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Need help with panel selection for EB150 from these 4 available.

fabiangomez

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Aug 1, 2021
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Planning on getting an EB150 for full time RV use to charge/power the following:

Cell phone chargers
Tablet chargers
Xbox controller charger
Coffee pot
Hair straightener
Blow dryer
Blender
Toaster
Roomba base
Hair Clippers
Sonicare toothbrush charger
DSLR battery charger
Rechargeable battery charger

It would be great if I could run my deep freezer and mini fridge also, but I'm not sure I can. All the above listed devices will not be clearly charging at the same time, but mostly daily/weekly. Also appliances on a as needed basis. I know it only has 2 outlets on the back, would it be ok to use a power strip for multiple devices as long as I don't exceed the watt output?

I'm on shore power 24/7 and pay electricity to the RV Park at .14 a Kwh so I'm trying to keep utility costs down.


I only have access to the following NEW solar panels in my area locally from Craigslist and aren't really looking to have more than 1 panel atm and I need to know which would be the best one to get that would work for me.

I'm looking for the highest wattage and trying to meet the requirements of the EB150 in regards to VOC/AMPS.

430w-$250
400w-$210
370w-$190
355w-$175

This is for the Houston Texas area where it's mostly hot and humid, we rarely get very cold weather and it rarely snows.
 

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EB150 is anemic. You list a number of high demand loads, and it may be insufficient.

Coffee pot
Hair straightener
Blow dryer
Blender
Toaster

These are all high demand items, and a few of them may be too much for the unit to power at all.

Running an RV off an EB150 is like trying to propel it with a four cylinder.

It can only accept 500W of PV, which further limits how much energy you can produce and use in a day.
 
Ok, well if those particular devices you mentioned are too high demand despite being under the max rated wattage via killawatt meter then I'll just not use them with the EB150 and problem solved. The EB150 is just going to be used supplementally as I'm still on shore power and will always be, I'm not going to be using a dogbone and running it that way. I just thought it was better than using 30,000 mah portable battery banks.

Can you suggest another device that can do it all and provides more power for less than the $338 refurb price from the maxoak website?
 
I would probably spend the extra money and get a refurbished AC200P.

That will move the VOC from 60v to 150v and the amps from 10a to 12a.

You should then be able to get 3 panels in series versus the single panel for the EB150.
 
I would probably spend the extra money and get a refurbished AC200P.

That will move the VOC from 60v to 150v and the amps from 10a to 12a.

You should then be able to get 3 panels in series versus the single panel for the EB150.
I would agree, but the AC200Ps are sold out. I suppose one could just keep checking to see when they come back in stock, but that could be a few days, it could be weeks or months, and it could be never.

And not that it matters for this discussion, but the EB150 and EB240 are now rated for up to 68V, not 60.
 
yes, now that I have checked the specs of the AC200p and confirmed that the issues are now resolved with them, for the money that for sure seems like the best budget buy right now. Unfortunately yes they are sold out. I should have got one when they were in. For now yes, I check about 20 times a day on both the max website and the aliexpress one. For now I can wait as Im on shore power and it will help me save up to get 2 panels now instead of just 1. Yes, I noticed that change to 68v, very nice if I can never find one of these then i'll make due with one of those.
 
Unforunately for the panels that I have (49v VOC), moving from 60 to 68 wouldn't gain me anything.

You might get smaller panels (not listed in the OP) that would work with 2 in series to get 68v.
 
Just an update-I still can't find a AC200P renew model that can be shipped to the US via Aliexpress. So I'll have to get this EB150 for now to immediately help with some of the electricity costs in my RV. I'm still in the solar panel selection phase and I've updated my solar panel options to the following list. I would really just like to have 1 panel for now that I would need to mount on the roof, but if I really really have to then I suppose I can install 2. I have a TPO roof. An just to clarify, every single item I wish to use/charge is 100% under 900w per killawatt meter. I specifically purchased these items to behave this way. With the exception of the hair straightener that has been removed from the list. So if anybody is familiar with these panels or can chime in on which 1 or 2 I should get given the information in the chart, please feel free to help me out. thanks in advance.
 

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Just an update-I still can't find a AC200P renew model that can be shipped to the US via Aliexpress. So I'll have to get this EB150 for now to immediately help with some of the electricity costs in my RV. I'm still in the solar panel selection phase and I've updated my solar panel options to the following list. I would really just like to have 1 panel for now that I would need to mount on the roof, but if I really really have to then I suppose I can install 2. I have a TPO roof. An just to clarify, every single item I wish to use/charge is 100% under 900w per killawatt meter. I specifically purchased these items to behave this way. With the exception of the hair straightener that has been removed from the list. So if anybody is familiar with these panels or can chime in on which 1 or 2 I should get given the information in the chart, please feel free to help me out. thanks in advance.
For the options you have, I would just get whatever panel has the most wattage, but keeps the VOC and amps under the units limits.

You are only going to get a single panel with those limits.
 
For the options you have, I would just get whatever panel has the most wattage, but keeps the VOC and amps under the units limits.

You are only going to get a single panel with those limits.
Well I know I want to over panel to at least 600w so if and when I get that AC200p I'll be set. The plan is to run 2 in parallel. I was considering 2 of those sunpower panels for 690w at 68.2 VOC and 12.04A but since the mppt would lower it to 10a I'd be ok but I think the VOC is too high, so my next best option might be to pick something that they have 2 of that gives me the best bang for my buck. Problem is I don't know if higher cell panels are better, if higher efficiency is better and which brand.
 
fabiangomez
I'm no expert but would one of these sort out your problems, I use it connected to my engine battery. I think you can input more solar too.
D050S
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fabiangomez
I'm no expert but would one of these sort out your problems, I use it connected to my engine battery. I think you can input more solar too.
D050S
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It sounds like a good idea. Just not sure how I could use it. The manual says you can only add battery power to it for the eb150 and charge from a 12v vehicle cigarette lighter outlet. The manual says for the ac200/p you can add more solar. I can't find anybody or videos showing someone trying it out to add an additional 500w of DC charging via solar for the eb150. So if I understand it, if it could work that way, I can bring in 2 strings, one via DC side and one via solar input. I just don't know if you can run both at same time for 1000w total. Which is good for faster charging or maybe for offsetting a larger draw but what I need is a way to raise VOC limits or lower VOC for those panels I want to use. Or just find a good pair for the price from that list, but I don't know which to choose between higher cell count, efficiency, half panel. That's where I'm stuck.
 
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