Two Options For Installing (2) 100w Solar Panels for my TM

[ShrimpBurrito]

Kurt,

I thought I'd follow-up with an experience we had camping a few weekends ago. We backed into a site that sounds similar to the ones you typically encounter: full shade at the back, sun in the front. In our case though, the only full sun was where we had the TV parked, and in fact, there was really no sun on any of the TV.

It was also in the winter of course, and so the sun was low on the horizon. Ultimately, we had virtually no power generation from our panels on the rear shell, but having them on the front wouldn't have helped either. We would have gotten a little sun if they were mounted on the TV, but the real spot was to the side of the TV, where we couldn't have parked but still within our site, and which was about 20 feet from the TM batteries. So in this instance, portable panels would have helped. We had more than enough power for 2-night stay, so it wasn't an issue, but it would have been if we stayed for a few days more.

Dave

[Kmikesell]

Jeff... Did your installation require the panels to go under the front shell when closed> If so were you not afraid of seal issues or scratching the panels?

[live4fun]

Okay, I’m ready to purchase my equipment for this TM solar install. I appreciate all the dialogue and I’ve incorporated most of it into my decision. I’ll put my solar equipment list below, and still have a couple undecided components. This reply is a request to give me some advice on the actual equipment that folks have installed. Thanks for helping for helping me out again. Kurt

1. Three ~22”x40” monocrystalline or flexible 100w panels- I heard folks say Renogy mono & flex, Windynation flex and HQST. I’m edging towards the flex panels since at least 1/2 of you have had good luck with them and ease of mounting, but the framed panels are okay too.

2. 12AWG wire in conduit from panels to controller in wiremold conduit down the lift arm. Use wiring provided by Controller to battery. I’ll mount this controller probably on the outside for heat dissipation and reducing clutter inside the compartment like Wavery. Do I need a fuse somewhere here?

3. 30A (40A?) 150v Solar Charge controller with Bluetooth. Victron ?, Renogy Rover?, Epever (not sure if they have BT).

4. Anything else I’m missing in this parts list.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by live4fun

Okay, I’m ready to purchase my equipment for this TM solar install. I appreciate all the dialogue and I’ve incorporated most of it into my decision. I’ll put my solar equipment list below, and still have a couple undecided components. This reply is a request to give me some advice on the actual equipment that folks have installed. Thanks for helping for helping me out again. Kurt

1. Three ~22”x40” monocrystalline or flexible 100w panels- I heard folks say Renogy mono & flex, Windynation flex and HQST. I’m edging towards the flex panels since at least 1/2 of you have had good luck with them and ease of mounting, but the framed panels are okay too.

2. 12AWG wire in conduit from panels to controller in wiremold conduit down the lift arm. Use wiring provided by Controller to battery. I’ll mount this controller probably on the outside for heat dissipation and reducing clutter inside the compartment like Wavery. Do I need a fuse somewhere here?

3. 30A (40A?) 150v Solar Charge controller with Bluetooth. Victron ?, Renogy Rover?, Epever (not sure if they have BT).

4. Anything else I’m missing in this parts list.

Running 3 panels can sometimes be an issue. You will need to run them in series in order to have adequate voltage for your MPPT charge controller to work. Lets assume that the open circuit voltage on each panel is 22V x 3= 66V. Be sure that your charge controller can handle whatever your open circuit voltage is x 3 + 10% for good measure.

Flex panels typically have a much shorter life span than any glass panels. Although the initial install may be easier (which has not been my experience) but you will have to remove and replace them more often. The initial cost is higher as well.

I personally recommend an even number of panels so that you have the ability to run pairs in series and wire the pairs in parallel.

On small systems (under 600W) it's not really necessary to fuse between the panels and controller unless the panels don't have their own fuses. Even then, the heat generated from a short would likely not be dangerous, just melted, stinky wires. Having said that, I put 30A inline fuse between my panels and my controller and 30A DC circuit breakers between my controller and my positive and negative busbars. That's because I am using a 230AH LiFeP04 battery.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by Wavery

I put 30A inline fuse between my panels and my controller and 30A DC circuit breakers between my controller and my positive and negative busbars. That's because I am using a 230AH LiFeP04 battery.

Take note of the voltage ratings on fuses when putting them inline between the solar panels and controller. The rating for many fuses is 36 or 48 volts, since a higher voltage could cause arcing that would defeat a blown fuse. There are inline fuses with higher voltage ratings, you just have to seek them out.

Dave