New 2022 International - DIY Solar

[Winemaker]

I would love some help before I start digging into my solar project...

We just got our new International 27FB and want to do a solar install in two phases.

Phase one is the solar panels (Four HQST 100 Watt 12v panels on the roof) feeding into a Victron MPPT (150/60) with a Victron BMV-712 battery monitor. Planning on two panels on each side of the trailer in series/parallel.

Phase two is adding two more panels on the front of the camper (total of 600W) and replacing the regular lead acid batteries with two of the SOK 206Ah marine batteries. (https://www.sokbattery.com/products/...ifepo4-battery)

Here's where I am feeling unsure...

For the BMV-712 am I only using the negative wire from the inverter as my battery side connection?

For the HQST panel to Zamp rooftop box I am planning on custom wiring (all rooftop wires will be 10AWG) an adapter to go from MC4 on the panels to the SAE of the rooftop box that feeds the 8 AWG wires in the trailer. What is the red/orange wire that is taped to the yellow and green "pre-wire" wires by the inverter/12v box?

Can I feed the output from the MPPT directly to the batteries? For phase one I was going to wire them to the same location on the factory batteries as the Zamp solar port wires they installed for the suitcase solar.

I'm still working on my wiring diagram but I wanted to get some feedback to make sure I was at least close to being on the right path.

Thank you in advance for your help and advice!

[KSA63]

Hi there,
It looks like you are trying to do something similar to what I have done on our GT30.
We originally added 400w of Series Parallel solar then added an additional 200w. We are planning to add Lithium Batteries and a Lithium ready converter at a later date.

Please see the diagram below of the basic install. Not that ALL negative wires from the trailer/equipment must connect to the trailer side of the shunt. This includes solar, converter, inverter, tongue jack etc.



Hopefully this bump gets you some other responses to help you out.
Cheers
Kevin

[Winemaker]

Thanks for the bump. This is my first posting and I wasn't sure if it had worked!

The lithium ready converter is standard on the 2022 thankfully.
Thanks for the schematic for your system. Very helpful. I'll have to track down all the negatives for the shunt. Was really hoping I could just use the negative on the inverter.

Waiting for a few more parts to come in and I'll start building/installing.

Cheers!

[s1000pre]

After all of the crazy amount of possibilities, I decided to go the following route.

2 Battleborn Lithium’s
4 zamp 90 amp obsidian long panels series/parallel on the roof. The narrow design of the obsidian long helps avoid shadows created by the AC units.
2 zamp 100 obsidian portables up front.
2 progressive dynamics 60amp converters. One to replace my oem, the other plugged into my f150 pro-power to charge while underway.
An additional progressive dynamics 1,800 watt inverter to power the microwave and kitchen outlets only.
This set-up allows me to power most appliances while boondocking without major re-wiring of the trailer. I’m using the pre-wired solar and 14awg wiring for microwave. Anything larger than 1800 watts will require 12awg.

[Winemaker]

What size (gage) wires did you run from the battery to the shunt?

[KSA63]

Originally Posted by Winemaker

What size (gage) wires did you run from the battery to the shunt?

I believe in my case it was AWG4. But it is only about a 12” run from the battery to the shunt.
See the attached pic…

[Winemaker]

Thank you! My first instinct was to keep the shunt in the battery box but then thought it was too exposed to the elements. Would sure be easier to have it where you installed it. Any issues with having it ‘outside’?

[KSA63]

Installing the shunt in the battery box was a simple decision as it is the most convenient and least complicated solution for me. It is not fully protected and it could possibly get wet but that has not been my experience. Others on the forums have warned against this location but I have not heard of anyone having an actual shunt failure due to it being mounted inside the battery box.
I guess it comes down to risk tolerance.
Kevin

[biznitch15]

Winemaker. Thanks for responding on my Thread. Question about your Series/Parallel. Are you connecting two panels in series to take use up one Sae plug on the Zamp box? If you can tell I’m a little new to this. Thanks.

[Winemaker]

This is a big rabbit hole of a topic with a bit of a learning curve (surprise, surprise). The short answer is that I wanted to increase both the amps and watts going to my charge controller and thought series/parallel was the best way to do it. Here is a link to the video that shows the watt/amp output on this type of wiring plan: https://youtu.be/b2H8vpj8rQg
If you have a week or so of free time to become "properly" educated on this type of DIY project... watch all the videos. This is definitely a "more you know.. the more you realize there is to know" type of situation. I'm still trying to decide if I have a deep enough understanding of the system to actually start building it.

My total "someday" plan is to have 600w of solar on the roof and I wanted to make sure the future system could be run through the roof top combiner without having too many amps for the factory 8 AWG wire. I also "overbought" the MPPT controller to make sure it could handle the larger system.

Clear as mud? Welcome to DIY solar.

[biznitch15]

I think we’re in the same boat lol. I’m not trying to replace the current 8 gauge wire either. I’m going to overbuy the mppt controller as well. I’m skipping the BMV 712 battery monitor and just use the Victron Smart Shunt.

[Winemaker]

I’m getting closer to building the final solar setup. A new question has come up for me…
Can I wire a port with an mc4 connection directly to my victron mppt? There are two separate mc4 connections on the mppt so I could have two separate inputs (rooftop and suitcase hopefully).
I want this to replace the Zamp port on front of the trailer.
Will a suitcase solar work on the new setup when connected directly to the new mc4 port ( which is wired to the same mppt as the rooftop solar) or will they interfere with each other?
The suitcase is 200W (2 100W pannels)
The rooftop will be 4 100W panels in series parallel.

Let me know what info I left out if any.
Thank you!

[KSA63]

The pictured Victron charge controller appears to have two separate solar inputs wired in parallel where you would connect the combined output of your solar panels. Your panels in total may create up to 600 watts (4x100w on the roof and 2x100w portable) which is well within the specifications of the Victron 150/60.
It is important to keep all your inputs to the Victron solar controller at the same (or very close) voltages for maximum performance. Assuming your Series/Parallel roof panels are wired for 24v then you will want your solar suitcase to also be wired for 24v and not using its own built-in controller should it be equipped with one.
It appears that you are good to go…. [emoji848]

[Winemaker]

Originally Posted by KSA63

It is important to keep all your inputs to the Victron solar controller at the same (or very close) voltages for maximum performance. Assuming your Series/Parallel roof panels are wired for 24v then you will want your solar suitcase to also be wired for 24v and not using its own built-in controller should it be equipped with one.
It appears that you are good to go…. [emoji848]

Thanks KSA63!
I was wondering if the suitcase would need to be reconfigured to parallel (was planning on removing the charge controller if wiring direct to the mppt was ok).
I think I’ll put a fuse/cutoff switch on the mc4 port so I can cut off the flow of power to the mppt until I get the suitcase plugged in fully.
Any advice on plugging/unplugging the suitcase while there is power being generated?

Cheers!

[KSA63]

Originally Posted by Winemaker

I think I’ll put a fuse/cutoff switch on the mc4 port so I can cut off the flow of power to the mppt until I get the suitcase plugged in fully.

Any advice on plugging/unplugging the suitcase while there is power being generated?

Cheers!

I wouldn’t be concerned about connecting or disconnecting an MC4 connector even with 200w/24v dc solar suitcase in full California sun. The current should be sufficiently low. However, having a switch and/or breaker is certainly a good idea. Turning the suitcase out of the direct sunlight would also not hurt. [emoji41]

FYI, in my installation I used the Renogy panels with MC4 connections and I created MC4 to SAE adapters where required to interface to the Airstream supplied Zamp Solar SAE interfaces. Have you tried connecting and disconnecting MC4 connectors yet? They are not the easiest things to connect/disconnect and can be downright tough to do especially in tight quarters. YMMV

Hope this helps.

[Winemaker]

Originally Posted by KSA63

I wouldn’t be concerned about connecting or disconnecting an MC4 connector even with 200w/24v dc solar suitcase in full California sun…

FYI, in my installation I used the Renogy panels with MC4 connections and I created MC4 to SAE adapters where required to interface to the Airstream supplied Zamp Solar SAE interfaces.
Hope this helps.

That definitely helps.

I tried a polarity adapter for the mc4 to sae Zamp port and it melted!
The reverse polarity on the Zamp system feels wrong… like a way to try to lock people into their system. I’m happy to take it out and put in the mc4 port. The tool they give you to help tighten the mc4 plugs has an end that will release the clips on the plugs… makes it almost as easy as the SAE and a lot more secure.

Cheers!
Mitch

[Winemaker]

Almost ready to start installing everything!

I have everything placed on a board to bolt down and will be making the needed cables.

These are the components to be assembled…

Orion Dc/Dc charger
Victron Lynx power distribution
Victron 150/60 Mppt.
Victron Smart shunt
Two SOK 206 AH marine batteries.

Keeping the inverter and charger/converter OEM for now.

I want to run all the power through the Lynx so I can monitor everything.
Still looking for information on the fuse I would use on the converter/charger.

Solar mppt gets 60A fuse
Dc/Dc gets 40A fuse
Inverter (OEM 1000W) gets 150A fuse
Converter??

Still trying to locate the 7-pin wiring and the tongue jack wires but I have good schematics to follow.

Any feedback on the converter would be great!

Cheers!

[Winemaker]

I've come a long way since the first post on this thread.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to give me information and advice along the way!

My first phase of the install is done!
I'll post a few photos.

Added a circuit breaker/on-off for rooftop solar (nothing on the roof yet).
Breaker for suitcase solar. (Wired an input where the ZAMP was)
Victron MPPT to control both solar inputs.
System on/off battery disconnect switch.
Victron Smart shunt power monitor.
Victron Power Distribution box with fuses for... DC to DC charger, OEM converter/charger, OEM inverter, and output from MPPT solar.
Orion Dc to DC charge controller is next to the OEM 12V distribution gray box.

2 SOK 206AH Marine grade batteries under the bed.
OEM battery box converted to storage for leveling blocks and wheel chocks.

Still have some minor tweaks to do and I want to label everything but I can definitely boondock for a few days with this.

[Winemaker]

Hi All!

I have had the chance to go on a couple of trips with the new solar install and overall I think it is fantastic. Well worth all the new gray hairs I have from researching and installing the new system (and I have a LOT of new gray!).

I do have a few questions...

1. If I use the main battery disconnect switch without shutting off the rooftop solar will I be hurting the MPPT?

2. What is the correct level of charge to store the battery between uses?
...or...
3. If I leave the solar and battery on is there a problem with always keeping the battery at full charge?

4. I have noticed that the OEM inverter will occasionally show an error/fail when the batteries are at 100% charge. Is there a Lithium switch/setting I missed?

Thanks in advance for the help!!
Mitch

[markuscis]

Mitch, I just ordered a 27 FBQ Inter. with a Hatch due in June. I appreciate you posting everything as the AGM to Lithium is one of the first things I'm going to do. I'll be going the simple battery replacement and adjustments to the existing electronics. From what I've been reading the 2022 with Solar option has all the components but the truth will be when I examine them myself.

Thank You again for posting.
Take Care Mark