Solar Odyssey Begins - Day 1

[Slimjc]

Well after a 6 hour plus time slot - everything is installed and actually working - I will start loading up the photos after I put the little guy to bed.

SO we will begin with the entry into the roof - I went with existing cable entry from the antenna as it lined up directly above the batteries - shortest distance:

[Slimjc]

Feeding the #6 cable straight down through the cabinet and along the wall - found a cable raceway that is almost a match for the wall color:

[Slimjc]

Took the couch out to find an existing hole to run to the batteries in the step:

[Slimjc]

Wired up most of the controller, switches etc on the bench - cut a 9inch by 17 inch piece of wood for the backer so that I would have enough clearance when the jackknife was flat - mounted a protective cover to keep things from falling on it and little fingers from touching the hot fins:

[Slimjc]

And She works:

Rainy day but was still able to tinker with the settings to ensure functionality - excited to test her out over the next week - on our way to Disneyland and North of Santa Barbara - Jalama Beach!

[Slimjc]

Ok - so I have been studying for about 9 months on this subject and found two extremely helpful sites. I also read every word, 10 or so times before I started the project ans spent the money. Here is your bible - read all of it:

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/...ging-puzzle-2/

Once you have finished there - read everything else in the blog - extremely revealing.I have not personally spoken to Handy Bob - I did not have to - he wrote everything so perfectly, without fluff, it was hard to just not follow his instructions.

90% of my solar supplies were purchased here http://www.amsolarrv.com/

They are great folks and have good prices - not the dirt cheapest but certainly in the ball park. I paid a few dollars more to know the customer support was there.

Another source to cross check info is:

RV Electrical

And of course if you want to know how I put it in - I will answer any questions you might have.

[Sagecoachdriver]

Slimjc, there are a bunch of us over on the Forester Forum trying to work out mounting the panels on the roof. Seems there is an issue with the thinness of the fiberglass and plywood and whether is is strong enough to hold the panels securely. How exactly did you mount them? We are over at this topic-http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...in-105452.html
Have a nice trip down here to SoCal. Been to Jalama many times and Disneyland too! Safe Trip!
SCD

[ScottBrownstein]

Slimjc...nice installation. Would you say that the roof backer plywood is maybe 1/4 or 3/8 PT plywood. Looks like it but hard to tell from the photo. Should be plenty of holding power with some coarse self tapping screws. Nice photos.

[Slimjc]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Slimjc...nice installation. Would you say that the roof backer plywood is maybe 1/4 or 3/8 PT plywood. Looks like it but hard to tell from the photo. Should be plenty of holding power with some coarse self tapping screws. Nice photos.

It is 1/8 fiberglass, 1/4 substrate, 1 inch of styro material. Sandwiched very tight - go here for your mounts: AM Solar: Support — AM Solar

[Slimjc]

Quick update, drove from salt lake city to Los Angeles in high winds, solar panels stayed put. Vhb tape, screws and dicor......

[mnoland30]

BFRTECH, here's the diagram. Everything goes to one side of the shunt, except one little wire. I just got mine done last week, with a battery box from Harbor Freight. I'm loving it so far. Only reason to plug in is for A/C.
81 TriMetric 2030 and SC-2030 Wiring Layout

[bambam]

Originally Posted by Slimjc

It is 1/8 fiberglass, 1/4 substrate, 1 inch of styro material. Sandwiched very tight - go here for your mounts: AM Solar: Support — AM Solar

First, thank you for sharing your experience! Very valuable!! We have a Sunseeker 2690 (wiring area somehow similar to yours!) and I believe we have same interior colors.

How's the solar system treating you? In a regular sunny day how many amps is it able to put in the batteries? Do you manage to keep them fully charged?

As for the conduit for the visible wires, did you get it online?

thx!

[Slimjc]

Originally Posted by bambam

First, thank you for sharing your experience! Very valuable!! We have a Sunseeker 2690 (wiring area somehow similar to yours!) and I believe we have same interior colors.

How's the solar system treating you? In a regular sunny day how many amps is it able to put in the batteries? Do you manage to keep them fully charged?

As for the conduit for the visible wires, did you get it online?

thx!

It is treating me rather well! I rarely need to run the genny when dry camping, usually just for the Micro. Adding a 3rd panel for cloudy days!

The conduit I grabbed from a NAPA auto store - seemed to work perfectly.

[Sagecoachdriver]

Slimjc, were you able to hide the cables from under the cabinet to panel?. How many panels and watts?

[Slimjc]

Originally Posted by Sagecoachdriver

Slimjc, were you able to hide the cables from under the cabinet to panel?. How many panels and watts?

Yes, I will snap a photo later today when I have a chance. I used a cable management system and cut it to fit - it has a sticky back to one of the pieces. I used mineral spirits to clean up the "sticking" area. I feared it might pull off the wall paper - but after 9 months there is no sign of the paper coming from the wall. I was about to use wall screws to secure it - but the stick em worked very well.