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Old 04-13-2010, 12:47 PM   #61
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Originally Posted by sport 16 View Post
now that you have the panels installed, what will they run? is it just like being plugged in to 30 amps (full use of AC, TV, etc.)? thx.
We are running rather basic electrical items such as the furnace, lights, water pump, stereo etc.

So far on our trip we are fully charged before noon with charging currents reaching as much as 18 amps.

I am very happy with its performance. The weak point might just be the GC batteries as I'm sure the AGM's would have better performance. So far though we have boon-docked for the last 2 weeks with no issues & I am more than happy.

I'll file a more complete report later.

-evan (in Monticello UT)
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Old 04-13-2010, 04:27 PM   #62
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Having now seen Evan's installation when we visited in Moab last weekend, it looks real good. His adaptation of the battery box for the larger batteries was done very professionally. Jane and Evan were very gracious hosts and great cooks.

Gene
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Old 04-14-2010, 08:51 AM   #63
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Having now seen Evan's installation when we visited in Moab last weekend, it looks real good. His adaptation of the battery box for the larger batteries was done very professionally. Jane and Evan were very gracious hosts and great cooks.

Gene
Thank you Gene.

We were honoured that you and Barb would come all that way to see us. We had a fine visit together (if only too short). I really enjoyed meeting you in person.

It is very interesting to meet someone with the same unit & hear about their solutions to common issues like how to keep the bathroom door open...(I'll be looking for that catch you described - great idea!)

We are currently camped in Monument Valley & hooked up for the first time in over a week. Boon-docking for a week with no power & water went very well with no need to have to really alter our power usage from a reasonably frugal attitude. (We do not have a TV or a house inverter. We do run a laptop and recharge a few devices but our power needs are modest.) The Solar Panel system has worked better than I anticipated & entirely satisfactorily in this Utah environment (brighter than home.) We are usually completely recharged by 1100h or so despite a lot of furnace use through the cold desert nights. I am totally satisfied.

On to the North & West today.

Cheers,

-evan
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Old 04-14-2010, 11:45 AM   #64
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After reading this thread I put in my order for a two 100W panel kit with controller from AM Solar. Should ship the end of this week. I was told the panels have been redesigned, somewhat shorter, but about the same width, and 40 cells insead of 44, but the new cells are suppose to be more efficent.
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Old 04-14-2010, 01:57 PM   #65
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An easy work around in that situation would be to wire the panels in series and or parallel depending on how many panels you have so that you are sending 24v to the charge controller. This will decrease the required wire size due to the higher voltage. The caveat is that your charge controller must be capable of accepting the higher voltages and outputting the desired voltage of your system. Most charge controller companies have MPPTs that are capable of doing this.
Called the company with this idea and they said I would need a different controller. My panels are putting out 19.x. each. Which x 2 is over the 32volt rating. The strange thing is they put out 17 pointed away from the sun. Maybe I need a new volt meter.
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Old 04-14-2010, 11:23 PM   #66
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You can simply daisy-chain (2) AM100-M panels using a single 10/2 cable. Combiner box required for (3) or more panels.
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Old 04-15-2010, 08:34 AM   #67
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You can simply daisy-chain (2) AM100-M panels using a single 10/2 cable. Combiner box required for (3) or more panels.
Airstream used on of the panel junction boxes as a combiner box. They also placed a 30A fuse in the line. It is on their diagram but hard to get to if it blew. I am adding to 80W panels to my existing 50W panels. I will be putting a weather tight combiner box on the top of the trailer with the new panels. I am going to parallel the left side panels and parallel the right side panels and combine them at the box with a 15A fuse for each string.
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Old 04-18-2010, 07:54 AM   #68
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Led Lights

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Now is the time to get LED's to replace the halogens and save even more battery power. But some LED's don't fit the reading lights as well because the pins are too short. I made some adaptations to get them to fit.

Gene
They do have a LED Reading light now that has pins that are long enough. Airstream carries them as well.

Click here to see them


Click here to see the ones for the main room.


There is a very good chance that if your wife is like most, she will prefer the Warm White over the Bright White

They work great!

Fix
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Old 04-25-2010, 10:08 PM   #69
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My AM Solar install '07 25FB CCD Twins

Evan,
Finally got a minute to post some pics of our install.
Two panel AM Solar system, combiner box, and charger/controller.
Hole up to the cieling went in the front bedroom closet. Note the location, any lower and there is a wire bundle there. I missed this by a few inches. From here, the wire run down the curbside curve into the water heater compartment and then forward to the electronics area.
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Old 04-25-2010, 10:15 PM   #70
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AM Solar connector box on roof.

Once up on the roof, the panels were a snap to install. The support bars were a great asset on the install. Location of the combiner box shows the wire comming up from inside the front bedroom closet. Supplied connectors, wire and instructions were all top notch from AM solar.
Lots of Dicor for sealing the box.
Note the cracked vent pipes, fixxed now. I also noted the location of the vents from the shower and bathroom and decided they were not in the way or a problem.
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Old 04-25-2010, 10:21 PM   #71
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Both panels, AM Solar system 25FB CCD Twin

Showing the final location of panels just prior to tying down the cables to the roof.
Note the location, the gap in the center is for a future project. Also you can see how much cleaner the stainless allen bolts look instead of the supplied T bolts (they come on the bars as well).
There is plenty of room for pivots, movement of room gear and vents.
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Old 04-25-2010, 10:28 PM   #72
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Last part, the charge controller.

I wanted to minimize the length of the run, not have the controler in a hard to see area so we picked the front bed, curbside closet.
Mounted, the wires comming from up top were easy to get to, easy to run on the outer wall and took advantage of some dead space.
The panel is off the cieling a bit to allow for venting and I was very happy with the final location. Remember, if you drill up from here, stay toward the middle of the trailer as there is a wire bundle just below (curbside) from my location.
I discharged batteries and tested the system, happy happy - joy joy...
All works great, happy with the system and product.
Ya'll stream safe...
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Old 05-03-2010, 10:23 AM   #73
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Just back from three days out at Senator's Wash near Yuma...plenty of sun and power. Dry camping next to the water on the California side of the Colorado river. System worked perfectly, silently and were happy to report panels survived high winds, bumpy dusy road, rather trails...
Happy campers!
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Old 05-03-2010, 10:35 AM   #74
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Great info Bob

Hi Bob,

I'm sorry that I missed your earlier posts.

That looks like a very sensible strategy that you used...even shorter runs than what I had. I too got rid of the T-handle bolts & went with Hex head SS bolts. It's much cleaner & a lot less inviting to thieves I would think.

I'm impressed at how well the whole system works. We were camping in Utah with temps around freezing every night & we would spend a lot of the evening reading washing up etc. With the furnace use & lights we had significant draw on the system, but would be recharged easily by 11:00h every morning.

We encountered some ferocious gusty winds North of Reno on our return trip with a Truck TT ahead of me changing lanes involuntarily. We passed him quite easily with the whole rig feeling quite stable & controlled. All the panels were still very solid on checking afterwards. I think some sort of forward spoiler would help smooth the airflow but it all seems quite solid & quality.

Thanks for posting your experience.

I see that AM Solar has now changed their controllers & panels. It looks like improvements to me; but I am quite satisfied with the performance of the system we have.

-evan
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Old 05-03-2010, 10:39 AM   #75
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After reading this thread I put in my order for a two 100W panel kit with controller from AM Solar. Should ship the end of this week. I was told the panels have been redesigned, somewhat shorter, but about the same width, and 40 cells insead of 44, but the new cells are suppose to be more efficent.
I'm sure you'll find them quite efficient & powerful.

Under cloudy skies, they will produce a good 24V. I have one of the newer design & two of the older ones. They all seem pretty equivalent - I think.

Have fun on the install.

-evan
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Old 05-03-2010, 10:40 AM   #76
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Called the company with this idea and they said I would need a different controller. My panels are putting out 19.x. each. Which x 2 is over the 32volt rating. The strange thing is they put out 17 pointed away from the sun. Maybe I need a new volt meter.
The AM Solar panels produce 24 V each so putting them in series would get you up to 48V which might be too much for your controller.

-evan
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Old 05-03-2010, 10:49 AM   #77
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The AM Solar panels produce 24 V each so putting them in series would get you up to 48V which might be too much for your controller.

-evan
Is that open circuit voltage or under a load?
What controller do you have? some will take up to 48VDC and still able to service a 14V system.
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Old 05-03-2010, 10:59 AM   #78
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Is that open circuit voltage or under a load?
What controller do you have? some will take up to 48VDC and still able to service a 14V system.

That's Open Circuit Voltage. I haven't checked to see what the working voltage of the panel side is when under load...

When I asked AM Solar about this, they recommended against a series install & if I recall correctly he told me that the Controller I had was not rated to handle this.

-evan
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Old 05-03-2010, 11:43 AM   #79
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That's Open Circuit Voltage. I haven't checked to see what the working voltage of the panel side is when under load...

When I asked AM Solar about this, they recommended against a series install & if I recall correctly he told me that the Controller I had was not rated to handle this.

-evan
That's what they told me also. No matter. Two panels and one weather proof box each side and one more hole in the roof. Auto reset circuit breakers in each box. Looking at putting a relay on each panel feed so I can disconnect each one should I have a problem. Could also use it to check output of each panel by turning one on at a time. I'll run 12 volts all the way. Amps will be enough to weld on a sunny day. Painted the roof two coats of white Iron Coat. Two more to go and up the panels go....unless I put a final coat on. I'm having a problem finding pigment for the paint.
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Old 05-03-2010, 11:52 AM   #80
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That's what they told me also. No matter. Two panels and one weather proof box each side and one more hole in the roof. Auto reset circuit breakers in each box. Looking at putting a relay on each panel feed so I can disconnect each one should I have a problem. Could also use it to check output of each panel by turning one on at a time. I'll run 12 volts all the way. Amps will be enough to weld on a sunny day. Painted the roof two coats of white Iron Coat. Two more to go and up the panels go....unless I put a final coat on. I'm having a problem finding pigment for the paint.
I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to do. If you combine the inputs in Parallel, you should be able to just use one combiner box & a single feed through the roof.

-evan
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