Camper wanting to add solar

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John VanRyn asked May 10, '19

Camper wanting to add solar

So I have a camper with a built-in AC - DC converter to charge the battery.

I want to add solar two of these https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Max-Battery-Watts-Solar/dp/B01HHDC6NQ?pf_rd_p=ce125b32-6eda-4c46-b222-8e405f455858&pd_rd_wg=k4ssw&pf_rd_r=Z0KE2Y2H7DFZY2SPSC7D&ref_=pd_gw_hfp13n_bbn&pd_rd_w=ntgMY&pd_rd_r=fc184b3d-79e3-4052-857d-42f17883413a

and I was thinking about getting this one.. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076N5PTBN/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B076N5PTBN&pd_rd_w=XmWf8&pf_rd_p=8a8f3917-7900-4ce8-ad90-adf0d53c0985&pd_rd_wg=osiYm&pf_rd_r=AHXQEWK65NJKPRR4ZYFE&pd_rd_r=d20e2e79-72c1-11e9-88f1-c5c4d7a27c00&smid=AERMGYAT5R869

so I think how I want to set it up is.. both the output from the campers converter and the solar into the input of the victron converter.. then the batteries on their port and the campers load on the load port... I think..

But I think the input will be too high...

ultimately I want the BT of the CC to monitor the power consumption and battery charge. how should i hook this up for both boon-docking or powered setup?

campervan

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Answer 1 · 2019-06-04T14:44:15Z

rogierdekort answered · Jun 04, 2019 at 02:44 PM

I understand that you want to combine your solar panels and AC charger and then connect to the input of the MPPT controller together. I suggest not to do this!

The correct way to set up is connect the solar panels to the input of the MPPT controller and the battery to the output. The AC charger is directly connected to the battery. It probably already is, since this looks like a standard RV arrangement.

Connected this way you will be able to use AC and Solar at the same time and you will be able to monitor Solar power using your smartphone.

With 200W of Solar power, the Smartsolar 75/15 would be more than enough.

If you want to monitor charge and discharge of the battery the right solution is to add a battery monitor with a shunt. The shunt will go between the battery and the negative wiring and measures positive and negative current from the battery. I suggest the Victron BMV 700 smart series for this so you can indeed monitor everything using a smartphone.

In my opinion, it is not common to connect 'everything' from a camper to the load connection of a solar controller. These load connections are usually restricted to 10 or 15 Amps which means that you are restricting the total DC power. This might not be a good idea i.e. using a DC fridge and a waterpump at the same time when boondocking.

Happy camping!

Cheers Rogier

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