Mercedes mclaren motorhome Videos

MPS or NPS ??

Where did you purchase the solar panel kit?

50 to 60 amps? That's enough to charge those batteries really well, even on cloudy days.

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.

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!

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.

That was very interesting, great stuff!

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.

on one of your videos, you had flat panels on your coach. which do you like bette

That is beautiful, and would be the perfect vehicle for this singer-songwriter to take on his 50 States in 50 Days tours!!! Lusting now........bye.

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.

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?

Ok I am sold on the idea of tilting the panels for maximum power output. I really did not think it would make that much difference.

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?

i thought the reason you didn't get the max until the last panel was raised was due to your having connected them in series - another great video!

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)?

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.

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.

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!