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Old 07-23-2016, 03:10 PM   #1
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New solar for 19

The last few weekends I have been putting together a permanent solar setup for my 2009 Escape 19 which I recently purchased. I used two 100 watt Renogy panels mounted to the roof with AM Solar's tilt hardware and fabricated 6" x 3" pvc mounts, secured with 3m 5200 ( thanks, Klem, for the idea!).

Inside, I have Bogart Engineering SC-2030 solar charger and TM2030-RV battery monitor. I used 8 gauge cable from the roof to the solar charger. The battery is a VMaxTanks 12 volt 155 amp AGM. I replaced the original 12 volt under the front of the U shaped dinette which was in a plastic box that was very difficult to access. I modified the original vent to accommodate the new battery box(although AGMs don't require as much venting).



[IMG]http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n568/garlandmeyer/54a4a4bc0ff7a9635c87e8072f7d0f4b_zpsthlyqhij.jpg[/IMG

I am looking forward to camping in less developed areas in the fall and winter. It is too hot right now to think about not having air conditioning!
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Old 07-23-2016, 03:38 PM   #2
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Nice work. Do the panels tilt either way?
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Old 07-23-2016, 03:57 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlaGman View Post
The last few weekends I have been putting together a permanent solar setup for my 2009 Escape 19 which I recently purchased. I used two 100 watt Renogy panels mounted to the roof with AM Solar's tilt hardware and fabricated 6" x 3" pvc mounts, secured with 3m 5200 ( thanks, Klem, for the idea!).

Inside, I have Bogart Engineering SC-2030 solar charger and TM2030-RV battery monitor. I used 8 gauge cable from the roof to the solar charger. The battery is a VMaxTanks 12 volt 155 amp AGM. I replaced the original 12 volt under the front of the U shaped dinette which was in a plastic box that was very difficult to access. I modified the original vent to accommodate the new battery box(although AGMs don't require as much venting).



[IMG]http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n568/garlandmeyer/54a4a4bc0ff7a9635c87e8072f7d0f4b_zpsthlyqhij.jpg[/IMG

I am looking forward to camping in less developed areas in the fall and winter. It is too hot right now to think about not having air conditioning!
Very nice work ! Can you tell me a source and name for PCV blocks ? Pat
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Old 07-23-2016, 04:33 PM   #4
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The panels tilt either way. I purchased a pair of brackets from AM Solar but they are designed to raise the panels in the horizontal rather than vertical aspect, so are somewhat short for my needs. I will cut and lengthen these and make some new ones- they are just metal bars with holes at one end and holes with nuts welded on the other end.

I made the 3"x 6" x 1 1/2" blocks by gluing 3/4" pvc planking from Home Depot together with epoxy, then screwing from underneath. I rounded over the edges with a router, then primed and painted prior to installing. I originally planned to install with 3m VHB but ended up using the 3m 5200 which I already had on hand. It set up very quick in the near 100* temps we are having right now.
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Old 07-23-2016, 04:50 PM   #5
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The panels tilt either way. I purchased a pair of brackets from AM Solar but they are designed to raise the panels in the horizontal rather than vertical aspect, so are somewhat short for my needs. I will cut and lengthen these and make some new ones- they are just metal bars with holes at one end and holes with nuts welded on the other end.

I made the 3"x 6" x 1 1/2" blocks by gluing 3/4" pvc planking from Home Depot together with epoxy, then screwing from underneath. I rounded over the edges with a router, then primed and painted prior to installing. I originally planned to install with 3m VHB but ended up using the 3m 5200 which I already had on hand. It set up very quick in the near 100* temps we are having right now.
Thankyou for the source and name of your blocks .Another question when you said you screwed from underneath , are you referring to making 2 3/4 blocks into one together , not screwing into your roof ? You used the 3m 5200 to attach your blocks to your roof then screwed your brackets into your blocks ? You never drilled into your roof ? Pat
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Old 07-23-2016, 05:52 PM   #6
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If you decide to rework your PVC mounts you might give some consideration to making one long mount for each side instead of two shorter pieces to have more bonding surface. Most of the blown-off solar panels reported to ETI (those were epoxied in place and the gel coat ripped off with the panel) were due to cross-winds; the raised crown on the roof allows cross winds to push upwards on the bottom of the panel.
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Old 07-23-2016, 06:30 PM   #7
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Thankyou for the source and name of your blocks .Another question when you said you screwed from underneath , are you referring to making 2 3/4 blocks into one together , not screwing into your roof ? You used the 3m 5200 to attach your blocks to your roof then screwed your brackets into your blocks ? You never drilled into your roof ? Pat
Yes, the 3/4" pvc is glued together, and screwed from underneath prior to adhering to to roof.
With 18 square inches of surface area per corner bonded to the roof, I feel comfortable that they are not going anywhere.
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Old 07-23-2016, 06:30 PM   #8
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If you decide to rework your PVC mounts you might give some consideration to making one long mount for each side instead of two shorter pieces to have more bonding surface. Most of the blown-off solar panels reported to ETI (those were epoxied in place and the gel coat ripped off with the panel) were due to cross-winds; the raised crown on the roof allows cross winds to push upwards on the bottom of the panel.
Pictures of the failed solar panel mounting installed by ETI indicate poor bonding of the epoxy to the gel coat on one side of the panel. The side of the panel that had good bonding tore the gelcoat. This was the case with the panels on our 19 escape built in 2013. Crosswinds and uplift are not the root cause of the failures.
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Old 07-24-2016, 01:43 PM   #9
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Very nice install Garland. I've been wanting to retrofit those AM Solar Tilts on to my ETI factory install and seeing your use of them it looks very doable. Really like your system.
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Old 07-24-2016, 03:03 PM   #10
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Very nice install Garland. I've been wanting to retrofit those AM Solar Tilts on to my ETI factory install and seeing your use of them it looks very doable. Really like your system.
The hardware is a little pricey at $80 per panel, but seems to be of high quality. I was going to try to make myself but was hard to justify for just two panels. The little wire tie downs to secure the harness to the roof that they sell for $2 are worth buying as well.
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Old 07-24-2016, 04:28 PM   #11
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Nice!

Garland, as an Escape owner of a personally installed solar system I commend you for your adventurous spirit and quality in design and installation! My panels tilt as well and we both know that significantly more power is achieved when panels are tilted during the low-sun months. Later you may want to explore more battery storage capacity. Great job!

Steve
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Old 07-24-2016, 05:22 PM   #12
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Garland you should be proud of a very nice Solar installation.
We also like to camp remote in fall and a healthy solar charging system makes it work for us.
I'd be interested in how your going to be able to tilt the panels also front to back .
I have the same AM solar tiltable mounts and never really came up with a good (simple) solution to tilt both ways.
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