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Old 11-01-2018, 07:05 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by babock View Post

Made in US with 25 year warranty. Better than Chinese made Renogy.
Are they better because they were NOT made in China or are they better by design/materials?

FWIW, some Chinese companies have been making solar panels for well over 25 years and have in many ways led the industry.
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Old 11-01-2018, 07:29 PM   #22
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babock, I saw your battery hook up on the other post. Can I ask you for an estimate on your total expenditures for all your solar panels, cables, tools, and controller? Oh, and upgraded converter and inverter? Just curious man.
I will message you next week. Out if town right now.
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Old 11-01-2018, 07:49 PM   #23
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The problem with those 100w Renogy panels is their low voltage if you plan on running them in parallel with an MPPT controller. Fine for PWM. If you go look at their higher voltage panels, price goes up. You are paying a lot for what you get in my opinion which is why I skipped them.

This is basically the one I got.
https://www.continuousresources.com/...al-solar-panel
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Old 11-01-2018, 09:15 PM   #24
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Congratulations on your Renogy.

Pictures please.


Pictures of what? the panel?
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Old 11-01-2018, 11:26 PM   #25
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Okay, bought the 100w Renogy. Placed in the sun while the roof panel is in partial shade. Made a huge difference.

Been testing different draw downs and the panels are keeping at 13v or above.

Only when clouds pass by do I see a drop to 12.2, maybe...and then a rapid increase once the sun comes back out.
Seems to be working great.
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Pictures of what? the panel?
Did you get a roof solar panel or portable solar panel?
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Old 11-02-2018, 08:53 AM   #26
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He had a roof panel, and got the suitcase for additional and to move out of shade. edit**Oh geeze, I see you quoted the exact same thing!
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Old 11-02-2018, 02:06 PM   #27
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The problem with those 100w Renogy panels is their low voltage if you plan on running them in parallel with an MPPT controller. Fine for PWM. If you go look at their higher voltage panels, price goes up. You are paying a lot for what you get in my opinion which is why I skipped them.

This is basically the one I got.
https://www.continuousresources.com/...al-solar-panel
In Alaska, I am limited to Amazon free-shipping. I went with 100 watt (slim) Renogy solar panels to get more solar panels on the roof. Slim panels have 33 cells (Voc=20V) instead of 36 cells (Voc=22.5V), but 20v voltage has been high enough for me.

I was going to do three series-parallel strings but parallel is working for me. Parallel is better because of the partial shade from my roof vents.
Click image for larger version

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Sorry for getting off topic but I am thinking of getting a portable solar panel to use when I am under a shade tree.
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Old 11-02-2018, 07:07 PM   #28
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In Alaska, I am limited to Amazon free-shipping. I went with 100 watt (slim) Renogy solar panels to get more solar panels on the roof. Slim panels have 33 cells (Voc=20V) instead of 36 cells (Voc=22.5V), but 20v voltage has been high enough for me.

I was going to do three series-parallel strings but parallel is working for me. Parallel is better because of the partial shade from my roof vents.
Attachment 190570

Sorry for getting off topic but I am thinking of getting a portable solar panel to use when I am under a shade tree.
Next time you need new solar stuff, talk to Matt at the website above. He will work with you on price and shipping.
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Old 11-02-2018, 07:29 PM   #29
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Did you get a roof solar panel or portable solar panel?



I bought this 100w poly with a discount:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Renogy-10...ller/136531035


I didn't buy a suitcase. After looking around and seeing what people say, I stuck with a Renogy panel. I will build or buy a rack to angle it.



I have the flexible one on the roof, and am using this 100w with extra cables for when parked in shade.

I think it will be great for my needs. But I won't fully know until getting good sun in summer with actual all-day use of the camper. Right now it's all winterized.


I might sit in it for a day over a weekend and run the frig, heat, and TV/radio and lights...Just to see how well it goes.
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Old 11-03-2018, 12:26 PM   #30
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I bought this 100w poly with a discount:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Renogy-10...ller/136531035


I didn't buy a suitcase. After looking around and seeing what people say, I stuck with a Renogy panel. I will build or buy a rack to angle it.



I have the flexible one on the roof, and am using this 100w with extra cables for when parked in shade.

I think it will be great for my needs. But I won't fully know until getting good sun in summer with actual all-day use of the camper. Right now it's all winterized.


I might sit in it for a day over a weekend and run the frig, heat, and TV/radio and lights...Just to see how well it goes.
I was thinking making a DIY 200 watt solar suitcase with two roof panels. Just put hinges between two solar panels.
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Old 11-03-2018, 12:40 PM   #31
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Nothing wrong with that idea. I could also easily do that with the controller that came setup for 400w. And I may if the need is there.
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Old 11-03-2018, 01:24 PM   #32
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The problem with those 100w Renogy panels is their low voltage if you plan on running them in parallel with an MPPT controller. Fine for PWM. If you go look at their higher voltage panels, price goes up. You are paying a lot for what you get in my opinion which is why I skipped them.

This is basically the one I got.
https://www.continuousresources.com/...al-solar-panel
I purchased a Komaes 160 w suitcase unit from Amazon. Has monocrystaline panels which are supposed to be more efficient than the polycrystaline used by many of the cheaper setups. As it was, my suitcase was around $250.

I had plans from the beginning to modify it. I installed a Victron 75/15 smart solar controller in my electrical compartment. Abandoned the PWM controller installed on the back of one panel, wired panels in series (43 volts in full sun), and followed another member here's advice to feed the panel output to the controller through a piece of #10 extension cord. I can "chase the sun" when camping in trees and replace what I've used from around 10 AM to 3-4 PM. Was pleasantly surprised with it's performance on maiden trip.
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Old 11-03-2018, 01:34 PM   #33
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Hmmm...43 volts with 160 watts is 3.72 amps, right?


The 200 watt units I have gave me 2.9 amps in partial garage shade on one panel and intermediate sun on the other.


So, if I'm getting that kind of amperage under those conditions, I must be doing pretty good.


How long is your ext. coord?



https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/ele...alculator.html
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Old 11-03-2018, 01:38 PM   #34
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I mis-typed earlier in this thread...I bought the 100 watt MONO, not poly.
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Old 11-03-2018, 01:46 PM   #35
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So, to clarify since I mis-typed:


I have a flexible 100 watt mono installed on the roof, and a 100 watt mono 'hard-sided' used as a portable.


In intermittent clouds and partial garage shade, the highest amps I have seen where 2.9 so far. I have not tested it much though. I am told to expect as high as 11 amps in summer with full sun.
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Old 11-03-2018, 02:22 PM   #36
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I purchased a Komaes 160 w suitcase unit from Amazon. Has monocrystaline panels which are supposed to be more efficient than the polycrystaline used by many of the cheaper setups. As it was, my suitcase was around $250.

I had plans from the beginning to modify it. I installed a Victron 75/15 smart solar controller in my electrical compartment. Abandoned the PWM controller installed on the back of one panel, wired panels in series (43 volts in full sun), and followed another member here's advice to feed the panel output to the controller through a piece of #10 extension cord. I can "chase the sun" when camping in trees and replace what I've used from around 10 AM to 3-4 PM. Was pleasantly surprised with it's performance on maiden trip.
Mono is more efficient than poly cells which means a 100w mono panel will be smaller than a 100w poly panel. They both put out 100w.

That being said, I prefer smaller mono panels since the price difference is small now.
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Old 11-03-2018, 02:22 PM   #37
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In intermittent clouds and partial garage shade, the highest amps I have seen where 2.9 so far. I have not tested it much though. I am told to expect as high as 11 amps in summer with full sun.
Thats correct. My two Renogy 100W panels generate 11amps during summer.
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Old 11-03-2018, 02:32 PM   #38
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Hmmm...43 volts with 160 watts is 3.72 amps, right?


The 200 watt units I have gave me 2.9 amps in partial garage shade on one panel and intermediate sun on the other.


So, if I'm getting that kind of amperage under those conditions, I must be doing pretty good.


How long is your ext. coord?



https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/ele...alculator.html
The MPPT controller is "Magic". Panel max current is 8.47 amp. When batteries are down and sun is max on panels my monitor has shown 12-13 amp peak. After an hour or so the current settles to around 3-5 amp.

Like I said "Magic".

In reality I haven't measured current from the panels to the controller, just the output current. Controller does just like any other charger that takes 120VAC and reduces it to charging voltages of 13-14 volts. Input current can be 1-2 amp while output current can be 10 times higher.

As for my cord, I had an unused piece of 10/4 SO cord left over from a project long ago. I cut off 50' and only used the Red and Black conductors. Voltage drop is almost non-existant. If I ever decide I need something to do I'll "parallel" the remaining two conductors with the ones I'm using. Instead of a couple tenths of a volt drop I could probably drop the loss to a few millivolts



A question:

I travel with my dog as he'd put a contract our on me if I left him home. This means I have to make sure and find a cool, shady, spot to park my pickup if I go out on a warm, sunny, day.

Truck has a three panel hard tonneau covering the bed. What if--

I installed a small, like 5,000btu window type AC in the sliding rear window of my truck cab, an inverter large enough to start the unit, a few deep cycle batteries, and then topped the tonneau sections with solar panels?

As it is, that space is now just a "bombing range" for passing seaguls, pidgeons, and crows. It would also be nice to come back to a nice cool truck (as well as a happy dog)

Current rating for most small 5k btu window units are 8-9 amp and some of the inverters I've read up on have a "soft start" feature built in so they don't trip the overload when hit with a load like this. Running load should be under 1KW.

Considering the charge from solar panels, charge in batteries from charger (Plug-in or truck), and cycling of A/C compressor, how long would one expect to have cooling from a couple of 110 ah 12v batteries in parallel and three solar panels?

Remember, at my age sometimes whether or not something is practical is not the point. Having something to do with my time takes precedent
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Old 11-03-2018, 09:40 PM   #39
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[QUOTE=TitanMike;1964615
A question:

I travel with my dog as he'd put a contract our on me if I left him home. This means I have to make sure and find a cool, shady, spot to park my pickup if I go out on a warm, sunny, day.

Truck has a three panel hard tonneau covering the bed. What if--

I installed a small, like 5,000btu window type AC in the sliding rear window of my truck cab, an inverter large enough to start the unit, a few deep cycle batteries, and then topped the tonneau sections with solar panels?

As it is, that space is now just a "bombing range" for passing seaguls, pidgeons, and crows. It would also be nice to come back to a nice cool truck (as well as a happy dog)

Current rating for most small 5k btu window units are 8-9 amp and some of the inverters I've read up on have a "soft start" feature built in so they don't trip the overload when hit with a load like this. Running load should be under 1KW.

Considering the charge from solar panels, charge in batteries from charger (Plug-in or truck), and cycling of A/C compressor, how long would one expect to have cooling from a couple of 110 ah 12v batteries in parallel and three solar panels?

Remember, at my age sometimes whether or not something is practical is not the point. Having something to do with my time takes precedent[/QUOTE]


I’m going to take some generous estimates here, all electrical power is measured in Watts. If something is rated at i.e. 100 watts it doesn’t matter if it’s AC or DC it’s still a 100 watts. Only the volts and amps changes. So here goes my math, air conditioner 8-9 amps therefore it’s running consumption would be 9amps x 120volts= 1080 watts per hour.

Batteries will provide approximately 110 amp hours x 2= 220 amp hours.
220 amps x 12 volts = 2640 watts for 1 hour, theoretically. Using the 50% rule for SOC we only have 1320 watts useable. Again theoretical because at 12 volts the battery draw will be 1080 watts/12 volts=90 amps DC. That is quite a heavy discharge rate. Peukert law basically says capacity decreases as discharge rate increases. Using the Peukert calculatorT=C/Ixn(Peukert Number Battery Life Calculator) you would get a little more than a half an hour. Now assuming 3 x 100 watt panels producing 300 watts under ideal conditions and not taking into account energy conversion losses.
The panels would provide 300/12= 25 amps. That would leave the batteries to provide 90-25=65 amps/hour. Now the calculator says you would get approximately three quarters of an hour. And of course this is a constant running time, cycling of the AC might give you a little more time. YMMV.
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Old 11-03-2018, 11:37 PM   #40
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I’m going to take some generous estimates here, all electrical power is measured in Watts. If something is rated at i.e. 100 watts it doesn’t matter if it’s AC or DC it’s still a 100 watts. Only the volts and amps changes. So here goes my math, air conditioner 8-9 amps therefore it’s running consumption would be 9amps x 120volts= 1080 watts per hour.

Batteries will provide approximately 110 amp hours x 2= 220 amp hours.
220 amps x 12 volts = 2640 watts for 1 hour, theoretically. Using the 50% rule for SOC we only have 1320 watts useable. Again theoretical because at 12 volts the battery draw will be 1080 watts/12 volts=90 amps DC. That is quite a heavy discharge rate. Peukert law basically says capacity decreases as discharge rate increases. Using the Peukert calculatorT=C/Ixn(Peukert Number Battery Life Calculator) you would get a little more than a half an hour. Now assuming 3 x 100 watt panels producing 300 watts under ideal conditions and not taking into account energy conversion losses.
The panels would provide 300/12= 25 amps. That would leave the batteries to provide 90-25=65 amps/hour. Now the calculator says you would get approximately three quarters of an hour. And of course this is a constant running time, cycling of the AC might give you a little more time. YMMV.
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