The Adventurer 4x4 Expedition Vehicle / Motorhome, is the gateway to spectacular and usually inaccessable destinations all over the globe. The combination of ...
Isuzu MPS300 Camper Truck Build
Follow our Journey on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Skippy-Express/717895871612385?ref=br_tf And visit our Travelpod: ...
SLR Adventurer 4x4 motorhome. //www.slrcaravans.com.au Built tough and based upon the extremely capable Isuzu NPS300 Four Wheel Drive cab chassis ...
Our 960 Watt RV Solar Install: A Step-By-Step Guide
More details and tips from our RV solar installation on our site: //www.gonewiththewynns.com/rv-solar-install-guide An (almost) step-by-step guide to the ...
I have watched several of you videos where you keep using the term AMPS
incorrectly when talking about the output of the solar panels. Amps is
defined as ''a unit of electric current equal to a flow of one coulomb per
second''. The correct term for the power produced by the solar panels is
Watts. Watts is the unit for power and that is what the panels are making
is power. Which is why the panels are rated in watts. It's like saying your
RV's engine is producing 55 mph when driving. Now i can understand the
confusion especially when I suspect that you meter reads only in volts and
amps. To determine how many watts you are using multiply the voltage by the
amps. Even then its not a true indication of how much power the panels are
actually ''producing'', just what you are actually using. I know the
average person isn't going to know the difference but I'm sure those that
do are yelling at the computer every-time you say it.
//inspectapedia.com/electric/Electrical_Definitions.php
On another note I do enjoy you videos.
+regould221 My GoPower Solar AE kit is capable of bringing in 960 wattsor approximately 9 amps per panel. My Battery bank has 700 amp hours ofpower. My Outback Solar Charge Controller displays the power coming intoit in AMPS and not Watts. My Magnum Remote monitors our battery In &Out in amps (not watts). This is why I refer to the power as Amps, soit’s easy for regular people (like myself) to understand. If I were making videos for professionals or electricalengineers then I would choose my terms more carefully, but in this instancekeeping the terminology simple and providing a general understanding of solarpower is our ultimate goal.
Not counting labor, what s an approximate cost of the solar panels and
hardware? Was there a reason (s) for choosing this particular brand of
solar setup?
Great video Jason and Nikki! We thought we could answer a popular question
about reduced output when the panels are wired in series (due to panels
being shaded):
When part of the array is shaded, wiring in series will still produce
power. All of the panels have diodes to prevent power loss when wired in
series. What you would see is the voltage drop from 100 plus volts to 80
volts and this would only be if one panel was completely blacked out (not
if shaded by clouds). The batteries are 12 volts and only require 14.7 VDC
input to receive a complete charge. Using an MPPT controller and bringing
in higher voltages will actually have less effect from shading. Another
great reason to use the panels in series is because we raise the voltage
while lowering the current to the MPPT controller allowing us to use
smaller gauge cables without the loss you would have at a parallel voltage.
The MPPT then steps down the voltage from 100 plus volts to 20. The MPPT
controller is located next to the batteries so we use the large #4 cable to
carry the high current and low voltage to the battery bank.
Hope this makes sense and helps out!
+jay super Its amazing what that little 120 watt portable can do. If you decide you need a little more juice we have a trick on our webstie for putting two together: //www.gonewiththewynns.com/portable-solar-kit
+Go Power! By Carmanah Thanx...Thanx to the Wynn's and a older solar video they did with your 120 watt suitcase portable panel unit. For us, camping at non-electric state parks, the 120 watt panels offers just enough juice to keep our single deep cycle battery charged. We upgraded to a higher reserve group 29 battery recently in preparation for a trip to Alaska in a few months.
+Go Power! By Carmanah Hey guys, thank you so much for chiming in. I typically just tell people "it works, even when there's some shade" but I don't really understand the science of why!
Hello All! Thanks for the extremely kind words and the questions for our
next solar videos, obviously we're diving into an extremely confusing and
exciting subject. I'll address a few of the most common comments now and I
will take note of the rest for future vids.
- Our Site - We have tons more info not covered in the video on our site:
//www.gonewiththewynns.com/rv-solar-install-guide
- 50k subs - This is such a milestone for us and we couldn't be more happy
with where we are and where we're heading with our website and YT channel.
Thanks for all the kudos.
- Our Batteries - As stated in the subject info we still have our lithium
battery bank, this install was done 2 days before the battery install.
- Tesla Batteries - At this time we've been told it's not an option for
RVs, not sure why, but that could change one day.
- Series Wiring - There seems to be a lot of questions surrounding Series
vs. Parallel wiring. With our exact setup and MPPT charge controller, the
"series" wiring was recommended. I'm sure this will be a video.
- Tilting - We will film a tilting video
- A/C - We will attempt to run our A/C off our battery and solar in the
future.
Greetings,You are producing g a lot of voltage when connected in series. I
see you are using an outback charge controller . Assuming you are using the
Flex Max 80 ? What voltage is your battery bank? I know the flexmax will
down convert to your battery voltage. If you are using 12 volt, why? Reason
I ask is I'm building a Solar setup for my rig. I went with 4 250 watt
panels and am running in Series. That puts me at the open circuit voltage
limit of the flex max 80. I'm running a 24 volt battery bank and have a
step down transformer to run the DC systems in the coach. Sure there are
some inefficiencies but the 24 volt system more than makes up for that. I
went with 24 volt because it's more efficient and cable runs aren't as much
of an issue at higher voltages. I also went with an Outback 3500 watt pure
sign wave inverter. I like my energy hungry toys. Let me know how you like
the Outback Charge controller and the Mate. Mine is all still on the floor
of my garage! Also, if I may be mistaken but you are using lithium
batteries right? I have a big weight restriction and LI batteries are much
lighter. Need to save every pound I can. Looking forward to more details on
your system.
+Doug Henson Most panels that are made to take the abuse of being on a moving home are 12v. Some people use house type solar panels that are 24v however they are not typically warrantied for RV use.
RV Solar Tilting: Is It Really Worth It To Tilt the Panels?
More Pros & Cons of Tilting RV Solar Panels along with links to our gear on the site here: //www.gonewiththewynns.com/tilt-rv-solar-panels If you tilt the solar ...
Good video and I completely agree with your conclusion. I spend time near
that location almost every year and my test results with tilting have been
even more dramatic than yours (I'm assuming that's because I did the
testing earlier in the morning than you did). In your test, when your
panels were flat you we're getting about 74.5% of the amperage that you get
when tilted. Another way to look at your results is to say that you got 34%
more amperage by tilting your panels. It's a very worthwhile practice. I do
have a suggestion for you to consider though. Leave those struts attached
at the panels. When it comes time to take them down for travel, simply
remove the bolts at the roof, then fold the struts under the panel before
dropping the panels down. That's my method and it speeds things up a bit.
And.....after reading your "Is it worth it" section of your website - I have to agree. For some people it is not worth it. Especially those who are nervous about getting on the roof. They should just get enough panels for their needs based on never tilting, or consider some automated way of tilting. Tilting can save money by reducing the number of panels needed , but there are several factors at play and it isn't a "one size fits all" rule. For people who only camp in summer it's probably not worth it at all. For those who want to be in the shade all the time - forget solar altogether unless you don't mount the panel(s) and instead just set them out on the ground where there's sun (I've seen lots of people doing that). For me roof-mounted tilting works (I don't even think twice about getting on the roof and I spend 4 to 6 weeks boondocking every winter). To each his/her own. Just one more trick to have in the toolbox.
I'm RV's to old to stand on the roof....freaks me out to see you up there!
lol. Since tilting is so effective...are portable solar panels better ---if
I don't need massive power needs? (no microwave, air conditioner etc) I
mostly need power for a small refrig, hot water heater and to power up the
computer.
We noticed you have a residential refrigerator. We're hearing good and bad
so... how is it working out with boondocking? Is it consuming a lot of
power?
So my question for you is. While it may increase when tilted don't you lose
significantly on the reverse side if you don't go back up and lay them
down? Or do you move your rig to stay in line of sight of the sun?
Only guessing that the Go Power panels don't have bypass diodes. The first tilted panel is capable of producing more energy, but without a bypass diode in the downstream panels, the extra energy can't get to the charge controller. This is why only when the last panel is tilted does the power really jump. For the same reason, any amount of shading on one panel will have a significant negative impact on the output of the other panels.
I wonder if a reflective coating on the top of your pullout will increase
your solar output? Grab some aluminum foil and test it :-). Did you
consider that tilted panels will increase the length of time each day that
you will produce power as the sun nears the horizon (or, really, as the
horizon nears the sun)?
+TheRealMercDave We decided to keep this info out of the video in order to keep it as SIMPLE as possible. It's difficult for most people to understand solar and the more info we throw their way it seems to be more confusing :) But YES, we get much more power in the AM and PM that we couldn't' capture with flat panels.
There is a flaw in your scientific method. First off your current meter
reading (Amps) is directly related to how much electricity is being used in
the RV. Not necessarily what the panels are providing. So hypothetically if
the panels are only providing 576 (60% of 960) watts of power because they
are down but the RV is only using 510 watts of power raising them so that
they are providing more power isn't going to show on the meter because the
RV is still only using 510 watts of power. Second your RV must have some
kind of smart controller that combines the solar panel and battery power so
that when the panels aren't providing enough power the power comes from the
batteries and when the panels are providing extra power that extra power
goes to charging the batteries. You have no way of knowing what the
controller is actually doing. You mentioned this test was done later in the
day so most likely your batteries were nearly fully charged and the RV was
running 100% off the solar panels and no power was going to the batteries.
The jump in current when the last panel was raised was probably the smart
controller deciding that it had enough extra power available to send some
more to the batteries for charging, thus the demand and current went up. If
you do the same test in the morning when the batteries are drained your
current readings should climb with each panel being raised because your
batteries are a big load and will take all the power they can get.
But your conclusion is correct. Angling the panels does improves their
output.
But is it worth it? Well if you batteries are 100% charged at the end of
the day with the panels down then it's not worth raising them. But if they
come up short of full charge at the end of the day then raising them will
help. That will vary from location, time of year, personal use of
electricity. Everybody's needs will vary.
+regould221 My GoPower Solar AE kit is capable of bringing in 960 wattsor approximately 9 amps per panel. My Battery bank has 700 amp hours ofpower. My Outback Solar Charge Controller displays the power coming intoit in AMPS and not Watts. My Magnum Remote monitors our battery In &Out in amps (not watts). This is why I refer to the power as Amps, soit’s easy for regular people (like myself) to understand. If I were making videos for professionals or electricalengineers then I would choose my terms more carefully, but in this instancekeeping the terminology simple and providing a general understanding of solarpower is our ultimate goal.
The real answer to running AC on batteries is a "NO". Not on any RV
battery bank. I have seen videos that say "yes" and do it but they drained
their whole battery bank in 2 to 3 hours. That is not what I would call
being able to run your AC. Yes! the AC did run but when you need AC you
need it more than 3 hours in one day, so what would be the point and does
that qualify as "running AC"? When people say they have AC they are not
talking about for just 2 or 3 hours on a fully charged bank, they are
talking about all day. AC for 2 / 3 hours then your bank is drained is
very damaging to your batteries life expectancy, you can't ignore that,
which they do. The bank won't last 6 months if this is done daily before
it won't hold a charge at all anymore. To ANYONE who says you can, I say
yeah do it daily and talk to me 6 months from now. Let's see what these
self trained "solar electrical engineers" have to say in their next video.
+Kansas Devil You know, there are swamp cooers for RV's which requires a lot less electrical energy than an AC. They are particularly suited and very effective in hot and arid regions such as in the southwest. With 10% humidity and 100 deg.F , outside air is cooled to the low 70's. Here is a chart which gives the expected cooling based on outside temp's and relative humidity. //www.macandchris.com/images/SwampCoolerPerformance.gif
+sailingsolar It's better to be outside the RV under some shade wearing little clothing drinking some cool limeade then to sit inside trying to get the AC to last long enough on battery power to feel comfortable.And often, just running the roof ventilators is enough.
+sailingsolar : Depends on a number of factors. If their bank is in FLOAT and they still have enough excess energy then it doesn't matter. They shut it down when the sun is going away. Full battery at the end of the day. One other point, I think you are forgetting that the Wynns have a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery rather than Lead Acid. I use the same chemistry in my off-grid home. They are rated to have a cycle life of 2000 with 100%DOD use. 3000 for 80%DOD. 5000 for 70%DOD. Also LFP cells are unlike Pb ones in which they do not care whether they are 100% charged daily. Just my two cents with living with LFP/Solar for the last 3 years with no generator backup. :)
Avion Azur Class B Motorhome RV on the Mercedes Benz Sprinter Chassis
AVION BY THE RV FACTORY IS THE PREMIER FACTORY DIRECT MANUFACTURER OF LUXURY CLASS B MOTORHOME CAMPER VANS--BUILT ON THE ...
I think that that is one of the nicest conversions I have seen. I am also
thinking of upgrading to a Sprinter as whereas I think my T4 is great,
there are times when a little more room would be nice, especially cupboard
space. I do not like however the kitchen as the cooker is too big, I think
for most people a couple of gas rings is sufficient - lots of camper vans
seem to be kitchens on wheels and most of us hardly use the kitchen anyway!
There are quite a few upfitters here in the U.S. with a fair amount of
experience with the Mercedes Sprinter but I have not yet seen them build
anything like this one. I have a 2011 170 extended that is for hauling
racebikes, and am trying to find an upfitter that can do something like
this.
Nice. Just hate the stark white chairs. I'd see they'd be a pain to
constantly keep clean! What about that tight toilet...? Does it swivel or
something because I can't see it not, since it abuts the wall, leaving you
no where to sit down...