Factory Installed Solar Charging System

[Freedomrider]

Hi All,

I have had excellent service out of my AGM Batteries on our 2013, 30' Classic. It has been 2 1/2 years now and they are still going strong.

My question is, what has been the life span of your AGM Battery before replacement?

I am wondering when I need to start thinking about replacing them.

Your experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[dkottum]

Our original Lifeline AGMs still charge to full voltage going on five years and over 1,000 nights camping. We have kept the original Parallax converter/charger until recently, but almost always isolated it from the batteries with the battery disconnect switch. Let the solar charge them, unless there is not enough sun, then the Parallax charged them.

[SilverGate]

Originally Posted by Freedomrider

Hi All,

I have had excellent service out of my AGM Batteries on our 2013, 30' Classic. It has been 2 1/2 years now and they are still going strong.

My question is, what has been the life span of your AGM Battery before replacement?

I am wondering when I need to start thinking about replacing them.

Your experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks

There are many factors that affect the life of AGM batteries. My 2 Lifeline AGM batteries showed signs of degradation at 5 years of age. Our local dealer told me that an average lifespan is 5 years.

YUASA's FAQ's answer: "Sealed AGM batteries typically last 3 to 5 years on average. 6 to 8 years is easily obtainable with proper maintenance. Typically sealed AGM batteries will give warning before completely dying. They will start slower, and require more charging. This is your clue to replace the battery. Typically they do not fail all of a sudden."

Additional info: How I changed my Lifeline AGM batteries.

[Freedomrider]

Thanks Guys. I would say these are some good batteries.

dkottum, in reference to the "Battery Disconnect Switch" is this something you added to your Airstream or is this standard on Airstreams. Also why did you replace your Parallax converter/charger and what did you replace it with?

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by Freedomrider

Thanks Guys. I would say these are some good batteries.

dkottum, in reference to the "Battery Disconnect Switch" is this something you added to your Airstream or is this standard on Airstreams. Also why did you replace your Parallax converter/charger and what did you replace it with?

I believe all late model Airstreams have a Battery Disconnect Switch, that actuates a relay to isolate the battery from all equipment (except the propane detector) when not hooked to external power. When hooked to external power the Battery Disconnect Switch serves to isolate the batteries from the Parallax converter/charger (single stage battery charger). This is how we have used it for near five years, normally allowing our factory solar system to charge the batteries.

We changed the factory converter/charger this spring to a PD4655 unit because it has a three-stage charger for our batteries, we don't have to be concerned about the Battery Disconnect. The new charger will charge the batteries without damage to them over the long term. As for the converter section of the original Parallax converter/charger, it was working well and did a fine job providing consistent 12vdc to our Airstream when plugged into external power, even when the external power source was not consistent in ac voltage.

[Freedomrider]

Thank you soo much for this education. You explained it so I could understand it. I will implement this option when the time come.

Thanks again for your concern and taking the time to share your knowledge.

Have a blessed day.

[chacha]

Hey we need some help here. We have a 2013 Eddie Bauer with factory installed solar panels and inverter. We have had 0 problems with this system until today. The panels stop charging the batteries. We showed zero solar charge amps. Our lights on our main system showed green and yellow with the yellow bean possibly softer. There was no clicking sound which tends to happen every 4 minutes. We called the company that manufactures them in Utah and they told us that because our green and yellow lights were both on that we needed to reset the fuses. They described a fuse that was by the red 10 guage wire. We found 2 fuses with twist caps and we unplugged both of them for 60 seconds. The system came back on with the red power button clicking as normal for all of 10 secs with 1.2 solar charge amps and then went back to the same situation of the green and yellow light on and no power button clicking on/off. Although neither fuse seems to be broken does anybody know if these fuses could be the cause of this situation? I can only read one is a 1 amp and we cant figure what it is for as nothing happens when I unplug it and replug it and the other fuse is too hard for me to read but appears to be a higher amp and does power both the monitor and lights on the main system so I was just thinking of going to the hardware store and starting with new fuses especially the 1 amp. We will go get a tester and see if we have 16 v from the panels as well, we have 13.3 from the battery. Any other thoughts? Utah is closed but we will go that route again tomorrow after the above thoughts and any other help. Thx all.

[dkottum]

We also have the factory solar but I'm certainly not a solar expert. If you are not on external power and your batteries read 13.3 it sounds like they are fully topped off, it would not show any solar charge amps until the battery voltage dropped down. I don't recall our controller clicking on and off when the batteries are fully charged. Could this be?

[chacha]

Originally Posted by dkottum

We also have the factory solar but I'm certainly not a solar expert. If you are not on external power and your batteries read 13.3 it sounds like they are fully topped off, it would not show any solar charge amps until the battery voltage dropped down. I don't recall our controller clicking on and off when the batteries are fully charged. Could this be?

Oops I meant to type 12.3. You would be right on what you said about 13.3.
We changed the 1 amp and 10 amp fuse that went to the controller and monitor. All systems reset and go for 4 minutes and then total failure again. Atkinson thinks our controller is bad. We are moving to a plug in spot and I am going to change 2 more fuses that we learneed about- inside the controller panel are two fuses one to battery and one to the panels 25 amp and a 15 I believe. If that doesn't work after we check voltage of panel, battery, and monitor (could be a loose connection at monitor) we will change out the control panel. Even though this is a bummer anyone thinking of solar....get it, it is life changing (if you don't need air). Aloha

[Excella89]

We have a 2007 25' Classic (front bed) with Airstream dealer installed solar panel. Last week we noticed the battery was low on water and added some. Today the batteries are almost dead. Nothing was turned on. Even the monitor panel was turned off. There is also a clicking sound behind the radio. Oddly, when you turn the outside light on, the clicking sound stops. We have had the unit since March and the solar panels were charging the battery fine. Any suggestions on things to check? Could the batteries be going bad?? Thanks!

[alano]

Excella89,

Probably a good idea to test your batteries. Best way is to buy a battery hydrometer at your local auto supply store.

The clicking sound is probably a relay that doesn't have sufficient voltage to keep it energized. Debug the battery and replace it if necessary.

Keep in mind that when you leave your trailer unattended for a long period, make sure you select the "Store" position for your battery disconnect switch. Even though your solar charger should charge your batteries regardless of the position of the disconnect switch, if you have many days of overcast weather, the load on your batteries with the switch in the "Use" position might deplete your batteries to a point that the solar charger can't run properly. Don't ask why how I know this can happen

[astroboy18]

Originally Posted by SilverRanger

I have the factory installed solar package. It's the 53 watt panel w/two AGM batteries. So far, it's worked flawlessly at keeping the batteries topped off when the conditions are right. We boondocked for three beautiful days last fall, and used the lights and electronics sparingly. We watched a little television/DVD each night using a 400 watt voltage inverter, used the laptop for 2-3 hours daily on a 12 volt charger plugged into the lighter type outlet, and occasionally ran the Fantastic fan. The heater kicked on for a while one night as well. If I recall, the lowest the batteries dropped was down to 75%. During the day, we turned everything off, including the subwoofer, which is wired direct and is constantly on unless unplugged, and the panel got the batteries back up to 100% by noon.

Because there's very little room left on the roof of the Bambi, I was considering adding a stand-alone panel like this:
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

We had a similar experience with 3 consecutive nights boon docking (rented 2016 AS with solar). Now that I am shopping to purchase an AS, my question is....if we did not have the solar, would the batteries be drained or not? Nice to keep them topped off and recharged by the solar but is it not a luxury expense? Who has boon docked for 3 days without solar? Does the battery die?

[rp709]

Good question. Think of the total battery capacity and usage. Airstreams come with two 70 amp hour batteries in parallel. So you have 70 amper hours to draw before the batteries are at 50%, the normal recommended minimum state of charge. The will go lower but it will shorten their life. If you are buying a newer Airstream with LED lighting, you can last much longer. The refrigerator will use 5-7 amps per day so in 3 days you are already down 20 or so. The heater blower uses a lot so cold weather will eat up batteries quickly. The water pump is a large draw but is used intermitantly. On a June 21 day with mild weather you can make 3 days. But, park in the Redwood forest in cool weather and you will likely not. However, solar panels won't help in the forest! So, think of where you will be and if solar will be useful or not when estmating battery range. But, solar panels are so nice to have and not expensive realitive to the price of the trailer. I would say get solar for sure. My second Airstream has 4 panels with 570 watts of charging because there are times that is needed to extract a usable amount of energy when parked in partial shade, even in the summer. Of course, a gererator will be way more effective in charging batteries. I have one too. But, there are parks where it is sometimes prohibited. You really would want both for effective boondocking in a veriety of places. Good luck

[mrchinup]

Originally Posted by astroboy18

We had a similar experience with 3 consecutive nights boon docking (rented 2016 AS with solar). Now that I am shopping to purchase an AS, my question is....if we did not have the solar, would the batteries be drained or not? Nice to keep them topped off and recharged by the solar but is it not a luxury expense? Who has boon docked for 3 days without solar? Does the battery die?

IMO, A solar system is not luxury expense every RV should have one. Your batteries would have been drained if you used them,yes. I doubt you would have gotten 2 days with tv and dvd and other uses. You would have drained them lower than you should. With a halfway decent charge controller solar and panels they charge the batteries better than a charge converter by far in my opinion, specially some non AG batteries that need higher voltages to fully charge a battery.

I sold my AS in 2006 owned it for 10 years didn't know much about solar. If I knew what I knew now I would have put as much solar on that roof as possible, it's just so darn cheap now. I would never buy a system from AS, you can buy a superior system for one third the price. Bought a class A, put two 435 watt panels on with a morningstar mppt 60 charge controller.

I haven't used the converter in 6 months, just unplugged it. I don't expect to ever use it again. Even on a full cloudy day I can still see 30 plus amps. It charges my house batteries and starting batteries like they were meant to be charged. Bigger rigs also have much bigger drains, I would never ever think of not having solar on any RV. I will end up putting more on even though I certainly don't need it. We full time now.

I do expect to put lithium batteries in two years from now when we go on the road again for months at a time. I want to run everything in my rv on them if I want. I would need one more big panel and a couple smaller ones to charge the starting batteries on their own.

Sorry to add non AS info, just wanted to give my example. I certainly do miss some things about my AS. Once I put the E rated tires on, it turned into the best towing rv I've ever seen. I think Lou was one of the first to do it, many of us followed his lead.

But if you are going to spend a fortune on an AS please do it right and add as much solar on that roof as possible. On a cloudy day it makes all the difference. JMO

[switz]

Note that our AM Solar 300 amp-hour lithium battery weighed (at 84 pounds) less than the two stock lead acid batteries and was not much larger. We have it just in front of the street side wheel going forward well of our 2015 23D (plus all the rest of the solar system equipment is installed up to ihefront of the coach. We still have all the stock under seat storage and pull out slide for the sofa bed.

We were able to install five AM Solar 100 watt panels on the roof of the 23D.

[Kodie]

Just my opinion and I know everyone has one but I would not recommend the factory solar option. I also believe all RV's should have some type of solar system for battery maintenance at a minimum and that can be better accomplished after purchase and with less cost.

With that said I have a 2017 Flying Cloud with the factory solar option. I did not order it, it was on the dealer lot that way. After taking possession of the Airstream I began to look at things closer.

The factory solar system in my case was poorly installed and components are the cheapest you can find. I would not even call the factory solar controller a real controller. Just replacing that alone allowed me to charge the AGM batteries properly with solar. (The factory converter/charger is another story)

The factory solar wiring size is really inadequate for DC battery charging and marginal at best for 2 - 80 watt panels with the length of wire. (Mine will be replaced shortly)

The wiring from the factory solar panels to roof combiner box is 15-20' (looks like 16-18 guage wire) alone. In my case the wires with zamp plug is just tied up under the solar panels. I did not remove the ties but it appears to be about 20' of wire when the combiner box is 2' away. From the combiner box to the factory solar controller is another 30' with 10 gauge wire before that steps down to 14 gauge (dont burn your hand grabbing that wire in the daytime) where the fuse is installed.

The factory solar charge controller is single stage with no temperature monitoring for the batteries. I could not even get the batteries full with this controller. Swapping it for a new controller with temp sensor, I had from another project I was working on at least allowed me to fully charge the batteries properly.

To really fix the factory solar option so it performs properly you will basically have to redo almost all of it.

My advice is save your money on the factory solar option and install a good system after purchase for less money.

[wareaglewalt]

Maybe a dumb question, but do the factory installed solar panels charge the batteries in addition to what the TV puts in thru the pigtail when driving?

Thanks!

[alano]

Originally Posted by wareaglewalt

Maybe a dumb question, but do the factory installed solar panels charge the batteries in addition to what the TV puts in thru the pigtail when driving?

Thanks!

Not a dumb question. The short answer is yes, the factory installed panels will contribute to charging the batteries if the battery terminal voltage is below the charger's lower limit and the sun is shining!

[Shiny16]

Has anyone tried to replace the factory preinstaled wire in a sport 16 by using it as a snake to pull a new wire? I was wondering if I there would be too many twists and turns.

[Kodie]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

Has anyone tried to replace the factory preinstaled wire in a sport 16 by using it as a snake to pull a new wire? I was wondering if I there would be too many twists and turns.

From what I have heard it is more work to do that and sometimes involves removing sheet panels inside. The wires are through channels and fastened in some spots not allowing them to be used for pulling new wires.

I would like to pull new wires in my Flying cloud using the factory solar wires as pull wires. It looks like I can get to within 2 feet of the roof penetration if I remove the fridge. That's assuming my solar wires run into the fridge compartment as others have stated. If I cant do that it will be a new combiner box on the roof and wires running down the fridge vent to get inside.