Renogy Solar controller mounted outside?

[fishbisquit]

Hello,
Solar newbie with a couple questions I couldn't find answered yet. We are new owners of a 2018 AS Sort 16. Been looking at the Renogy portable solar kits. But I'm a little worried about possibly needing a longer cord run to get the panel in the best position for direct sun. So if I price out the parts separately it's cheaper to buy everything (including extra 10aw cable) separately and put it together myself. I'm wondering about mounting the controller (renogy voyager, waterproof) outside on the tongue somewhere. Maybe on the side of battery box or inside propane cover? Has anyone done this? Any thoughts? Also, Renogy suggests both battery and panel lines have 30a fuses. Is this necessary? It doesn't appear the kits come with fuses in the lines. Any thoughts and pointers are appreciated!

Dave

[mojo]

The hot cable to the battery is fused. The controller is not waterproof so you would want to mount it somewhere protected. It comes mounted to the suitcase version if that is what you are referring to.

[fishbisquit]

Thanks I did see that there is a line fuse on the kits.

The controller I would mount outside is waterproof. I would purchase the Renogy Voyager. My understanding is that it's much more effcient to have controller close to battery. That's why I would mount on outside of battery box or on tongue or maybe in propane cover. Wondering about wear and tear on controller if it's mounted outside?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Ours is waterproof, fused and mounted on the panel frame, charging thru the 7 way.

Bob
🇺🇸

[Zil]

Is it good practice to mount electrical devices in a propane compartment. Or cover.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by fishbisquit

Thanks I did see that there is a line fuse on the kits.

The controller I would mount outside is waterproof. I would purchase the Renogy Voyager. My understanding is that it's much more effcient to have controller close to battery. That's why I would mount on outside of battery box or on tongue or maybe in propane cover. Wondering about wear and tear on controller if it's mounted outside?

Hi

The only reason it's "more efficient" to put the controller by the battery is the slightly higher current at 13.6V vs 16V. With rational cable lengths you are talking about 1% vs 1.2% sort of losses. If you *do* go to nutty distances (like a hundred feet) you should go to heavier cables. That's true regardless of which side they are on.

"Waterproof" can have a lot of different meanings. It can range from "I can splash a little on it" to "I'm fine at 1,000 feet under the sea". There are specs on waterproofing and how to measure it. The normal tongue area in the trailer is pretty nasty in terms of water. You can easily get a high speed water + air mix that can be tough to keep out of things ....

Bob

[Mattirs]

I run mine using the Midnite Brat controller that is waterproof. At first I planned on permanently mounting it outside but after a few runs I decided not to.
The controller is connected to the batteries via a SAE connectors so when I am done I put away everything away and cap off the leads from the batteries. This way if a battery charger can be hooked up to the batteries when needed.
Having a "waterproof" controller is nice, it's been rained and water fighted on and survived.
The Renogy Voyager was not out when I set my system up, too bad I really the specs.

[GammaDog]

I have a Renogy wanderer as part of the 200 watt "suitcase" I fabricated from two Renogy 100 watt panels, hinges and rivets. I bolted round magnets from Home Depot to the wanderer's mounting lugs. It snaps to the side of the battery box and connects into the 12v system of the trailer through an Anderson Power 12v/50 Amp quick disconnect (which also connects a third battery and my TPMS signal booster as necessary). I only put the solar out on sunny days, but if I fear a passing shower I put the wanderer in a plastic bag with the open end down.

Renogy and others make in-line fuse holders with standard solar wiring MC4 connectors. I have a 20 or 30 amp between the panels and the controller and another 30 amp standard auto fuse between the outside Anderson quick disconnect and the trailer's 12 volt system. Pics in my gallery show most of that.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

One advantage of keeping a fairly simple connection to the battery - it gives you an easy way to plug other stuff in. Things like fans, tire pumps, work lights all can come in handy from time to time.

Bob

[fishbisquit]

Thanks everyone for the responses. @uncle Bob if I keep my wire run under 30 feet are you saying there is very minimal voltage loss?

Also wondering about real world experience with 100watt panels? Are they generally enough to keep 1 or 2 batteries topped off? We are still very new to the AS but my best guess to what we will be drawing on an average day is 30-40 amps.

Thanks,

[ROBERT CROSS]

120w... 👍
Works for us

Bob
🇺🇸

[fishbisquit]

Sorry going to piggy back 1 more question on here. I was also going to add a second battery(in parallel) to our AS sport 16. Is there any disadvantage to having 2 batteries? Only thing I can think of is added tongue weight and that is not an issue for us with our TV. Anything else I need to consider about a second battery?

[ROBERT CROSS]

...“Its better to have what you don't need when you need it, than not to have it when you don’t.” or “you may think you don’t need it but when you do….you’ll have it.”
RLC

Bob
🇺🇸

[Garfish]

2 6 volt batteries give you more amp hour storage than 1 12 I am told. Issue is weight and where to put them. A 12 volt lithium is even better for AH and lighter than AGMs or lead acid but mucho Bu Kos and you may need or want to upgrade other equip

[JoeHTP]

I have a waterproof Renogy controller. I have heavy duty outdoor Velcro strips on the side of the tongue near the solar plug, I just stick it on there when using the solar. One advantage is that it is easy to see voltage/amps etc. without having to go to the panel. I have the temp sensor in the battery box, so it is also easy to plug that in without another long cable to the panel.

Joe

[Mattirs]

Here are a few examples of how we have used our portable panels and none mounted controller.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by fishbisquit

Thanks everyone for the responses. @uncle Bob if I keep my wire run under 30 feet are you saying there is very minimal voltage loss?

Also wondering about real world experience with 100watt panels? Are they generally enough to keep 1 or 2 batteries topped off? We are still very new to the AS but my best guess to what we will be drawing on an average day is 30-40 amps.

Thanks,

Hi

Yes, provided you use the typical number 10 copper wire, a 100W panel isn't loosing much over a 30' distance.

The math:

30' run is 60' of wire. Number 10 is 1 miliohm per foot so that's 0.06 ohms. If your panel is 100% efficient through the controller (... it never will be ..) you would get 7.3 A at 13.6V out of it. You will drop just about 0.4V. That's a 3% loss. Your typical controller is somewhere in the 80 to 90% efficient range at various loads.

Since you mostly are well below max output, your loss mostly is well below 3%. At half power, your percentage loss is 1.5%.

If you go to 1/0 cable, you cut the resistance by a factor of ten. Your maximum loss would be 0.15% in that case. The weight of the cable goes up as does it's cost. Is it worth it? I'd suggest that the controller may be a *much* better target if you are looking to improve things.

Bob

[Heckler56]

I have a 2017 16' Sport and the Renogy 100w kit w/Voyager. The kit wires/length are just fine. I also struggled with it the idea to purchase a longer length wire. Glad I did not.

The 10' gets you away from the trailer on either side to capture the sun. It also allows me to put a cable lock on it to the trailer frame (only will scare off casual thief). Having the controller mounted in the suitcase makes packing it away quick and easy. And, It charges my stock Group 24 battery the next day...

The Sport 16' really does not have allot you can run on battery anyway (lights - led, radio, pump). So unless you intend to add items like an inverter, I did not see the need for the additional battery. I use a high end jump starter with lithium battery to run a small inverter if I need to watch tv. The jump start has another practical use that it could jump start my diesel all from a compact little box a little larger than a pint of beer.