Fold out solar panel
- Thread starter Photobug
- Start date
vtsoundman
OverAnalyzer
I have several pieces of Victron solar and battery monitoring gear of various vintages. All of it works great. Not sure where you found that info, but most of it is nonsense. However, I do have better range (about 2x) with the BT dongle b/c I'm able to mount them higher/more apt to be in the line of sight rather than buried...but the non- dongle Victron BT (smart solar) range is typical/better than most.
Superduty
Adventurer
The info i posted i copied from an Amazon review. I trust the The forum members over here more than I do an Amazon reviewer. Hence the reason why I asked about it
Thanks for your input as well.
Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
richardoceros
New member
I have panels on my RV, it really is amazing. There's sooooo much to know when it comes to portable solar panels for RV use, right? Not everyone can benefit from a portable solar power system. In fact, there are a great number of RVers and campers that don't need any kind of solar system. I just happen to be someone who does need it. Solar power serves a single purpose - to charge your rig's batteries. (When your RV isn't plugged into shore power.)
In other words, it charges when your RV is off the electrical grid (off-grid)
In other words, it charges when your RV is off the electrical grid (off-grid)
I have and highly recommend this 120w folding solar panel: https://www.amazon.com/AIMS-Power-PV120CASE-Portable-Foldable/dp/B078K5WHP2/
It's lightweight, well constructed and folds up nice and small. I used marine grade cable and xt-60 connectors to connect it to a victron mppt controller and even in shady conditions it fires up and puts out good power. My only gripe is that I accidentally purchased the non Bluetooth version of the controller, so now I need the dongle.
The main purpose is to keep a 60Ah deep cycle charged to power my 12v fridge on extended summer camping trips, and for charging various electronic devices that may need charging.
It's lightweight, well constructed and folds up nice and small. I used marine grade cable and xt-60 connectors to connect it to a victron mppt controller and even in shady conditions it fires up and puts out good power. My only gripe is that I accidentally purchased the non Bluetooth version of the controller, so now I need the dongle.
The main purpose is to keep a 60Ah deep cycle charged to power my 12v fridge on extended summer camping trips, and for charging various electronic devices that may need charging.
01tundra
Explorer
I just reworked our Renogy 100W solar suitcase this weekend, I "think" I made it better....but I'm very much a newbie to solar so who knows ?.
This application is for our travel trailer which already has two Trojan T-105 6V batteries wired in series and a Victron BMV-712 monitor.
Since we already had the Renogy panel and only use it to top off the batteries each day from light use (we have a Honda EU2200i for the rainy days) I wanted to utilize the panel.
I removed the Renogy Adventurer PWM controller and all of the factory wiring. Soldered 25' of 10 gauge copper leads directly to the panel tabs and changed the wiring such that they are wired in series now. I also made a 15' 10 ga. extension cord that has SAE connectors on each side in case I need to chase the sun a little.
The end of the panel leads has an SAE connector that mates up to the SAE connector on the sidewall of the trailer. I ran 10 ga. copper from the trailer connector over to the new Victron SmartSolar MPPT 75/15 controller mounted inside the front storage compartment adjacent to my battery box. Ran 10 ga copper from the controller to the battery bank positive post and same to the load side of the shunt.
Mounted the controller on 3/16" thick perforated steel plate and used 3/8" tall spacers to mount the plate away from the front wall of the trailer.
This application is for our travel trailer which already has two Trojan T-105 6V batteries wired in series and a Victron BMV-712 monitor.
Since we already had the Renogy panel and only use it to top off the batteries each day from light use (we have a Honda EU2200i for the rainy days) I wanted to utilize the panel.
I removed the Renogy Adventurer PWM controller and all of the factory wiring. Soldered 25' of 10 gauge copper leads directly to the panel tabs and changed the wiring such that they are wired in series now. I also made a 15' 10 ga. extension cord that has SAE connectors on each side in case I need to chase the sun a little.
The end of the panel leads has an SAE connector that mates up to the SAE connector on the sidewall of the trailer. I ran 10 ga. copper from the trailer connector over to the new Victron SmartSolar MPPT 75/15 controller mounted inside the front storage compartment adjacent to my battery box. Ran 10 ga copper from the controller to the battery bank positive post and same to the load side of the shunt.
Mounted the controller on 3/16" thick perforated steel plate and used 3/8" tall spacers to mount the plate away from the front wall of the trailer.
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Photobug
Well-known member
Looks like nice work. A few questions:
Why wire the panels in series?
Why solder? I used to solder also but now crimp to attach wires, connectors, etc.
Where did you get the 43V reading from?
Did you have the Smartsolar controller setup before? Did you do a Watt reading on the app before and after?
01tundra
Explorer
I wired in series because my panels will either be all in the shade or all in the sun, the latter when I will be deploying the panels. I wanted to maximize voltage at the panels to minimize line losses between the panels and controller. Plus Victron requires 5V over system voltage to kick in, so with a higher voltage I should be getting charge at times when the parallel wiring would not.
Solder is the only way to connect 10 ga. wire to the panels inside the factory junction boxes, ring connectors won't fit and the screw that attached the terminal to the panel tab is just in plastic and meant to only hold the terminal in place. The connections for the inline fuse and SAE plug are done with crimped butt splices with integral heat shrink w/ adhesive.
43 volts is just the open circuit voltage I was reading.
SmartSolar is brand new, just set it up for the first time yesterday. Haven't had time to connect the panels to the trailer yet because I ran out of daylight yesterday and my SOC on the batteries is currently at 100%. But the BMV-712 feeds the solar charger info and it is calibrate with zero load and is dead on with my Fluke meter. The BMV also feeds the solar the battery temperature via the VE.Smart Network.
These are the only terminals that I had to solder, didn't have any other choice.
Solder is the only way to connect 10 ga. wire to the panels inside the factory junction boxes, ring connectors won't fit and the screw that attached the terminal to the panel tab is just in plastic and meant to only hold the terminal in place. The connections for the inline fuse and SAE plug are done with crimped butt splices with integral heat shrink w/ adhesive.
43 volts is just the open circuit voltage I was reading.
SmartSolar is brand new, just set it up for the first time yesterday. Haven't had time to connect the panels to the trailer yet because I ran out of daylight yesterday and my SOC on the batteries is currently at 100%. But the BMV-712 feeds the solar charger info and it is calibrate with zero load and is dead on with my Fluke meter. The BMV also feeds the solar the battery temperature via the VE.Smart Network.
These are the only terminals that I had to solder, didn't have any other choice.
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01tundra
Explorer
The more I read, I think the in-line fuse I have on the panels needs to be replaced. It's only rated for a max of 24VDC (typical for automotive rating) and two panels wired in series represents one "string" I bel;ieve and if that's the case a fuse is not required between the panels and controller. I do have a fuse between the controller and battery (at the battery).
Anyone have any input on this?
Thanks.
Anyone have any input on this?
Thanks.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
A fuse is not required, your wiring should be able to cope with the short circuit current (isc) without starting a fire, but I dont think that automotive fuse will have a problem w/43v..
Photobug
Well-known member
I thought the same thing, when I first got the controller and read the instructions. Someone here told me not to worry about the voltage issue.
I have a 50watt solar panel and have never seen more than 25 watts. Even with watts in the teens my small panel has managed to charge my battery.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
thats because as solar input goes up, the output voltage goes down.. its kinda counter intuitive.. Vmpp is achieved at max output, which is lower than VOC and is what the panel produces at minimum output basically.. If I watch my voltage throughout the day upstream of the controller, the voltage drops as the output goes up, and rises as it goes down.. IIRC it needs +5v to start up, but after that only +1v to keep going.
If you can only get half output, you either have very poor panels or some sort of electrical/thermal efficiency eating away at production.. I've been able to achieve max output on all my solar setups, but only in the summer around solar noon w/optimal tilt.. the rest of the time its not too hard to hit 80% output.
If you can only get half output, you either have very poor panels or some sort of electrical/thermal efficiency eating away at production.. I've been able to achieve max output on all my solar setups, but only in the summer around solar noon w/optimal tilt.. the rest of the time its not too hard to hit 80% output.
01tundra
Explorer
Yes good point, the more I thought about it I came to the same conclusion.
The short circuit current is 6.0A and the max operating (Imp) is 5.56A.....So the 10 ga, wire wouldn't even notice a difference between max operating and shorted out. Of course, the 10A fuse in the holder isn't ever going to do anything except possibly rob a little efficiency due to two extra crimp connections? I guess I could throw a 7.5A fuse in it, but that's still likely achieving nothing.
The fuse at my batteries between the controller and them I have a 10A even though the controller max operating is 15A, reason being that I'll never see more than 10A and I don't feel like pulling it and installing a 15A fuse becasue I'll have to go back through setup, unless the Victron app saves the inputs?
The short circuit current is 6.0A and the max operating (Imp) is 5.56A.....So the 10 ga, wire wouldn't even notice a difference between max operating and shorted out. Of course, the 10A fuse in the holder isn't ever going to do anything except possibly rob a little efficiency due to two extra crimp connections? I guess I could throw a 7.5A fuse in it, but that's still likely achieving nothing.
The fuse at my batteries between the controller and them I have a 10A even though the controller max operating is 15A, reason being that I'll never see more than 10A and I don't feel like pulling it and installing a 15A fuse becasue I'll have to go back through setup, unless the Victron app saves the inputs?
dreadlocks
Well-known member
victron app will let you limit output, if you have a 10A fuse on it.. set the output to less than that.