1 or 2 solar panels??

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by h2owmn

Bob said:Any of the 3 ideas will work for your limited need.
High capacity batteries, a portable panel, or the fixed.

Ok, so say I do the portable panel. Are the two 6 volt overkill?

IMHO = No

[padlin]

I'm sure opinions will vary, but I'll always opt for most battery storage I can get. Meaning I'd get the 2 6v batteries no matter if I got solar or not.

We've spent a week or so at national park campgrounds where there are no power hookups.

A single Interstate 12v battery capacity is something like 85 Ahs. When I don't need the furnace the 85 Ahs would last 4 days keeping loss under the suggested 50%. Not enough to last the week in the campground.

The dual 6v interstates are something like 210 Ahs, that's 10 days, even without solar. The group 29 battery is somewhere in between.

With the 2 6v batteries and the solar I can go indefinitely.

I dislike carrying and running a generator, even my expensive supposedly quiet Honda 2000i. I have not taken it along since I got the Escape with the roof top panel and dual 6v batteries.

[tannerls]

This is very interesting since I am finalizing our build sheet for a 19 ft Escape. I am a firm believer in solar so I will include the 160 watt system ETI provides. Never thought about a second roof mounted panel but that option is worth considering. We plan on having a Zamp solar port installed and wired in parallel to the charge controler but not sure where to mount the port. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Losangeles]

Originally Posted by tannerls

This is very interesting since I am finalizing our build sheet for a 19 ft Escape. I am a firm believer in solar so I will include the 160 watt system ETI provides. Never thought about a second roof mounted panel but that option is worth considering. We plan on having a Zamp solar port installed and wired in parallel to the charge controler but not sure where to mount the port. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

we got the Zamp port on the passenger side, quite close to where the batteries are... on our 21' that is near the rear.

i believe at ETI's suggestion.

easy to get to.

john

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by padlin

I'm sure opinions will vary, but I'll always opt for most battery storage I can get. Meaning I'd get the 2 6v batteries no matter if I got solar or not.

We've spent a week or so at national park campgrounds where there are no power hookups.

A single Interstate 12v battery capacity is something like 85 Ahs. When I don't need the furnace the 85 Ahs would last 4 days keeping loss under the suggested 50%. Not enough to last the week in the campground.

The dual 6v interstates are something like 210 Ahs, that's 10 days, even without solar. The group 29 battery is somewhere in between.

With the 2 6v batteries and the solar I can go indefinitely.

I dislike carrying and running a generator, even my expensive supposedly quiet Honda 2000i. I have not taken it along since I got the Escape with the roof top panel and dual 6v batteries.

I have the 2000I also ,but i like to get away from carrying it. I also noticed on my casita that with the generator would bring the battery to 80% fast, but the next 20% was very slow. I love the sound of the solar.. Do you ever bring your Honda along for air? I am considering dropping air off my build sheet and selling my honda.Most the places we go air in not needed,But plan to travel more with the escape so i kinda 50/50 on this

[ericw]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

I have the 2000I also ,but i like to get away from carrying it. I also noticed on my casita that with the generator would bring the battery to 80% fast, but the next 20% was very slow. I love the sound of the solar.. Do you ever bring your Honda along for air? I am considering dropping air off my build sheet and selling my honda.Most the places we go air in not needed,But plan to travel more with the escape so i kinda 50/50 on this

It depends where you travel on the need for air conditioning. Many places cool off at night and have low humidity so AC is not needed as much. However, some places from Michigan to Florida can be 80+F at night with 90+% humidity and then AC is priceless. So unless you intend to avoid those areas during those seasons, I would get AC. We intend to travel with our trailer and would not be without AC even if we only use it 5-10% of the time.

Concerning solar and batteries, we are typically 3-4 nights without power, but may to do some longer stretches with the new trailer. So we are getting dual batteries with 160W of solar on the roof with a external port to add more portable solar for shady places or longer stays as well.

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by tannerls

This is very interesting since I am finalizing our build sheet for a 19 ft Escape. I am a firm believer in solar so I will include the 160 watt system ETI provides. Never thought about a second roof mounted panel but that option is worth considering. We plan on having a Zamp solar port installed and wired in parallel to the charge controler but not sure where to mount the port. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks

You always want your DC power line runs to be as short as possible in a solar system, particularly from the solar controller to the battery. With this in mind, ETI’s default location for solar controller is the driver side front bench, so the logical placement for a solar port is driver side front going straight into this same space. That bench also houses your power center and part of your black tank, and possibly other optional electronics, so is not recommended or best suited for general purpose storage anyway, so a good place for all the solar. The shorter wiring runs are good for efficiency but the one drawback is that the panel is near the floor under the table, so not the most convenient for looking st or fiddling with. I’ll take efficiency every time in this case though.

[h2owmn]

nyhilbilly, i'm in the same decision making stage re AC. I've camped (a lot!) for 10 years in a Chalet Aframe and I think I've wished for AC maybe 10 days. BUT.....I plan to do some travel in the south east, and probably will pass my Escape on to my kids, or resell--so I think I'm going for it. At least, that's today's opinion.

[h2owmn]

sclifrickson, please, would you clarify? If the best run for solar is the shortest distance from controller (front) to battery (rear bumper), that distance doesn't change no matter where the port is. (I'm talking 17A here).

[thiggins]

Down here in the SE USA, AC is a requirement, especially if we want to get any sleep on those hot and sticky nights. Plus, if you ever plan on selling, it's a huge selling point for most buyers.

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by h2owmn

sclifrickson, please, would you clarify? If the best run for solar is the shortest distance from controller (front) to battery (rear bumper), that distance doesn't change no matter where the port is. (I'm talking 17A here).

My reply was to Lawrence’s question for a port on a 19, where the batteries are up front on the trailer tongue or in the storage box. You’re right that the 17 batteries are at the opposite end on the bumper, but the same principles still apply. The solar controller should be placed as close to the batteries as possible to reduce voltage line losses, but I’m not sure where ETI’s standard placement in a 17 is currently. It should not be up front like in the 19. They used to put it in cabinet face above the sink, but driver side rear bench would be the logical choice to me. Solar port placement should be as close to the controller as possible, to keep that run as short as possible as well, so if controller is in d/s rear bench, then solar port should be near your 30A shore power cord.

[h2owmn]

Thank you! That's crystal clear. I'll check out the controller placement as my friend has a new 17B--she's the one who got me to fall in love with Escape. She has roof solar but can tell me where her controller is.

[padlin]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

Do you ever bring your Honda along for air? I am considering dropping air off my build sheet and selling my honda.Most the places we go air in not needed,But plan to travel more with the escape so i kinda 50/50 on this

No, we rarely camp in the summer and if we do I just go somewhere with hookups. Spent 2 weeks in August on the TN/GA border for the eclipse, terrible hot and humid in my opinion but the forest service campsite had electric so we were fine.

Needed A/C one day in Utah a couple Octobers ago, we decided against boondocking for the night and found a campground in the next town.

A/C also help for humidity.

I'd not get a trailer without air, but others have. I believe all trailers come A/C ready these days so you can always have it added later. Might double check on that if you go that route.

[tannerls]

Originally Posted by sclifrickson

You always want your DC power line runs to be as short as possible in a solar system, particularly from the solar controller to the battery. With this in mind, ETI’s default location for solar controller is the driver side front bench, so the logical placement for a solar port is driver side front going straight into this same space. That bench also houses your power center and part of your black tank, and possibly other optional electronics, so is not recommended or best suited for general purpose storage anyway, so a good place for all the solar. The shorter wiring runs are good for efficiency but the one drawback is that the panel is near the floor under the table, so not the most convenient for looking st or fiddling with. I’ll take efficiency every time in this case though.

Thank you Sclifrickson for the advice.
I did not think about having the shortest path to the charge controller but it makes sense that the shortest run will have the least voltage drop.

Also I did not know that the charge controller was located in the driver's side bench. I thought it was located in the driver's side cabinet above the bench in the front dinning area. Is that just a charge controller monitor in the cabinet?

Thanks

I took a look at the 19 ft layout drawing. The wife had to point out that the charge controller/monitor was in the bench. I guess I should listen to her more often.

[sclifrickson]

With the systems that ETI installs, the monitor panel *is* the solar controller. There are not two separate units.

The mounting location is different for each trailer because of differing battery location and other factors, and the standard locations have changed over the years as well. While ETI has a default location, there are other location options that you can ask them about if you have something else in mind. Outside of minimizing cable runs, the other factor that comes into play is the ergonomics of having the controller at or near eye level for easy viewing. While it’s easy to do this with a short run from roof panel to controller, having the controller at eye level will then make the more critical run to the batteries longer than it would otherwise be, so you have to decide what’s most important to you.

This is our setup, driver side front bench on our 19. We replaced the factory GoPower PWM solar controller with a fancier Blue Sky MPPT unit. Also shown are remote for EMS, Bogart Trimetric battery monitor, and remote for the GoPower Inverter (if you order factory solar and an inverter you won’t have this as the inverter remote is then integrated into the GoPower solar controller).

I would love to have all of this at eye level, but the functional efficiency of short runs is more important to me. Which is actually only important to the solar controller, actually, as the others are just remotes that could be placed anywhere; but it is nice to have all the “power related” stuff in one location.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by h2owmn

Thank you! That's crystal clear. I'll check out the controller placement as my friend has a new 17B--she's the one who got me to fall in love with Escape. She has roof solar but can tell me where her controller is.

Barbara,
On our 17A, the battery is at the back bumper, the solar panel is on the rear of the roof, and the solar controller is as close as can be to the panel by being located on the overhead cabinet face over the dinette, drivers side.
The wiring is 10 gauge from the panel to the controller and 10 gauge from the controller to the battery. That's as good as it gets, or needs to be.
The details for those who want to know:
--10 awg USE - panel to controller; 10 awg THWN - controller to auto.circuit breaker at connection to 10 awg THWN - to battery.
Photo: auto circuit breakers for battery conductors and solar, with connection between. battery line is 8 awg.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by sclifrickson

.....We replaced the factory GoPower PWM solar controller with a fancier Blue Sky MPPT unit.......

Scott,
Nice install. We also replaced the ETI stock controller with the Blue Sky unit.
So, you spend a lot of time with your head on a pillow on the floor, admiring the array of LED's, eh?

[tannerls]

Originally Posted by sclifrickson

With the systems that ETI installs, the monitor panel *is* the solar controller. There are not two separate units.

The mounting location is different for each trailer because of differing battery location and other factors, and the standard locations have changed over the years as well. While ETI has a default location, there are other location options that you can ask them about if you have something else in mind. Outside of minimizing cable runs, the other factor that comes into play is the ergonomics of having the controller at or near eye level for easy viewing. While it’s easy to do this with a short run from roof panel to controller, having the controller at eye level will then make the more critical run to the batteries longer than it would otherwise be, so you have to decide what’s most important to you.

This is our setup, driver side front bench on our 19. We replaced the factory GoPower PWM solar controller with a fancier Blue Sky MPPT unit. Also shown are remote for EMS, Bogart Trimetric battery monitor, and remote for the GoPower Inverter (if you order factory solar and an inverter you won’t have this as the inverter remote is then integrated into the GoPower solar controller).

I would love to have all of this at eye level, but the functional efficiency of short runs is more important to me. Which is actually only important to the solar controller, actually, as the others are just remotes that could be placed anywhere; but it is nice to have all the “power related” stuff in one location.

Nice photo... did you have ETI install the controller battery monitor and related hardware?

[SFDavis50]

I got the roof mounted solar, 2 6v batteries, no A/C but the smoke 7500 Maxx Fan in the front location and the white 5100 Maxx Fan in the aft location where the A/C would go. I often run them both on the 2 or 3 setting to cool off the trailer, seldom use them on high power and they just sip the current.
My longer term priority for electric usage is:
1. Upgrade to the largest AGM batteries which will still fit in the existing box and use the battery vent in the back of the trailer for wifi, solar, TV/Cable input.
2. Look into the price of Lithium batteries IF there is a steep decrease in prices in the future.
3. Maybe in two years buy a small window mounted A/C, looking at the Noria model on kickstarter, and mount it in the escape window on the back drivers side of the trailer only as needed.
4. With the A/C I would buy a Yamaha or Honda generator so I can have A/C while boon docking.
5. Also planning to get a new F 150 in a couple years so I will look into heavy duty wiring from the vehicle to the trailer battery controller if it will power the refrigerator on DC and charge the batteries. Seems like a big waste to have the TV alternator power available but with inadequate wiring to get power back to the trailer batteries.
I have no plans for a second roof mounted or portable solar panel. That could change, but for me the cost would be better spent on upgrading the batteries.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

I have the 2000I also ,but i like to get away from carrying it. I also noticed on my casita that with the generator would bring the battery to 80% fast, but the next 20% was very slow.

That will always happen in battery charging, since the charging current drops as the fully-charged state is approached.

If this is particularly bad when using the Honda, my question would be how you are connecting the generator. The Honda EU2000i has a 12 V DC output intended for charging batteries, but it is a crude charger and not very effective. It works better to use the 120 V AC output of the generator to operate a normal battery charger (such as the trailer's built-in converter/charger).