20 replies to this topic

[ckent323]

I am adding solar to our 2007 FWC Keystone.

 

Our camper has the IOTA DLS-30  Power Converter/Battery Charger with optional IQ-4 Smart Charge Controller for the DLS as well as the IOTA IDP-30 120VAC/12DC Distribution Panel.

 

Last year I purchased two Grape Solar 100W solar panels for addition to the camper.

 

After reading the details of Vic Harder’s, ESUS’ (as well as others) solar panel installations I arrived at the following decisions:

 

1) The camper was pre-wired for solar but the wires were not connected to anything on either end and simply coiled up in the roof with the other end coiled up near the water pump. I obtained the location of the wires from FWC (thanks Terry Budd for responding to my several emails in a timely and very helpful manner). 

 

2) My calculated daily power consumption is around 50 Ah (+/- 5 or 6 Ah)

 

3) Initially I will only have the two 100W, 5.41A panels connected in parallel

 

4) I have replaced the 8 year old 6v deep cycle flooded lead acid (FLA) house batteries connected in series with Lifeline GPL-4CT 6v 220 Ah AGM batteries connected in series.

 

5)  I have selected the Victron 75/15 solar charge controller along with the Victron BVM-702 battery monitor with optional temperature sensor to monitor the batteries.

 

6) I will connect the battery monitor to measure the midpoint current of the two batteries with the current shunt that comes with the battery monitor.

 

7) I want to be able to disconnect either or both batteries from the solar charge controller so I also have a Blue Sea m-series battery selector

 

8) I will be using a Go Power GP-CEP-1 Cable Entry Plate With Red & Black 7" MC4 Cables ending in bare wires

 

9) A 4"x4" plastic junction box will be used above the headliner and the Cable Entry plate will be screwed through the roof into it and then the entire perimeter of the cable entry plate as well as the screws sealed with 3M 4200 marine sealant.

 

10) I will leave an option for adding additional solar panel(s) as required (along with another charge controller or perhaps a larger replacement charge controller switched through another blue sea battery selector).  I purchased a Zamp roof/sidewall SAE plug to put in the floor pack sidewall so I can make any additional panels “deplyoble”.

 

11) I do not presently plan to connect the camper to my truck, however, should I decide or need to do that I will likely use a Blue Sea Automatic Charge Relay and large gauge wires.  This is not presently in my plan so no additional details have been worked out.

 

12) The panels will be mounted to 1”x1-1/2” rectangular Aluminum tubing.  The tubing will be attached directly to the factory installed Yakima racks on our camper. 

 

13) The front panel will be mounted immediately aft of the forward un-powered vent where it will cover the roof mounted GO Power entry gland.  The rear panel will either be mounted in front of the rear fantastic fan or between the fantastic fan and the rear edge of the camper.  (there is room to place the front panel in front of the front vent but I worry about it being exposed to tree branches and etc while travelling off-pavement before my brain kicks in to pay attention).

 

14) The camper has internal front and rear lift assist struts and we also have a crank up speaker stand (occasionally we carry our kayaks on top) so I am not worried about the extra 45 pounds on the roof.  Each panel weighs 22 or so pounds.

 

15) A Blue Sea 2314 MiniBus 5 x #8-32, 2 x #10-32 Common Bus Bar with Cover is used for connecting grounds.

 

Edit 1:  I accidentally left  the Victron bluetooth dongle off the list:

 

16) I bought the Victron VE.Direct bluetooth dongle so I can access the battery data from my cell phone via the Victron ap.

 

 

I made up a wiring diagram in powerpoint and saved it as a pdf file (attached). 

 

Edit 2: I need to correct the wiring diagram to show the proper grounding (see the following comment #2 from Rando).  I still need to decide if I want temperature or mid-point monitoring.  I will likely go with Rando's suggestion in comment #4 but need to think about it and read a bit more on this choice first.

 

 

Edit 3:  I tried to attach an updated wiring diagram for temperature monitoring instead of mid-point monitoring.  I also added a switch for future connection of a suitcase type deployable panel having its own charge controller. - but the combination now exceeds the 500k file limit so the updated diagram didn't upload. 

 

Is there a way to paste images into replies?  I have not figured out how to do that.  I could add the new pdf or jpeg to a reply if that is possible (I do not have any cloud or online image accounts)..

 

I am not certain I have the wiring diagram correct so I would appreciate any informed comments.

 

 

Regards,

 

Craig

Attached Files

•  Charge Controller wiring Diagram for 2008 Keystone.pdf   324.01K   212 downloads

Edited by ckent323, 21 July 2017 - 09:42 AM.

[rando]

Quick comments - what is the purpose of the battery disconnect switch?  It seems like in one position you have a 12v system and in the other position you have a 6V system (not generally desirable!). 

 

Also the victron shunt needs to be connected directly to the battery negative (before your ground bus). 

 

Finally I think the BMV702 is either temperature or mid point monitoring, not temp ad mid point monitoring.

Edited by rando, 21 July 2017 - 05:01 AM.

[ckent323]

rando,

 

Thanks for your comments.  

 

Good point. I do want to be able to isolate the panels (trouble shooting, future mods, etc) but probably no need to isolate one battery separately from the other. 

 

Thanks for catching the battery ground wiring.

 

I thought he Victron BVM-702 would do both mid-point and temp. It seems that it is actually one or the another as you wrote.  I will look into if there is a way to switch between the two. If there is no way to switch between the two then I will consider adding a VIctron 700 as well.

 

Regards,

Craig

[rando]

I wouldn't add a second BMV-700 just to get mid-point voltage (that would be major overkill), you could just add a volt meter across just one battery.   But if you are replacing both batteries together with new, well matched, 6V cells, I wouldn't worry about mid point voltage.   You could check manually with a multimeter once or twice a year to help you sleep better.   I also didn't bother with a solar panel disconnect.  If I ever need to disconnect them (which I haven't in a year) it is about 10 second with my screw driver.  

 

One other thing you may want to add to your list is one or two of the Victron bluetooth dongles - if you like data, the Victron connect app is super cool! 

[ckent323]

I tried to add an updated wiring diagram to a reply but cannot figure out how to do that.

 

Is there a way to attach or paste images into replies? I could add the new pdf or jpeg to a reply if that is possible (I do not have any cloud or online image accounts).

 

Help would be appreciated here.

 

Regards,

Craig
 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I tried to add an updated wiring diagram to a reply but cannot figure out how to do that.

Is there a way to attach or paste images into replies? I could add the new pdf or jpeg to a reply if that is possible (I do not have any cloud or online image accounts).

Help would be appreciated here.

Regards,
Craig

Craig, you can add directly. Click on the full editor and select "Choose File".

http://www.wanderthe...ts-and-gallery/

[Esus]

I tried to add an updated wiring diagram to a reply but cannot figure out how to do that.

 

Is there a way to attach or paste images into replies? I could add the new pdf or jpeg to a reply if that is possible (I do not have any cloud or online image accounts).

 

Help would be appreciated here.

 

Regards,

Craig
 

 

If you upload a pic to your gallery and then grab the link for that pic you can add it to any response/comment, full sized by clicking the picture button and pasting the link there. More details and step by step directions here

 

Looks like you've done a lot of research and are ready to go. Nice setup!

 

I second the comment regarding no need for a panel disconnect. I have had to disconnect mine in order to fix a wiring issue and like Rando mentioned, it took less than a minute. 

[ckent323]

Wandering Sagebrush and ESUS,

 

Thanks for the information on posting images to replies.

 

 I found an error in my revised wiring diagram so I will fix that and then post it.

 

Regards,

Craig

[ckent323]

Here is the modified wiring diagram.  

 

I am now wondering if I really need the ground bus bar and grounding tie to the camper since the battery negative connects to the IDP-30 distribution panel under the cabinets.  I assume (but have not verified) that the IDP-30 is grounded to the camper frame.

 

Perhaps the added ground is redundant but it may be easier than trying to dig into the IDP-30 connections on the back of that pabnel (there is a large bundle of wires back there all nicely wire tied together).

 

Is there any issue with creating a ground loop in a 12v system like this if I add the bus bar?

 

 

Craig

 

 

[rando]

Better, but there are still some issues with your diagram.  The Victron shunt needs to be the ONLY thing attached to your battery negative terminal, everything else then connects to the other end of the shunt - otherwise it can't measure the total current flow into and out of the battery bank.   

 

I also don't think you want the battery selector switch in your circuit.   The way it is configured now you could only connect you roof top solar OR your deployable solar to the battery bank, not both, which is what you would normally want.   I would remove that entirely as it  doesn't really serve a purpose.