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diy solar

Is The Inverter Charger Necessary On A RV

As you start to learn more you'll see some things in those videos that you probably would not include in your build. For me it was the fact that audio circuit breakers were used by the YouTube channel instead of properly rated DC circuit breakers.

When I measure wire, I really lean on the conservative side, so thicker the better. I look at wire and connector Ampacity. For example most MC4 connectors are rated 30 amps or less, so once I have more than that those are out. I also look at voltage loss over distances. I wanted to set my system up 1S6P, but voltage loss became too large for a reasonably sized wire run of 50' each way, so I went with 3S2P. There's a couple other things, but this is the calculator I use:


Since fusing and wires is such a critical thing, its best you work through that yourself, but you'll get plenty of help here.
I did notice what you're saying, especially about the MC4 and solar wires. The diagram I went with does have a disclaimer saying the solar panel and wiring can differ. It's a bit misleading because you see a 150/100 MPPT and up to 1200W system on a 50A breaker switch and 10 awg wires and MC4 connectors.

I bought 4 x 200W panels so my plan is to have 2 separate arrays in series and have 2 + and - wires in 10 awg come down from the roof. I bought 2 single stud bus bars to join them and use 6 awg wire to the breaker box, which is a 63A breaker, then 6 awg wire again to the bus bar (victron Lynx). The rest of the diagram seems to work perfectly other than not having a need for the Orion unit.
 
I actually do appreciate all the help that I've received on here. For a rookie like me, it's difficult to know where to even start. I would say that this discussion was more productive than most when I've had to use a forum for help.

That being said, even knowing all the components I needed left me with a lot of questions, like how to set up the wire, which gauge of wire to use, where to install the fuses, etc. That explorist website actually had the best videos and the wiring diagram includes all the parts needed. Plus if you actually click on those items, they link to Amazon so I am not sure what the profit he would get out of that, other than selling his diagrams for $10 in high res.

Those are affiliate links, he gets paid by Amazon for each item you buy from Amazon thru the link. Basically he is taking knowledge for free from forums like this, packaging it together on a webpage with affiliate links and getting paid for it.

I've watched his videos in the past, not impressed much with what he offers.


Either way, thanks a lot to all of you. I may have more questions when time comes to install all this stuff ?
 
Those are affiliate links, he gets paid by Amazon for each item you buy from Amazon thru the link. Basically he is taking knowledge for free from forums like this, packaging it together on a webpage with affiliate links and getting paid for it.

I've watched his videos in the past, not impressed much with what he offers.
And that behavior is forbidden on this forum.
Not even will, the founder and sole monetary contributer to this forum uses affiliate links on this forum.
 
I have a victron multiplus 3000 (2400 W) at 12 v with 330ah lithium battery connected by a short run of 4/0 cable and a 400w T fuse. I've pulled 200 amps at times and all works well. I didn't want to mess with having 24 and 12 v systems.
 
I put one of the GoWISE inverter under my RV and it has never given me problems. I run it off 2 deep cycle 110 AH 12 Volts and run it all through the night and day blasting music on a 3000 watt pro dj setup, powering a big light show, and often times running the microwave at the same time. Have nothing bad to say about this unit if you want a great inverter without breaking the bank this is the one to have.
WOW! those are some batteries you have there! 110Ah x 12V X 2 batteries = 2640 wattHrs of power x 50% (usable) = 1320 wattHrs / 1.25 (Peukert effect on lead acid batteries under high current draw) = 1056 wattHrs usable. You say you run it "all through the night and day" but even at 8 hrs thats only an average draw of 1056/8 = 132 watts. So give you back the Peukert effect 1320/8hrs = 165 watts average draw. Even taking the whole battery capacity thats 2640/8 = 330 watts. Multiply these by 0.85 for inverter efficiency to get actual inverter output.

It would seem like you have (need) more battery capacity than 220AmpHr of LA batteries.
 
It would seem like you have (need) more battery capacity than 220AmpHr of LA batteries.
I think 220 ah is doable, but the usage of the microwave is only five or so minutes a day, and the 3000 w pro DJ setup is not ran at max capacity. Otherwise, I agree, those are some good batteries.
 
I have two 100AHr Lithium batteries with a Samlex EVO charger/inverter/transfer switch and 150W solar through a Victron MPPT controller and a Renogy 20Amp DC-DC charger from the chassis alternator.
Our main power consumption is the all-electric fridge. With the help of the solar panel we can do Friday afternoon to Sunday aft off grid running only from the batteries. If its cloudy or we need to run the furnance, then we need to run the generator a bit to keep up.
 
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