New RVer from Maryland. Looking to do Solar and Lithium Battery Install

[JohnD]

Greetings,

My wife and I are recent empty nesters and just completed our Maiden Voyage of 5 weeks. I am currently planning our next trip starting in mid January, which will hopefully last about 4 months. I am currently researching a solar and lithium battery install for our 260RD 5th wheel which should broaden our boondocking opportunities. I have discovered and downloaded the RV Solar 101 document, and am planning to read about other people's setups.

[TucsonJim]

Welcome John (and wife). We're glad you joined us. I'm the guy who created that document. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Many of us here have designed and built our own systems.

Jim

P.S. If you haven't seen it yet, this welcome letter should help your forum navigation be a little easier.
https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

[JohnD]

Thank you Jim. I will probably have some questions for you. Would it be best to PM you? I bought Will Prowse book yesterday and have been reviewing his material. I'm also reviewing your thread concerning charging your batteries from your truck. I think my system will be similar to your design (minus that feature). I'm considering building a 24V battery bank with a pair of SOK 12 V 206AH batteries wired in series, coupled with a Victron 24V Multiplus, and eventually a couple of 24V solar arrays. My system will require a 24/12 step down converter between the batteries and 12 volt fuse box. I'm interested in your "Smart Automatic Transfer Switch". What brand do you recommend? I had considered doing this with a manual transfer switch, but automatic would be much better.

[openrangeowners]

Hi JohnD,

Where in MD are you from? I recently purchased a GD Solitude S-class 2930RL and am adding solar myself. I have 3 100ah 12V BattleBorn batteries, a Victron 150/85 solar charge controller, a Victron Multiplus 3000W inverter (12v), and a Victron BMV 712. The panels are installed. The batteries are installed. The wiring panel is mostly installed (with charge controller on it and shutoffs/fuse/breakers/lug bars). The inverter will use a manual transfer switch because I have read of some challenges with the AMSolar SPS (and related modifications to the Victron Multiplus programming). Plus it makes sense to use the manual switch because when travelling everything runs off of 1 phase - up to 50 amps) unless using 2 AC units or unless on 50amp power. Easy enough to open up basement and flip the switch.

Note on SPS ... SPS Clicking - The SPS will begin to click when either the AC load is overloading the inverter, or the AC source isn't strong enough to supply the power you need. The SPS will cut out with a weak shore power source less than 103V AC. Dynamic Current Limiting and UPS mode will also cause this to happen. If you are using an air conditioner without an Easy Start this will also likely occur.


My panels are 4 x 200w Renogy panels for 800 watts (2 series / 2 parallel) using the existing 10awg wiring and MC4 connectors on the roof. I can add 400 more watts (3 series / 2 parallel) with the existing wiring.

[openrangeowners]

Here are some photos so far ...

[JohnD]

Hi OpenRangeOwners, thanks for reaching out. I am in Elkridge not far from BWI airport. Where are you located? I found the same schematic you showed on the internet and am using that as my base design. I am considering a 24 V battery bank, so some different varieties of the same components. I just visited my storage place and measured for solar panels today. I really haven't looked into that in detail yet. I did read briefly about bypass diodes in Jim Hinkle's presentation, and am intrigued with the concept. Would like to wire the panels in series without the detriment of losing capability if one is shaded. Also, it looks like there is only 1 pair of wires coming through the roof port. I did pop the cap off the solar port on the roof just to see what I am dealing with. I would like to complete my project by early January, but sourcing batteries is turning out to be quite difficult. The BB batteries seem really nice, but a number of the others are much cheaper and attractive for that reason. However, if you can't actually get them its not that helpful.

I'm not familiar with the SPS acronym, can you please explain?

Edit: Also, I'd be interested to know how close the panels are mounted to the edge of the RV. That is a clean looking install. Are you doing it yourself?

[howson]

Hi OpenRangeOwners, thanks for reaching out. I am in Elkridge not far from BWI airport. Where are you located? I found the same schematic you showed on the internet and am using that as my base design. I am considering a 24 V battery bank, so some different varieties of the same components. I just visited my storage place and measured for solar panels today. I really haven't looked into that in detail yet. I did read briefly about bypass diodes in Jim Hinkle's presentation, and am intrigued with the concept. Would like to wire the panels in series without the detriment of losing capability if one is shaded. Also, it looks like there is only 1 pair of wires coming through the roof port. I did pop the cap off the solar port on the roof just to see what I am dealing with. I would like to complete my project by early January, but sourcing batteries is turning out to be quite difficult. The BB batteries seem really nice, but a number of the others are much cheaper and attractive for that reason. However, if you can't actually get them its not that helpful.

I'm not familiar with the SPS acronym, can you please explain?

Edit: Also, I'd be interested to know how close the panels are mounted to the edge of the RV. That is a clean looking install. Are you doing it yourself?

Hi John,
You found the right person with TucsonJim ! He is super with answering questions. Filled in a lot of "gaps" for me along the way when I installed my setup.

I detailed not only the components but the "why" behind what I chose. If you haven't seen the thread yet, it may be informative. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/solar/1...n-2019-315rlts

Howard

P.S. "SPS" is short for Smart Phase Selector, AMSolar's proprietary device. I installed one in my 315RLTS. If you want your head to spin, check out: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...lts-f-350-mods

[openrangeowners]

Hi JohnD,

I am doing my install myself. I am in Cooksville, MD - very familiar with Elkridge MD.

I joined Escapees and received a 15% discount on all of my Victron items from Battle Born. Also received an additional discount (though not 15%) on batteries. I am intrigued by the SOK batteries.

Besides smaller diameter wiring, what other advantages are there to 24 volts? You still need to convert down to 12volts for the camper and your batteries become grouped in sets of 2.

The panels do not go past the edges of my camper. On the sides they are several inches inward. I have one panel flush with the rear due to the vent cover I used taking up some room.

I went with battle born batteries because of the 10 year warranty and a company that should still be around to support such a warranty. Same with Victron and Renogy.

[JohnD]

Howson,
Thanks for sharing those links. The wiring diagram (pdf) is super. That is going to be extrememly helpful for me, as I'm sure it has been for many others. I am intrigued by your Shore, Tow, SPS, relay configuration. At first glance, it seems to be self-defeating in that you are losing one leg of your panel while in battery. I'm sure I'll figure out the reasoning as I read through your thread. I'm also unfamiliar with the EMS-HW50C.

[JohnD]

OpenRange,

I'm not familiar with the Escapees program, so I'll look into it. I may have actually led myself astray a bit with the 24V battery bank. I was thinking that I needed to do that to run 24V from the solar panels to the battery bank. However, I believe the MPPT solar charge controller can accept a higher voltage from solar, and convert to 12-14V for battery charging, so the 24V battery bank may not have any real benefit. It turns out that a 24-12V DC-DC converter is going to put a 20W drain on the battery bank at no-load, so that is a downside for 24V battery. I would like to use the existing 10AWG wire pair that is prewired on my unit, so I suspect I'll actually have 48V from the solar panels to the MPPT to keep the current down.

You are only 1/2 hour away from me, so I'd be interested in seeing your setup if that could be arranged.

[howson]

Howson,
I am intrigued by your Shore, Tow, SPS, relay configuration. At first glance, it seems to be self-defeating in that you are losing one leg of your panel while in battery. I'm sure I'll figure out the reasoning as I read through your thread. I'm also unfamiliar with the EMS-HW50C.

It's actually just the opposite--a leg is lost in "Shore Power" mode if shore power drops offline. This is intentional. If I'm away from the camper I don't want the inverter (and batteries) powering non-critical systems. Read the applicable thread--it has a full explanation.

There's also a link to the EMS-HW50C install in the "Comprehensive" post. Installing that protective device was the first mod I did to my trailer.

Howard