Kyocera 120 Watt Used PV panel Install on E-150

[MikeRuth]

Well I think it's time to have a separate thread on this. I originally started a thread on "Where and what solar panels did you buy" But I am now almost complete with the install. 
so to review and tell you about it up to now here ya go. 
I did a lot of research as many have and will continue to do. I was admittedly a rookie on PV panels. After reading till my eyes fell out I came to the conclusion that I needed two things, as much power as I could get out of two panels and price was an issue. I also decided that I wanted mono simply to have the lighter panels. Used versus new made no difference and price did so I scoured the used panels. Have to say that I was becoming a bit frustrated not really finding any great deals, and I almost went new when I came across a deal on Ebay. This seller has been selling used Kyocera panels that are reclaimed from previous installations. Yes they are give or take 10 years old. But that was something that didn't bother me as I couldn't find anyone complaining about panels that old that had lost no more than maybe 5% of there rated spec. The savings versus performance was good for me. So for $246.80 I had two panels. 

They arrived in about a week, I was not impressed by how they were packed yet they were intact and not damaged by shipping FedEx. As seen here..


They were a little dirty but nothing a good washing couldn't fix. The J-boxs were in good shape although one had a OEM cover and the other had a replacement that was not OEM. It works and that's all that matters. The diodes were in place and all check OK. I had done a couple quick tests but the end result is this, the panels are each rated to 21.5 volts open circuit and 7.1 amps shorted. My test in early morning sun 9:30ish resulted in 21.5 volts and 6.5 amps. This will do me just fine on my two T-105's through a Morning Star TS-45 PWM controller. 
They will be put in parallel. 

Ok time for a break and then I'll continue on...

 

[MikeRuth]

Ok so, I got the panels, I got a Morning Star TS-45 PWM controller as I really don't plan to add any more panels nor do I have room, so PWM was OK and of course cheaper. Budget is a concern. 

Oh and the frames of these panels were in excellent shape, one little dent that was not an issue for me. The surface of the panels is scratch free. 

So the next task was getting them on the roof of the van. I had already purchased a 2 bar basic roof rack. This is an adjustable rack in width so it has one side with a 1 3/4" tube and the other is a 1 1/2" that slides in and gets set with a heft allen set screw. I took the rack off and set it on the ground and laid the panels out to see how they would setup. I hd thought originally that I would just put them down the center but due to the differing size bars it turns out that along one side worked out best. I also have a little room to put something else up there.

I had talked of setting them up with a linear actuator to tile them and I may but I decided for now to just get them up. I'll leave sufficient wiring up there for tilt later. The delay is in looking to design or find a better pivoting mount that I'm more comfortable with in the long haul. 

I made up some brackets from angle iron and flat stock. Welded them up and did the test fit. Worked well although I'll make another set later that gives me a bit more room as the bolts are almost completely interfering with each other now. You can see in this photo prior to cutting the excess off the u bolt that the bolt going into the panel is very close to the u bolt. 


So today I hope to install the LB on the roof and bring the wiring into the van. Then I'll need to get the CC mounted and wiring connected to that and the batteries. 

Man this sure does take some time!!! for most of my life I have always done things my self and this one was a challenge getting those panels up and mounted to those crossbars. 
TBC

Mike R

 

[MikeRuth]

Got a little more done today, work is calling me away.
The LB is installed but not completely sealed yet. I decided it would be best to use two 10 X 32 screws through the body of the LB and through the roof to make sure that it stays put and can handle being wrenched on if needed.
I found the location I wanted right behind the drivers seat. Made the first hole about a 1/4" then placed the LB on the roof centered over the hole and penciled out the outline of the stub going into the roof. Then drilled that out to accept the stub. Next I drilled out the two 10 x 32 screw holes. Bingo, we have a good fit.
Next up I laid a strip of butyl rope on the body of the LB covering the screw holes. Then used some smaller double row strips to wrap around the stub. This gave me a 100% coverage of butyl caulking to seal up against the roof. Cleaned the roof top with alcohol and pressed the LB down into the hole. Looks good. From the inside gently turned the dril for the 10 x 32 screws and pulled through the caulking, put the screws in and then placed flat washers and nuts. The nuts are secured with thread locker instead of lock washers as I felt the LB sitting on a gasket could over time compress a bit and I want those nuts staying in place. Tomorrow morning I'll lay in a bead of butyl caulking around the LB and that will be the end of that step.

The blue tape you see is to catch the metal shavings during the drilling. Works really well.

 

[MikeRuth]

Well I made an engineering mistake.
As I had said I was looking to tilt these and I will eventually but when running the wires in from the panels today I realized I had brought the wires out on the wrong side to do that. 
Have to remember that to tilt the panels we need a point near the pivot for the wires to float a little. In this case I was on the wrong side all together. 

So for the time being the panels stay fixed and if I do tilt them manually it will be by raising on the passenger side instead of drivers side. Not the end of the solar world . 

Wires are in the LB and now routed down the Seat belt cover and back towards the location of the CC mount. 

Another day a little bit more done. 

 

[Matt71]

What are the big black boxes on the walls? Are part of the sound system?

 

[MikeRuth]

Yes they are Matt. I've had those Amps since I got the van. One is a full range yet tuneable amp and the other is a sub amp. I just can't part with them. I really really miss my sub woofer. two 12 " kickers. No I'm not the one rattling your windows but sometimes damn close. I 'm an ex drummer of the 70's and 80's rock and almost deaf.

Mike

 

[Matt71]

Cool. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't yet another pice of gear I needed to pick up for my solar. I keep seeing pictures of people's setups and some of them look like they have way more components than I've been lead to believe are needed.

Are there any places online that have a layman's description of a "Full" solar setup with shore power hookups and fuse boxes? All of the ones I've found are either too simple or are geared towards people who know how to read electrical diagrams.

 

[LeeRevell]

Each person's needs and wants are different, so many DO have way more than is essential. Some start with the basics, then add more later.

 

[MikeRuth]

Cool. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't yet another pice of gear I needed to pick up for my solar. I keep seeing pictures of people's setups and some of them look like they have way more components than I've been lead to believe are needed.

Are there any places online that have a layman's description of a "Full" solar setup with shore power hookups and fuse boxes? All of the ones I've found are either too simple or are geared towards people who know how to read electrical diagrams.

That's a tough one Mat because there are so many possibilities. Best thing you can do for now is keep on searching the net and asking questions. 

If you come across stuff ask away. 
A full solar setup with shore power to me could be...
Selecting the panels, How you will mount them, selecting a charge controller,how you will get the wiring to to charge controller and the wiring to the batteries. 
How many batteries do I need and where will I put them?. Fuse blocks where? 
I want shore power, what will the shore power do for me> charge my batteries? Run 110V appliances(AC unit, Heater, etc that my inverter can't? 
Since I want shore power should I get a Charger/ power supply? Should I have a Transfer switch>?
Should I have my batteries connected to the Alternator>? 
How large of an inverter do I need?, should I get a PWM or  PSW model? 
And more....

so you might first try to get a idea on what you think you want to do or be able to do then we here will be more than glad to help you make good choices. 

Mike R