Folding solar panel connection to van

[markc84]

Hi all,
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything specific to my requirements. I am looking at getting a Lithium battery installed under the passenger seat of my T6.1 and installing a DC-DC charger whilst also supplementing this with solar. At present I do not have roof solar panels but these are something I may invest in once/if a pop top is installed. I do, however, have a 150w briefcase panel which I've used for a portable Lithium setup for a number of years but I would like to repurpose this for my recently aquired van.

I have been looking at different options and the Renogy DCC50S seems to achieve everything I want. The question is, alongside the DC-DC charging cable to be installed, would it be feasible to run a cable from the DCC50S to the engine bay, with perhaps a 50a Anderson plug to connect the briefcase panels and controller together? This (in theory!) would allow my panels to connect directly under the bonnet cleanly and securely.

My idea is that eventually the briefcase panels could supplement roof panels, both feeding in to the DCC50S in parallel for extra capacity once parked up on a site. Has anyone done this? If so, was it a pain to carry out or was it relatively straight forward?

Thanks!

 

[Dellmassive]

Yes you can do that.

If your using the DC 50s as the solar mppt controller.... Then run 6mm cable up to the engine bay and fit mc4 connectors. ( Getting them the correct way around)

Then you can connect any panel or mc4 extension lead to the van. And have mobile panels.

 

[Dellmassive]

More info ....

[Guide] Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It -

Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It - There is loads of background to this . . . . . but for now here is a vid for you all. =] Just remember W = V*A and as a general rule a good 100W panel will give you up to 6A charge with good sun. 25w = 1.5A 50W = 3A 100w = 6A 200w = 12A 300w = 18A...

www.t6forum.com

.

 

[roadtripper]

My idea is that eventually the briefcase panels could supplement roof panels, both feeding in to the DCC50S in parallel for extra capacity once parked up on a site. Has anyone done this? If so, was it a pain to carry out or was it relatively straight forward?

Thanks!

Keep in mind that there will only be a single MPPT controller in this case so unless the panels are well matched (it's usually advised to have identical panels when doing this) you will likely find the performance of the whole array is dependent on the performance of the weakest panel. Solar panels are not passive devices, the MPPT controller is constantly varying the current/voltage to find the best point of generation and with 2 very different panels it will struggle to do that well.

For the extra ~£50 it's a much better idea to fit a Victron MPPT to have a second controller - and then both sets of panels will have independent tracking and work at their best.

 

[markc84]

More info ....

[Guide] Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It -

Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It - There is loads of background to this . . . . . but for now here is a vid for you all. =] Just remember W = V*A and as a general rule a good 100W panel will give you up to 6A charge with good sun. 25w = 1.5A 50W = 3A 100w = 6A 200w = 12A 300w = 18A...

www.t6forum.com

.

Thanks for this @Dellmassive ! I shall take a look. Are the mc4 connectors easy to connect/disconnect? I would have to add these connectors to the end of a newly installed PV cable as prior to this the wires were directly soldered to the preinstalled controller beforehand and they're super short.

Glad to hear this setup is possible and adds some level of flexibility to my setup.

Keep in mind that there will only be a single MPPT controller in this case so unless the panels are well matched (it's usually advised to have identical panels when doing this) you will likely find the performance of the whole array is dependent on the performance of the weakest panel. Solar panels are not passive devices, the MPPT controller is constantly varying the current/voltage to find the best point of generation and with 2 very different panels it will struggle to do that well.

For the extra ~£50 it's a much better idea to fit a Victron MPPT to have a second controller - and then both sets of panels will have independent tracking and work at their best.

Thanks for the heads up @roadtripper , I honestly didn't think of this and didn't realise that having panels of differing vendors/capacity would be an issue! Learning a lot as I go along. Would having 2 separate MPPT controllers work fine with each other if connected to the same battery?

My 150w briefcase already includes a 10amp EPEver MPPT controller but it had been siliconed on to the back of the solar panels, wasn't really a fan of this as it was exposed to the elements. With much swearing and effort, I've managed to remove it and desoldered it from the PV cables, so it has been released from captivity! My intention will be to have the untouched PV cabling run straight in to the engine bay. With this in mind I guess I could reuse the Epever controller alongside the Renogy under the drivers seat once I installed a roof mounted panel? I guess this would work?

 

[Dellmassive]

you don't have to use MC4`s

i use Anderson SB50`s for power connections, and MC4`s for solar connection. . .

that way they are "keyed" and can never be incorrectly plugged in.

MC4s are a very good waterproof connection, . . but can be tricky to undo, - thats why they sell a TOOL to help unclip them.

But the AUZ guys love SB50s and use them fior everything - including for solar panels.

but you can get different colours that are keyed differently, to stop being miss-plugged.

ie one for power & different one for PV.



eg - Anderson Powerpole - Wikipedia





more info:

[Guide] Solar Cables? . . . - How I Did It -

[Guide] Solar Cables? . . . - How I Did It - its time for another guide . . . This time on solar cables. we use these cables for permanent install and for mobile installs. lets start with the Solar PV MC4-MC4 cable. Solar PV cable is not actually standard cable . . . its more specialised...

www.t6forum.com

and the rest.
+++++++++++


SOLAR:

• Solar Pwm & Mppt Controllers - How I Done It -
• Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It -
• What Solar Panel & Controller? - How We Done It -
• Solar Panel Cutting Hole In Roof !!! - How We Done It -
• 300w Plus Solar Club -- How I Done It --
• Solar Sheds & Other Non-t6 Solar Projects - How We Done It -
• [Guide] Solar Cables? . . . - How I Did It -

My Panels:

• [Guide] Solar Cables? . . . - How I Did It -
• 50w 12v socket Dash Fold panel
• 50W Bluefusion Fold panel
• 200W Lensun Fold panel
• 110w Lensun Flex panel + Mag tape
• 100w Renogy Eclipse fold panel
• 160w PhotUnis Flex rear gland panel
• 100w Renogy suitcase
• 120w Bluefusion fold panel
• 200w Lensun flex panel
• 200w Renogy suitcase panel
• 100w Renogy suitcase 2021 vsn
• 150w PU flex rear gland panel
• 160w Renogy flex rear gland panel
• 200w Renogy suitcase Kit - V2
• 150W Lensun Black Flex Panel
• 400w EcoFlow Rigid Panels - 38v
• 405w LONGI Rigid Panels - 38v

 

[roadtripper]

With this in mind I guess I could reuse the Epever controller alongside the Renogy under the drivers seat once I installed a roof mounted panel? I guess this would work?

Generally any chargers will coexist charging a battery - there will be minor interactions as they use voltage levels to pick which charge stage to be in but overall those will be tiny compared to the benefit.

Sounds like your ideal path is to bring the solar feed cables out into the engine bay for now and feed the Renogy from the portable panel. If/When you move to a roof panel I'd connect that directly to the Renogy and move the engine bay feed to your spare MPPT controller so you can continue to use the portable panels as "top up"

As a side benefit this would give you some level of backup if the Renogy solar side ever failed.