[QUOTE=njhunt;1093918]
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajais
Thank you for posting this! So helpful. One thing I still can't figure out.. Should the inverter/charger stay powered on (allows charging via solar, screen on, ect.) when I turn off the inverter via the remote switch? Mine turns off completely and it seems wrong that I would have to have the inverter running in order to charge via solar since the charge from the solar would be mostly if not completely offset but the discharge from the inverter. Thanks in advance for any help
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This will be kind of a long post so bear with me but it might give you an idea of what to expect.
For what it's worth, this has been my experience with the inverter and solar (so far). For the first couple weeks we owned the van we ran with the inverter off unless we were plugged into shore power from our house. The only thing that runs off the inverter is the 110 outlets in the van, and the electric heating element in Timberline heater which heats up the van faster and also runs your on demand hot water. You can run the heater without the electric heating element turned on, it just takes a little bit longer for it to blow hot air. Other than that? There is no reason you should have to run the inverter turned on.
Saying that... A couple weeks after owning the van, it threw a fault just sitting in my driveway unplugged from shore power with the inverter off and nothing running inside the van other than the fridge. Went through the entire reset process and it threw it again. So for the next month or so we just left the inverter on since that seemed to correct the problem. The issue is, you "shouldn't" have to run with the inverter on because the inverter has a parasitic draw of about 1-2% SOC per hour. And all solar does is essentially keep the battery from dropping during the period of time that it actually receives sun. So for most of a 24 hr day the inverter will have a parasitic will draw off the battery.
So I ended up turning it back off and it didn't throw any more faults until this week. I had to drive the van 150 miles to the closest Mercedes dealership that actually works on Sprinter vans Sunday night for an A/C compressor that was leaking. I've been stuck in an actual ice storm for the last 4 days. Luckily I have a friend that lives up here and I've been able to stay at their house during this time. But I can't plug the van into shore power at his house since it kicks his GFI in the garage. So I have an extension cord run into the back of the van with my small digital ceramic heater sitting in the garage area of the van. But for a couple nights the temps dropped down into the low teens here so I ran the diesel heater overnight. In 4 days, the SOC has dropped down to 73% so it's nice to know how long you can actually run the van in these conditions. I could actually live in the van during this time but it would suck just sitting in a parking lot somewhere.
Yesterday it threw a fault again. Beeping from the rear of the van. Took the panel off and the display was showing exactly what it did the last time it did this. It would flash a fault, the display will go from 0V to 53.5V and back down to 0V and repeat. Checked the Firefly panel and the Renogy panel and both were showing zero faults. I know my solar panels are covered with ice right now. But the first time it did this they weren't and it was a nice, warm, sunny day. So I reset the entire system. Shut it all down, let it sit there for about 15 mins, started it back up, and as soon as I turned the solar charger back on it threw the fault again. I can turn the inverter on and it clears the fault. But as soon as I turn the inverter off? Fault comes back. So I just turned the solar off since the panels are useless right now anyway. No more fault. Turned it back on later last night and it's not throwing a fault.
I have no idea what it's doing or why it's doing this. There is no fault code on any screen when it does this. All screens show normal other than the one behind the panel in the rear. But that screen doesn't show a fault code. The Renogy screen shows normal when it is clearly not.
I wish I had the answer you are looking for but I don't. You "shouldn't" have to have the inverter on at any time other than running the 110 outlets in the van. That's it. But there is some kind of issue with the solar charger and the inverter and whether the inverter is on or off.
What I "can" say. I've been stuck in this ice storm for the last 4 days and my house battery SOC has only drained down to 73%. And that was running the Timberline heater all night for 2 nights straight. Inverter off the entire time. If the inverter was on? I would have to have a place to recharge the battery or go for a drive.
Wish I could be more help but that has been my experience so far.
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