off grid system for camper van

[maxcrucial]

heres what I bought for off grid for my van
just wanted to see if I missed anything
Bogart TriMetric 2030-RV Solar RV Battery Monitor Meter w/ 500 Amp Shunt
12 volt 200 watt solar panel poly
Stinger 80 Amp Power Relay Dual Battery Isolator 12V High Current
MorningStar TriStar TS-60 Solar Panel Charge Controller also battery temp wire.
and looking at Trojan 6 volt t 105 oe battery (2)
have to get fuses
do you see anything that might be missing?
plan on adding 100 watt panel and two more batteries later to above system
thanks

[jony101]

I am 100 percent off grid on my van, i dont even have an isolator. So from looking at your setup the only thing that I see as a weak point is the charge controller, its still usable but inefficient for your panel.

For a 200 watt panel I would have got an MPPT controller instead. I have a 240 watt panel on my astrovan, when I used a PWM controller I only get 7 amps out of it, with the MPPT controller I get 12 amps out of the panel. When your panel is lying flat on your roof, you want to extract all the amperage possible.
Even though namebrand MPPT controllers are more expensive, I bought a cheap 20 amp ecoworthy model, cost 102 dollars, been using it nonstop 24/7 for almost 2 years. The extra 5 amps I can get from my panel is definitely worth it for me. I do have a spare PWM charger, but I would only use that in a emergency if my MPPT broke down.

The only other thing i would recommend is to get a 12 volt wattmeter they cost about 15 dollars. I like to know how much amps all my appliances/fans/chargers etc use from my battery. It is a little tool everyone who owns a solar system should have.

[Sunking]

For a 200 watt panel I would have got an MPPT controller instead. I have a 240 watt panel on my astrovan, when I used a PWM controller I only get 7 amps out of it, with the MPPT controller I get 12 amps out of the panel.

Assuming 12 volt battery with 240 watts input you should be getting around 20 amps. Something very wrong with your system design if all you get is 7 to 12 amps.

A 240 volt panel is a grid tied panel, and thus you must use a MPPT controller. If you were to use a PWM controller with a 240 watt grid tied panel then all you would get is 7 to 12 amps amps like you get, or just 85 to 140 watts out of a 240 watt panel. You need to go back to the drawing board if all you get is 7 or 12 amps out of a 240 watt panel Do the math 12 volts x 7 amps = 84 watts, 12 volts x 12 amps = 114 watts, 20 amps x 12 volts = 240 watts all day long.

[SunEagle]

I am 100 percent off grid on my van, i dont even have an isolator. So from looking at your setup the only thing that I see as a weak point is the charge controller, its still usable but inefficient for your panel.

For a 200 watt panel I would have got an MPPT controller instead. I have a 240 watt panel on my astrovan, when I used a PWM controller I only get 7 amps out of it, with the MPPT controller I get 12 amps out of the panel. When your panel is lying flat on your roof, you want to extract all the amperage possible.
Even though namebrand MPPT controllers are more expensive, I bought a cheap 20 amp ecoworthy model, cost 102 dollars, been using it nonstop 24/7 for almost 2 years. The extra 5 amps I can get from my panel is definitely worth it for me. I do have a spare PWM charger, but I would only use that in a emergency if my MPPT broke down.

The only other thing i would recommend is to get a 12 volt wattmeter they cost about 15 dollars. I like to know how much amps all my appliances/fans/chargers etc use from my battery. It is a little tool everyone who owns a solar system should have.

Chances are that 20amp Eco-worthy model is not a true MPPT type CC which is why you are only getting 12amps. The literature I read mentions that the Charging Algorithm is PWM 3 stage which is contradictory to it being a MPPT type charger. Either that or your panel is not properly aligned with the sun to ever produce 240 watts.

[maxcrucial]

the only reason I went with that controller is good ratings and I can set the charging amps to battery .i have read that a lot of newer controllers are not charging battery to full. so i went this way.....but thank you for your ideas !

[jimindenver]

Chances are that 20amp Eco-worthy model is not a true MPPT type CC which is why you are only getting 12amps. The literature I read mentions that the Charging Algorithm is PWM 3 stage which is contradictory to it being a MPPT type charger. Either that or your panel is not properly aligned with the sun to ever produce 240 watts.

The Eco-worthy is a true MPPT controller, it has a buck converter and even in absorb and float modes can see well above the panels rated ISC. With it a 245w mono panel can put out 17a while tracking the sun.

[SunEagle]

The Eco-worthy is a true MPPT controller, it has a buck converter and even in absorb and float modes can see well above the panels rated ISC. With it a 245w mono panel can put out 17a while tracking the sun.

But a 245watt panel should be able to put out about 20amps with an MPPT cc and 12volt battery system.

MPPT = Panel wattage in / battery voltage = output amps. (245w /12v = 20.4amps). Of course that value would be when the battery requires a deep charge and the panel is aimed perfectly at the sun.

So 20 amps may be high and 17 amps may be real value but 12 amps is low for a 240watt panel and an MPPT cc.

[jimindenver]

Seeing 17a/220w was tracking the sun, at near freezing, on a clear day under heavy inverter use at 10,000 ft. I know that I will never ever see 245w actual, that's why some panel manufactures are beginning to produce a second set of specs for what you can really expect to see. Another thing is after using the Eco-worthy for three years I have found that it doesn't always decide to charge at the highest rate possible unless it wakes up to a lower battery voltage than I want to see on my RV. It is easy to kick it into high gear by putting a load on the bank that will temporarily pull down the voltage and it will stay at the higher rate until absorb voltage is reached but on it's own, it chooses a gentler rate. Still, I agree that even flat mounted 12a is low unless the cycles are very shallow or the wiring is suspect.