Operation of factory installed solar system

[kengqiuist]

Just changed the Jaboni setting to Lithium and flicked the inverter switch on. Refer lights up and TV goes up. Just a cursory look since I have some warranty paperwork to fill out and have to re-check the LiFePO4 installs the dealer did as a courtesy.

I'm working through a lot of questions with our new Solitude and the factory 300 watt panel. Your thread is actually helping me a lot as I get through this process.

Question: What could you power in the RV with the lead acid batteries hooked to solar? Were you able to use any lights? And if so what could you also power while the lights were on? We have a residential fridge also. Right now we can power the fridge, TV and outlets simultaneously. But no lights.

Question: After replacing batteries with lithium did any of the above change? Could you power more appliances, lights, etc. We have two BB batteries arriving two days and curious what we can expect.

Thanks,
Kim

[ajg617]

Question: What could you power in the RV with the lead acid batteries hooked to solar? Were you able to use any lights? And if so what could you also power while the lights were on? We have a residential fridge also. Right now we can power the fridge, TV and outlets simultaneously. But no lights.

Question: After replacing batteries with lithium did any of the above change? Could you power more appliances, lights, etc. We have two BB batteries arriving two days and curious what we can expect.

Thanks,
Kim

We never had lead acids in it - dealer 'installed' the lithiums I ordered and provided them. But what you can power shouldn't change with a battery swap - you will just be able to draw down the lithiums lower so things should run longer. We brought it home with the lithiums in it - all 12V items worked and with the inverter on, residential fridge, TV, 110V outlets, and curiously the central vac worked. I didn't stress the draw on the batteries. There should be a chart in your manual that shows amps drawn for each device. LEDs are pretty low draw but everything adds up.

It's really a math game - capacity of your batteries vs. how many amps total you draw per hour which will vary depending upon what you turn on - either 110V through the inverter or straight 12V. We'll be dry camping a few nights out to Dakota so we'll get a feel for usage then. The Victron shunt with Bluetooth will allow me to see just how much I'm pulling and what I have left.

[kengqiuist]

We never had lead acids in it - dealer 'installed' the lithiums I ordered and provided them. But what you can power shouldn't change with a battery swap - you will just be able to draw down the lithiums lower so things should run longer. We brought it home with the lithiums in it - all 12V items worked and with the inverter on, residential fridge, TV, 110V outlets, and curiously the central vac worked. I didn't stress the draw on the batteries. There should be a chart in your manual that shows amps drawn for each device. LEDs are pretty low draw but everything adds up.

It's really a math game - capacity of your batteries vs. how many amps total you draw per hour which will vary depending upon what you turn on - either 110V through the inverter or straight 12V. We'll be dry camping a few nights out to Dakota so we'll get a feel for usage then. The Victron shunt with Bluetooth will allow me to see just how much I'm pulling and what I have left.

thank you so much. that answered a lot of what I've been trying to figure out.

[rad21385]

I'm working through a lot of questions with our new Solitude and the factory 300 watt panel. Your thread is actually helping me a lot as I get through this process.

Question: What could you power in the RV with the lead acid batteries hooked to solar? Were you able to use any lights? And if so what could you also power while the lights were on? We have a residential fridge also. Right now we can power the fridge, TV and outlets simultaneously. But no lights.

Question: After replacing batteries with lithium did any of the above change? Could you power more appliances, lights, etc. We have two BB batteries arriving two days and curious what we can expect.

Thanks,
Kim

We have two 6 volt lead acid batteries and have no plans at this time to upgrade to lithium ion. The cost for 2 of those plus a new converter (I've been told that the installed converter is not lithium compatible, meaning it won't charge the lithium batteries properly when on shore power) is too much for us.

There is a separate breaker box (ours is located in our pantry) for the items on the inverter. This box has three 15 amp breakers, one for the fridge, one for the GFCI outlets, and one labeled 'General'. We have the gas/electric fridge but when the inverter is turned on it switches to electric if we have it in the 'auto' position. I didn't check every outlet but the ones I did check worked. The 12 volt items in your unit should work regardless of whether the inverter is on or not. This includes all lights, the slides, the jacks, water pump, tank heaters, furnace, Fantastic Fans, CO2/propane sensor, antenna power switch, etc. If these aren't working, you could have bad batteries or they could be disconnected (check battery disconnect switch).

Curiously, our main TV and the TV lift are powered through the 12 volt system so those work either way as well!

Hope this helps,
Rick

[Twigsnberries]

I know this thread is a year old to the day..LOL, but I was hoping someone could help me. I have the upgraded solar setup from the factory as well in my SOlitude 380. If I cut the power to the rig I get nothing at the fridge or gfci outlets. I made sure the inverter was on in the pass thru. Is there something else I am missing?? Is there another power button on the inverter itself? Is there a lag time for the transfer switch to kick in? ANy help would be appreciated.

[Fsalmy]

I know this thread is a year old to the day..LOL, but I was hoping someone could help me. I have the upgraded solar setup from the factory as well in my SOlitude 380. If I cut the power to the rig I get nothing at the fridge or gfci outlets. I made sure the inverter was on in the pass thru. Is there something else I am missing?? Is there another power button on the inverter itself? Is there a lag time for the transfer switch to kick in? ANy help would be appreciated.

There is an additional GFCI outlet on the inverter itself. Make sure it is not tripped.

[ajg617]

There is an additional GFCI outlet on the inverter itself. Make sure it is not tripped.

Yep. That one tripped on mine, why I don't know, but it shut everything down even though the inverter was on.