166 replies to this topic

[Esus]

Esus

 

The IRS says on page 4 of

 

http://www.irs.gov/p...rs-pdf/p936.pdf    

 

"For you to take a home mortgage interest deduction, your debt must be secured by a qualified home. This means your main home or your second home. A home includes a house, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, house trailer, boat, or similar property that has sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities. The interest you pay on a mortgage on a home other than your main or second home may be deductible if the proceeds of the loan were used for business, investment, or other deductible purposes. Otherwise, it is considered personal interest and is not deductible. Main home. You can have only one main home at any one time. This is the home where you ordinarily live most of the time. Second home. A second home is a home that you choose to treat as your second home. Second home not rented out. If you have a second home that you do not hold out for rent or resale to others at any time during the year, you can treat it as a qualified home. You do not have to use the home during the year."

 

Here's an explanation of the solar ITC

 

http://www.seia.org/...ment-tax-credit

 

I'm not an accountant.  You should check with your tax preparer to see if they think your camper qualifies.  If so, taking 30% of the installed solar system cost off your income taxes looks like a pretty good deal.

 

Scud,

 

Thanks a bunch. That is awesome and I don't think it would have occurred to me unless Turbo Tax specifically asked. I don't think "do you have a camper with solar on it" is in their programming yet! 

 

Thanks again,

E

[VanGoOutdoors]

Tacoma by Grant Wilson, on Flickr

 

 

3 100w renogy panels, Victron 100/30 controller adn bv-702 monitor

[michgoblue]

The shipping box was just a tiny bit larger than the panels.  I sold the camper that I installed 3 on, but installed 2 on my current camper.  Pretty sure they are 52" x 23" x 1/8th" but will measure when I get home if you need more precision.

 

The first three panels I attached directly to the roof using Eternabond and it held pretty well.  The new camper has Yakima tracks so I built a rack out of angle aluminum and flat aluminum to mount them in and bolted that to the Yakima tracks.

 

I guess I forgot to take the measurements then . . .

 

Anyway the panels were 51.5" x 21" x 1/8th". I had purchased 2 originally but had room for a 3rd if needed.  Saw them on sale for $139 so bought one more.  Even though the new one is the same spec and part number as the old, it is actually 5 inches shorter, and has one less row of cells.  So it may be that they are a little more efficient now?  I guess I will know after I get it hooked up.

 

I installed with aluminum angle and flat brackets on my Yakima racks.  Because the last one is shorter, I have to add a cross support from the flat aluminum on the edge of the middle panel running to the flat aluminum running under the outside edge of the new panel, since the front would not meet up with the angle aluminum that the other two were resting on.

 

I have had these panels mounted for 6 months and several thousand miles so far with no issue, so it seems like a fairly sturdy way to do it, while also making it really easy to remove and work on.

[michgoblue]

Finished installing my third 120W panel yesterday. Camper is off the truck in the garage so might not have a chance to test it for a while, but in the indirect sunlight coming in from the open door it appears to be functioning well, and did increase the voltage coming in.

 

I decided to add the 3rd panel, in parallel, because we often have cloudy days here in the Pacific Northwest, and even during sunny days we tend to have a lot of trees that partially obscure the sun.  I have a VMAX 155aH Solar Tank AGM and noticed that with 240W under our cloudy conditions it would not quite get topped off, so figured I might as well toss on another panel.  I may end up having to make a portable though to deal with camping in or near trees if I don't get enough from the 3 panels.

[craig333]

I shut down my fridge for the season. Since then I haven't seen it drop below 100% soc even on cloudy days. 

[PaulT]

Angry Bob Solar has a new article on his web site that piqued my interest re the higher charging voltages being recommended now.
https://handybobsola...e-voltage-down/

Interesting read. I'm sure more will follow.

Paul

[Vic Harder]

Angry Bob Solar has a new article on his web site that piqued my interest re the higher charging voltages being recommended now.
https://handybobsola...e-voltage-down/

Interesting read. I'm sure more will follow.

Paul

 

Interesting.  He is now recommending a max of 14.4V for AGM batteries in the absorb phase.  ROLLS/Surrette (which is what I am using) recommends 14.7   I might just be turning that down...  

[craig333]

Gotta go out and check mine. Interesting reading. Don't undercharge, don't overcharge. I can see why some just say the heck with it and just replace cheap batteries every other year.

[Vic Harder]

And if I turn mine down to 14.4, will I void my warranty?  In his story, the manufacturer honored the warranty because he used their recommended (and now determined to be too high) voltage.  Hmmm.

[PaulT]

And if I turn mine down to 14.4, will I void my warranty?  In his story, the manufacturer honored the warranty because he used their recommended (and now determined to be too high) voltage.  Hmmm.

And would the manufacturer void your warranty if you used a Zamp that allows no modification of the charging profile other than selecting AGM, FLA, or Calcium?

Paul