All Categories
Featured
Table of Contents
Marvin Braun, proprietor of Accuracy RV, is an RVIA/RVDA Master Certified Motor Home Service technician and a permanent RVer. He and his wife deal with and use solar energy every day. Marvin stays on par with the most up to date technology, consisting of hybrid inverters and lithium battery systems. He installs systems on all courses of Recreational vehicles including electric motor homes, fifth wheels, travel trailers, Airstreams and more.
Execute the finest quality craftsmanship feasible. Offer consumer education on care and upkeep of their brand-new solar setup. Provide the finest parts in the industry.
Before April of 2018, our only boondocking experience in the first 20 months of traveling the country in our recreational vehicle, was 3 evenings at a state park in Rhode Island, and one evening at a vehicle quit car park in Laramie Wyoming. The weekend invested in George Washington State Park near Divine Superintendence Rhode Island was spent outside, playing in a lake, delighting in the warm summer weather condition, and our only electrical demands were for the lights.
The heater attracts a great deal of energy, and running all evening would certainly kill any type of solitary 12v battery in a matter of hours. That wasn't the minute we made a decision to get even more batteries or anything like that, it was just our only experience with outdoor camping off grid for any amount of time with our Cyclone.
Windy Nation seemed to have the marketplace cornered on Amazon motor home Solar, so I went with them. To get the power out of the batteries, I included 2 standalone electrical outlets directly to the inverter, one in the kitchen for our Instantaneous Pot, and the other in a very easy area to accessibility for billing and whatever else we required it for.
Although the sunlight never ever sets in Alaska, we certainly struggled with the 3 panels on the roof covering given that it was overcast and cloudy many of the time. Thankfully we might bill the batteries a couple of various ways: Solar panels, when the sunlight happen to be out Generator, when the motorhome's engine was running With the aboard generator We traveled in the Summer House from April 15th to August 25th and in those 4 months I absolutely found out a lot regarding powering a recreational vehicle solar off the grid.
Perhaps an extra battery (and far better batteries), one more panel or 2, and be more mindful of the dimension and size of circuitry I utilized for the various connections throughout the system. Generally it was a fantastic inexpensive solution that functioned. The main takeaway from that experience was we did NOT desire to hinge on 2 separated electrical outlets; we desired our RV to operate the very same whether it was connected in or not.
I was looking into panels, inverters, inverter/chargers, fee controllers, batteries, circuitry, breakers, battery displays, etc. There is a wide range of details out there, but it was all in some international language that chatted in terms of watts, ohms, volts, amps, gauge circuitry, hybrid, aid, bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the checklist goes on and on!
We have the capacity extremely promptly to make use of a lot of electricity. When thinking through the procedure, and what we intended to achieve with the system, I maintained assuming back to our solar objective declaration from the Summer Residence, we wanted our recreational vehicle to work the same whether it was connected in or otherwise! My disclaimer: I am wonderful with DC electric systems, yet know just enough regarding air conditioning systems to be dangerous.
This blog is NOT meant to be an absolute resource for powering your motor home, however more to record our build and journey to being power independent. I stated above, our 40' toy hauler fifth wheel originated from the manufacturing facility with a single 12 volt battery. We had actually changed it in the previous year, and honestly had not actually used it for a lot since we were always plugged in.
With that being stated, our 50 amp Motor home has 2 x 120-volt hotlines going right into the RV's major Air conditioner distribution panel. It feeds 120 volts of Air conditioning to the vital circuits of the Recreational vehicle.
Victron Multiplus Inverter/Charger A number of the installs that I was adhering to, all appeared to circle back to a pair of different manufacturers, Magnum and Victron seemed to be blazing a trail. Several of my close friends were making use of Victron parts with a whole lot of success and full marks, so I picked their devices for the core of the system.
We will certainly get to that later on! Lucky for me, a buddy of ours is a Victron Dealership, and I had the ability to get a good offer on the meat and potatoes of the system. 2 x Victron 12/3000/120 -50 Multiplus Inverter/Chargers These are real sine wave inverter/chargers, and fill in the existing converter charger already in the recreational vehicle.
Yet area was a premium up there, and the inverters had details air gap demands. The Generator has a sheet steel shroud dividing it from the remainder of the area, so I chose to reduce that shroud down 6" to obtain the extra area I required. I reduced around the shroud, dropped it down, and placed pop rivets to hold it in location.
According to the Victron Guidebook, the inverters can be mounted horizontally or vertically, so I decided to mount them horizontally on their sides on the wall surface. In doing this, I fulfilled every one of the needed air spaces. The original wall was just" bit board, so to sustain the 70lbs that each of the inverters weigh, I included a piece of" plywood across the back of the wall behind them.
Considering that we are speaking solar system, certainly we required solar panels. There are various alternatives around for solar panels; in the end I picked to opt for Continual Resources for a few various reasons. Was the cost. These panels are $185 each shipped for 200 Watt Panels, and that is about as good a rate you will discover for that size panel, brand-new and shipped to your door (or in our situation Walgreens)! Next was track record.
One of my pals has one that was split during installation, and it still functioned well! Something I suched as regarding the certain panels I selected is that I might get the very same specs in a square or rectangular panel. In the long run, I opted for all rectangular shapes, yet had I intended to (or when I wish to) add more panels, I can obtain the various forms and make far better use of my roof covering area.
We hadn't tilted once, and 1 collection of the tilting brackets set you back greater than the total collection of the Z brackets. I went budget plan on the placing braces. A buddy of mine that assisted me install the majority of the system educated me a terrific means to place the panels.
We drilled pilot openings, placed dicor in the hole, screwed them down and then covered the base of the bracket and surrounding roof covering with dicor. The eternabond tape provided it an added layer of water seal, and safeguarded the rubber from being tore if the steel Z brace happened to shake or move at all.
It's vital to have a plan in place for the circuitry. When you start handling reducing and crimping lugs onto the cords, it obtains really pricey, and you do NOT wish to have to crimp, reduce, and crimp again. That will certainly cost you $5 or more for every single time you overlook cord length and waste a cord lug.
Because I was setting up 2 inverters and 2 fee controllers, it was crucial to keep those 2 systems separate. I made use of red and blue wire tags to determine electrical wiring so I would not obtain them confused. I likewise used the exact same red and blue sticker labels on the parts themselves to help keep points directly.
Obtain a great set of cutters and a stripper for heavy gauge wiring. Hydraulic kinking tool. I was fortunate enough to have a close friend helping me through the majority of the installment that had this kinking device, and when he left, I struggled to locate a kinking device to complete the project that didn't involve just beating the lugs with a hammer.
Spend the $50 on Amazon for the crimper. MC4 connector crimper/tool set was likewise terrific to have. I obtained it off Amazon for less than $30, and it made making my links in between the panels much less complicated. Digital Multi Meter. It does not need to be extremely fancy, but the ability to gauge resistance/continuity and both air conditioner and DC voltage is essential.
From Home Depot I got a water-proof electrical box about 8"x8"x6". I pierced 5 holes right into the box: 4 x Little openings, one each for wiring coming from the panels with weather proof fits to keep the components out 1" opening in the lower leading the cables via the roofing system right into the wall surfaces of the Recreational vehicle Inside the box the 10 AWG cables from the panels were interlaced onto 6 AWG wires for its trip with the RV to the solar fee controllers Victron parts all function extremely well with each other and share info.
In addition to all of this electrical wiring, the Inverters and the Battery screen came with voltage sense and temperature sense cords that had to be linked to the battery financial institution as necessary. Let's begin with the solar circuit. I am running 6 x 200 watt panels set up right into 2 x 3 panel legs wired in series.
I discovered it more economical to run 2 separate smaller controllers than 1 larger controller efficient in dealing with the amount of power originating from the panels. In enhancement, because the 2 strings are running independent of each various other, if there is color or lack of angle to the sun on 1 of the 2 strings, it will certainly not hinder the power manufacturing of the other string.
Keep in mind; when the panels are in sunlight, they are generating power, so I used the circuit breakers in this position to give me the capability to separate them completely from the remainder of the system. From there the circuitry runs right into the solar charge controllers in the front area near the battery financial institution.
Again the point is to not just shield, but to give me an area to isolate the system if need be. The last leg of electrical wiring in the solar circuit goes from the circuit breakers into the positive and negative busbars that are directly connected into the battery bank. Allow's keep choosing the DC (12 volt) system.
A DC system is a lot more similar to the type of electrical system located in an automobile. The RV's 12 volt system has its own defense and control in area, so I did not change it any type of means; I simply powered it from the positive and adverse busbars from the battery financial institution.
This part of the circuit can run incredibly high amounts of electricity relying on what you are powering, so this needs significant protection. From the Battery Financial institution, I ran massive 4/o circuitry right into a 400 amp fuse. This devastating failing fuse is meant to protect the circuitry in between the inverters and the battery bank.
Rv Repair Service Near Me Eastvale, CATable of Contents
Latest Posts
Tankless Water Heater Installers Near Me Torrey Pines
Slab Plumbing Leak Carmel Valley
Residential Plumbing Repair Near Me Solana Beach
More
Latest Posts
Tankless Water Heater Installers Near Me Torrey Pines
Slab Plumbing Leak Carmel Valley
Residential Plumbing Repair Near Me Solana Beach

