Community Forums

mkassab · 12-01-2021, 08:17 AM

I have a 2021 Phaeton 40IH with the Solar panel and controller option. The Jaboni 30 amp Solar Controller has a single Solar "In" and a single battery "Out".

As I understand it, the Solar charges the House batteries all the time given I leave the Solar Controller on. Does anyone have a different view?

My questions are:
1. Does Tiffin build into it's electrical design a device that switches and monitors the Solar charge from the House batteries to the Chassis batteries once the House batteries are fully charged? If "YES", I'd assume the Chassis battery Master on/off switch would be in the "off" position during storage, but the Solar will still charge the Chassis batteries after the House batteries are charged.

2. If "No" is the answer to question #1 above, I would assume I could replace the Jaboni Solar Controller with a new Go Power Solar Controller that does the function stated in #1 above, i.e., the Go Power Solar Controller has a single Solar "In" and two (Battery A and B) Battery "Outs". Does anyone have opinions or comments on doing this?

Thanks, Mark

DavidEM · 12-01-2021, 08:43 AM

I can't speak to that coach specifically, but most today have some sort of BIM (battery isolation manager) like the Precision Circuits BIM 160/225. This combines the two battery systems when one is charging and the other is at 12.5V or less, ie it needs recharging.

If you don't have such a BIM and I strongly suspect that you do, you could accomplish the same thing as the Go Power controller with a diode battery isolator between the batteries and the Jaboni controller. Here is one for $40- https://www.amazon.com/Victron-Energ...%2C1044&sr=8-4

David

zombiewoof · 12-01-2021, 09:07 AM

I just removed my Jaboni controller. The output of the controller went directly to the house batteries. The positive side did go through a disconnect on its way to the battery.

mkassab · 12-02-2021, 04:39 AM

Thanks all for the info.... I'll trace out some lines and look for the BIM. I know I have the BIM for the 12v charging converter, but as the last post said, the Solar controller's output goes directly to the House batteries.

thx Mark

Ljwt330 · 12-02-2021, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkassab

Thanks all for the info.... I'll trace out some lines and look for the BIM. I know I have the BIM for the 12v charging converter, but as the last post said, the Solar controller's output goes directly to the House batteries.

thx Mark

I could be wrong but doesn't the BIM need power to transfer the charge from one set to the other? If you are completely disconnected and only solar is used, what would be supplying power to the BIM?

greeneville1 · 12-02-2021, 11:32 AM

I had the question on our 2021 45 OPP of what does our (2) Jaboni 30amp charge controllers feed into from our (6) 170 watt PV roof panels? House or coach batteries or combination there of. Tiffin electrical tech replied that both 30 amp charge controllers feed into house batteries. In direct sunlight we often see 24-28 amps x2 going back into our house batteries when not running genset or on shore power.

zombiewoof · 12-02-2021, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greeneville1

I had the question on our 2021 45 OPP of what does our (2) Jaboni 30amp charge controllers feed into from our (6) 170 watt PV roof panels? House or coach batteries or combination there of. Tiffin electrical tech replied that both 30 amp charge controllers feed into house batteries. In direct sunlight we often see 24-28 amps x2 going back into our house batteries when not running genset or on shore power.

Tiffin installed two 3 panel strings on your roof. They are 170 watt monocrystalline panels (about 18% efficient). Each 3 panel string is 510 watts, wired in parallel (a 12 volt system), each parallel string connects to its own set of 8 gauge yellow/white wires. The two wire sets run down to the two Jaboni controllers in the bay next to your batteries. There is a single pole disconnect on each positive lead just before it goes into the controller. The output of each controller goes directly to the positive and negative buss bars of the house batteries in your battery compartment. Each controller has a remote in the cabinet above the drivers seat. I removed my Jaboni controllers and put in Victron units. High quality, more efficient, better control and more configurable for my lithium batteries. Tiffin picked Jaboni for its cost effectiveness.

greeneville1 · 12-02-2021, 02:00 PM

Thank you for detailed info on our PV System. We purchased this coach that had been a dealer ordered coach (we think) and were very surprised and pleased that it came equipped with such a large array. We have the Lifeline AGM house batteries and will investigate changing to lithium down the road. Hope that your coach is serving you well. Ours brings a smile to our face. Stay Safe.