Imagine 21BHE Solar Questions.

[marc32]

Hello all, so my wife and I purchased this new to us camper. It’s a 2019 model and came equipped with solar panels. We are not new to camping having upgraded from a pop up to better suit our growing family.

I’m having a bit of hard time identifying what we have here. I’m under the impression that this was an aftermarket install and please correct me if I’m wrong here. We have panels on the roof with wires running into the front storage bay. Wires run into a Victron Bluetooth dongle. From the dongle a set of wires lead out to the battery on tongue. We have a box that is on the tongue which I’m assuming it's for the solar. Being a complete noob here. I’m not sure what or how it’s charging. I understood from reading that the victron dongle needed to be attached to another device. Searched my trailer and not finding anything. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Soundsailor]

First off, welcome to the forum, glad to have you with us.

It looks like you have 2 100-watt panels. You also have a solar controller (I don't know much/anything about the RoHS brand). I'm just guessing that the Victron Bluetooth dongle is attached to a shunt for keeping track of battery charge. You also have an inverter which appears to power some items but I can't tell from your pictures. To say this is aftermarket would be generous. There's a lot of electrical tape in your pictures. You might want to get yourself a good multimeter, disassemble the system, and rewire including appropriate disconnects and fuses.

 

[marc32]

First off, welcome to the forum, glad to have you with us.

It looks like you have 2 100-watt panels. You also have a solar controller (I don't know much/anything about the RoHS brand). I'm just guessing that the Victron Bluetooth dongle is attached to a shunt for keeping track of battery charge. You also have an inverter which appears to power some items but I can't tell from your pictures. To say this is aftermarket would be generous. There's a lot of electrical tape in your pictures. You might want to get yourself a good multimeter, disassemble the system, and rewire including appropriate disconnects and fuses.

Thanks for the response and we are happy to be here.

Great you connfirmed my suspicions that this was a hack job at best. Planning on tracking down all the wires and hoping to add lithium batteries to the set up. Do you think its feasible to keep any of the existing equipment or am I better off starting from scratch. We are planning to boondock more often. Currently I'm measuring how much electrical usage we are using to determine what can be used on solar and batteries. At least determine how big of system I need to go. I know the AC is concern for us, and have an EasyStart to get installed. I'm thinking to run the AC, I would probably need to get a generator involved. Also would I be better off running a 24v system vs a 12v system? Just lots of information to get my head wrapped around.

 

[Soundsailor]

Planning on tracking down all the wires and hoping to add lithium batteries to the set up. Do you think its feasible to keep any of the existing equipment or am I better off starting from scratch.

As long as it is functioning OK, all of the current equipment could be reused (especially the Victron shunt and the inverter). Personally, I would want the wiring to be neater. And yes, LiFePo4 batteries would be a good upgrade. I'd suggest at least 200 Ah to start, more if you're off-grid for very long. Those two panels will help some, but 200 watts isn't much. I'm guessing you don't have the newer 12-volt frig, they need a lot of power (ours works great).

 

[Soundsailor]

Also would I be better off running a 24v system vs a 12v system? Just lots of information to get my head wrapped around.

Check out this thread: https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/sho...Design-and-Install-an-Affordable-Solar-System

 

[marc32]

As long as it is functioning OK, all of the current equipment could be reused (especially the Victron shunt and the inverter). Personally, I would want the wiring to be neater. And yes, LiFePo4 batteries would be a good upgrade. I'd suggest at least 200 Ah to start, more if you're off-grid for very long. Those two panels will help some, but 200 watts isn't much. I'm guessing you don't have the newer 12-volt frig, they need a lot of power (ours works great).

Yes fridge runs on propane and electric,

I did trace the wires back from the house battery to the inside front storage. As noted the wiring has a lot to be desired. The shunt was located on the tongue with a not so waterproof box. So how do I go about testing to see if the shunt is working? If it’s working planning on bringing it inside the compartment.

The other thing I noticed all the electrical wiring is in the same compartment to the water pex fittings. I would think I would need to reroute the wire to a different location?

So any suggestions on what to get for upgrading the system?
I was thinking lipepo batteries, victron components, more solar. My dilemma is figuring what to get of what.

Again thanks for help!