How did you attach your solar panels?

[onenationundergoat]

Hey Dred, where did you get those brackets you used and what are they called? I need to shop for them.

I finally figured out my wiring plan (which takes three 30A charge controllers due to weird 10.5V 30A panels!), and I need to get these things securely bracketed to the roof before September 12th! They're 4'x6' and 90 lbs each! Still haven't been able to test them but when I get the last assembly parts on Friday I should be able to hook them up two at a time and test them out.

[superdave]

hook 3 together to get 31.5 volt 30 amp.

[onenationundergoat]

I'm doing 2 in serial for each 30A controller, all going to the same 4 battery bank.

[International]

This couple has been using soalr for year now, first on RV for a few years now on theri sail boat.

This test they did is VERY INTERESTING and could help us determine how much power we lose just by design.

https://youtu.be/1qD3mN8VotQ

[TAOLIK]

I used strut and made a frame which extends from my deck. I don't have solar panels on yet, but I didn't want to drill holes in my roof and I wanted to make sure my solar panels would be mounted high enough to be above any shadow obstructions inherent on my bus. In the future I want to ponder the use of actuators to tilt the panels (credit to Ol Trunt). I am not certain but I am leaning towards running the wires under my maxair vent and through a pipe hole.

[onenationundergoat]

I'm installing brackets made of 16 ga 5"x8" safety plate bent in half and screwed into the roof and panel frames with self tapping screws and RV silicone on the roof holes.

Only one set (2 panels) will be active until we return to NC in a few months. Then we'll buy the rest of the battery bank.

And actually Home Depot didn't have enough of the stuff I used for brackets so I might end up leaving 2 panels here until March. It sucks living two hours from town when you have to go to the hardware store fifteen times for one project.

[onenationundergoat]

Update: We put four panels on and left two behind til next year. They held down the 12 miles mountain dirt road and all the way from NorCal to North Dakota, and now that we're seeing the first rain since mid-June, there appear to be no discernible leaks so far!

[rjnye79]

Originally Posted by onenationundergoat

I'm installing brackets made of 16 ga 5"x8" safety plate bent in half and screwed into the roof and panel frames with self tapping screws and RV silicone on the roof holes.

Only one set (2 panels) will be active until we return to NC in a few months. Then we'll buy the rest of the battery bank.

And actually Home Depot didn't have enough of the stuff I used for brackets so I might end up leaving 2 panels here until March. It sucks living two hours from town when you have to go to the hardware store fifteen times for one project.

Should there be any concern about using self tapping screws and the screws getting sheared from vibration?

[brokedown]

They really show off the differences between series and parallel. When you have cells in series, they will output the combined voltage at the lowest cell's amperage. In parallel, you get the combined amperage at the lowest cell's voltage.

Internally, the panels are generally made up of individual cells run in series, so a little shade can really bring down your voltage.

I wish they had included voltage readings in their video, because amperage on its own isn't so helpful. Volts*Amps=Watts and Watts are what gets things done.

[dalez]

Originally Posted by brokedown

They really show off the differences between series and parallel. When you have cells in series, they will output the combined voltage at the lowest cell's amperage. In parallel, you get the combined amperage at the lowest cell's voltage.

Internally, the panels are generally made up of individual cells run in series, so a little shade can really bring down your voltage.

I wish they had included voltage readings in their video, because amperage on its own isn't so helpful. Volts*Amps=Watts and Watts are what gets things done.

A panel's operating voltage doesnt drop as much as it's operating amperage when partially shaded, so parallel is "better" when dealing with these situations. However, "best" is having a $separate$ MPPT charge controller on each individual panel so shade only affects that panel.

[onenationundergoat]

With the new batteries (four group 29 deep cycle wet cell in parallel) and four panels (two 230w in series to two PWM controllers), we were able to power a 1000w heater for about five hours before the inverter cut off at 50% discharge. Pretty impressed so far! And it even seems to charge pretty well in moderate shade, but it's a lot less when it's cloudy. Once we get back to CA and add the other 2 panels I'll have no qualms about running a window AC during the day!