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Old 10-16-2017, 12:37 PM   #29
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I totally agree with beach house on the Trimetric battery monitor. Even knowing what little I know about solar, there is NO way I would consider anything else or going without.
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Old 10-16-2017, 07:15 PM   #30
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Well....I looked around and nothing really compares. So with the Trimetric, 100 or 500 shunt?

Nevermind...100 amp handles up to 75 amps....way more than enough for my system............
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Old 10-16-2017, 07:55 PM   #31
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You'll need a larger shunt if your going to use a 1000 watt or larger inverter.
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:03 PM   #32
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Hmmm, ok....googling around for pricing...thanks.
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:04 PM   #33
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Well....I looked around and nothing really compares. So with the Trimetric, 100 or 500 shunt?

Nevermind...100 amp handles up to 75 amps....way more than enough for my system............
Motor7,

The 500amp shunt is only $4 more then 100amp shunt, so it's the same concept as the wiring. Do you want to limit yourself for 4 dollars? Maybe someday in the future you may need or want to run a vacuum cleaner, a heat gun, or an air compressor, etc. If a shunt exceeds its capacity (overheats) for even a short spurt, it will likely get ruined, but on the other hand it can run at a fraction of its capacity for years, accuracy is the same between the two.

What capacity is your inverter?
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:14 PM   #34
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I forgot to add, that the shunt is set t up in such a way that it monitors every bit of energy coming in and out of the battery. Meaning that all loads on the house battery bank will pass through the shunt. This includes inverter loads, and any and all 12V loads. So, even though your solar is small, you load on the battery bank could easily exceed 75 amps. Ask yourself if it's worth taking the chance of cooking your shunt to save four dollars...
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:19 PM   #35
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If you ever need to use your momentary switch to start your motorhome with a low battery a 100 amp shunt won't cut it
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:25 PM   #36
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Hmmm, ok....googling around for pricing...thanks.
John Drake Solar has the 500amp shunt for $25, he also offers the Trimetric with the shunt as a package, which saves a few bucks. There might be others that sell for less. I bought mine from John and he was a knowledgeable and straight forward guy, good to deal with, but his web site is a bit of a pain. Kind of outdated and a bit confusing, but still worth it. If I remember correctly the Trimetric with the 500amp shunt included is $161
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Old 10-17-2017, 04:51 AM   #37
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Thanks for the education on shunts. Obviously not worried about $4, but I thought the 500 would be overkill for 2 panels.
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Old 10-17-2017, 07:21 AM   #38
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Thanks for the education on shunts. Obviously not worried about $4, but I thought the 500 would be overkill for 2 panels.
The shunt isn't just for solar charging, it is in line with all energy use, in and out of your house battery bank.

It reads the battery capacity like a fuel gauge does on a gas tank.
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Old 10-19-2017, 08:16 PM   #39
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It looks like the Renogy 150w panel more closely matches my 135w Kyocera:

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watt-M...tt+solar+panel

Kyocera:
vpmax- 17.7v
ipmax-7.63A

Renogy:
7.9v
8.38A

What's the concensus of this compatibility and am I going to lose much when wired in parallel?
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Old 10-20-2017, 12:14 AM   #40
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It looks like the Renogy 150w panel more closely matches my 135w Kyocera:

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watt-M...tt+solar+panel

Kyocera:
vpmax- 17.7v
ipmax-7.63A

Renogy:
7.9v
8.38A

What's the concensus of this compatibility and am I going to lose much when wired in parallel?
IF you intend to wire your system parallel, then then the only thing that has to match closely is the voltage, and with either panel, you are with in 0.1 to 0.2v, so go with the wattage and size configuration that works for you. FYI, the price per watt is much better with the 100w panel that sells directly from Renology, with free shipping.
Link: https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-wa...e-solar-panel/

Now, if you intend to wire the panels up in series, then the have to match very closely to identical, in voltage and amperage. For further explanation, refer to Handy Bob's solar blog...
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Old 10-20-2017, 05:41 AM   #41
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Beach, that is a great price, but it's a Poly and my Kyocera is a Mono. I know there is not a compatability issues there, but with the Mono I can get a little better performance and with the 150w bump my "system" to 285w.
I honestly don't know if I will notice these gains, so if I am just wasting $ feel free to let me know.
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Old 10-20-2017, 08:56 PM   #42
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Beach, that is a great price, but it's a Poly and my Kyocera is a Mono. I know there is not a compatability issues there, but with the Mono I can get a little better performance and with the 150w bump my "system" to 285w.
I honestly don't know if I will notice these gains, so if I am just wasting $ feel free to let me know.
Mortor7,

It is up to you, as there is only a splitting hair difference. I know that the size of the 100W panel that I suggested seems more friendly, size wise, to place on your roof, but that depends on your layout. I know that size works perfect for the layout on my coach. Looking at numbers, compared to the 150w panel for $175, for $43 more you could get two 100w panels and have 335w or save $66 and settle for 235w. I would suggest to look at your roof layout, and see which size panel works well, especially if you might want to expand in the future.

I like the size and prices of the 100W panel enough, that I'm considering buying one or two panels use as portable panels. That way, if I have a lot of shade and/or need extra power, I can just pull the additional portable panels out. They are small and easy enough to handle and have an impressive output for the footprint.
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