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Old 09-21-2017, 03:47 PM   #1
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solar panels

i have a'07 itasca sunrise and was wondering if anyone knows if it's ok to add a 7w solar panel to my factory panel that's on the rig now? thanks
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Old 09-21-2017, 07:01 PM   #2
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In my opinion, adding a 7W solar panel to anything is a waste of time. Even in full sun it won't put out more than 0.2-0.3 amps. Even a 15W panel is pretty much useless for most purposes.

It's ok to have multiple charging sources for the batteries, but you have to be careful about how they are hooked up. You can't just splice the wires together in most cases, since different panels can operate at different voltages. You could wire the new one direct to the batteries, though.
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Old 09-22-2017, 09:21 AM   #3
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Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Not a solar expert, but I too think a 7W panel would be a total waste of time! Keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 09-22-2017, 10:31 PM   #4
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What would you guy suggest to add more, so we can boondock longer?
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Old 09-22-2017, 11:53 PM   #5
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https://www.amazon.com/HQST-Polycrys...0w+solar+panel

This would be a start. Portable so you can place it in the sun. If you just have one panel and it is in the shade it does nothing. This also has a charge controller so it won't cook your battery. It Is a start although for just a few bucks more you can get a super quiet generator and just charge that way.

https://www.amazon.com/WEN-56125i-12...able+generator
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Old 09-23-2017, 07:39 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmelsonjr View Post
What would you guy suggest to add more, so we can boondock longer?
Depends on your electrical usage. It is boring, but you really need to count the amp hours you use on a worse case day. Look at how long you run the heater fan, how long the lights and electric water pump runs, how long you watch television or satellite. Then you figure out how much battery power you need (can't run down a battery below 50% and 25% is better) and then the solar panels needed.

For a rough comparison, we installed 220 amp hours of batteries (two 6 v ones), a new high efficiency converter charger, and 300 watts of panels on the roof. The cost was around $1000, so not insignificant. On nice days this keeps our batteries fully charged, and it still is fine on one overcast day. We haven't had it out in multiple dark days, but that will come in a couple of weeks. Note this means absolutely nothing for your own situation because your electrical usage may be totally different.
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Old 09-24-2017, 12:18 PM   #7
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Thanks that sound like what I'm looking for, did you install it yourself or had it installed, I'm having a problem finding someone to do the installation
Thanks again for the great advice!
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Old 09-25-2017, 07:17 AM   #8
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Thanks that sound like what I'm looking for, did you install it yourself or had it installed, I'm having a problem finding someone to do the installation
Thanks again for the great advice!
Hubs did all the installation himself. It probably took him 20-30 hours, but it was his first time doing anything like this. He was an electrical engineer by training, but did designed software for airplane computers, not wiring! He also took a lot of time running wires behind the trailer front cap so the installation looks clean. Oh, and while he had the nose open he added more insulation there. Here is a blog post that I made about it with some pictures.
We have solar! – TooBusyForWork

BTW, the blog post exaggerates the amount of work because that's what DH told me. He is now using "20-30 hours" as the installation time. That did include some time for figuring things out too. There are lots of resources for designing your own system. It took him a lot longer to figure out what he needed than it did to install it.
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Old 09-27-2017, 02:53 AM   #9
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We boondock frequently for up to 2 weeks at a time. Our first motorhome I had 3 group 29 batteries in it and started out with the 90w Harbor Freight solar kit. This was not enough power to recharge the batteries so by adding panels a little at a time I got to 290w on the roof. This and changing all the interior light bulbs to LEDs provided us with enough power to camp and charge the boat trolling motor battery.
We sold that RV and bought a 35' Winnie in March this year. I put 400w of solar on the roof and have 3 group 27 batteries and plenty of power to camp indefinitely.
I bought the panels from Renogy Solar for the old motorhome (2-100w) and for the new motorhome (4-100w). I made brackets for the first RV and bought them from Renogy for the second one. I also purchased the wire connectors from Renogy.
There are not many solid places on the roof to hold screws so I included some marine silicone adhesive I bought at Home Depot to install the panels with the screws. I used pvc pipe on the roof to run the wires thru and held them down with a combo of conduit brackets and the marine adhesive. The wires run off the roof thru the refrigerator vent to the interior.
Since you have a newer rv you might want to contact the manufacturer to ask about attaching the panel brackets.
When we boondock we limit the power usage as much as we can by using only lights we need, which are all leds.
I tested the draw on one incandescant bulb in the old coach and found I could run 3 led lights for less than the same amount of current draw.
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