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Old 03-19-2016, 10:09 AM   #1
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Renogy suitcase solar kit

For those of you that may be interested in solar. After a trip into the West for the winter of 2015, it became apparent that we needed to make a move toward some sort of solar. With the many restrictions and variations on generator run times in different national and state parks, some sort of additional power was needed. I tend to go for shade when it's available so roof mounted panels didn't make much sense for us. I bought a 100 watt Renogy after I got home and hooked it up to determine that it worked but stored it until the last couple of days. Because I intend on setting in the shade, I assumed that longer leads would be necessary for a mobile panel to be very versatile. I bought 2 coils of 8 ga. wire in different colors to make my leads. I made 2 sets of 25 ft. in length. That would give me up to 60 ft. of lead cable. i have 430 ah of battery power and a 1600 watt inverter. with the batteries fully charged, I put a crock pot on the inverter for 13 hrs. and also ran a full pot of water thru the coffee pot. The combined usage was around 130 amp hrs. used. Voltage on the batteries after a rest indicated that I had 70% of my batteries left. Yesterday morning, I hooked up the panel with 1 of the 25 ft. coils (35 ft.)total and wanted to see just how much of that could be recovered in a single day. Yesterday was mostly sunny and I changed the angle on the panel as needed. In 9 hrs. of sunlight that panel brought back that battery pack to 90%!! I was extremely gratified with the results. i had at first thought this was mostly a man toy but have quickly changed my mind. This unit properly handled is a major help on reducing or eliminating generator run time. Just thought I'd pass it on!!!
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Old 03-19-2016, 10:22 AM   #2
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GREAT NEWS!!!

Love to hear member testimonials regarding SOLAR usage. If you get a chance, Please copy your post to the "RVing with SOLAR" social group. So are you going to add an extra 100 watts of SOLAR now.?

You do realize now that the SOLAR bug has bitten you, there is no turning back

Don
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Old 03-19-2016, 10:35 AM   #3
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GREAT NEWS!!!

Love to hear member testimonials regarding SOLAR usage. If you get a chance, Please copy your post to the "RVing with SOLAR" social group. So are you going to add an extra 100 watts of SOLAR now.?

You do realize now that the SOLAR bug has bitten you, there is no turning back

Don
I honestly don't know if I will add another unit or not, Don. I'm going to do some more testing before we head out west next winter. I was really surprised and happy with the single suitcase results. My biggest concern is always about weight. I keep looking at all the items that I deem as required and the rig keeps getting heavier. If weight and space weren't a concern it would be a no brainer!!!
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Old 03-19-2016, 11:39 AM   #4
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Maybe this doesn't fit your budget, but why not put one panel on your roof, hooked to a controller. Then when you aren't shaded you will always be charging and will only have to bring out your portable panel when needed or you want to charge faster.
You'll have the best of both worlds.
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Old 03-19-2016, 11:44 AM   #5
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Maybe this doesn't fit your budget, but why not put one panel on your roof, hooked to a controller. Then when you aren't shaded you will always be charging and will only have to bring out your portable panel when needed or you want to charge faster.
You'll have the best of both worlds.
2x
If you mount one on the TT and keep it running all the time, it will keep your battery topped off when you are not using it. Even in the shade you will be charging, although at a somewhat reduced rate. You can always add the second one when you get to your camp site.

Don
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Old 03-19-2016, 01:22 PM   #6
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Something well worth considering!!! Thank You both!!!
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Old 03-19-2016, 01:27 PM   #7
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As far as a controller goes for a single panel, what would you suggest??
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Old 03-19-2016, 01:30 PM   #8
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I'm just the idea guy... Mustang is in technical services.
But I have a feeling he's going to say a Morningstar MPPT.
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Old 03-19-2016, 01:31 PM   #9
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Smile

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Originally Posted by klassic View Post
I'm just the idea guy... Mustang is in technical services.
But I have a feeling he's going to say a Morningstar MPPT.
That's awesome!!
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Old 03-19-2016, 02:01 PM   #10
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As far as a controller goes for a single panel, what would you suggest??
It pretty much depends on your plans and budget. Renogy has a few SOLAR Charge controllers (PWM and MPPT) that will fit your bill at a good price. I believe you would do fine with one of their PWM controllers, preferably the 30 Amp model ((about $125) and you will be able to add more panels on to it in the future with no problems (more is better). If you go with the 20 Amp one you would be limited to 2 panels. If you want to extract a few more amps out of your panels, you may want to look at their MPPT controller (about $209). When you have a few minutes take a look at the posts in the RVing with SOLAR social group that goes into the difference between PWM and MPPT controllers.

One additional point, mount your systems SOLAR Charge controller as close to the batteries as possible, that way you will get the most out of your panels with minimal loss.

Wait, I believe I am supposed to say MorningStar MPPT here... only if your budget allows...
Don
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Old 03-19-2016, 02:39 PM   #11
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You do realize now that the SOLAR bug has bitten you, there is no turning back

Don

I LOVE that bug ..
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Old 03-19-2016, 03:12 PM   #12
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Don, I'm not on a tight budget.. My goal is to be able to maintain my life style no matter where I'm setting. I don't see me ever getting rid of our generator. I have and use a toaster oven daily. When needed, we run the AC. I make coffee with an electric maker. We use the microwave as needed. I have no intention of changing any of that. We like dry camping much more then full hookups. Mainly because of less people and more open country. We talked a couple years ago when I put two additional batteries on the back of our Fifth wheel and ran 4 Ga. cable along the frame to the them into the main batteries. I have 2 batteries in the battery box and two batteries on the rear carrier. All US deep cycle batteries. Because the main battery box is a compartment in the side of the trailer that gives no addition room for anything including taller batteries ( thats why I have 12 volt instead of 6), I have to get creative when talking about controllers and battery shut offs. I have to try and figure where to put it. None of this can go in the battery compartment. All this leads to that controller size means something. I guess in truth, that was one reason that the suitcase appealed to me. I didn't have to deal with where to put additional equipment. The thought of putting 100 or 150 watt panel on the top in addition to the suitcase is certainly enticing tho.
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Old 03-27-2016, 07:40 PM   #13
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2x
If you mount one on the TT and keep it running all the time, it will keep your battery topped off when you are not using it. Even in the shade you will be charging, although at a somewhat reduced rate. You can always add the second one when you get to your camp site.

Don
After due consideration, I have elected to buy a second Renogy suitcase panel. The fact that I would have to make major modifications to make an area for the controller and fuse panel on our unit with the factory battery box being isolated in such a way that made change very difficult. Also recognizing that I have batteries on the rear as well as in the side of our 5th wheel, made having two suitcase panels available for maximum versatility the better option in my mind. Thanks to all for there opinions and options.
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Old 03-27-2016, 08:04 PM   #14
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Ela....you have me thinking about this system now.
I just want a "just in case" solar in case I can't fit into a site and have to take a non powered option. I have a res fridge and need to keep the batteries up.
Plus I have the two batteries in my truck for a real emergency.
The most I would be powerless is 3 maybe 4 days.
For $250 this panel might be worth it.
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Old 03-27-2016, 08:14 PM   #15
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I was truly impressed with a single panels ability to recharge a fairly large battery bank if you keep them facing in the sun. I ran 8 ga. 25 ft. extension wires on it which gave me even more versatility. Overstock.com has them for $239.49. My second one is in transit now.
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