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Installing 400 watt system on my class A diesel pusher...parallel or series?

desertratt

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Dec 14, 2021
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I have wired them in parallel. I have mppt 40 controller wiring is less than 10ft form were i will mount controller. The controller is acopower my40. The mtr hm already has a 2000 watt inverter i plan to fuse before the controller after and at the inverter wire coming into the battery bank. i have 4 GC2 6 volt golf cart batteries wired together. Do i still need the breaker 50 amp installed before the 50 amp fuse going to battery bank. Appreciate the help new to this want to be safe.

Thanks
 
I have wired them in parallel. I have mppt 40 controller wiring is less than 10ft form were i will mount controller. The controller is acopower my40.

Assuming 4X 100W:

4P will give you the best shading tolerance. Roof protrusions can partially shade panels and destroy their performance. 10' is a pretty short run, so I doubt wiring losses are a concern.

The mtr hm already has a 2000 watt inverter i plan to fuse before the controller

Each panel needs a fuse since they're in parallel. Easiest is to just install a MC4 fuse in the connection.

4S or 2S4P do not require a fuse.

4S might be too high for the Voc limit on the MPPT. Check specs.

after and at the inverter wire coming into the battery bank. i have 4 GC2 6 volt golf cart batteries wired together. Do i still need the breaker 50 amp installed before the 50 amp fuse going to battery bank. Appreciate the help new to this want to be safe.

Thanks

In addition to the panel to MPPT fuses, you need a fuse between MPPT and battery and a fuse between battery and inverter.

With a 2000W inverter @ 12V: 2000/12/.85 = 196A. Fuse for 1.25X = ~250A

You need cables between the battery and inverter capable of 200A AND you need a 250A fuse in that conductor. Likely need at least 2/00 cable.
 
With a 2000 watt inverter you could conceivably use your entire battery capacity in an hour.
And 400W of flat-mounted panels may only provide up to about 20 amps of charging.

What do you power with your inverter? Are you running a residential refer? Big-screen TV's? Microwave?
 
With a 2000 watt inverter you could conceivably use your entire battery capacity in an hour.
And 400W of flat-mounted panels may only provide up to about 20 amps of charging.

What do you power with your inverter? Are you running a residential refer? Big-screen TV's? Microwave?
we just bought the mtr hm we would be running small tv possibly the convection oven on occasion and the microwave. the frig is 12v norcold runs on propane.
 
Assuming 4X 100W:

4P will give you the best shading tolerance. Roof protrusions can partially shade panels and destroy their performance. 10' is a pretty short run, so I doubt wiring losses are a concern.



Each panel needs a fuse since they're in parallel. Easiest is to just install a MC4 fuse in the connection.

4S or 2S4P do not require a fuse.

4S might be too high for the Voc limit on the MPPT. Check specs.



In addition to the panel to MPPT fuses, you need a fuse between MPPT and battery and a fuse between battery and inverter.

With a 2000W inverter @ 12V: 2000/12/.85 = 196A. Fuse for 1.25X = ~250A

You need cables between the battery and inverter capable of 200A AND you need a 250A fuse in that conductor. Likely need at least 2/00 cable.
cables are already in place and wired to the 4 6v batteries ok thanks on the fuse calculation i will get one.
 
we just bought the mtr hm we would be running small tv possibly the convection oven on occasion and the microwave. the frig is 12v norcold runs on propane.

That may be devastating to your system. Electric heat is costly.

Beware the propane fridge. Many also run on AC, and again, heat is costly. Your battery bank could only run it and nothing else for about 24 hours before it's completely tapped out.
 
Assuming 4X 100W:

4P will give you the best shading tolerance. Roof protrusions can partially shade panels and destroy their performance. 10' is a pretty short run, so I doubt wiring losses are a concern.



Each panel needs a fuse since they're in parallel. Easiest is to just install a MC4 fuse in the connection.

4S or 2S4P do not require a fuse.

4S might be too high for the Voc limit on the MPPT. Check specs.



In addition to the panel to MPPT fuses, you need a fuse between MPPT and battery and a fuse between battery and inverter.

With a 2000W inverter @ 12V: 2000/12/.85 = 196A. Fuse for 1.25X = ~250A

You need cables between the battery and inverter capable of 200A AND you need a 250A fuse in that conductor. Likely need at least 2/00 cable.
thank you for the reply ..so i have 50 amp ANL fuse i plan to install from the wire coming from the panels to the controller will that work? than i plan to of course instal disconnect switch before and after to controller and out of controller. than another 50 ANL to the battery bank and than the 250 amp fuse to the inverter. will that cover it? i purchased a breaker 50 amp should that be installed from controller to ANL fuse to battery bank?

sorry about all the questions but appreciate the help!
 
thank you for the reply ..so i have 50 amp ANL fuse i plan to install from the wire coming from the panels to the controller will that work?

No. You need a fuse on each panel.


than i plan to of course instal disconnect switch before and after to controller and out of controller.

Cool.

than another 50 ANL to the battery bank and than the 250 amp fuse to the inverter. will that cover it?

Probably. A sketch would help to confirm. Also, again, the wires between the battery and inverter need to be BEASTLY.

i purchased a breaker 50 amp should that be installed from controller to ANL fuse to battery bank?

You do not need to use a breaker and a fuse. Either is fine. As long as the breaker is a quality one, it can also double as a switch to disconnect.

sorry about all the questions but appreciate the help!

If folks didn't ask questions, there wouldn't be much purpose to this forum. :)
 
No. You need a fuse on each panel.




Cool.



Probably. A sketch would help to confirm. Also, again, the wires between the battery and inverter need to be BEASTLY.



You do not need to use a breaker and a fuse. Either is fine. As long as the breaker is a quality one, it can also double as a switch to disconnect.



If folks didn't ask questions, there wouldn't be much purpose to this forum. :)
ok thank you i ordered the fuses from amazon will not use the 50 amp anl. the breaker i have is cheapy so i think i will not use it. the location i mounted the panels is open i think the only shading would be from trees etc. so with the 4 GC2 6 volt batteries how many amp hours would that give me? if at some point i wanted to go to compressor 12v frig do you know what i would need to run that?

thanks again
 
ok thank you i ordered the fuses from amazon will not use the 50 amp anl. the breaker i have is cheapy so i think i will not use it. the location i mounted the panels is open i think the only shading would be from trees etc. so with the 4 GC2 6 volt batteries how many amp hours would that give me? if at some point i wanted to go to compressor 12v frig do you know what i would need to run that?

thanks again

If you have other things on your roof, they will shade panels. Even partial shading can kill a panel's performance.

I assume the GC2 are wired 2S2P to form 12V. GC2 are typically around 215Ah, so that would mean you have a TOTAL of 430Ah, but you should only use half to prevent battery damage.
 
That may be devastating to your system. Electric heat is costly.

Beware the propane fridge. Many also run on AC, and again, heat is costly. Your battery bank could only run it and nothing else for about 24 hours before it's completely tapped out.
the rv frigs use some 12 v for the frig to run. but mostly will be run on propane. was just curious what size system i would need to run the compressor frig and keep battery bank at decent level. how many amp hours are the GC2 4 6v do you no?

thanks
 
the rv frigs use some 12 v for the frig to run. but mostly will be run on propane. was just curious what size system i would need to run the compressor frig and keep battery bank at decent level. how many amp hours are the GC2 4 6v do you no?

thanks

GC2 is a size. Capacities vary. 215Ah is a typical capacity. Could be a little more or less.

If the fridge really runs on 12V to power the heating element, beware - it's only marginally better than running on AC. It will consume a lot of energy.

12V compressor fridges vary, but a similarly sized 12V compressor fridge will use about 20% that of an absorption (electric heat/propane) fridge.
 
In a recent power upgrade on our motorhome, the 600W inverter which draws 50-60A max on 12V got 4 gauge wire and a 80A ANL fuse.
The charge controller outputs max 30A and got 8 gauge wire and a 40A switching breaker. All connect to the house battery bank - 2 GC2's which will soon be upgraded to a 230A LiFePO4 pack. My solar panels are wired in series, two sets on two controllers, so they are not fused.

Panels should have a disconnect for safety and servicing. A mini double-breaker in a box works great on two legs, saves you going up on the roof to unplug panels should you want to stop their power input. The switching breaker can also shut down the charge controller.

My second set of panels - portables, have their own controller, it got 10 gauge wire and a 20A breaker to the same battery bank.


Your golfcart batteries are like 210-220A each, in series to make 12V they are still the same amperage, and two banks of two makes double that. However flooded lead acid (FLA) batteries should not be discharged more than 50% or they suffer a very short life. The plates sulfate over and will no longer hold a charge.

You'll want to find out from the fridge specs what it's draw is, estimate running time, and that will tell you how much battery capacity it will use. And then based on what your charge sources will provide to charge them back up. If it's an ammonia absorption fridge with a propane burner (2-way) and AC burner then the board uses about an amp and a half when it's on propane. I'm not sure what the 120V burner uses, but I would not try to run it that way on battery power - it could well use 50amps 12V.

Here's how I setup my two charge controllers in the entry step - gas coach so it's at mid-point on the coach instead of at the very front. A lot of folks like to hide them in a battery compartment and install a remote display. I operate on the KISS principle. :)

IMG_4111.HEIC


Portables deployed, they're 160W feeding a 10A mppt (left, above):

IMG_4113.HEIC


And the new panels on the roof - 2@ 215W feeding the 30A mppt controller (right, above):

IMG_4114.HEIC
 
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what size system i would need to run the compressor frig
If your fridge runs on propane it’s not a compressor fridge.
A 12V compressor fridge is ~8 times or more the cost of a 120V fridge
You can successfully run a 120V fridge on 400W of solar input
A 10-12CF 120V walmartha or homedepot fridge varies $249-$450/$500ish. So for the money s 12V compressor fridge makes little sense, And those 12V compressor cooler things are also expensive, inconvenient, and small.
My opinion. Ymmv
 
And a gas-absorption fridge can be troublesome as hell, all depending. ;)

It sounded like OP was considering getting a 12v compressor fridge. For most people, if they take out a RV gas-absoption fridge, they put a regular residential refrigerator in there - a smaller one that fits. They're still big, but pretty energy efficient and can be run on a smaller inverter. The newest luxury motorhomes all have residential refers. And no oven. Two things that kill the deal for us.

There are three key upgrades for a gas-absorption fridge to make them work well:
A temp controller board from ARP.
With the chimney fan.
And an internal fan sitting on the cooling coils.

You need to pre-cool your fridge items, and skip the ice-maker. ?
 
If your fridge runs on propane it’s not a compressor fridge.
A 12V compressor fridge is ~8 times or more the cost of a 120V fridge
You can successfully run a 120V fridge on 400W of solar input
A 10-12CF 120V walmartha or homedepot fridge varies $249-$450/$500ish. So for the money s 12V compressor fridge makes little sense, And those 12V compressor cooler things are also expensive, inconvenient, and small.
My opinion. Ymmv

Yeah, that's what I was wondering about too, I know on my Safari, it only runs on the full electric until I shut off the shore / gen 120v power, then it automatically starts it on propane when it's running on the 12v only... Then when it sees the 120v again it flips back over to full electric.
 
Yeah, that's what I was wondering about too, I know on my Safari, it only runs on the full electric until I shut off the shore / gen 120v power, then it automatically starts it on propane when it's running on the 12v only... Then when it sees the 120v again it flips back over to full electric.
All of the refers I'm aware of have an energy source selection:
Auto - as you just described - how I run mine most of the time.
LP - propane only
AC - 120v shorepower or generator only
 
You need to pre-cool your fridge items, and skip the ice-maker
Actually the original AEG propane fridge I replaced with the ‘household’ 120V fridge worked fantastic, even the freezer. From a practical perspective I don’t regret selling it. From a knowledge perspective? It ran on 12V, propane, or 120V and I think that’s awesome.
The regrets end when I remember the new 120VAC household fridge runs on 60-80 watts. The freezer sucks though.
 
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