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Newbie to Solar setting up Motorhome with grid tie panels.

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  • Newbie to Solar setting up Motorhome with grid tie panels.

    I am a newbie to solar and have only put together one system that was for minimal use. Now I have a class a motorhome and want to use the following components that I have.

    1. Tristar MPPT45 and remote meter
    2. 2 - Silvo Triex U305 watt panels 57.5vmp, 5.2imp amp, 2 panels 305 each 610 watts total. I have 25 of these that brand new panels for future projects or future barter. Panels will be tilted on mounts as needed for boondocking, I live in the Mojave Desert.
    3. 2 - Trojan T-1275 12volts 150 ah batteries. I had the two T-1275 batteries from an other project less than a year old.

    I plan to wire the 2 panels in parallel, panels wires are 12 gauge 40 inches each to a Y connector then 8 gauge 20 foot to controller input side and controller to batteries 5 foot to 2 T-1275 batteries in parallel. It will 15 amp fuses on each panel and a switch to kill the solar before the cc. From there another switch between cc and battery separator marine style selector switch (off-1-2-both) to batteries 300 amp breaker just before batteries. 4 gauge welding cable total cable run 4 foot. All runs are one way.

    Is there anything I need to add or not use. I plant to put a Trimetric TM-2030-A Battery Monitor System meter on it in the near future.

    A 1200 to 1500 pure sine inverter will also be added in the near future. to run micro wave total of 30 to 45 minutes a day, toaster for 20 minutes most days. charge and run 2 laptops and 2 smart phones, 12 volt went fan 15-30 minutes a day and house LED lighting and 32 inch led flat screen (news when riots and looting starts) 2 hours 4 days a week

    The motor home has an onan 5500 generator for backup power but we prefer not to use it daily, only when needed to run AC or from poor sun conditions.

    If you see anything I am doing wrong please advise me and a brief why to make that change. I am not the greatest at understanding solar yet and appreciate be skool in new things.

    Thank you all in advance overloaded.........

    (The information on voltage drops on this post were removed because of the errors, and they were my mistakes)
    Last edited by overloaded; 04-14-2018, 04:52 PM. Reason: (The information on voltage drops on this post were removed because of the errors, and they were my mistakes)

  • #2
    Your voltage drop calcs are bogus. Not sure where they came from, but the results are wrong wrong wrong. Erase that site bookmark

    8ga wire cannot have more drop @ 11A than 10ga

    the 12V calc - #4 wire is not the same as 4/O wire, 11A is incorrect @ 12V

    610W of panels in good sun gives about 500w, once they are heated up, but let's assume 600w harvest
    At 12V that would be 50A , which would work with #6 cable (55A) but less losses with #4 awg cable (70A)

    Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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    • #3
      11 amps using 12 AWG 10-feet 1 way wire distance (20 feet loop distance) is .43 volts and at 55 volt is less than 1%. Requirement is 3% or less. You could use 14 AWG and get 1.7% I have no fricking clue why you are looking at 10. 8, and 4 AWG between panels and controller.

      Stacking batteries in parallel is a NO-NO and there is absolutely no reason to do that. All you are going to do is make those Trojans 1275 is a 1-year battery. If you need 300 AH batteries then buy 300 AH batteries like a pair of Trojan J305's or L16-AC.

      As for the Trimetric, you have no use for it as it will not tell you anything other than your batteries are dead. So take the money you save in wiring and battery monitors you have no use for and buy good batteries that will last you 3 or 4 years.
      MSEE, PE

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