Add Portable Solar Panels to the Exterior Zamp Outlet

[Treasure Coast Vault]

Hi Everyone, I am interested in adding a portable Solar System to the Ollie 2.

I have the roof mounted Zamp setup already this will supliment that.

How should I go about it?

thx w

[Treasure Coast Vault]

Ordered the ZoupW 450 Watt Solar Suitcase and a Victron 100/20 Bluetooth MPPT. The Zamp Outlet has a fuse under the Streetside Bed. It was not Installed. Waiting to recieve the Suitcase to see how long to order the cables with reverse zamp connector. 

[SeaDawg]

Did you order zamp portable panels? "Zoup" a typo? 

Zamp panels are set for the wiring. Every other brand I've seen  is reversed polarity. An adapter will take care of that issue. 

Oh, I see zoupw on Amazon. Check the polarity.

[Treasure Coast Vault]

@SeaDawg I checked the Polarity. Waiting on the Panel to see the length cable extensions needed. Thank you.

[Galway Girl]

Covered this topic in the blog post below as FYI:

 

https://4-ever-hitched.com/blog-articles/f/here-comes-the-sun

 

The Oliver Elite II units with Solar Options have an external Zamp Connector on the side of the trailer which is connected through a 20A fuse to the trailer batteries.
That Zamp Port doesn't connect to the onboard Zamp Controller, so you need a second controller for external panels that are to connect to the Oliver trailer.

 

[Treasure Coast Vault]

I miscalculated. I know big surprise! I need a 100/50 for 450 watts of solar. I figured it using the panel voltage not the battery volts originally. It must be Friday.......

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, Treasure Coast Vault said:

I need a 100/50 for 450 watts of solar.

You would have a good margin of safety with that (450 / 12 = 37.5A) and you would not hit the 100V limit either.

I went with the Victron MPPT 100|30 for our Renogy 400W suitcase. Thinking 30 x 12 = 360W and this number is the highest I've seen (for a few seconds), most often getting between 200-300W from 400W panels.

https://cleversolarpower.com/what-size-mppt-controller/

[Treasure Coast Vault]

I watched a video and it indicated the amperage will be limited to the highest rating of the Victron. I think that's why you never get full power?

 

In any case I ordered the bigger 100/50 and am exchanging my 100/30

 

thank you very much for replying.

[Jim and Frances]

Be sure to check the internal wiring of the external Zamp connector - ours was 12 AWG.  Per wire calculators even with short lengths, you may have some issues at the amp loads you are estimating.

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Treasure Coast Vault said:

I think that's why you never get full power?

The highest number I ever got was a reading of 367W for a few minutes! Was I limited by the 30A SC or will a 400W panel actually get greater than 90% the advertised number in real world usage? Let us know if you get 450W readings with your new setup.

To get this number the panels were lined up to the angle of the sun as close as possible. Then a cloud comes by and it’s reading 220W. Later the alignment was off and it’s reading 260W.

Given ONLY near perfect alignment and dry sunny Arizona sky will get over 300W, the 30A SC is enough. Could be enough for a 450W panel too but the 50A would produce more in perfect conditions.

Of all the mods I’ve made, adding the Renogy 400W solar suitcase, extension solar cables and internal wiring, the Victron MPPT SC has been our least used mod, wished I had saved the money, close to $800 total. It is only useful when staying in one location, without electric, for a week or more. When moving more often it’s unnecessary because of the following -

We spent less money on our Victron Orion XS 50A DC-DC Charger and it pays for itself everyday we tow adding +35Ah on average every hour on the road, rain or shine! No fuss, muss, just attach the DC-DC cable when you hitch up! (panel setup is a pain!)

Edited Monday at 03:53 PM by jd1923

[SeaDawg]

@jd1923, you're not likely to ever get full rated power from solar panels. The ratings are determined under standard testing conditions, carefully controlled, to have some sort of industry benchmark. Any honest panel reseller will tell you you are likely lucky to get 60 to 75 per cent of that rating, in real world conditions, even less if you park in the shade, or place portable panels where they may get shade.

Why? Temperature affects production. The hotter the temperature,  the less power produced.  Pollution/smog. Clouds. Dirt on the panels themselves. Even partial shading of a few cells of a panel may severely reduce its output.

When we built our house, we "oversized" the system a bit, with the help of our honest installer/privider. So in ten years, we've not had a power bill, other than the base grid connection fees. Those additional panels are long ago paid for. And my fuel cost for the ev is zero, when I charge at home.

We don't have enough rooftop on an Elite to oversize a system, so some of us need and want portable systems when we are camped for a period of time, for the additional charging capability without having to set up a generator. Everyone has a different camping style and different needs. 

Glad the dc to dc charger is working well for your camping style.