albertaborealis wrote:Hi Don
I hope to start my build on a 8.5x20 trailer that has been ordered. I will start my own thread as I get closer to that date. I have been following your posts, along with others, and gleaned a lot of useful information. I liked your solar and electrical set up. I hope to follow it fairly closely. I wonder, since the time you published your schematic, whether you had any thoughts about how you might have done things differently. I can imagine that with time and experience a person sees the possibility of improvements. Thanks again for publishing all the intriguing and valuable aspects of your build.
Richard
Thanks Richard. Glad to be of some help. On my electrical setup, would have done three things differently. First, I would have started out with the 4 Golf Car batteries instead of 3 12VDC batteries. The Golf Car batteries just seem so much more robust. Second, I would have started with a 2500W Pure Sine Wave Inverter instead of the 1500W. The 1500W works great, but when running the microwave (900W) and the fridge and television is on.. I feel like I am pushing it. With the larger inverter, I could also use it to run my Hot Water tank when sun is plentiful and save on propane without having to manage loads so much. Lastly (thirdly), I would have used larger 1/0 gage wires to the inverter and to couple the batteries. I used 4ga which is borderline. I ended up doubling up on 4 ga to make the 1/0 equivalent.
Aside, from those things, I am very pleased how it works and how nicely it boondocks with plenty of power and minimal use (2-3 hours/day ) of the generator when not in full sun.
I did publish a recent update to the schematic. I updated to the Victron Battery monitor (maybe that is #4. :-) ) and removed some of the other shunts I had in to monitor on cheaper voltmeters. The Victron is all you need along with the MPPT Controller.
I look forward to seeing your build.