Solar install on 2015 Cyclone 3110

Brought my 3110 home yesterday and did not waste any time today I installed the solar package. I had solar on my previous toy hauler so had become accustomed to the advantage of hardly ever needing to run the generator (and no dead battery when I do need to start the generator!). We do a lot of primitive camping in the desert and mountains out here so I now consider solar essential to keep the batteries charged. Many thanks to all those who posted details on their installs, and responded to my questions, you gave me enough information to be confident taking on this project myself. The part that had me worried was routing the cables, the vent worked perfectly. I am glad I did this myself. Before I picked up the trailer I had dealer install a 2nd battery. Last week I purchased Renogy 300W package with MPPT controller, and 2 additional 10' cable extensions. Panels are wired in series to produce about 65V DC.
http://www.renogy-store.com/300W-Premium-Kit-p/kit-premium300d.htm
http://www.renogy-store.com/Renogy-10Ft-10AWG-Extension-Solar-Cable-p/extcb-10ft-10.htm
I mounted the 3 panels up front using Eternabond squares under the brackets and strips to hold the cables in place. Routed the cables down through the black tank vent. Notched the vent flange up top, and drilled a 3/4" hole in the pipe down below. For now I used Eternabond tape to seal it up but a more permanent install (as someone else suggested) would be to install a T and drill some holes on the cap for the wires. But I think this will be fine. Eventually I plan to locate the remote meter in the indoor control panel next to generator display, but for now I left it in the battery compartment. I took the panel photos before I sealed up the screws with Dicor. Note how I overlapped the brackets for the center panel. I used #12 1" sheet metal screws to attach to the roof, not the ones that came with the brackets.

Looks good!!!!!!

Thanks for the pics. Still want to do this so I have some info on what works.

Very similar to my 200 watt installation. I ran the wires beside the vent pipe. There was room between the pipe and the roof cap. The meter works great and very informative.

That is awesome Bobca1, great information and make me want to install on mine now.

I'm thinking about doing the same thing though I need to figure out what wattage I want. Got a 2015 Bighorn with LP generator and we are use to no hook ups so my concern is just keeping those batteries charged. I hate the thought of drilling into a brand new roof but it is what it is.

It is probably cheaper to get stick on panels, and not drill.

Redrider007 said:

I'm thinking about doing the same thing though I need to figure out what wattage I want. Got a 2015 Bighorn with LP generator and we are use to no hook ups so my concern is just keeping those batteries charged. I hate the thought of drilling into a brand new roof but it is what it is.

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I could be wrong but I think the semi flexible stick on panels are more costly. Cost was not main reason I chose the rigid panels though, I figured it was better tradeoff to drill some holes and mount the panels that way, in case I need to remove them in the future due to malfunction or damage. If panels are stuck to the roof that is permanent install.

Jim.Allison said:

It is probably cheaper to get stick on panels, and not drill.

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Update after having the panels on for a week now. System is charging but unfortunately my new storage location is shaded by trees most of the day and not facing directly south, so solar is not going to keep the batteries topped off while in storage. At least not in the winter... when the sun moves more overhead in couple months expect then i'll get much better performance.
Was out this weekend @ hungry valley and I was getting ~10amps during mid day. Not facing south so figure that wasn't too bad for winter. Will provide another update in couple months after I have some more days out and sun gets little higher, in case you are wondering is 300W enough? (I still am too).

You may be correct, but I'm hoping that hail gets my roof and my panels, then it's an insurance problem. But if my roof goes bad, I will cut the roof section out with the panels and then re glue them. It hard to get less than $1 per watt. and that is what I paid.

I see that you have 3 panels, are they in series or parallel, and your 10 amp reading comes from where, the charger or the panels. What are you getting in the shade?

bobca1 said:

Update after having the panels on for a week now. System is charging but unfortunately my new storage location is shaded by trees most of the day and not facing directly south, so solar is not going to keep the batteries topped off while in storage. At least not in the winter... when the sun moves more overhead in couple months expect then i'll get much better performance.
Was out this weekend @ hungry valley and I was getting ~10amps during mid day. Not facing south so figure that wasn't too bad for winter. Will provide another update in couple months after I have some more days out and sun gets little higher, in case you are wondering is 300W enough? (I still am too).

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Jim.Allison said:

You may be correct, but I'm hoping that hail gets my roof and my panels, then it's an insurance problem. But if my roof goes bad, I will cut the roof section out with the panels and then re glue them. It hard to get less than $1 per watt. and that is what I paid.

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Yours are less! Mine come out to $1.50 per watt.

My 3 panels are wired in series, and the 10 amp is what the meter says is going to the batteries (from the charger). Specs on the panel say each should provide 5.29 amp (optimum current) @ 18.9 V. Not sure what it gets during the day in storage since I'm typically at work may check this weekend.

Sorry, I lost track of the thread, yes your charge is 10 amps but that is where it is on the charging curve, it has nothing to do with the ultimate output. Just doing a little math, when you batts need to be charged, the bulk charge will kick in you charger will charge at lets say for example 15v and 30 amps, after bulk charging the amps and volts will taper off. Without going into a lot of detail, it works like this, you have 3 panel that put out 24v (nominal) at about 5.6 amps. Because you have them in series you have 24v X 3 panels for 72 volts, since they are in series the amps stay the same. now convert to watts, 72v X 5.6 amps = 403 watts. your charger receives the watts and converts to volts and amps needed to charge your batteries. So lets say that you are charging from 12.1 v, your charger will charge at about 14.8 v, so 403 watts / 14.8 v = 22.2 amps. When you are reading 10 amps you are reading the amount of amps that the charger has determined that your battery needs at that moment. IMHO.

bobca1 said:

Yours are less! Mine come out to $1.50 per watt.

My 3 panels are wired in series, and the 10 amp is what the meter says is going to the batteries (from the charger). Specs on the panel say each should provide 5.29 amp (optimum current) @ 18.9 V. Not sure what it gets during the day in storage since I'm typically at work may check this weekend.

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Ok, so theoretically 22 amps ideal conditions, I think I recall seeing the controller is about 80% efficient, should see about 20 amps then this summer.
10 amps I am getting seems pretty decent this time of the year, when the sun is up higher in sky in few months I'll report back on what amps I'm seeing, and how long it takes to top off the batteries after running though the night on 12V.
It does seem the remote meter that connects to this controller is not so accurate when measuring state of the batteries. Right after dark with hardly any drain meter shows ~50% charge but if check battery state via the lights inside on control panel says 100%. So i thought it wasn't charging well while in storage but in fact it might just be the meter giving false reading.

Jim.Allison said:

Sorry, I lost track of the thread, yes your charge is 10 amps but that is where it is on the charging curve, it has nothing to do with the ultimate output. Just doing a little math, when you batts need to be charged, the bulk charge will kick in you charger will charge at lets say for example 15v and 30 amps, after bulk charging the amps and volts will taper off. Without going into a lot of detail, it works like this, you have 3 panel that put out 24v (nominal) at about 5.6 amps. Because you have them in series you have 24v X 3 panels for 72 volts, since they are in series the amps stay the same. now convert to watts, 72v X 5.6 amps = 403 watts. your charger receives the watts and converts to volts and amps needed to charge your batteries. So lets say that you are charging from 12.1 v, your charger will charge at about 14.8 v, so 403 watts / 14.8 v = 22.2 amps. When you are reading 10 amps you are reading the amount of amps that the charger has determined that your battery needs at that moment. IMHO.

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My Xantrex inverter digital display, and the Tristar digital display, display state of charge, both have a temp sensor, (BTW if you don't have a temp sensor get one). But my Bogart-Trimetric tells the story about my batts, I cannot see how someone can know how much energy they have on board at any given time without a trimetric. There are several, but I chose the Bogart Engineering Trimetric.

Bobca1,

Ok, if someone knew what they were doing, and they had all supplies and equipment, how long would it take to install the system you had?

Thanks that's a pretty impressive monitoring unit! I should be OK after a few more trips and have more experience with how much battery is typically used at night and how long it takes to charge the next day.

Jim.Allison said:

My Xantrex inverter digital display, and the Tristar digital display, display state of charge, both have a temp sensor, (BTW if you don't have a temp sensor get one). But my Bogart-Trimetric tells the story about my batts, I cannot see how someone can know how much energy they have on board at any given time without a trimetric. There are several, but I chose the Bogart Engineering Trimetric.

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Took me about 4 hours to do the install. That does not include locating the remote meter in the inside console. I just attached it to the battery box for now.
I would say if I was doing the same install again it would be more like 3 hours, now that I know where to run the wires, screw down the panels, etc.

ILH said:

Bobca1,

Ok, if someone knew what they were doing, and they had all supplies and equipment, how long would it take to install the system you had?

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When you screwed in the panel brackets, did you try to hit the roof trusses, or just screw into the 1/2" plywood?