what do you think of THIS solar system?

[CptMan]

$3500 will buy separate components to get those specs , with plenty left over.
Just ask here for how to hook it all up.......free.

How to hook it all up for FREE? I would gladly drive to you (or whom ever) to glean from your experience. i'll even bring the steak ( or tofu burgers).

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

FYI. Handy Bob is where i get a lot of my info. Never met the guy but i LIKE HIS STYLE. He's my reason for going with Morningstar ChgCntrl.

Handy Bob has a lot of good info.  I also learned a lot from the A M Solar Education Pages.  The wiring diagrams and installation instructions on their Support Page. were also very helpful.

And I gotta say I like their Rooftop Combiner Box a lot more than the one your system showed.  It's designed for an RV instead of a building.

Finally, a read through Jack Dan Mayer's solar page won't be time wasted. 

Regards
John

 

[rvpopeye]

Skuh kuh kuh kuh, OK , I'm in Maine.......................just kidding.
Seriously , there is plenty of solar and wiring experience here on the forums.
You'll find all the advise you could ever need. (All together probably hundreds of years of combined experience.) The solar market is evolving every day. Lots of new gear out there too.

Handy Bob has some firm ideas and Morning Star makes great controllers , but lets see where this goes!
( BTW , We have our own Bob here with a bit of solar knowledge/experience too.)

Begin at the beginning , how much will your daily power requirements really be?
(yes , there are ways to calculate this)
How much roof space is available for panels?
(3 -250 watt panels are some serious real estate)

With that information , you can then decide how many batteries you will need to use less than 50% of their capacity. The rest of your system will just be a matter of "if you have this , you'll need this "....
(T-105s ,,,room for 2 is good , 4 is extra good , but they ARE heavy , don't forget your GVW)

Panels , controller , metering , inverter , wiring , mounting , placement .

Each component will be just right for you and you won't have to compromise on anything just because it is what the kit came with.

Hop on the bus ,you CAN get there from here. (contrary to what most oldtime Mainers would tell you)
OH AYUH !

EDIT: I see John has already posted a reply.....this is already progressing .
(Jack n Dan's website is FULL of good advise )

 

[rvpopeye]

I was just looking back over the thread, John's post #11 has some nice stuff listed .

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I was just looking back over the thread,  John's post #11 has some nice stuff listed .

Thanks.  I had a couple of years to study and research extensively while waiting for retirement.  It gave me the time to pick out the GOOD stuff.

(Retired 4/30/15.  FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! GREAT GOD ALMIGHTY, I'M FREE AT LAST!)

Regards
John

 

[GotSmart]

I still think you should either call or go online and see what can be done pricewise for a comparable system.


http://www.renogy-store.com/RV-Solar-Kit-s/1878.htm

For that kind of money you can get 1800 Watts from Renogy.

 

[jimindenver]

A few thoughts

If I may, what area are you in? I've picked up 7 brand new GT panels up off of craigslist over the last three years for a total of $795.

Instead of buying a three panel system and not being able to use the third panel, spend less on a two panel system and add a one panel system as the portable. You would have to add a small controller to the third panel, that way it would not interfere with the mounted system. It would also mean you could use a smaller folding portable that would be lighter and easier to store. Portables go up to 200w.

It sounds like it would be more but you could use a 30a controller for the mounted panels. There would be a little clipping mounted flat mid day. Buying just two panels and the less expensive controller would leave enough to buy the portable.

 

[rvpopeye]

Panels do have a long lifespan (mine is 14 yrs old and still going strong), just put 'em in the sun and hook up a meter before you pay.
AND remember to keep a portable panel covered while attaching the wires to your installed system ,,,unless it's already dark out !!

 

[GotSmart]

Panels do have a long lifespan (mine is 14 yrs old and still going strong), just put 'em in the sun and hook up a meter before you pay.
AND remember to keep a portable panel covered while attaching the wires to your installed system ,,,unless it's already dark out !!

That is stressed in my training.  Power source always last. 

 

[AuricTech]

Looking at the main components of this kit (PV panels, charge controller and inverter, here's how much they cost from other vendors (BHA Solar did not have any of these items available as individual components):

• 3 x Canadian Solar CS6P-250P PV Panels (found at Solar Systems USA for $232.75 each, plus shipping)
• Morningstar TriStar 60A MPPT Charge Controller (found on Amazon for $529, plus $20.49 shipping)
• Go Power! GP-3000HD MSW Inverter (found on Amazon for $351.99, free shipping)

That adds up to $1599.73, plus whatever the shipping cost of the panels ends up being.  That means that you would be paying close to a $1900 premium for the pre-built electrical panel (which, in an RV application, is probably superfluous; it's only really needed for buildings), a DC breaker box (which you will need) and free shipping for the PV panels.  All that for a system that includes both a suboptimal inverter and a PV panel that you'll often not use at all, and that requires you to spend even more money on PV mounting brackets.  On top of that, since you'll need to connect your panels in parallel to make use of that third panel, you'll have to add additional electrical components anyway.  That last seems to defeat the point of a pre-wired system.

I understand why you thought this kit would be a good choice.  After all, who wants to be electrocuted or burned to death in a fire caused by an electrical fault?  Were you building a small off-grid cabin, needing electrical sockets instead of power cords directly connected to the inverter, this kit might be a good choice (although I'd still sell the inverter on eBay or Craigslist, and get a good true-sine-wave inverter).  For a cargo trailer (I assume that's what you meant by "CT"), where you can easily plug directly into the inverter, you'll be paying for bells and whistles you'll never use.  Note that BHA Solar, though they link to this kit on the firm's RV page, refers to it as an "off-grid" kit.  To me, that implies that their target market is off-grid cabins, not RVs.  Even their 560W Premium RV kit, which includes a state-of-the-art battery system monitor, sells for $1499 with free shipping.

Have you considered this BHA Solar 420W PV System with Battery Monitor, priced at $1299 with free shipping?  It doesn't include an inverter, but we've already established that the Go Power! 3000W MSW inverter that's part of the kit you are considering is not ideal.  However, it does include an excellent battery monitor that works together with the charge controller.

 

[Seraphim]

Too expensive. Why pre-wired? It's only a matter of snap-connecting several connectors between the panel's, and making about six connections in House: two from panels to controller, and four connections (two wires) between battery and controller. That's it. Here's my step by ste install with lots of photos.


https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=11479

You're wasting somewhere around $1500, IMO. But, it's your money to waste.

For reference, we have 400 watts and 210ah storage, use about 25 ah a day and can weather about four days of stormy weather before hitting 50% battery charge. So we can stay in the field pretty much indefinitely. No generator.

 

[Seraphim]

One weakness to the Renogy panel's is they only come in 100 watt panels, so you'd need 7 or 8 panles, and may not have the room for that many panels.

 

[Seraphim]

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with a remote. We park in partial shade a lot, and it still meets our needs.

 

[GotSmart]

One weakness to the Renogy panel's is they only come in 100 watt panels, so you'd need 7 or 8 panles, and may not have the room for that many panels.

They go up to 250 watts.  Many large fields are using these now.  

http://renogy.com/gallery/solar-projects/

 

[Seraphim]

ThanksGotSmart. I stand corrected.

 

[GotSmart]

ThanksGotSmart. I stand corrected.

They can order anything for any type of system.  Even 220V/240 volts

 

[CptMan]

They can order anything for any type of system.  Even 220V/240 volts

Hello again. sorry for the delay in posting, just got home from work. I'll look into all of your suggestion, and thanks for them. As to my location, I'm in Northern Indiana.
RVPOPEYE, your post to "figure out my electrical NEEDS" is not lost on me, but I'm simply not sure what they are. I'm building my rig as we speak and do NOT know how much juice i'll need. This will be a MAJOR lifestyle change for me. I usually fall asleep with the TV on for the noise. That'll have to stop. I run a space heater in the "water closet" most every morning. That'll have to be quashed. SO, I'm trying to build in expansion capabilities to my system. As i said before, I'm trying to avoid some of the mistakes I'd make if I didn't have the sage advice of all of you who are helping me. Thank you ALL again for your interest,help and advice.

 

[rvpopeye]

Good luck with the " lifestyle trimming" we all feel your pain here.
Future expansion will have to have a limit , unless you plan on converting a school bus or something else in that size range.
Maybe the best start for you would be to figure out how much solar you actually have room for ?
Anything that won't fit on the roof will have to be stowed somewhere ....
You will then find out how much adapting you will have to do to keep within your system's capabilities.
I know this can be hard when all you have is an idea , but ya gotta start making hard decisions somewhere.
Think of it as the seed from which all the rest will grow.

 

[CptMan]

So true. Realestate is always the limiting factor. I'm building on a 7' x 10' CT. Ladder rack on top for PV panels. I "JUST KNOW" that whatever i build will fall short of my "needs", so a small generator is at the bottom of my list.

 

[rvpopeye]

Maybe the genny should be at the top ?????