February 4th was Solar Power install day.  I'm not going to go into all the technical aspects of how big of a solar panel should be installed because basically it is buy as large as you can afford!  One point to keep in mind is that you need a 12v panel and a lot of larger panels are 24 or even 48 volt panels.  I'm not saying they CAN NOT be used but a 12 volt panel is much easier to hookup to my RV which is already designed to run on 12 volt.

So how did I install my panel? 

First step is to decide where to mount your panel.  For the size panel that I purchased I really only had one spot on my roof to install it.  I elected to use the "Z" mounting bracket over the adjustable bracket so my panel will lay flat with only a inch or so air space under the panel.  At some point when I have the ability to modify this a bit I will add a inch or two to the rear mount to give it a slight angle, not to provide a better sun angle but to first when it rains it will help keep the glass clean and not pool up and leave mud spots.

When screwing the panels down waterproofing is a two step process.   First using a ball of mastic sealer under the mounting bracket wherever a screw will penetrate the roof membrane.  Using the mastic sealer  will drawn into and around the screw.  Then using some Dicor caulk over the screw.  Using Dicor calk designed for rubber roofs will preserve your rubber roofing guarantee.  Do not use silicone!

 

Step two is how to get the wiring into the RV.  It is best to do this without drilling any holes by directing them down the refrigerator cooling shaft or another way is to drop them alongside a vent pipe but not only do I think the refrigerator shaft is not only a better path but in my case more convenient.  Under my refrigerator is a perfect mounting location for the solar controller and next to that is my power panel.

The rain cover to the refrigerator shaft is held on by four screws.  Once removed you should have some screening to keep bees and other varmints from making their home inside the shaft.  I made a hole in this screen just big enough to drop two 10 gauge wires down and under the refrigerator.

Step three is to mount my solar controller.  I selected a 30 amp controller which is large enough to add another panel or two in the future and also provides me a digital readout telling me the State of Charge, Battery voltage and the PV Current.  To hook up the controller you mount the positive wire to the back of the panel marked solar and the negative to the negative.  The other connection is to connect the positive wire from the controller to the positive connection on the fuse panel and the negative to the negative.  You can also lead this directly to the battery but doing it this way not only saves quite a bit of wire but you also do not need a catastrophe fuse because there should already be installed.

 

 

 

 

Step four and the last step is to secure the wires from the PV panel to the roof of the RV.  Use wire clamps  to screw down about every three feet using mastic sealer under the clamp when screwing it down to the roof and then using some more Dicor caulk to cover the screw.   Re-install the cap on top of the refrigerator.

DONE!

At the time of this writing my PV panel has been installed for one week now and has been working perfectly.  I still need to start my generator to use the coffee maker not much for much else.

A problem with a flat mount is that if you park in the shade there will not be much power produced from your solar collector.  Eventually I would like to have a second panel that I can deploy in such a circumstance or to provide more power when needed.  To accomplish this I will use some 10 gauge wire from the solar side of the controller to a convenient location outside and install a 20 amp rated female plug.  The solar panel will use a heavy duty 10 gauge extension cord hard wired on the solar panel side and another 20 amp rated male plug.  All that has to be done now is to deploy the panel to a sunny location and plug it in, well that is after I purchase that second panel that is.