Solar Panel Installation

namklg said:
Thank you for the battery pictures.... I am just learning.. I believe the the inverter is within the system that the dealer installed. So, I just need to understand how to hook the batteries together. Right now there are fuses off of both positive and negative on the battery.
I think I will order the correct battery cable for the system. I think several folks have ordered from 1 or 2 places in Arizona.
karen
Click to expand...

Karen,

This is a very important question so don't guess........do you have (2) 6V batteries or (2) 12V batteries. There is a difference in the way that they are wired.
 
harveyrv said:
Karen,

This is a very important question so don't guess........do you have (2) 6V batteries or (2) 12V batteries. There is a difference in the way that they are wired.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Right now there is 1 12V battery. I would like to hook up a second 12V battery, but I need to see if the system will allow that to happen. I need to check the wiring gauges, the controller and such.
thanks,
karen
 
namklg said:
Hi,
Right now there is 1 12V battery. I would like to hook up a second 12V battery, but I need to see if the system will allow that to happen. I need to check the wiring gauges, the controller and such.
thanks,
karen
Click to expand...
Hooking up (2) 12V batteries in parallel will still give you 12V......nothing else changes except you will have more capacity.

Whatever you do....DO NOT hook up your batteries like I have my (2) 6V batteries hooked up. I have them hooked up in series, which doubles the voltage to 12V. If you do that, you will have 24V and may damage your converter.

The second issue is, it is not recommended to hook (2) 12V batteries in parallel unless the batteries are matched. They are best if they are the same batteries, purchased at the same time and built in the same batch. Dissimilar batteries will have a hard time balancing and may cause issues. If you are going to use dissimilar batteries, it may be best to install them with a switch so that when one battery gets week, you can switch to the other battery.



*******underlined terms corrected********
 
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harveyrv said:
Whatever you do....DO NOT hook up your batteries like I have my (2) 6V batteries hooked up. I have them hooked up in parallel, which doubles the voltage to 12V. If you do that, you will have 24V and may damage your converter.

The second issue is, it is not recommended to hook (2) 12V batteries in series unless that batteries are matched. They are best if they are the same batteries, purchased at the same time and built in the same batch. Dissimilar batteries will have a hard time balancing and may cause issues. If you are going to use dissimilar batteries, it may be best to install them with a switch so that when one battery gets week, you can switch to the other battery.
Click to expand...

Just to clarify Wayne, you've got series and parallel mixed up.

In order to connect two 6v batteries together to get 12v, you wire them in series.

In order to connect two 12v batteries together to get 12v, you wire them in parallel.

Dave
 
ShrimpBurrito said:
Just to clarify Wayne, you've got series and parallel mixed up.

In order to connect two 6v batteries together to get 12v, you wire them in series.

In order to connect two 12v batteries together to get 12v, you wire them in parallel.

Dave
Click to expand...

Yep!!!!! I do that all the time......dyslexia, I think......:eek:.....errors corrected.......thanks
 
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One way that might help you remember is to think of a flashlight....like those long Mag Lites that make better weapons than flashlights. You stick 18 D cells or whatever in them, one after the other, sequentially, in a series. In that arrangement, the polarity of the batteries is + - + - + - + - etc, such that they are connected in series.

If you can remember that, then you know "the other way" is parallel.

Dave
 
harveyrv said:
Hooking up (2) 12V batteries in parallel will still give you 12V......nothing else changes except you will have more capacity.

Whatever you do....DO NOT hook up your batteries like I have my (2) 6V batteries hooked up. I have them hooked up in series, which doubles the voltage to 12V. If you do that, you will have 24V and may damage your converter.

The second issue is, it is not recommended to hook (2) 12V batteries in parallel unless the batteries are matched. They are best if they are the same batteries, purchased at the same time and built in the same batch. Dissimilar batteries will have a hard time balancing and may cause issues. If you are going to use dissimilar batteries, it may be best to install them with a switch so that when one battery gets week, you can switch to the other battery.



*******underlined terms corrected********
Click to expand...

Hi Wayne,

The first battery was just installed last Friday (the 15th), so I think I am ok with the age. I may have a difficult time in getting one from the same lot, but I will take that risk. I want the extra storage for dry camping and to allow the solar to do its work when we are away from the camper. This way, we have many more options on location and places to stay.

I did learn from my portable solar charger, that parallel is ok. So, this is my plan.

Why did you go to 2 6V batteries and not 2 12V? Again, I am looking for extended electrical use when dry camping.

Thanks,
karen
 
Where did you get the battery box?

I would like to find a low profile battery box that would hold a pair of group 27 12 volt batteries.

Alternatively I could use two boxes as I do now for the pair of group 24 batteries. The problem with the battery boxes I have seen is that they are just a little too tall. Because of my swing tongue, the battery tray is so far back that I can barely get the battery covers off when the TM is closed and it is impossible to put them back on when the TM is closed.

Something 3/8 inch shorter would be adequate I think.

I might just use my table saw and cut off either the top of the battery box or the bottom of the cover.

Moving the batteries to the rear storage compartment is not an option I want to use. I already have it full of stuff.
 
solar panels

Our solar panels arrived today, 2 80 watt panels, Morningstar Sunsaver 10, wire and mounting brackets. Now to start the installation. The Sunsaver 10 is PWM so won't be as effective as a MPPT controller. That was the trade off to keep the system price below $500.
 
solar panels first test

Tacked everything together to make sure the system is functional. With 21 volts into the controller and 14.8 volts out indicated a good charge even with a low angle of sun light on the panels. This was done at 3:30 pm EST. The estimator program from AZ wind and sun indicated 12.77 amps into the battery. At present I can't measure above 5 amps DC and I realy have doubts about the spread sheets estimate. The volt drops were correct but the current seems high like maybe their controller estimate is for mppt not pwm.
I'll have a better idea once installation is complete.
 
scrubjaysnest said:
Tacked everything together to make sure the system is functional. With 21 volts into the controller and 14.8 volts out indicated a good charge even with a low angle of sun light on the panels. This was done at 3:30 pm EST. The estimator program from AZ wind and sun indicated 12.77 amps into the battery. At present I can't measure above 5 amps DC and I realy have doubts about the spread sheets estimate. The volt drops were correct but the current seems high like maybe their controller estimate is for mppt not pwm.
I'll have a better idea once installation is complete.
Click to expand...
I am very interested in seeing your observations. TY for posting
 
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You might have to wait awhile. His last post in this thread was 10+ years ago, and he hasn't logged on in about a year and a half.

Dave
 
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