickup truck to gain some battery capacity beyond the two lead acid batteries on the tongue. We don't have factory air, so we will be adding some sort of A/c in the future. I have a Champion 3100 dual/fuel gen set that will also live in the pick up under the canopy. It will be vented for exhaust. Thoughts on wiring the two battery banks and panel arrays together? Two MPPT controllers?

First, I don't think that any TM owners have installed more than 480W of panels (with the current record holder probably being lerderhos). What power demands do you expect to have, requiring 160 more watts of "rated" panel power?

Second, I think that separating into two separate power banks (each 320W, with 2 batteries and a dedicated MPPT, and a pair of high current DURABLE cables between them, with a Circuit Breaker on the "+" cable) is sort of weird. If the Truck isn't under the sun frequently, the batteries need to be maintained by plugging into the TM.

As an alternative: Maybe put all of your panels on the TM, with a bigger MPPT - upgrading your batteries as required. You could convert a portion of a storage compartment into an SLA/AGM battery box (sealed and vented through the floor). Or for the case of a Lithium upgrade - merely a couple of clamps to to hold the battery(s) in place, plus some electric tape and wire clamps to keep other things from contacting current-carrying surfaces.

The correct MPPT controller for a 400-720 "Maximum Rated Solar Watts" is probably this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Epever-MPPT...A/351875294014 That's the 'Tracer4215BN 40A'. In this particular listing (which I have used), the BTS ins included (although I didn't use it , because I have Lithium batteries) .You must buy a BN model ("Battery Negative" Grounding), and absolutely not a different model (e.g., model "AN" with "Common Grounding" to "Battery +"). An Amazon seller has them all mixed up within a single product listing, don't go there.

This way, you need only one MPPT controller, and no weird interconnect wires.

rmschooner · 07-25-2019, 05:52 PM

Thank you for the response. The TM does not have an oven, it has the factory microwave with browning elements, which I am expecting is going to have quite the draw. We almost always look for shade when we camp. This is why the New Ideas for Solar Panel Installation intrigued me, the truck could be parked with panels in sun even if the TM is in the shade. I haven't sized the panels yet, 100 watt panels might easily do the trick. I won't know until I can get a better idea of power draw on the appliance side. My wife is an RV park kind of gal who enjoys shore power for all the niceties, I prefer the wide open spaces. Power is the limiting factor here, if I can provide the comforts of home the scales just might tip toward my favor.

Update: The Sharp Toaster Oven w/Microwave draws an insane amount of power... The microwave draws 980 watts the Grill/Bake 1300watts!

I can't imagine why the original buyer opted for this unit as an Upgrade. I might end up going for an outdoor camp kitchen with an outdoor propane stove and my coleman 2 burner, store in the truck. I have a propane tank in the back that runs my genset, I could Y off of that.

**rickst29** · 07-26-2019, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmschooner

Thank you for the response. The TM does not have an oven, it has the factory microwave with browning elements, which I am expecting is going to have quite the draw. We almost always look for shade when we camp. This is why the New Ideas for Solar Panel Installation intrigued me, the truck could be parked with panels in sun even if the TM is in the shade. I haven't sized the panels yet, 100 watt panels might easily do the trick. I won't know until I can get a better idea of power draw on the appliance side. My wife is an RV park kind of gal who enjoys shore power for all the niceties, I prefer the wide open spaces. Power is the limiting factor here, if I can provide the comforts of home the scales just might tip toward my favor.

Update: The Sharp Toaster Oven w/Microwave draws an insane amount of power... The microwave draws 980 watts the Grill/Bake 1300watts!

I can't imagine why the original buyer opted for this unit as an Upgrade. I might end up going for an outdoor camp kitchen with an outdoor propane stove and my coleman 2 burner, store in the truck. I have a propane tank in the back that runs my genset, I could Y off of that.

The 980W Microwave is 120VAC, and wants to be run from the Generator. It could be also run from a '1500 Watt Continuous' Inverter, but needs about 100A from a 12.8V Lithium battery to run. (That's how I run my microwave, but for only a few minutes per day.) Normal batteries can't be discharged as fast, and you would need a lot more of them.

My Microwave is a separate countertop 'el-cheapo' unit from some big-box store, my TM Stove / Cooktop unit is the standard propane. In the boondocks, it would make a lot of sense to displace the "Toaster Oven" function with a propane stove. When you don't have plugins, 12V battery power is too precious and 'expensive' to waste by making electric heat.

**rickst29** · 07-26-2019, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmschooner

We almost always look for shade when we camp. This is why the New Ideas for Solar Panel Installation intrigued me, the truck could be parked with panels in sun even if the TM is in the shade.

If I had to put two * 160W on the truck exclusively, for this reason - I could use a more "standard" connecting to a TM Solar Controller by wiring the panels in parellel. This is lower voltage (about 18V, the output of one panel), with double the current. Or, I could wire the panels in series - lower current (the current of one panel), but double the Voltage. The power is the same at the panels.

Higher Voltage is generally less safe in an accident. Lower Voltage is more safe, but looses more power by generating wasted heat within the long wires. (Resulting in "Voltage Drop" when the power finally reaches the MMPT through the wires.)

Putting batteries in the truck, with a charge controller, and connecting at 12.6-14.4V (Battery Voltage, under light discharge and maximum charging voltage) costs more, and has the highest "Voltage Drop" power loss. But it does avoid putting batteries elsewhere, within the TM.

**rbhtrail** · 10-05-2019, 03:30 PM

Hello All, We purchased our 2720qb and had a solar panel installed at the dealer on the roof. In addition I thought we would occasionally be camping in a shady area so I had an additional parallel port installed on the battery box to add a supplemental solar panel, so that I could arrange a second panel in direct sunlight.
Thanks for mentioning the winter storage, when covered an additional trickle charger may be necessary to keep the battery fresh. We're looking forward to our annual fall camping trip into the Catskills NY and enjoying the Peak color of the season in our new TM. Safe Traveling To All...