Solar set up

[Nicolia]

I looked at as many posts as I could and didn’t see any discussion on solar set ups.

Has anyone successfully set up solar in their skoolie?

[PNW_Steve]

There is a great solar forum with a ton of info in the stickies. Take a look: https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/

Good reading on system sizing, batteries, etc. They even have a section dedicated to RV installations.

The mods are E.E.'s and very sharp. Can be a little coarse at times though

[HazMatt]

^
Good link. No time to bone up on it now. But bookmarked! [emoji106]

[2kool4skool]

We now have 400w of solar through a 40a mppt charging 650ah of agm batts. Just doubled our panels, haven't camp tested it yet.

[PNW_Steve]

At the other end of the spectrum......

I have 1800watts of panels going on the roof. I'll likely rarely see close to that produced as I am flat mounting my panels. No tilt.

[HazMatt]

Maybe try parking with one side in a ditch with latitudinal leanings

[Ninjakitty]

We have four 350 watt panels going to a Midnite Classic 200 MPPT solar charge controller. This is charging four 200 ah AGM batteries in parallel. (1400 watts of panels into 800ah batteries)

Panels are two in series then each pair in parallel.

[Nicolia]

What I’m quickly finding out is that running a normal outfit on solar isn’t possible...having AC, a small fridge, lights and a few other things is pretty much a big hello no...one video said I’d need 30 some solar panels...

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Nicolia

What I’m quickly finding out is that running a normal outfit on solar isn’t possible...having AC, a small fridge, lights and a few other things is pretty much a big hello no...one video said I’d need 30 some solar panels...

Smarter than the average bear

Run as much as you can from propane. Use the most efficient devices you can manage.

I have a couple of loads that, apparently, we cannot do without..... Hair dryer and curling iron. I have accepted the fact that, when off grid, I will be running the generator for a short bit each morning to support those essentials.

[Iceni John]

I have 2kW of PV in two arrays, each array of four individually-tiltable panels wired in parallel and feeding its own Morningstar TS-MPPT-60 charge controller that in turn charges its own bank of four golfcart batteries in series and parallel. Both banks of batteries are combined only after running through 250A Schottky diodes to prevent one bank back-feeding into the other. Essentially I have two separate systems running side-by-side, giving me complete redundancy. I plan on hardly ever needing to use my 3500W emergencies-only generator - in the Southwestern states it's sunny almost all year. So far, so good.

John

[Nicolia]

Ok, more research done and more questions to the solar experts. If I had a 6000 BTU window unit that ran at 500 watts, that’s 42 DC amps...running it at 8 hours a day, that’s 336 amp hours.

I see big batteries online for 1200AH (see link below), so couldn’t that one 1200AH battery do me fine for a few days and then fill it back up via solar and alternator when I drive to the next spot?

I’m assuming not...i’ve Missed something critical about the battery (assuming). I’m guessing it’s something to do with the battery voltage and not just the Amp hours...


https://bdbatteries.com/products/lif...kaArBdEALw_wcB

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Nicolia

Ok, more research done and more questions to the solar experts. If I had a 6000 BTU window unit that ran at 500 watts, that’s 42 DC amps...running it at 8 hours a day, that’s 336 amp hours.

I see big batteries online for 1200AH (see link below), so couldn’t that one 1200AH battery do me fine for a few days and then fill it back up via solar and alternator when I drive to the next spot?

I’m assuming not...i’ve Missed something critical about the battery (assuming). I’m guessing it’s something to do with the battery voltage and not just the Amp hours...


https://bdbatteries.com/products/lif...kaArBdEALw_wcB

That is a 2 volt battery.

[Nicolia]

What does that mean? Sorry...complete noob on solar and battery banks.

I’m assuming from your response that a 2v battery won’t work. Beside the amp hours, what volt battery should I be looking for?

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Nicolia

What does that mean? Sorry...complete noob on solar and battery banks.

I’m assuming from your response that a 2v battery won’t work. Beside the amp hours, what volt battery should I be looking for?

A flooded lead acid battery (FLA) is made up of individual cells. Each producing 2 volts.

Your typical car battery has 6 cells in series to produce 12 volts.

The battery you linked is made up of one 2 volt cell. You would use multiple batteries in series to achieve the target voltage.

Example: my house battery bank is 24 volts. If I used those batteries, I would need to connect 12 of them in series. That would yield a 24 volt 1200 amp hour battery bank.

I HIGHLY recommend reading the battery stickies over on solarpaneltalk BEFORE you spend any money on batteries.

Good luck.

[gs1949]

Interesting looking thread, thanks to the OP and everyone who has posted so far.

[ermracing]

We have 3x170w panels on the roof for 510w (in a perfect world). It's feeding through a 40a MPPT controller to our bank of 4, 230ah, 12v batteries for a total of 920ah. This feeds our 3000w pure sine wave inverter/charger. We downgraded our planned load so we'll have some LED lights, phone/radio chargers, and occasional use of kitchen appliances - uwave, blenders, etc. I also have a workshop setup so I'll have an 18v tool battery charger plugged in and some power tools once in a while. We also acquired a portable a/c unit that we should be able to use sparingly.

Our 7500w generator will be available for backup if needed, but it's mainly so I can use my MIG welder on the race cars.

[Nicolia]

Doing a bunch more research, but can’t seem to find what my target voltage should be...12v or 24v or higher. Watching a ton of videos each day...one step at a time.

[Nicolia]

Checking my understanding again. These batteries are 6v 430Ah...so I’d need two to create a system of 12v 860Ah.

Did that match up correctly?

Now, going back to videos to determine if I need a 12v or 24v system.

https://www.wholesalesolar.com/99601...ed-l16-battery

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Nicolia

Doing a bunch more research, but can’t seem to find what my target voltage should be...12v or 24v or higher. Watching a ton of videos each day...one step at a time.

This site is the best resource for school bus conversion that I have found. There is a ton of great skoolie info here. We have some awesome contributors.

The best source for solar info that I have found online is https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/

I will probably piss some people off by saying this..... I have seen enough questionable solar advice given here that I would suggest that you really do your due diligence before spending any $$.

[Native]

Originally Posted by Nicolia

Checking my understanding again. These batteries are 6v 430Ah...so I’d need two to create a system of 12v 860Ah.

Did that match up correctly?

Now, going back to videos to determine if I need a 12v or 24v system.

https://www.wholesalesolar.com/99601...ed-l16-battery

Two 6 volt - 430 Ah batteries wired in series would produce one 12 volt - 430 Ah battery bank.


Two 6 volt - 430 Ah batteries wired in parallel would produce on 6 volt - 860 Ah battery bank.