Recent content by rmaddy

1. I used SketchUp. 2. I do not. But it is a lot of parts. I mention the highlights in the post at https://diysolarforum.com/threads/cargo-trailer-solar-panel-roof-rack-design-review.18084/post-339118 FYI - I'm rarely on this site any more. It's only blind luck that I saw your reply so soon.

As mentioned in post #3, I couldn't because my interior and ceiling were done by the time I got around to working on the roof rack.

In the end I gave up on using rivnuts for my setup. I ended up drilling and tapping holes through the roof into the steel frame tubing. Lots of bolts, VHB tape, Butyl tape, and lap sealant. 18 months later and over 12k miles of towing and the rack is doing great. See...

There is a difference between general terms and specific units. I = current A = amps (one specific unit of current) E = voltage V = volts (one specific unit of voltage) My original post was referring to the common units, not the general terms.

You are assuming a 14.4V battery. I assumed a 26V battery based on info in post #4.

See the following document. It shows resistor sizes for a given voltage. The wattage of the inverter is irrelevant for choosing the resistor. https://diysolarforum.com/resources/inverter-disconnect-switch-with-precharge.60/

Look at the spec sheet for the Victron SCC. It will show a value for "Max. PV short circuit current". Keep your array Isc under that value. Exceeding it can damage the controller. Also note that, like Voc, the Isc of a panel changes a bit with temperature. But it's the opposite. Isc goes up...

Since the breaker's only purpose will be to act as a disconnect and not for any kind of protection of the wires you can use any breaker size over the Isc of 22.28A. I'd choose either the 40A or 63A. Then if you add a 3rd parallel string at some point you won't need to change your disconnect...

I would use STC specs when working out whether a solar panel array can be used with a specific SCC. Just remember that Voc changes with temperature so account for that. I would use NOCT to get a better idea of what you might really get for planning purposes.

The length and size of the wire helps calculate voltage drop. Definitely worry about that when you are getting ready to buy the wire but I wouldn't worry about that when deciding which SCC to buy. Something to consider though. You seem to be buying one piece of equipment at a time and then...

Yep. Very simple. Just respect that you will be dealing with about 120VDC. Series has a lot of benefits. Simpler install. No fuses needed. Lower amperage means smaller, cheaper wire. Better lower light performance. Just make sure all three panels in series are in the same plane and you don't...

Solar panels don't push power to the SCC. The SCC only draws the power it needs, up to the the max that the panels are capable of producing at the moment. The VictronConnect app is showing you how much the controller is using from the panels. When the battery is full and there are no loads then...

Use Victron's MPPT calculator. You can enter the specifics of your panels and play around with different layouts and it will recommend the best matching charge controller. The 150/35 would be a great choice for your panels in series. https://www.victronenergy.com/mppt-calculator

You need as much battery as you need for your energy usage. Do a full energy audit so you know how much you need. Don't forget to include the idle power consumption of your Growatt. https://diysolarforum.com/resources/system-energy-audit-and-sizing-spread-sheet.12/

There is more than one way to wire together two (or more) batteries in parallel. With just two batteries where the two batteries are directly wired together in parallel there is no need to worry about any wire lengths at all. The only requirement is that the two wires going to "the system" from...