New Jayco TT with solar

[Gary60]

My new TT has one solar panel on the roof and I do not have any experience with solar. It has a controller panel on the wall by the bed. Am I supposed to turn on anything to get it going or is it working automatically like it is?

 

[Jayhawk 29]

There are several particulars needed beginning with the type of rv that you own. In general, speaking broadly you do not need to turn anything own if your unit is new and all your 12 volt systems are working. That means that if you have a battery switch in your system its turned on for normal use.

On your controller it should show your battery voltage, amp draw and the amount of power that your panel is putting out on a giving times during the day and under a wide variety of conditions of sunlight and your angle to the sun too. Of course if you are staying under trees you will get less output.

 

[Gary60]

There are several particulars needed beginning with the type of rv that you own. In general, speaking broadly you do not need to turn anything own if your unit is new and all your 12 volt systems are working. That means that if you have a battery switch in your system its turned on for normal use.

On your controller it should show your battery voltage, amp draw and the amount of power that your panel is putting out on a giving times during the day and under a wide variety of conditions of sunlight and your angle to the sun too. Of course if you are staying under trees you will get less output.

is it required to have a lithium battery if you have a solar panel? I am not sure what type of battery they installed with my new unit.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

No, you can use any type of battery. When you switch up to lithium, on the newer rvs there is a micro switch on your electrical panel that's marked LI that you will need to move the tiny switch to , which will allow your converter to completely charge the battery or batteries. I use two 6 volt GC 2 batteries, which gives me 232 ah. If you have one 12 group 24 battery, a lot of times people will add an additional one, which increases their ah capacity. Give us more information on your type of rv.

 

[Gary60]

No, you can use any type of battery. When you switch up to lithium, on the newer rvs there is a micro switch on your electrical panel that's marked LI that you will need to move the tiny switch to , which will allow your converter to completely charge the battery or batteries. I use two 6 volt GC 2 batteries, which gives me 232 ah. If you have one 12 group 24 battery, a lot of times people will add an additional one, which increases their ah capacity. Give us more information on your type of rv.

jay flight 225mls

 

[Gary60]

jayhawk29 when you are traveling is your vehicle 12v system keeping my frig operating? i have a 12v frig.

 

[OnTheGo]

Yes. I'm guessing that like you we have the stock (minimum) solar application, but it's enough to power your 12v refigerator. Although, yesterday, we received a "Solar alert" from our InVision refrigerator. We had set up for a trip, standing on the driveway, with no 12v input except for solar. The weather turned overcast and apparently their was not enough supply for the battery to keep up. Once we started the truck there was enough. I THINK a solar alert alert from the fridge amounts to a battery charge level warning. Or in other words - how did the fridge know we weren't getting enough solar? Regardless, with minimum solar the charge must be close to the drain for the fridge.

With all that said, we could have differnt solar capabilities and different batteries. I wouldn't trust our system to boondocking without additional solar.