What do you need $ to add solar?

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

I thought I was clear, when an RV has a sticker saying, "Solar Ready" it most often means that the manufacturer ran wires from the roof to the battery compartment perhaps sized for a 10-15 WATT solar battery maintainer. No controller, most likely wires not gauged to handle the current generated by 100's of WATTS of solar panels.

The OP needs to check with the manufacturer to see what his unit has.

In my case, the moho claimed to be pre-wired for solar, and I used that wire for my 1,050 watts of panels.

[okmunky]

Babcock,

Thanks for the link to Continuous Resourses! He's got some of the best prices on the Internet. I bought an adjustable mount for my new panel for $3 less than anywhere else. This morning I got a thank you note from Matt. I wish I’d found him years ago.

[babock]

Originally Posted by okmunky

Babcock,

Thanks for the link to Continuous Resourses! He's got some of the best prices on the Internet. I bought an adjustable mount for my new panel for $3 less than anywhere else. This morning I got a thank you note from Matt. I wish I’d found him years ago.

I bought my BMV-712 monitor from him for $185 shipped

[SpDaniels]

I think the Monocrystalline panels are better from what I can tell. It seems like its better to pay a little more for higher efficiency and a longer warranty than it is to save a little upfront but pay more on the back end. Either way you're going to spend the money so you might as well get something you can rely on for longer.

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

I thought I was clear, when an RV has a sticker saying, "Solar Ready" it most often means that the manufacturer ran wires from the roof to the battery compartment perhaps sized for a 10-15 WATT solar battery maintainer. No controller, most likely wires not gauged to handle the current generated by 100's of WATTS of solar panels. Direct Current is heavily influenced not only by wire gauge but distance. From the center of the roof down to the battery or electronics compartment you're often talking 15' or more of wire run. While AC can travel distances like that, DC needs to be up-sized to go that distance. Here's a wire sizing resource for solar, you can't go wrong if you go a size larger.

JT and Searching_UT were talking about the possibility of using 16 gauge wire for 1600w panels. It is possible. Even with 800w in series + 800w in series then parallel, as only as 100v or higher, the current is only about 10a give or take.

My previous owner put 200w on the roof with 14g wires. I tossed the panels and installed 1000w on this set, 2 x 250w (48v) panels in series then paralleled with another 2 x 250w. I have observed that most times it's only about 7A coming down.

I have another set with 7 x 250w 48v all in parallel but with a pair of 6g wires.

Both sets work great.

[Searching_Ut]

I believe I mentioned the current would be less than 10 amp but that personally I wouldn’t use 16 gauge. For my own system I went more HandyBob wire sized, although he might have gone 10 gauge. I kept all 10 of my 100 watt panels in parallel, two banks of 500 watts each. Each bank hits a single combiner box where Each of the two banks get 6 gauge wire down to the charge controllers which are PWM bogart SC2030s. Controlled by the trimetric they are really good battery chargers when it comes to lead acid batts compared to most.

Remember, especially with Mppt charge controllers, voltage loss in the wiring between the panels and controllers makes a difference in output to the batts.

[Colin59]

I was reading on multiple sites that Newmar does use 6Ga as their solar prep, so possibly that was what the OP meant to say makes more sense for the installer as well if using series/ parallel panel setup.

[babock]

Calculate your voltage drops for your runs and size the wire gauge to keep the voltage drops at 2% or less and you can't go wrong.

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by Colin59

I was reading on multiple sites that Newmar does use 6Ga as their solar prep, so possibly that was what the OP meant to say makes more sense for the installer as well if using series/ parallel panel setup.

That makes more sense. I'm in the process of upgrading my charge controller from 20 to 30 amps. I'm playing with 8 and 10 gauge since the battery compartment and charge controller are only inches apart. I suspect that 16 ga would instantly melt

[rvethereyet]

solar ready probably means there is a hole in the roof so you can run cords