Any upgrade the solar in a 190?
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Topic: Any upgrade the solar in a 190?
Posted By: PeterK2003
Subject: Any upgrade the solar in a 190?
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 8:35am
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I was wondering if anyone upgraded the solar on a 190? I think it would be great if I could get 300W or more worth of panels up there.
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Replies:
Posted By: Awchief
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 9:26am
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There is a fellow on the Facebook page put 3 Renogy 160 watt foldable panels on his pod. ------------- Michael |
Posted By: PeterK2003
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 11:10am
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Cool! I guess I put his in the wrong sub forum...opps.
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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 11:22am
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You should be able to mount a standard 72 cell utility solar module side to side across the top of an rPod. The length of the module and the width of the pod are almost identical. The width of the module is about 39-40 inches so see if you have a space that wide behind or in front of the a/c. I do in my 179. The standard utlitiy solar modules are around 300-350 watts and can be bought for about 50 cents per watt now, so they are very cost effective. The other benefit is that there are no holes in the roof, you can mount the module from the side to a vertical plate which is in turn mounted to the side of the top edge of the trailer. This also allows the module to be stood off the roof a couple of inches for better cooling of both the module and the trailer. I haven't done this yet but my plan is to remove the a/c and TV antenna and mount 3 modules up there for about 1 kW of solar. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 11:31am
as a side note.. OG, have you looked at these: https://climateright.com/climateright-5000-btu-a-c-heater-2.html I think with the right batteries.. a solution for a/c offgrid... ------------- |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 12:00pm
I handn't seen that one yet furpod but it could work. It has an EER rating (BTU/watts) of 5000/700 or about 7. It would be more efficient than the indoor portable a/c's but about the same as the RV roof a/cs. I've been thinking about a 9000 BTU minisplit like this: https://www.acwholesalers.com/Mitsubishi-MZ-GL09NA/p65347.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAh9njBRCYARIsALJhQkGjCjv7n8BeApOLZWtl-rVeS_FeIY_guUW-6JneoeTz6MXLDUXNMSkaAsNyEALw_wcB - https://www.acwholesalers.com/Mitsubishi-MZ-GL09NA/p65347.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAh9njBRCYARIsALJhQkGjCjv7n8BeApOLZWtl-rVeS_FeIY_guUW-6JneoeTz6MXLDUXNMSkaAsNyEALw_wcB These have an EER of about 15, so use half the energy. Plenty spendy though. The evaporator unit on some of them is small enough to fit above the drivers side front window above the bed in the 179 and the condenser would go on the tongue where the batteries are now. I don't think there's any practical way to carry enough battery capacity to last overnight using lead acid batteries so I'd need to go with lithium ion. About 4-5 kWh worth. More $$$. And then I need an inverter, and about 1KW of solar, and a controller for the solar, etc. Using salvage Tesla batteries I think I can do the whole thing for about $3.5- $4K if I'm lucky. Here's a guy that's done everything except the a/c on his full time RV. https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/toms-tech-blog - https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/toms-tech-blog ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: PeterK2003
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 12:22pm
| OG do you have a link to those panels? |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 1:08pm
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PeterK2003, here's one example. This one is about 65 cents a watt for 325 watts. Its 1960 mm long or about 77 1/8 inches and 991 mm or 39 inches wide. I don't recall exactly the width of my rPod but they vary slightly anyway so you should measure yours. If you want to use an rDome I'd suggest taking the keder rail (the rail that an rdome would slide into) on the passenger side of your pod loose and sliding the plate you're going to mount the solar module to behind that, so measure from that point. 0.080 inch aluminum plate should work fine, just shoot several self tapping screws into the top 1 inch of the pod wall and into the module end frames. You can cut the bottom edge of the plates to match the curve of that section of the rPod. If you want to get artistic, maybe even curve the top edges of the plates so they cover the module edges. This is the standard solar module configuration used in large solar projects so there's plenty of options. They vary slightly in dimensions so you should be able to find one that is a really good fit. I'd also suggest trying your local Craigslist, you'll often find great deals on modules for sale there that are leftover from projects where they couldn't use them. I've seen those as low as 40 cents a watt. You'll need an MPPT type battery charge controller too. There are a bunch of options on Amazon. https://solarflexion.com/jap72s01-325-5bb?_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=Cj0KCQiAh9njBRCYARIsALJhQkErPXP9DUfx2sENA7SBKTKyz_dwqR8mEtCBOmJ947PbcUsWUT6gYbMaAgaeEALw_wcB - https://solarflexion.com/jap72s01-325-5bb?_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=Cj0KCQiAh9njBRCYARIsALJhQkErPXP9DUfx2sENA7SBKTKyz_dwqR8mEtCBOmJ947PbcUsWUT6gYbMaAgaeEALw_wcB ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 6:45pm
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The best deals I've found are on https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xsolar+panels.TRS0&_nkw=solar+panels&_sacat=0 - ebay . ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 5:47am
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Ebay for sure has great prices and lots of options. The advantage of buying local is that you can inspect the product and you save the transport costs. Solar modules are large glass objects so packing and shipping can get pretty expensive. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 9:33am
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would anyone have a recommendation or a warning on the various MPPT controllers available to purchase? Also same question on solar panels. i want to add at least a 100watt to my existing 80 watt. i need a package (panel and controller) i was thinking to just buy a renogy 100watt package, but looking at ebay i can get a controller and panel for around $150 instead of the $ 350 for the renogy. a few deals on amazon as well. i would rather spend the $350 and have something decent than $150 for trash. IYKWIM.
------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 10:01am
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If you get a 100 watt 36 cell (nominal 12V battery charging) module you don't need an MPPT controller, in fact it might not work for you because it has to step the voltage down to charge the battery so its really designed to work with higher voltage modules. A lower cost PWM controller would work fine. I don't have first hand knowledge of the reliability of the various controllers but one benfit of Amazon is you can review the customer ratings and comments and see what kind of problems folks have run into. For the module any of them will probably be fine as long as they are glass front. If you like Renogy they have their 100w 12V modules on Amazon for $120 and 20A PWM controllers for $60 so you can get the two for $180. There are other PWM controllers as low as $15. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 10:14am
i guess the suitcase models are a premium, but are supposed to be waterproof controllers. must be a nice suitcase.
 ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 10:23am
Yeah, well, the electrons don't care if there's a suitcase or not. Best to put the controller near the battery anyway. Its regulating the battery voltage and does a temperature adjustment so will be more accurate that way. You could mount it out of the weather in the storage compartment and run to the batteries from there. There is another Renogy PWM controller on Amazon for $30 which doesn't do any metering but it occurs to me that you have already put in metering anyway so that might work fine for you. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 11:33am
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If you're going to use a single panel, I would definitely go with a 12V panel and a PWM controller. That would be the most economical path. However, if for any reason you decide to get a second panel, then I would lean toward an MPPT controller and run the panels in series. In fact, if you're going that far, I'd probably go for a couple of 24V panels (which actually run voltages in the 35V zone) in series with an MPPT controller. This would afford you to use smaller gauge wire and lower current. It would also mean you would probably get better use in marginal sun conditions. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: PeterK2003
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 3:15pm
| Does anyone have the wiring diagram for the 2019 190? |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 3:47pm
No such thing exists. ------------- |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2019 at 7:05am
I think the decision is tied to both rated power but also whether you want a portable system or a roof mount system. For the best bang for the buck I'd go with the following: Roof mount: get a 72 cell utility module or more than one with an MPPT controller. That will get you over 300 watts each and can mount edge to edge on an rPod. Portable < about 180- 200 watts: get a single 12V (36 cell) module and a PWM controller. 180-200 watts is about the highest power you can get in a 12V module using standard 6 inch solar cells. Portable > about 180-200 watts: get one or more 60 cell residential modules and an MPPT controller. In all cases mount the controllers in the rPod. The 72 cell utility modules weigh a bit over 50 lbs and are about 78 inches long so are really too big to be considered one person portable. The 60 cell modules weigh about 40 lbs and are about 66 inches long so not too bad to lug around. And as GlueGuy says once you get over about 200 watts you are running a lot of current at 12V so its best to be at a higher voltage to reduce wiring size and losses. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2019 at 9:26am
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Sorry if i have hijacked the thread.  but as far as roof placement of panels, are you using the no holes version and adhesive:  or the hard mounted version and drilling into the roof ?  or something else for permanent mounting? ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2019 at 12:01pm
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For myself, I don't plan to use either. I plan to attach using vertical auminum plates screwed to the sides of the end frames of the modules and to the top inch of the rpod sides. The trick is to get modules that are the same length as the pod is wide. I haven't done my solar install yet because I want to remove the a/c and the lead acid batteries with Li ion as part of that project. Both of the products you've selected would have some issues. You'll need to hit the roof crossmembers with the screw in ones. Those are aluminum tubes on the flat part of the roof and wood in the curved portions. The glue on ones would restrict you to a smaller module and you'd need to be careful with surface prep to be sure you get good adhesion. You should expect to have an uplift force on the modules somewhere around 35-50 lbs per square foot. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |