Factory Installed Solar Charging System

[AirSolarGuy]

Hi Ken,

Thanks....I want to be available if anyone has questions. Here's a link to our GP-PWM-25 solar regulator - GP-PWM-25 Solar Regulator On the home page you can also download our Mobile Power Guide, which is our full catalog. If you have any other questions please let me know.

Regards,

AirSolarGuy

[DaCosta]

my solar panels are not charging my batteries and possible reason why i am kinda of new at this that do you think

[AirSolarGuy]

Hi DaCosta,

It's hard to say without having more details. What solar regulator do you have? What is it displaying? Do your solar panels have access to full sun? If you have a voltmeter you can check the voltage from the solar pos & neg wires to see if your getting voltage. You can also check the wires at your batteries to see if voltage is being passed through to the batteries. I would also check the battery voltage to see if they match up. I'm not that familiar with the solar regulator that Airstream typically uses, but you could check to see if a fuse is blown. Hope that helps for now.

AirSolarGuy

[mgm]

Solar Kit Installed: 110W GP-RV-110 panel
GP-PWM-25 Regulator

Both products of Carmanah Industries

SolarForRV Home Page

I just had the factory Solar Panel package installed on my camper at Jackson Center....Here is what i had done.

I post most of my trailer stuff on my page.... but will update the Solar stuff here as well.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f396...-ls-61361.html


The Kit ran $1102.00 for both the panel and regulator and Labor ran around $588

add tax and i was out the door for $1808.00

The panel had to have some legs put on it to allow it to be mounted on my camper. With the AC, 2 Fantastic Fan, the Antenna, and the Moon Roof, the panel wouldn't fit lenght ways, so they decided to mount it horizontally, but to do that, it had to be elevated to allow me to still use the fans in the shower and bathroom. Just up about an inch or two higher, and its all set now.

Panels fits perfectly in that space. Easy to use system, read the three pages of operating instructions and its all set up. Going to get AGM batteries at some point, but for now i set it up to run on my traditional batteries.

Might add another panel sometime, but i will feel out this panel the rest of summer b4 i open the wallet again for additional panels.

Excited about all my new possibilities to camp whereever. No regrets!

[mgm]

BTW....the 110W measure 63" x 23" which is actually a little larger then the 125W panel that Carmanah offers..... which is 58.5" x 26.1"


just in case you get to measuring for room.... I'm bored lol and am always scheming for my next project....hypothetically....say i were to add a another panel ( which the the regualtor can handle- no problem)

I would add the 95 or 50 watt panel to my roof, which i could squeeze in almost perfectly next to my current panel....question is....that just adds more charging power...when most people just need more juice...which equals more batteries....so what to do.

haha- i just had the dam panels installed....i will leave it be for a while lol...My wheels are just turning

[AirSolarGuy]

Hi Mgm,

That looks like a pretty good install! Glad your happy with it overall. The GP-PWM-25 can handle up to 395 watts or 25 amps, so yes you have lots of room for expansion. The 95 has the same type of MC connections so it would be easy to add it to your system. To answer your question, your right that the more solar you add the more DC amps you can put back into your battery bank per hour. Your also right about sizing up the batteries. On average a couple use around 70-80 DC amps a day. That 110 watt panel will put 35-40 DC amps back into your batteries per day when its nice and sunny out. So I would see how long your batteries last before you add more solar. Just remember the bigger the battery bank, the bigger the 'gas' tank you have to work with. You may just need more batteries and that will get you through until the solar can have time to charge back up the batteries. I like AGM's as well. They give you the option to put them in different places in your RV without needing a battery box. If you have any other questions pleaes let me know.

AirSolarGuy

[mgm]

So....my bachelors budget lets me play. And i wanna get another panel just to really maximize the performance of the system. Not sure how much the 95W expansion panels will run me, but it should fit right next to my other panel. After looking at the photos- is the 95W panel use different cells or is it just a newer model? I ask just because it looks to have a different pattern then my 110W panel?

Oh yeah- is there any possible way i could use the ARM-UNI Adjustable Mount with the 95W panel? I see it was not listed in the application list

[AirSolarGuy]

Hey Mgm,

Sorry for the delay I've been on holidays so sorry for the delay. Yes, the ARM-UNI will work with the 95. The spec's just not been updated yet. If you have any other questions let me know.

AirSolarGuy

[arodriguez60]

Do you carry any MPPT controllers?

[AirSolarGuy]

Hi ,

We don't manufacture them, but we can supply them. We feel because of the cost your better off on an RV system just increasing the amount of solar instead of using an MPPT controller. Our controller is a Pulse Width Modulated 25 amp digital controller. If you have any questions please let me know.

AirSolarGuy

[SilverGate]

Perhaps one of the best descriptions of solar charging, along with its benefits and advantages, is found in "A short history of the sun" posted today by Man In The Maze in Airstream Life Online Community.

[Whirlaway]

Originally Posted by mgm

Solar Kit Installed: 110W GP-RV-110 panel
GP-PWM-25 Regulator

Both products of Carmanah Industries

SolarForRV Home Page

I just had the factory Solar Panel package installed on my camper at Jackson Center....Here is what i had done.

I post most of my trailer stuff on my page.... but will update the Solar stuff here as well.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f396...-ls-61361.html


The Kit ran $1102.00 for both the panel and regulator and Labor ran around $588

add tax and i was out the door for $1808.00

The panel had to have some legs put on it to allow it to be mounted on my camper. With the AC, 2 Fantastic Fan, the Antenna, and the Moon Roof, the panel wouldn't fit lenght ways, so they decided to mount it horizontally, but to do that, it had to be elevated to allow me to still use the fans in the shower and bathroom. Just up about an inch or two higher, and its all set now.

Panels fits perfectly in that space. Easy to use system, read the three pages of operating instructions and its all set up. Going to get AGM batteries at some point, but for now i set it up to run on my traditional batteries.

Might add another panel sometime, but i will feel out this panel the rest of summer b4 i open the wallet again for additional panels.

Excited about all my new possibilities to camp wherever. No regrets!

I live in New England and would like to add two (2) 110v factory installed solar panels, I called the factory yesterday for a quote. (Still waiting) I am wondering from people who actually have installed their panels if one (1) or two (2) 110v would be "enough power" to run the furnace over night in New England in the fall and spring? For the purposes of this question lets assume you have full sun no trees etc for the whole day. I will probably wait on going with AGMs I have two (2) new Trojan batteries this spring.

I also wonder if you could fit three (3) panels on a 27 ft? Has anyone done it? If so where are they placed? Sounds like after reading this tread a lot of people who have two (2) would consider going to three (3).

Many thanks,

Lin.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Whirlaway

... "enough power" to run the furnace over night in New England in the fall and spring?...

hi lin

as a user feedback report, with a larger, modern trailer with 2 grp 27 batteries and the factory furnace...

one can usually expect to get 1-2 nights of furnace use in spring/fall IF the batteries start fully charged.
________

you might find some of the stuff and install info in this thread useful...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f448...ice-39392.html

and the s/n unit of the wb' has a lot of useful info on these issues...

basics on batteries, solar and stuff...r

there is no reliable way to deal with this larger issue (solar) that doesn't include math...

one needs to know ~ how much juice the gadgets use and how much juice is available,

then work out a plan to replenish the batteries.

here's a member chart that is a good example...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f449...ems-39033.html

the typical new furnace in these units consumes 7-9 amps with the fan running...

or the equivalent of a 90-100 watt light bulb (keep this in mind)

the owners manual for your furnace size will have the amperage/specs.

depending on how cold, how often the door is opened, leaks and so on...

one can estimate HOW LONG the furnace fan runs per hour and day...

as a simple example, if the fan runs 10 minutes/hour and is only turned on for 12 hours,

thats ~2 hours of fan time...or about 15-20 amps of consumption.

so the furnace would use 30-40 amps over 2 nights.

colder outside, OR longer run times and that goes up.

based on btu size of furnace and trailer size and outside temp one can calculate ~ energy needed to keep warm...

again it's a lot of math, but many do these calculations.
_______

2 grp 27s have approximately 200 amps of stored juice, using 1/2 is considered a healthy approach.

so with 100 amps available the furnace should be useable for 2-4 nights or LESS if really really cold.

does that make sense?
_______

of course most of us will use the other 12v systems (water pump, lights, fans, outlets) so the furnace is not the only draw.

and batteries performance declines as they get cold, yours are stored partially inside which helps some.

1. adding a 3rd battery is the least expensive way to expand capacity and simple.

2. using a genset to REcharge the batteries every few days (as needed) may be the next step and also easy to do...

(keep in mind it's a little harder to START a genset manually if really really cold)

3. adding a catalytic lp gas heater is probably the next step in price/ease and effectiveness (some larger streams need 2 cats)

4. then comes solar, and the every expanding options for a system.

to maximize REcharging with solar in your region the panels will need to TILT, which isn't part of the factory set up.

the service center CAN do tilting if you request it, but it is not part of the standard install.

there are formulae for calculating how much juice is supplied under ideal conditions

and allowing for panel IN/efficiencies, hours of exposure and so on...

that math should be used in estimating panel size and battery bank.

2x130 is a better option than 2x110 but not a factory option (lots of vendors have 130 w panels)

yes 3x110 will fit on a 27 but the panels will be spread out (which means they could tilt in different directions)

to take FULL advantage of 220 to 260 watts of collection capacity (panels)...

one really needs to increase STORAGE capacity too, in other words more or bigger batteries.

here is an owner article on a diy system install from the s/n unit ...

http://sierranevadaairstreams.org/ow...ar-article.pdf
_________

it will cost ~3000$ to max out your roof space and add the proper accessories gizmos, PLUS the cost of battery additions.
_________

again many of us are capable of 2-3 night of moderate furnace use already.

a 3rd battery is 150$ plus wiring.

a genset is 800-1000$ plus gas.

a safe/reliable (vented) cat heater installed is 500-1000$
_________

many folks diy these things for less $.

it is expensive to have the factory service center do these things, but they have years of experience which is valuable.
_________

so many solar users have highly personalized set ups and power needs and locations that clearly...

YMMV

cheers
2air'

[Whirlaway]

Thank you for all the valuable info I will start reading all the links you included. I had wanted to go with AM Solar but when I got the quote to
pull their heavier wire through the AS it was very expensive.

I thought going with AS would be the safest surest method since they do the work at the factory.

Lin.

[classic34]

I have the solar power option on my 34' Airstream. It works beautifully except when we are camped in a location with many trees. I would like to add a panel that would have a 50' power cord so that I could place the panel in the sun. Does anyone have a company that could supply this panel and power cord? I am also thinking that I could plug the poser cord to the main trailer power cord. The same cord that is used to connect the tow vehicle. Does anyone see any problems doing this? Thanks for the help. Rich

[mrchinup1]

Cheapest prices i have seen.

Toyo 6GFM200A [Toyo 6GFM200A] - $323.50

[Whirlaway]

Originally Posted by Rich Griffin

I have the solar power option on my 34' Airstream. It works beautifully except when we are camped in a location with many trees. I would like to add a panel that would have a 50' power cord so that I could place the panel in the sun. Does anyone have a company that could supply this panel and power cord? I am also thinking that I could plug the poser cord to the main trailer power cord. The same cord that is used to connect the tow vehicle. Does anyone see any problems doing this? Thanks for the help. Rich

Look to AM Solar.

Lin.

[classic34]

Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like AM Solar is just what I want. Rich

[classic34]

I read your post about turning off the subwoofer. I looked under my couch at the sub wooofer in my trailer and I did not see any on/off switch. I did see what looks like some power coming to the sub with a plastic connector. Is this what you pulled out? Like you I am always looking for phantom loads. Rich

[SilverGate]

I disconnected the power to the sub-woofer via the plastic connector seen in the photos linked below.

This resulted in the elimination of the humming noise and helped save power when doing non-hookup camping.

The overhead speakers provide plenty of good sound when needed.

Sub-woofer under L-Lounge