Prewired for Solar Question: What is included in this option?

But, with no solar connected to the battery, its also good to install a disconnect between the controller and the batteries. Its my understanding that the controller can be affected when there is no solar connection but with the batteries connected. Other folks may have other opinions, but it makes the system easy to work on. I used a Blue Sea 30 amp breaker.
Hmmmm - I was under the impression that the connection between the MPPT controller and battery can be maintained without any problems when the solar panels are disconnected. The thermal breaker between the controller and battery is for overload protection.
(Our set up is just like your photo and we don't trip the thermal breaker when the panels are disconnected.)
 
Thanks John, I was wondering if that would be an issue. With portable solar panel use, I was worried that the power to the controller would be a drain of significance. With permanent panels there is always some current being made to offset controller draw.
 
Where I am ending up (attachment)- waiting on my 30 amp breaker so will likely finish Monday - Thanks all for the help. I obviously have never done this before !
 

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Congratulations on tackling this on your own. That is how you learn. We have plenty of solar experts here to help you.
 
Dear All - just to finish the thread solar controller and breaker/switch mounted. We finally go a sunny day so I could test the job - 63W, battery 100% by app, and 12.62 v meter while charging. One comment I wanted to make was some/many had posted that the Victron Connect app did not work well or at all. But doing this small job I used the app and for my setup it works great. One big advantage to using the app is I can stand outside the TT and see what my battery status is. A big help during winter because I keep my TT covered. Thanks as always for the input I got here - it helps. Scott
 

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last night for other reasons, I turned off all loads I could, and my SmartShunt said there was 0.20 amps drain. Now, that could have been a couple USB chargers (with nothing plugged into them), and maybe the propane detector. But, 0.2 amps (200 mA) out of a 412 AH battery would take a LONG time to flatten the batteries, like 85 days.
 
This has been a very helpful thread - thanks to ZE for raising the question and I'm grateful for all the expertise that's been shared.

My wife and I bought a new-to-us 2023 17B last November and it came with the factory-equipped 190-watt roof-mounted panel and a 'port' to which I could connect a portable solar panel (I do have the Victron MPPT controller installed). Somewhere I read that the portable panel should be 24 volt - can anyone confirm that that is true? A folding panel seems to me to be most convenient - does anyone have experience with a specific brand that has worked well for them? Also, I'm a little confused as to the difference between Zamp and SAE connectors - is it merely a polarity issue?

Thanks again for the help. Safe travels.
 
Zamp is a wall mounted SAE connector meant for solar panel use, with reversed polarity to the normal SAE


re voltage, when your trailer's solar panel is in bright direct sun, measure the voltage across the Zamp jack, its probably 18 to 24 volts depending on the RV battery's charge state. My rooftop solar panel is more like 39V open circuit, 32V at max output, but its not standard (its a LG NeON 360W intended for home roof installs).

my portable panel is an older Renogy 100W "Solar Suitcase" that has its own PWM controller. I haven't used it much recently.

the lower voltage 18-24V stuff was designed for 12V battery systems with PWM controllers, while the higher voltage requires MPPT.
 

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