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Any comments on the need for solar panels. Also if you have them or are thinking of them what kind and how many. What controller? What vendor? We will be at the factory Nov. 29 and 30 for our , hopefully, fixit list.
http://www.phrannie.org/solar.html (http://www.phrannie.org/solar.html)

> Any comments on the need for solar panels. Also if you have them

We will be at the factory Nov. 29 and 30 for our , hopefully, fixit

>

We had four panels on our previous 2 cc and they did not have

] > Hi John,
> I have two 100 watt solar panels and a controller from Heliotrope PV

are located in Eugene, OR). I had one of them installed when I took

at the factory last Nov. and the other installed May this year.

service dept. installed them for me. I do a fair amount of dry

electrical needs are the most confusing part of owning an RV. It

to determine how many solar panels are required. The two panels do

satisfy my electrical requirements. I still have to run my

hour a day depending on how much I used the Inverter during the

>

I think Fred Kovol or other more electrically proficient folks on

can explain how to determine solar panel requirements; it's a

While in JC you might want to get in touch with AMSolar in Eugene.

have friends that had them install on their CC and the installation > was excellent. www.amsolar.com

Don

'02 Intrigue #11427

[quote author=john drebick"

> Any comments on the need for solar panels. Also if you have them > or are thinking of them what kind and how many. What controller? > What vendor?

> We will be at the factory Nov. 29 and 30 for our , hopefully,

> Am storing my CC Allure outside and had solar panel installed, can > anyone tell me what the amp. of the panel should be to charge and > maintain my batteries ?

Also Holland Motorhomes installed them and hooked them up to the > hotwire from the fridg, but now when I turn-off all 12 volt > storage> the panel charge controller does not light-up

Let me describe my experience with solar on my '04 Allure #31038.

I have installed two 120 watt panels which charge through a > SolarBoost 2000E MPPT controller. I live in B'ham AL where I store > outside with no access to shore power but with good access to > sunlight. My house battery bank is two 8D AGM with a single wet 8D > for the chassis.
> When the coach sits idle in the summer I turn off the refer and the > LP detector. I leave the roof vents open for ventilation and the > power on to allow the vents to close when it rains.

Under these circumstance, ignoring the solar contribution, the > battery monitor shows a 4 amp parasitic draw. With the LP detector > and refer on the draw is more like 6 amps.

> > Let me describe my experience with solar on my '04 Allure #31038.
>

> I have installed two 120 watt panels which charge through a > > SolarBoost 2000E MPPT controller. I live in B'ham AL where I

outside with no access to shore power but with good access to > > sunlight. My house battery bank is two 8D AGM with a single wet

for the chassis.
>

> When the coach sits idle in the summer I turn off the refer and

LP detector. I leave the roof vents open for ventilation and the > > power on to allow the vents to close when it rains.
>

> Under these circumstance, ignoring the solar contribution, the > > battery monitor shows a 4 amp parasitic draw. With the LP

and refer on the draw is more like 6 amps.
>

4 amps parasitic draw sounds like you are leaving your inverter

Tom, nope to the inverter idea. In fact, if I turn the entertainment > stuff off at the breaker panel, the inverter adds a load of less than > an amp at idle.

> Tom, nope to the inverter idea. In fact, if I turn the

stuff off at the breaker panel, the inverter adds a load of less

an amp at idle.
>

Why not just turn the inverter off since it's not needed. Less than > an amp could represent as much as 10-20amp-hrs daily which could > use up a significant proportion of what your solar is producing

Tom, what I meant by "nope" was that I do not have the inverter on. I > agree with you that there is no value to leaving it on so I don't.

Hi Don\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\[br\] Thanks for getting me some info, my next question is, how hard is for\[br\] myself to correct the problem ,\[br\] do I just take the wire from the panel, via the chargfe controller\[br\] and hook it up to the battery\?\[br\]\[br\]\[br\]] > Without knowing the output capability of your panel, there is no

to tell you how many amps you have available to charge the

I can say that Holland did not do you any favors by hooking up the > solar output to the refer. They took the cheap and easy way out and > not the best. To get the most benefit from solar charging, the

should be hooked directly to the battery bank.

Don

'02 Intrigue #11427

[quote author=cniezingklazienaveen" >]
> Am storing my CC Allure outside and had solar panel installed,