Built in solar plug |
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JohnnyMac
Newbie Joined: 24 Mar 2023 Location: Bellingham WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 20 |
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Topic: Built in solar plug Posted: 04 Apr 2023 at 2:45pm |
Hi all,....I recently purchased a 2017 R-Pod 178 that has a built in solar plug near the outside rear of trailer. I have not got a clue how to use this. A few questions listed below.
1. Does the built in plug mean I also have a built in charge controller? 2. If answer to #1 is no, ...what type of charge controller do I need? 3. What kind of solar panels should I get? Portable,..or mounted on roof? 4. With the built in plug,....what kind of additional wiring must I do to utilize the system? 5. What kind of plug and wire do I need to use for this? Is is a universal type wire and plug, or something unique to the R-Pod?? As far as I know, it has never been used. Anything at all to get me set up with solar would be helpful. Right now I am set up with two 12v RV batteries mounted on outside front behind propane tank. Thanks! |
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JonnyMac
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EchoGale
Senior Member Joined: 10 Mar 2019 Location: FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 463 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Apr 2023 at 4:55pm |
Hi JohnnyMac,
When I first got my 172 I had the same battery setup as you. I bought the 100 watt renogy solar suitcase. It's is "plug and play" with it's own controller and fuse. I think you might be able to build your own for less money but that was beyond my skills at that point. Because I was new at all this it was great to be able to just attach it and it worked. I also like than it moves around so I can still charge if I am parked in the shade. The plug on the outside of the camper is apparently just wired to the battery and doesn't mean you have a controller. I found it much easier to just attach my panels directly to my battery. There is some discussion here on the forum about whether the zamp outlet is reversed in its polarity and I'm afraid I don't know much about that but you can find it my searching the forum.
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Julie
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gpokluda
Senior Member Joined: 11 Nov 2018 Location: NM Online Status: Offline Posts: 327 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Apr 2023 at 5:09pm |
Hi JonnyMac. Your Zamp solar plug is wired directly to your battery. Any portable solar kit you use will need to have it's own controller. When we had our Rpod, we skipped using the Zamp plug, which is reverse polarity, and wired a pigtail directly to the battery and connected the solar panel kit to that. Most kits come with either battery post clamps and/or a pigtail. We used a GoPower 130watt kit we found on Craigslist, but there are plenty of other options out there. If you used a pigtail, make sure it has a fuse installed.
Good luck
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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023) 2022 Escape 5.0TA 2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB Kawasaki KLR650 |
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JohnnyMac
Newbie Joined: 24 Mar 2023 Location: Bellingham WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 20 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Apr 2023 at 9:12pm |
Okay, I am more than dumb on this topic. If the Zamp plug is "reverse polarity",...what does that mean? I'm fine with getting a Solar "kit" (with built in controller, etc;) and attaching directly to battery, but what is the proper application of the Zamp plug? Thanks for your patience. J
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JonnyMac
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hank*pod
Groupie Joined: 06 Oct 2022 Location: PA Online Status: Offline Posts: 63 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 06 Apr 2023 at 8:01am |
No big deal, you can buy a component that connects the socket on the trailer connector to a pin and the pin to a socket to swap the polarity to suit an off-the-shelf cable. Or you can just bypass the plug on the vehicle and wire your charge controller directly to the vehicle battery. There really isn't a lot of value added in the on-vehicle wiring on the older R-Pods that don't have a pre-configured location to add a controller. |
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Colt
Senior Member Joined: 16 Nov 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 383 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2023 at 4:27pm |
My Zamp plug (standard SAE plug) is reversed from common automotive use, i.e. positive is uncovered/uninsulated. That does allow the solar system positive to be insulated.
Type of panel is your choice. Size it/them so 75% of their output can recharge your battery bank in less than 6 hours. Know that you should not pull your bank below 70% discharged if they are deep-cycle and even that shortens their life. So, if your battery bank has 150 A-hr and you pull it down to 75 A-hr daily, you need 75a-h x 12.5V = 937.5 watt-hrs ÷ 6 he = 156.3 watts ÷ .75 = 208.3 panel watts. I'd call that 200, maybe 240. About the best you'll get out of solar panels is 75% unless you have them on a 2-axis controller that optimizes the angle to the sun. Not too practical. I probably would get 2 smaller panels and create a "portable" system. There are 2 kinds of controllers Pulse Width Modulation and Max Power Point Tracking. Either is fine for a simple system. MPPT controllers are more efficient and will make max use of your panels if you wire them in series (~40 volts). Be sure the controller is rated above the current and voltage of your panels. This PWM controller would support 240+ panel watts either in series or parallel and is waterproof. I have the smaller one mounted to the outside of my battery box, hooked to a 100 watt panel that maintains my battery in storage. The area doesn't get many hours of sun. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07YXZMKD2?psc=1&th=1 |
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John
'16 R-Pod 180 |
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