Lifeline is a premium brand of batteries and they are very expensive. bank. Adam, that’s a very big topic and I’ve written a lot about it before. The way to figure watts is volts x amps. The Renogy Starter Kit is designed for customers who are new to solar or are looking to expand on an existing power system. Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Solar RV Kit silently recharges your batteries so you can enjoy the great outdoors without the extra noise. This Christmas, Santa (my lovely wife) sent me a special package from Amazon containing a brand new Renogy 200W Solar Kit. I got up about 6:30AM and turned off the furnace, using the Big Buddy again. May GOD bless you for helping so many of us who’d be pretty much lost without you. I know at least a dozen people who own Renogy solar panels or complete systems and they are all totally satisfied with them. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Trying to find out what kind of reenforcing I need to do to my camper while I’m rebuilding it to install three or four solar panels for off grid hunting and maybe living going to be running four or five 12v battery s replacing all rafters so mite as well reenforce to mount for panel while I’m at it. The system would be two 100w permanently mounted panels in parallel and two 100w portable panels in series (24v). I’ll then plug the 10ga. Bob. The cables to the batter will be 1 ft long. Before you do anything else you need to answer a few basic questions. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best possible experience on our website. extension cord into the pigtail and into the panels with a concoction of M4 (?) Brian and I are in study mode (AKA Dummy Mode) concerning photovoltaics, and one of the many things I don’t yet understand is how one switches from relying exclusively on solar power to using 30 amp RV-site power, which we’ll need to do when recording. Thanks for breaking everything down in such a way that people feel they can actually do this themselves. this would take 10 x 120 watts per hour – 1200 watts. There is always a big alternator under the hood to make up for any shortcoming of the pump. I think I can do this!! Most of us just threw our hands up in the air and decided it wasn’t for us. I don’t remember which inverter she had so it will depend the size of the inverter. Bob. I want to set up a 400 watt system. To finish the mounting off I encased the screw tops and mounting tabs in a generous amount of the Dicor self-leveling sealant. The only problem I see is a convenient way to keep them from being stolen. I believe with a little conservation on our part we will greatly reduce the run time on our generators now, only needing to fire them up on cloudy days or if we want to run a high wattage item like the AC, microwave or toaster. Bob, Technomadia has been using lithium batteries for over three years. Designed to keep. Note that I do have big ass batteries, big panels and a Honda I gen set but I consider that to be more like base camp gear than stuff I would carry around all the time. I decided to go with the Renogy panels after reading so many positive reviews about them and the attractive price for the kit. Order online right now! Fortunately, Amazon sells a 200 watt kit with a PWM controller and without the feet or extension cable for $309: Renogy Solar Panel Bundle 200 Watt. Woot! I’m not talking about high def. The kit doesn’t come with fuses so you will need to buy them separately. Bob. Bob, I’m glad you added this info about batteries, because having enough storage is what gets you through periods of bad weather and low sunlight. However, I have a question on the controllers (PWM vs MPPT). We each have to measure the pros and cons for ourselves. Even though we absolutely love to be off grid and visiting beautiful boondocking locations we still are most often than not on full hookups. That’s the first set of instructions that didn’t make my eyes glaze over! Craig, Bob, I purchased two panels 100watt by renogy, without the kit..aside from the z brackets, any advice on a component kit with necessary parts to complete installation.fuses etc?..thanks Craig, I see you got it figured out Craig. Good. RENOGY® Solar Panel Starter Kit 400W Mono: Renogy 200W Poly: 200W 30A with PWM controller, RENOGY® 200 watt Mono Solar kit with 20A MPPT Controller, RENOGY® 200 watt Solar Panel Kit Mono 20 amp MPPT Controller, Coleman 10/3 Vinyl Outdoor Extension Cord, Getting Stuck: How to Avoid it and What to do if it Happens, http://www.technomadia.com/2015/02/living-the-lithium-lifestyle-3-5-year-lithium-rv-battery-update/, Google’s Project Sunroof is Mapping the Planet’s Solar Potential, http://www.renogy.com/renogy-200-watt-12-volt-eclipse-solar-premium-kit/, Simple Living–Getting Rid of Excess Stuff, PAPERBACK: How to Live In a Car, Van, or RV: And Get Out of Debt, Travel, and Find True Freedom, KINDLE VERSION: How to Live in a Car, Van or RV--And Get Out of Debt, Travel and Find True Freedom. Hi Bob, and thank you for being so patient. 1. I think you can do it to! I think it should work fine parking in the shade. 3) You don’t want the voltage to drop from too long a line from the portable panels. Second, then connect your solar panel to your charge controller. We have two RVers, who each have the same solar panels and controllers. Use most of your power douring the day and a minimum amount at night. In fact, they are so popular and so good that my standard recommendation for most people on a tight budget is to order a 100, 200 or 400 watt kit from Amazon, depending on their budget and power needs. If you want to use a microwave or have Satellite TV you need 400 watts: four 100 watt panels. Then I could afford a better one that I’ve been using for the last 3 years and is really great. Then they had their wives monitor the charging amperage while they went up on the roof of their RVs. This worked out really well as I was able to make the run from the solar panels right to the battery area using only about 16 feet of  the 10 gauge wire Renogy included in the kit. Thanks for the time put into it. Having two suitcases paired with a couple of golf cart batteries at a nominal 200 Ah capacity seems to work pretty well in partly cloudy conditions. One of them had four 100 watt solar panels in series and the other had four 100 watt panels in parallel. If you have low-to average draw a 400 watt inverter would be a good choice. For example, Renolgy sells the same 200 watt kit with either a PWM or MPPT controller and the PWM controller is $320 Renogy 200W Poly: 200W 30A with PWM controller  and the MPPT controller is $480 so it costs a lot more RENOGY® 200 watt Mono Solar kit with 20A MPPT Controller. They are still lead-acid batteries but are sealed instead of vented. Nature's Beauty Thread - Post Your Pictures, Installing New Equalizers, Heavy Duty Shackles and Greaseable Bolts, Newfoundland Fjord Boat Tour and Cow Head - Throwback 2011, ROVER LI 20 AMP MPPT or 40 AMP MPPT SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER, Before laying out the cash for solar I wanted to make sure our energy needs were whittled down to the point that we could really take full advantage of it. Because you need to plan for the worst weather conditions, not the best. I think it’s best to go with two controllers. If you can’t, then 2 to 1 is better. Thanks for all the articles they have helped me a bunch If efficiency and reliability are high on your wish list, the Renogy 100W 12V Premium Kit is your choice. I wanted a spot for maximum power so chose the very front of the roof area where it starts to curve downwards. Al Christensen recently posted…A poem from the vault of despair. Bill, I don’t understand, do you mean having two controllers feeding into one battery bank? Two Renogy 100 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panels, 20 Amp High Quality Renogy MPPT Charge Controller. In the summer you will be amazed by how much power you get out of them! Roy, I’m afraid I’m not the person to ask, I have little engineering aptitude. The MC4 leads are compatible with the Renogy MC4 Adaptor Kit—allowing for a … * They are in their infancy for boondcockers. I don’t know how much it draws but I’d say probably at least 10-20 amps per hour which is somewhere from 50-100 amps out of the battery. If you buy all you can afford, even if it seems like too much,  you’ll be ready for bad weather and able to add extra electrical devices you didn’t even know you wanted. I hope to never live in a house again! Adding a 3rd panel to make up for the 33% difference would not help there in low light. So rather than use a common solar power extension cable she decided to use a heavy duty outdoor 110 volt extension cable like the heavy duty yellow ones you see at construction sites. Then I drilled some small pilot holes for the screws and added a dab of sealant around each hole. Hi Steve, you need a sacrificial extension cord that you cut the ends off. We have enough room on the roof for them, I think (we tossed our A/C, as we haven’t once used it in the three years that we’ve had BUSTER (our rig)), but I haven’t quite figured out (yet) where to put six batteries. I purchased a couple heavy duty 3 foot automotive battery cables. For that reason I recommend you put the controller somewhere in easy eyesight so you can see it’s voltage at a glance. WTXCal. We recommend that you connect the adapter kit to your panel first, then follow the + or – sign coming off of the leads of the panels and match it with the + and – sign on the charge controller. If they were in parallel, you would get 10 amps to the battery, in series you would only get 5 amps to the battery. Bob, I have learned so much from your site! The includes Compact Design or Black Frame 100W Solar Panels are not only sleek in size, weight, but are made of high efficiency monocrystalline solar cells. 1. Bob, Really? Would there be a problem if I bought a PWM controller to take care of the existing 12 volt system and ran the portable system (24v) into my existing mppt controller.? They need to be charged at a very high rate that your solar panels probably can’t give them, so they wouldn’t be my first choice. As solar got cheaper over the years I reconsidered but still the hassle of installation put me off. I’m a big fan of MPPT and think most people should buy it. LFP batteries are improving quickly, but I’ll wait for a plateau before I join in. Two summers ago was the rainiest time I’ve ever had (I avoid the PNW in the winter!) The magic of MPPT is it drops the voltage down to 12-14 volt and then doubles the amps equally. So, by placing the panel’s right up front they will get the best solar coverage and will have a slight tilt into the sun. ), Agree that golf cart deep cell batteries are best, BUT since I’m married to a brilliant musician and computer genius and NOT a handyman, when it comes to anything practical outside of his field, the words ‘maintenance’ and ‘Brian’ don’t often collide in the same sentence – not pleasantly anyway. Order online right now! Well shoot. Once the sun went down at 4:45 PM I used two LED lights, my 17” laptop, a portable tabletop radio, and MiFi internet hotspot most of the evening, I also watched 1.5 hours of TV on my 32” LCD screen. I can effectively use half of that, leaving me 104Ah. I have resisted solar since I retired in 2002, at first because a small quiet Honda generator cost about half what a suitable solar array cost back then, and given the effects of weather and shade the generator was much more dependable. Read trough some of those posts and you’ll get a good introduction. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit with Wanderer at Amazon.com. I replaced it with a Honda 3000i for a while, but that heavy thing wasn’t nearly as portable. Check out Technomadias blog for real world experience. Get it from Amazon here: 10 Gauge SAE Quick Connector. That way I don’t have to move the trailer for weeks on end once I get situated. Also it would pretty well nullify any chance the panels would be shaded by other things on the roof top. From experimenting over time in my driveway, I figure on average a real output of about 20 Ah from each unit per day on partly cloudy days. Solar Adaptor Kit, one 8ft. The two panels come down and connect to the extension cord. Bob. The units came with quick release connections to a short end section with a couple of clamps for the battery posts. Ming yes, putting them in series doubles the voltage which only needs a wire half the size. Installation & Services Specials & Offers Local Ad ... Renogy New 400-Watt 12-Volt Mono Solar Premium Kit for Off-Grid Solar System (27) Model# PREMIUM400DR40 $ 892 76. But that means you have to have enough room on your roof for a third panel, which dandelion didn’t have, or she has to carry and store a third panel and take it in and out every time she drives. Renogy mainly sells 100 watt panels which helps keep their prices low. What post is it? If your budget is tight, then that will be the deciding factor and it makes the decisions for you. She wanted the extension cord to be easy to connect and disconnect and also be very strong and durable. I’d get a standard 110 volt, 10 gauge, heavy outdoor extension cord to run the power from the portable panels back to the van. First thing to do when you start the installation is to decide where you are going to mount the controller. Ming, the main thing is you have to have a MPPT controller to work with high voltage panels. I have a Trimetric battery monitor so I going to buy the Trimetric 30 amp PWM solar controller, it will communicate with my monitor to and coordinate the re-stuffing of my (two Trojan 105’s) I plan to put the controller inside the TT because I installed a waterproof box on the front wall of the TT for power, in case I ever needed it. Sorry. Follow our RV adventures! Description. For our 100-watt and 200-watt kits, we recommend a minimum 12-volt 100AH battery and a 12-volt 200AH battery for our 300-watt and 400-watt kits. 2. Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit with Wanderer, Newfoundland Fjord Boat Tour and Cow Head Rocks – Throwback Video Sept 2011, Green Point Campground, Gros Morne NP, NFLD – Throwback Video Sept 2011, Installing LED Porch Light + Important Update on Awning Switch Mod, LCI Solera Awning Light Install + Extra Power Switch Mod, Exploring Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia – Throwback Video August 2011, Big Suspension Upgrades – Installing LCI Road Armor EQ, Wet Bolts, Bushings & Shackles, PEI – Beagles Love Red Sand Beaches! They are nearly certain to get full every day. I guess what I’m trying to say is. Must’ve been something to see, if you could afford to look up. The guy with the four panels in series had a drop in charging amperage that was very dramatic, almost to the point of having none! What are the very front of the main thing is you have to use the extension cord vent! 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