Portable Solar Kit

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athearn2
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Joined: 02/16/2015 - 10:43
Portable Solar Kit

Just completed wiring our 13 Scamp for our new portable solar kit. ( Renogy 100W 12V monocrystalline foldable suitcase with Voyager controler RNG-KIT-STCS100D VOY20) It works! Bought the kit directly from Renogy. Their shipping and handling was very efficient. The kit came with alligator clamps. (I didn't think to ask if Renogy had other options!). The battery placement on our Scamp would make it very difficult to use alligator clamps. For connecting the panels to our Scamp I used an Anderson type connector mounted on the trailer frame.

 

salukispeed
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Last seen: 9 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: 08/20/2018 - 13:45
100 watt

Even tho you only get 100 watts at high noon on a clear day and properly aligned perpendicular to the sun. It is amazing how much energy you recoup on a sunny day . We had 4-15 watt ones we used with our last camper and we rarely ran low on power with a little cautious use. . Great supplement when dry camping.. Very nice!

2019 Scamp 13 standard

Greg A
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Joined: 11/02/2013 - 20:45
Nice

Renogy sells a good panel. What battery/capacity is on the tongue?

Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape

Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:

Fiberglass-RV-4Sale

athearn2
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Battery

Hi Greg,

We still have the original battery, a 23, that came with our new 13 Scamp in 2015. That battery has done well for us so far without the panels or generator. Our Scamp is very low use with all LED lighting, no AC, and no bath/shower (no pump/heater). The biggest draw is our furnace which we have only used to warm up a little on cold mornings. The next step will be to up-grade the battery to a 27. Most of our regular camping is here in Maine and many of the state parks here don't have electric hook-ups. With the solar panels we hope to be able to stay longer and not worry about our battery usage.

Greg A
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Solar

Yes, you’ll definitely want to move up in battery, you currently only have about 80 Amp Hour rating with 40 Amp Hour usable. The battery setup is the single most important element in boondocking, you will want to get the highest Amp Hour rating you can afford when you change batteries. With flooded or AGM batteries you can only use 50% of the Amp hours, Lithium can use 80-90%.  https://www.scampowners.com/choosing-right-battery-solution-solar

You also need to figure out your daily use so you can plan what is needed for the battery. I.E. My twin 6v are rated at 232 AH so I can use 116 AH before I need to put anything back in. My daily usage is 12 AH on avg, so I can go 9 days without having to recharge anything. When I convert to 200 AH lithium’s I’ll get 180 usable AH’s, much faster recharge rate, and much longer battery life. Put awesome batteries on the tongue and you don’t even need to bring the solar panel for most trips.

 

Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape

Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:

Fiberglass-RV-4Sale

WYNot
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Joined: 05/21/2019 - 10:38
Dometic 2193

 

Not the first time I’m sure. What is the proper switch (a & e) position for 120v operation?