New Solar Install

[jodeb720]

Guys,

a good friend of mine reached out to the folks at camping world.
They gave him a quote for 510watts of panels, some GC batteries (AGM) and controllers etc.

We all agree before you start down the path of any solar install, you need to know what your usage is on a daily basis and size the entire package from there.

What I'm looking for is recommendations as to who you would purchase the panels from - and is competitive in pricing and is a quality product.

We live in Colorado - so if there's someone local - that would be good to know as well - though we have no particular need to purchase them locally (Other than saving on shipping).

Thanks in advance for your experience and recommendations!

Josh

[gkainz]

Son of Norway wrote:
This is a follow-up to KD4UPL's comment. I've been purchasing surplus solar panels and AGM batteries from a solar contractor in the Denver area for years. You can find him and see what he has in stock by searching Denver Craigslist for "solar panels" or "AGM". He is retired military so he always has "Go Navy" in his ads. His name is Marion and he is a good person to do business with. I have put together a solar install on my RV for a fraction of what it would cost otherwise by buying from him.

If you could provide a link to Marion, I would appreciate it! I would support another Navy vet.

My folks belonged to the Sons of Norway 🙂

Edit: Never mind - found it. Just had to do a little advanced google search for "denver.craigslist: Solar Marion AGM" and there he is.
Thanks again!

[EMD360]

Nice to have a local vendor. But I ordered mine from the experts at Northern Arizona Wind and Sun. They have been selling solar for decades and have a useful website that answers questions about solar (and wind). They can be relied upon to have fair pricing on their solar choices and their packages offer complete systems. I ordered my system there with some substitutions. I have 2 180 W PERC panels (Solarland SLP180S-12 180 Watt 12 Volt PERC Cell High Efficiency Monocrystalline Solar Panel) and Victron MPPT controller plus the DC breakers, box and fuses. https://www.solar-electric.com/ I was trying to get the highest power I could from limited roof space and the measurements of these panels yielded the best performance for the space.
I ordered the wiring from Amazon. Before the basic install I put in a Victron Battery Monitor with built in Bluetooth, a Progressive Dynamics 9155L converter/charger a Progrssive Industries electricity monitor EMS for surge suppression, and after I added a Renogy 30 amp DC to DC charger. Then I decided to add an inverter and because the Victron was so expensive I ordered a Samlex Pure Sine with a wired remote controller. Then I installed a transfer switch to keep the inverter from trying to charge the batteries. That is a Go-Power T-30 amp.
The inverter is a bit large for my system. 3000 watts But I can run it down the road and use it for short microwave use or to pump up the Intex boat or charge a computer without running the generator. I bought two 105 amp hr LION Energy batteries from Cosco and they are amazing. They hold the charge well. Have a temp sensitive BMS so they don’t charge when it’s too cold and if I don’t ruin them should last a decade.
I’ve also been reading this forum for for 12 years and learned a lot from the experts here. So I asked questions about the install logic and read about each piece of equipment and figured it out.
Since I enjoyed this project so much I installed a 5G hotspot added to my cell phone bill. I installed a Victron Cerbo that reads the battery monitor and solar controller data and a WiFi temp stick in the battery compartment. I also added a Govee WiFi temp sensor for the interior. Like all things RV it’s addicting.

[dodge_guy]

On batteries, for he price, skip the FLAs and go with AGMs. They will last longer and can be discharged farther. Not to mention they are more stable in rough environments such as an RV sees.

[SJ-Chris]

CA Traveler wrote:
My first purchase was a battery monitor...

100% yes.

Suggestion to your friend...

Buy and install a battery monitor. (I use one by Aili which only costs ~$45 and works great).

Go on 1 or 2 vacations. Make sure he starts with 100% fully charged batteries. Monitor what happens on his vacation regarding his batteries and he will have an accurate picture of exactly how many AHs he is using. Since he has a generator(s) he can use those on these vacations. This will guide him to the answer of how many battery AHs he needs and how much solar.

Side note: 2amp worth of phantom leak is A LOT. That's 24AH per day. That is a recipe for dead dead batteries after just 5-6 days of forgetting about it (ie. storage). Batteries getting drained to 0% is what kills battery life the fastest. It would be well worth his time to figure that problem out. For reference, when I park my RV and turn off my battery disconnect (standard one by the side entrance of many RVs) my phantom draw is about 0.15 amps...about 3 amps per day.

Good luck!
Chris

[pianotuna]

CA Traveler wrote:
My 24V 60 cell panels are elevated to clear some roof equipment.

Any chance of a description of how that was done? Pictures?

[CA_Traveler]

FYI Most RVers are deterined to mount their panels close to the roof probably because almost everyone does. Hence many use the smaller 12V panels due to roof space limitations. My 24V 60 cell panels are elevated to clear some roof equipment.

[CA_Traveler]

My first purchase was a battery monitor so that I could better determine the usage. Panels, controller, misc cost was $1550 for 750W. Today the panels are half the 2014 cost and 25% used. Controllers are less so perhaps $800. Note: I used 24V 60 cell panels. 12V panels cost more, take up more space per watt, hardware, etc.

[Colo_Native]

jodeb720 wrote:
Guys,

a good friend of mine reached out to the folks at camping world.
They gave him a quote for 510watts of panels, some GC batteries (AGM) and controllers etc.

We all agree before you start down the path of any solar install, you need to know what your usage is on a daily basis and size the entire package from there.

What I'm looking for is recommendations as to who you would purchase the panels from - and is competitive in pricing and is a quality product.

We live in Colorado - so if there's someone local - that would be good to know as well - though we have no particular need to purchase them locally (Other than saving on shipping).

Thanks in advance for your experience and recommendations!

Josh

Check out Sun Talk Solar out in Montebello off 56th. I bought 2- 300W surplus panels there and built my own system

[pianotuna]

jodeb720 wrote:
Financially it just doesn't make sense - even if the cost of fuel is 5.00 a gallon. his ROI is just not there.

Solar makes great sense in his situation. Between trips the panels recharge the batteries. They may last twice as long which more than pays for a modest solar install. Every trip starts with the batteries brim full.

I use mine to maintain the chassis battery, and the generator battery as well as the house jars.

[jodeb720]

Thanks everybody for confirming what I told him.
Walk Away from CW!

we did a walk through on his daily usage In Ah - and we figured - conservatively - that he's going to use about 100ah a day (he's got parasitic draw of 2ah constantly - which seems high).

we did the calculations for water pump, furnace, lights, ceiling fans, everything we could throw in and that's were we started out.

We figure we need about 400Ah of capacity - using 50% of the capacity each day.

GC's are the way to go - and he's going to get me his current charger model number (i'll bet it's a WFCO).

The alternative is to use an exernal battery charger (3 stage).

He's looking at FLA's, AGM and LI batteries (but I know he'll opt for the FLA's).

He doesn't live in it off grid, it's mostly weekend and vacation.
He already has his Generators (the 5er has a Yamaha built in and two 2200w hondas). Financially it just doesn't make sense - even if the cost of fuel is 5.00 a gallon. his ROI is just not there.

[SJ-Chris]

jodeb720 wrote:
Price quoted $6512.00
Freedom 2000w pure sine wave inverter Installed, $1402
Freedom x Control Panel (Bluetooth), installed 248.00
Solar Kit (1 panel, no brand name provided), installed $1253.00
Solar Kit (2 additional panels) $1678.00
4 golf cart batteries, AGM (no brand name), Installed $1931.00

We just went to lunch, a Renology 2000w inverter - amazon priced - 269.00.

this just seems to be outrageous. After a lengthy convo and he has two generators (honda, 2200w) why spend all that money.

I can see the batteries (and Lead Acid, costco 210ah, 6v around 100.00 each, a good battery charger and the inverter = A whole lotta less money... now, he's got a 40' toy hauler and can't really park in places like national/state parks (because of the length) so generator noise or minimal run time isn't an issue...

And most of the time there's nobody close to him anyway so is it really worth it?

WAAAY overpriced and not worth it. That quote reminds me why I try to do everything myself if possible. If they are handy, they can install solar themselves for a fraction of the cost. I installed a 500w solar MPPT system with a 2000w pure sine wave inverter for less than $750. Here's how I did it....

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/30217540.cfm

I'm a fan of used panels...you can usually find them for 50-80% less than new ones (check local craigslist, facebook marketplace, etc). Just be sure to test them before you buy.

If they have room in the toy hauler for some portable solar panels, buy cheap used one and then all you need is ~40'x2 of wire and a charge controller and you can create a very inexpensive portable system. They can try that out a few times to see how much they even like solar.

Good luck!
Chris

[Bobbo]

I bought from amsolar.com. If I decide to add more, I will buy from them again. They also have videos on installation.

[BFL13]

"a good friend of mine reached out to the folks at camping world.
They gave him a quote for 510watts of panels, some GC batteries (AGM) and controllers etc."
"Price quoted $6512.00"

They "saw him coming" from the big M (for " mark" ) on his forehead.

"Never give a sucker an even break" is a saying from an earlier American, but used by RADM Oldendorf on his victory at Surigao Strait 24 Oct 44

[Lwiddis]

I agree, piano. Way overpriced by our host.