My Solar Installs - Now with Solar Output Data

[lockmup68]

The mobley worked out of the box off the ATT website for me. I got the power adapter off Amazon. We've been using it exclusively the last week until the wifiRanger gets here. It has to be rebooted at least once a day, seems to drop off after a while. 

[STOF-FORD]

Chad,

I realize this is now a bit of an old thread, but I'm hoping you are still visiting it from time to time.  We have recently ordered a Mobile Suites Houston from Rolling Retreats, and I discovered from Alicia that I was requesting a number of the same "specials" that you had on your rig.  That caused me to go find your post on SOITC forum, and that led me here so I could see the pics of your install and the schematic you posted.

And all of that has caused me to have about a hundred questions for you, since you've already installed and tested much of what I'm hoping to accomplish with our installation.  For now though, let me start with just a couple:

Was the reason you installed both the MSH3012 and the CSW1012 that the smaller unit would have a lower "idle" current draw when the fridge is cycled off?  From spec sheets on the two, it looks to me like it's the difference between 1.2 and about 2.4 amps at idle.  Is that what you see?

I notice from your wiring diagram that your main battery disconnect also interrupts the feed from the solar charge controller.  I was intending to switch that separately, as I'm hoping to leave the charge controller maintaining the batteries when the rig is in storage.  Does that make sense to you?

I will not have anywhere nearly as much storage or solar collection as you have.  I am shooting for approximately 600 W. of collection and 640 Ah of storage in four 12v AGMs.  I think our objectives on this issue are different.    For the inverter I just want to be able to reliably manage entertainment devices, fridge and water-pic in the evening when we are dry camping.  For solar, I just want to be able to bring the storage back up with minimal or, hopefully, no generator use when we're camped in an idyllic and pristine spot and I don't want to disrupt it with the gen-set noise.

I had already ordered the MSH3012, PT100, Onan 6.5 commercial and associated wiring and system monitoring hardware as part of our DRV order, but I'm really interested in a dialog with you, if you have time, to learn how I might improve on the design I have in mind.  We don't expect delivery of our rig before early June, given DRV's current expected lead time, so I have plenty of time to get this right.

Thanks in advance for any insights you are able to share.

 

[TheLongWayHome]

Try to PM him directly. Will never find this needle in the massive daily haystack.

Find one of his postings, click on his Profile name or icon (can also hove over it) then click on Message.

He is usually fast and with great responses. Very helpful.

Good luck.

[Chad Heiser]

21 hours ago, STOF-FORD said:

Chad,

I realize this is now a bit of an old thread, but I'm hoping you are still visiting it from time to time.  We have recently ordered a Mobile Suites Houston from Rolling Retreats, and I discovered from Alicia that I was requesting a number of the same "specials" that you had on your rig.  That caused me to go find your post on SOITC forum, and that led me here so I could see the pics of your install and the schematic you posted.

And all of that has caused me to have about a hundred questions for you, since you've already installed and tested much of what I'm hoping to accomplish with our installation.  For now though, let me start with just a couple:

Was the reason you installed both the MSH3012 and the CSW1012 that the smaller unit would have a lower "idle" current draw when the fridge is cycled off?  From spec sheets on the two, it looks to me like it's the difference between 1.2 and about 2.4 amps at idle.  Is that what you see?

I notice from your wiring diagram that your main battery disconnect also interrupts the feed from the solar charge controller.  I was intending to switch that separately, as I'm hoping to leave the charge controller maintaining the batteries when the rig is in storage.  Does that make sense to you?

I will not have anywhere nearly as much storage or solar collection as you have.  I am shooting for approximately 600 W. of collection and 640 Ah of storage in four 12v AGMs.  I think our objectives on this issue are different.    For the inverter I just want to be able to reliably manage entertainment devices, fridge and water-pic in the evening when we are dry camping.  For solar, I just want to be able to bring the storage back up with minimal or, hopefully, no generator use when we're camped in an idyllic and pristine spot and I don't want to disrupt it with the gen-set noise.

I had already ordered the MSH3012, PT100, Onan 6.5 commercial and associated wiring and system monitoring hardware as part of our DRV order, but I'm really interested in a dialog with you, if you have time, to learn how I might improve on the design I have in mind.  We don't expect delivery of our rig before early June, given DRV's current expected lead time, so I have plenty of time to get this right.

Thanks in advance for any insights you are able to share.

 

I’m happy to help and I would be happy to discuss my build out and why I did what I did.

I added the small inverter in my system for several reasons.  Primarily, I wanted to be able to isolate the refrigerator for travel.  I did not want to power the whole house while rolling down the road, just the refrigerator.  The second inverter is also a redundant system in case I ever have an issue with the main inverter.  When boondocking, the small inverter running just the refrigerator will also draw less power from the batteries than the large inverter powering the whole house (as you mentioned above).  There are some other reasons, but these are the main ones.

My main battery disconnect does completely isolate the batteries from everything.  This disconnect has never been turned off since I installed it.  It is really just there in case I need to service/replace the batteries or in case I am working on an electrical component in the 12 volt system.  With this switch, I can completely remove power from the 12 volt system in one place.  For a full timer, the batteries would only be isolated for servicing the system.  

I am not full time, but I do not need to isolate my batteries for storage.  I am fortunate to have indoor storage with shore power.  Because my storage is indoors, I actually isolate the solar system when in storage and leave the inverter/charger on to maintain the batteries.  If the PT-100 goes more than 24 hours without sensing solar generation, it errors out and has to be reset.  By isolating the PT-100 on both sides (input and output) when stored indoors, I don’t have to deal with the error and resetting it.  If I were storing my trailer outside with no shore power available, I wouldn’t have run the PT-100 output through the main power disconnect.  I would have connected it directly to the battery bank.  This way I could disconnect all power draws from the batteries and allow the solar and PT-100 to keep them charged up.

Feel free to PM me with contact information if you would like to actually talk about my system and what you plan to do to yours.

[Chad Heiser]

2 hours ago, TheLongWayHome said:

Try to PM him directly. Will never find this needle in the massive daily haystack.

Find one of his postings, click on his Profile name or icon (can also hove over it) then click on Message.

He is usually fast and with great responses. Very helpful.

Good luck.

I usually scan/read pretty much every new post on the forum, but I appreciate the PM suggestion.  Also, thanks for the compliment.

[STOF-FORD]

On 2/25/2018 at 6:18 AM, TheLongWayHome said:

Try to PM him directly. Will never find this needle in the massive daily haystack.

Find one of his postings, click on his Profile name or icon (can also hove over it) then click on Message.

He is usually fast and with great responses. Very helpful.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tip.  It seems every forum has a slightly different approach for reaching someone.

 

[STOF-FORD]

On 2/25/2018 at 9:00 AM, Chad Heiser said:

I’m happy to help and I would be happy to discuss my build out and why I did what I did.

I added the small inverter in my system for several reasons.  Primarily, I wanted to be able to isolate the refrigerator for travel.  I did not want to power the whole house while rolling down the road, just the refrigerator.  The second inverter is also a redundant system in case I ever have an issue with the main inverter.  When boondocking, the small inverter running just the refrigerator will also draw less power from the batteries than the large inverter powering the whole house (as you mentioned above).  There are some other reasons, but these are the main ones.

My main battery disconnect does completely isolate the batteries from everything.  This disconnect has never been turned off since I installed it.  It is really just there in case I need to service/replace the batteries or in case I am working on an electrical component in the 12 volt system.  With this switch, I can completely remove power from the 12 volt system in one place.  For a full timer, the batteries would only be isolated for servicing the system.  

I am not full time, but I do not need to isolate my batteries for storage.  I am fortunate to have indoor storage with shore power.  Because my storage is indoors, I actually isolate the solar system when in storage and leave the inverter/charger on to maintain the batteries.  If the PT-100 goes more than 24 hours without sensing solar generation, it errors out and has to be reset.  By isolating the PT-100 on both sides (input and output) when stored indoors, I don’t have to deal with the error and resetting it.  If I were storing my trailer outside with no shore power available, I wouldn’t have run the PT-100 output through the main power disconnect.  I would have connected it directly to the battery bank.  This way I could disconnect all power draws from the batteries and allow the solar and PT-100 to keep them charged up.

Feel free to PM me with contact information if you would like to actually talk about my system and what you plan to do to yours.

Chad,

Thanks much for taking the time.  Right now, I'm just doing some preliminary planning.  As I mentioned, Alicia tells us we won't see our Houston before early to mid June.  However, this is one project I want to be all ready to go with when we do take delivery as I want to start using our new rig as quickly as possible.  When we bought our current toy hauler, it was stock right off the dealer's lot and I then proceeded to spend the next year on upgrades and projects, instead of enjoying it and using it for the intended purpose.  I don't want to make that mistake again.

I'm actually stuck in Europe right now until the end of March on a consulting project.  However, the good news is that I have lots of evening and weekend hotel time to plan and do research, and place orders for stuff.  Just for grins, I've attached the bill of materials I've assembled so far.  On projects like these, the planning is half the fun for me.  I'll be interested in your thoughts on it as it looks pretty much like yours.

The big open question for me is what to do for solar panels.  As I mentioned in my previous post, my objective for solar and storage is not nearly as ambitious as yours.  My goal is around 600 watts of solar collection capacity.  Maybe 800 if the right opportunity comes along.  I'm really intrigued by the flexible panels and I'm frankly surprised that more RV installs don't seem to use them.  Is there something I'm missing?  I like the idea of the low weight and low wind profile.  It looks like collection efficiency is now on a par with rigid panels, and cost is comparable.  There must be a reason why more folks don't go that route.

I look forward to starting a dialog with you on this project and sharing the results when it's finished.  I'll reach out by PM when back in Colorado in April.  In the mean time, these forums are my touch with the real world back home.

Solar and Battery BOM.PDF

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, STOF-FORD said:

There must be a reason why more folks don't go that route.

Lots of times the reluctance to change is partly the desire to let others test reliability since an RV can get pretty dependant on them. It could also be partly from the fact that the best-operating systems are all still rigid panels just because flexible is still new. 

[DesertMiner]

Do your research on flexible panels and their "pros & cons" before you think about flexible panels.  You might want to  also consider before the purchase of the solar panels is the physical size vrs rated output vrs available  "roof space"!  Lots of roof protrusions can make it a challenge to arrange panels depending on size of the panel.  Hopefully you persuaded DRV to "increase" the wire size of the "solar option" to help out in the panel placement and the total size of your solar array.  I believe DRV uses Magnum products for inverters and such.  Do some research on some of the other products lines that are available.

 

Edited February 27, 2018 by DesertMiner

[Yarome]

In an RV application I think the biggest drawback with flexibles is the durability factor. They are quite easily scratched. Road grit can deteriorate the surfaces rather quickly, you can forget about even a light tree branch scrape or fine hail and even washings can produce fine line scratches in the surface material that will affect production.

The other major factor is heat build-up. As panel temperatures increase production decreases. Having a flexible mounted directly onto a white roof... you can imagine... heat convection itself will be greater and heat dissipation only has one route away from the panel. With a rigid raised an inch and 1/2 or so you reduce heat convection from the roof itself and allow for air passage and heat dissipation from all sides of the panel.

It may or may not be an issue, but something that should be considered is shading. Shading might be more of an issue with flexibles. Ie., a rigid raised 1-1/2" above the roof will receive less shading from other roof mounted appliances/fixtures than a panel of the same size, occupying the exact same position, but sitting 1-1/2" lower.

Not that fexibles don't a have a place. Some RV's may have "extremely" slim cargo capacities. Flexible panels weigh dramatically less than rigids and can be a viable choice. Curved top RV's might also benefit. Flexibles can be curved to around... IIRC... about 30 degrees so what may be an exceptionally challenging and awkward install with rigids might be greatly simplified by using flexibles... and likely give you a greater number of watts to boot.

Personally, for RV use I see the greatest useability of flexibles as portable stand alone arrays. They are lightweight, easy to store, easy to manipulate, can be "strung" with cordage between any two points and at any angle you desire. That also leaves you the option to only put them out when weather permits.

[STOF-FORD]

29 minutes ago, DesertMiner said:

Do your research on flexible panels and their "pros & cons" before you think about flexible panels.  You might want to  also consider before the purchase of the solar panels is the physical size vrs rated output vrs available  "roof space"!  Lots of roof protrusions can make it a challenge to arrange panels depending on size of the panel.  Hopefully you persuaded DRV to "increase" the wire size of the "solar option" to help out in the panel placement and the total size of your solar array.  I believe DRV uses Magnum products for inverters and such.  Do some research on some of the other products lines that are available.

 

Good thoughts all here.  Yes, I absolutely will not be ordering any panels until I actually have the new rig in my grasp.  As you say, there are just too many variables on the roof to be able to order panels without first being able to do some careful dimensioning. However, I will have everything else on hand to complete all the rest of the project except for panel install which really can happen at the very end as an isolated project.

Also, yes, I did upsize the solar prep feed.  I actually would have been quite happy with 6 ga. as that would more than comfortably support the installation I am planning, but my dealer persuaded me to go to 4 ga.  If I end up at 600 watts and series gang panels in two-panel arrays, I should be looking at no more than about 25 amps max and 6 ga should comfortably support 70 amps over this short run, with minimal loss.  However, as we all know, bigger is almost always better.

I did also evaluate other brands of equipment, and I have used others in previous installs.  However, I ended up settling on Magnum for three reasons.  First, I really like how the broad range of both solar and inverter/charger and accessories are all designed to play together and communicate over their network.  Second, I figure Chad has already tested the system for me and he sure seems pretty happy so I don't have to do that myself.  Third, I like that DRV will have already installed the primary inverter and it's remote in the house systems panel for me.  I will likely rearrange stuff in the basement to suit my overall design, but I won't need to deal with the remote or its wiring.

 

 

[STOF-FORD]

14 minutes ago, Yarome said:

In an RV application I think the biggest drawback with flexibles is the durability factor. They are quite easily scratched. Road grit can deteriorate the surfaces rather quickly, you can forget about even a light tree branch scrape or fine hail and even washings can produce fine line scratches in the surface material that will affect production.

The other major factor is heat build-up. As panel temperatures increase production decreases. Having a flexible mounted directly onto a white roof... you can imagine... heat convection itself will be greater and heat dissipation only has one route away from the panel. With a rigid raised an inch and 1/2 or so you reduce heat convection from the roof itself and allow for air passage and heat dissipation from all sides of the panel.

It may or may not be an issue, but something that should be considered is shading. Shading might be more of an issue with flexibles. Ie., a rigid raised 1-1/2" above the roof will receive less shading from other roof mounted appliances/fixtures than a panel of the same size, occupying the exact same position, but sitting 1-1/2" lower.

Not that fexibles don't a have a place. Some RV's may have "extremely" slim cargo capacities. Flexible panels weigh dramatically less than rigids and can be a viable choice. Curved top RV's might also benefit. Flexibles can be curved to around... IIRC... about 30 degrees so what may be an exceptionally challenging and awkward install with rigids might be greatly simplified by using flexibles... and likely give you a greater number of watts to boot.

Personally, for RV use I see the greatest useability of flexibles as portable stand alone arrays. They are lightweight, easy to store, easy to manipulate, can be "strung" with cordage between any two points and at any angle you desire. That also leaves you the option to only put them out when weather permits.

Yarome,

Really great points about flexible.  I had actually thought a great deal about the exact thermal issues you identify.  I was actually concerned about the possibility of damage to the white rubber roof material as well as panel performance degradation.  I've searched for actual test data on this point but have not really found any.

I think you've convinced me.  Thanks!  It's just not worth the risk.

 

[Chad Heiser]

Yarome brought up pretty much everything I would have mentioned about flexible panels.  The only things he didn’t bring up are warranty and cupping.  Look at the warranty on a flexible panel vs a rigid panel.  There is no comparison.  The flexible panel manufacturers know that flexible panels won’t last nearly as long and warranty them accordingly.  Also flexible panel cells can cup slightly and create little indentations on the panels that can collect debris and dirt.  This debris and dirt will in essence shade those cells and affect the efficiency/output of the panel.  Gone with the Winn’s had a video on their YouTube page about this a while back.

Your equipment list looks good to me.  The only thing I am not familiar with are the Vmax batteries.  I do not know anything about them, so I can’t give an opinion on them.  I personally like Fullriver as they are an excellent bang for the buck and I have personal experience with them.  I also like US Battery and Lifeline (again because I have personal experience with them and know they are quality products).

[TheLongWayHome]

6 hours ago, STOF-FORD said:

Thanks for the tip. 

STOF-FORD

Here are some examples of RV solar installs by one of the best RV solar installer - AM Solar. They use a lot of Magnum Energy and Victron (two of the best - my opinion) inverter and solar charger equipment. They also have tips on their site and supply DIY parts.

https://amsolar.com/solar-panels-for-rv/

Also click more at the bottom of the page, for more examples. They had a DRV example on there previously (but it was Victron), but I can't find. I also have a wiring diagram for a Magnum large inverter/solar system somewhere, if you are interested. Can look for it tonight.

[ewacowboy]

1 hour ago, STOF-FORD said:

I did also evaluate other brands of equipment, and I have used others in previous installs.  However, I ended up settling on Magnum for three reasons.  First, I really like how the broad range of both solar and inverter/charger and accessories are all designed to play together and communicate over their network.  Second, I figure Chad has already tested the system for me and he sure seems pretty happy so I don't have to do that myself.  Third, I like that DRV will have already installed the primary inverter and it's remote in the house systems panel for me.  I will likely rearrange stuff in the basement to suit my overall design, but I won't need to deal with the remote or its wiring.

 

 

You might want to re-think the Magnum PT-100 controller in your build sheet.  With the system you're designing I don't think the PT-100 will work as intended.  I was building a similar system with 6-180watt panels and had planned to install the PT-100 (keeping it all Magnum).  When I went to order the parts the supplier mentioned that there had been problems with the PT-100 working with anything less than 59 volts.  After calling Magnum and verifying this I ended up installing a Victron controller instead....just info you might want to research.

[Chad Heiser]

The PT-100 does require high voltage to work properly.  In an RV install, that simply means running a series/parallel set up with the panels to get the appropriate voltage.  There are some drawbacks to series installs on RV roofs, but having integrated components is very nice and is worth the trade off in my opinion.  

If starting from scratch and wanting an integrated component system, Victron would edge out Magnum in my opinion because they have more options for solar controllers and some other nice components.  When starting with a factory Magnum inverter, then a Magnum system makes sense rather than spend extra money to change out the inverter.

[STOF-FORD]

47 minutes ago, Chad Heiser said:

The PT-100 does require high voltage to work properly.  In an RV install, that simply means running a series/parallel set up with the panels to get the appropriate voltage.  There are some drawbacks to series installs on RV roofs, but having integrated components is very nice and is worth the trade off in my opinion.  

If starting from scratch and wanting an integrated component system, Victron would edge out Magnum in my opinion because they have more options for solar controllers and some other nice components.  When starting with a factory Magnum inverter, then a Magnum system makes sense rather than spend extra money to change out the inverter.

I'm getting a significant education in a very short period of time here tonight.  Chad, looking at the CS6P - 235 panels you went with I see that there Vmp rating is 29.8 V at an ambient of 25 deg C.  AS you have wired them into 3 parallel banks of 2 series panels, it would only produce 59.6 V.  Any derate for increasing temperatures would bring them down from there.  The PT-100 owners manual calls our a minimum Vmppt of 60 V for a 12 V system.  So, in theory, unless you are somewhere cold, your array would never get to the PT-100's minimum Vmppt.  However, from the statistics you have posted, it is clearly providing a respectable charge rate for your storage banks.  What am I missing here?

Did you ever consider reconfiguring your array to two parallel banks of three series panels?  That would get your Vmp up closer into the 90 V range before temperature derating.  In theory, that should improve the overall performance of the PT-100.

I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to redesign your system, which I am still quite impressed by.  I'm just learning on the fly and thinking out loud.

 

 

[Chad Heiser]

The open circuit voltage (Voc) on my panels is 36.9 volts.  That puts me up over 70 volts with my series pairs.  I have seen around 70 volts plus or minus in good sun conditions.  I discussed my install with Magnum before I installed it.  They gave me there blessing with my proposed set up and said it would function fine, which it has.  I could easily go to two series strings of three with my system, but I haven’t seen the need to do so.  It has been functioning fine as it is.  Even in full cloud cover, I get right around 60 volts to the controller (although the wattage drops considerably).

[STOF-FORD]

22 minutes ago, Chad Heiser said:

The open circuit voltage (Voc) on my panels is 36.9 volts.  That puts me up over 70 volts with my series pairs.  I have seen around 70 volts plus or minus in good sun conditions.  I discussed my install with Magnum before I installed it.  They gave me there blessing with my proposed set up and said it would function fine, which it has.  I could easily go to two series strings of three with my system, but I haven’t seen the need to do so.  It has been functioning fine as it is.  Even in full cloud cover, I get right around 60 volts to the controller (although the wattage drops considerably).

Thanks for that Chad and good to know.  That is what I was seeing in the system performance statistics you had published previously.  The posting from ewacobay (thanks for that also) caused me to go read the entire chapter in the PT100 owners manual dealing with system sizing calculations.  I now know that this is not nearly as simple as I had hoped.  In the manual, Magnum stresses that it is not open circuit voltage, but rather the maximum performance voltage (Vmp) that should be used in these calculations.  That voltage seems to run anywhere from 15% to 30% lower than open circuit voltage on most of the panels I've looked at.  However, as you say, your system is working fine.

This information does throw a bit of a wrench into what I was planning however, because the smaller output panels I was looking at have significantly lower open circuit voltage ratings as well as Vmp.  Back to the drawing board as they say.  Better to know now, than after it's all installed.

Thanks again to everyone for their input.

Edited February 28, 2018 by STOF-FORD

[Chad Heiser]

I thought I would add a little more information to this, since this thread was brought back recently.  I just spent 10 days (9 nights) going to Las Vegas and back for the NASCAR race last weekend.  One night on the way out and one night on the way back were in RV parks.  The other 7 nights were spent in a parking lot at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a group of friends and their rigs.  Two of us had solar on our rigs (both installs done by me).  I didn't spend time recording numbers on a regular basis like I did the last time I posted about usage, but here is what I can say.

Over 7 days at the track, we used the trailer as if we were sitting hooked up to power.  The residential refrigerator ran 24/7 (as it always does).  We watched TV, had coffee, etc, etc.  The water pump was on and used as necessary.  My hot water heater is a Truma instant heater, but has a small accumulation/circulation tank and draws 12 volt to keep running.  We had lights on at night, including my LED awning lights for extended periods to light up our camping area.  The whether was windy and cool, so no need for AC.  In fact it was cool enough that the heater ran every night throughout the night.  We had one day of complete cloud cover and one day of partial cloud cover and the rest of the week was mostly sunny.

Having those conditions in mind, my batteries were back to or near 100% every afternoon.  I only had to run my generator for 3 hours over the 7 days to charge the batteries.  Two hours of that was in the afternoon of the day of complete cloud cover.  The other time was when we plugged the large electric griddle (20+ inch) into my trailer to cook pancakes and bacon for eight people one morning and drew the batteries down to 65% SOC (they were already down in the mid to low 70% SOC from overnight usage).  I didn't really pay attention that we were using the electric griddle and didn't think about it ahead of time.  My AGS started the generator when my batteries hit 65% SOC as it was programmed to do.  If I had been paying attention, I would have just started the generator when we plugged in the griddle and my AGS would never have gotten involved, but it was a good test of the AGS anyway.

My buddy has a slightly smaller system than mine (4 identical panels, instead of 6 like my trailer and 6 Fullriver AGM six volt batteries instead of the 4 large twelve volt batteries I have) with a PT-100 charge controller and Magnum 2812 inverter whole house set up with sub panel (all installed by me).  His usage was similar to ours except he has an RV fridge instead of a residential fridge so he turned his inverter off and on as needed.  He ran his generator for maybe 5 hours over the 7 days (and that is on the high side - I didn't record his actual hours of use like I did mine).

The other two rigs in our group did not have solar.  By comparison, they ran generators everyday for multiple hours a day to keep their batteries charged.  One of them talked to me in depth about my system and my buddy's system and will probably come and see me later this summer to add solar to his rig.

Overall, I was very happy with the system performance.  If it had not been for the full day of cloud cover, the only generator run time I would have needed would have been for the use of the large electric griddle the morning we were responsible for breakfast for the group.

[Jack Mayer]

The only thing I can say, Chad, is "that's life with solar"....at least with a large system like you and I have. 

It is not about the money you save...it is about the ability to live off grid with minimal sacrifices. And know you can be independent no matter where you are. 

[Chad Heiser]

7 minutes ago, Jack Mayer said:

The only thing I can say, Chad, is "that's life with solar"....at least with a large system like you and I have. 

It is not about the money you save...it is about the ability to live off grid with minimal sacrifices. And know you can be independent no matter where you are. 

I agree whole heartedly.

[Yarome]

10 minutes ago, Jack Mayer said:

It is not about the money you save...it is about the ability to live off grid with minimal sacrifices. And know you can be independent no matter where you are. 

 

2 minutes ago, Chad Heiser said:

I agree whole heartedly.

X3!

The only word that came to mind for me was, "textbook"! That's the way it's supposed to work. The payoff for having that type of freedom and independence? Priceless!

[lockmup68]

On 3/7/2018 at 9:33 PM, Jack Mayer said:

The only thing I can say, Chad, is "that's life with solar"....at least with a large system like you and I have. 

It is not about the money you save...it is about the ability to live off grid with minimal sacrifices. And know you can be independent no matter where you are. 

Like button....

[mr. cob]

Howdy All,

I know this is an old thread, I just now found it, that said I wanted to add my thanks to Chad for installing an excellent solar system to my toy hauler.  We stayed in Arizona from mid January until late March winter of 2020, after learning how to use the system we lived as if we were plugged into shore power and the only time the generator ran was when it was programed to start every 28 days and run for 15 minuets.  Having this system sure made our extended boondocking a pleasure, THANKS Chad.

I will add that I highly recommend Chad, to do a solar install as the quality of his work is exceptional.   I would also like to invite anyone who may be camped wherever we may be camped to knock on the door and check out what Chad, did for us I guarantee you will be favorably impressed with his work.

Dave