Auxiliary solar

[carpenter]

Does anyone know how many watts i can add to the system via the auxiliary solar port on the street side of the trailer? I have a 400 watt panel set up for my anker solar generator. I am curious if I could just use a charge controller in line and hook into the system? Or are the wires not rated for that much current? 2022 elite 2 with 400 watt roof solar and 360ah lithium batteries. Thanks in advance for any info.

[Hokieman]

I have a Zamp port on the street side of my 2021 model near the battery box.   It’s rated for 20A max, but is equipped with a 10A blade fuse inside the trailer, which is a good match for my 140W portable Zamp panels.    I have 340W panels on the roof.   I’m not sure what the 2022 models have for side ports.  

[Snackchaser]

You can safely put a maximum of 200 watts into the auxiliary Zamp solar port.  It is polarity wired for a Zamp solar controller which is opposite of some controllers, so verify polarity of your panel and controller before plugging it in.  Polarity reversing adapters are available for the Zamp port if needed.  Your 400 watt panel would need a 30/40 amp controller, larger wiring, and a 30-40 amp fuse.  Check panel rating plate and ask google to be sure. 

[FloraFauna]

In 2023 (I assume it was the same in 2022) I purchased the optional 230-watt Zamp portable panel from Oliver with the trailer to add to my two 200W panels on the roof.  I think 2023 was the last year they offered this panel and I believe Zamp moved toward smaller panels.  The 230W suitcase is a bit of a beast to lug around, so I don't use it all the time.  Of course, this plugs into the side port that you mention.  Interestingly, because you can direct the portable panel toward the sun, it will often supply as many watts as the two roof top panels combined. 

Edited 19 hours ago by FloraFauna

[carpenter]

Thanks for the input guys! I will likely reach out to a solar installer to see about upgrading the wiring on the zamp port and potentially installing a charge controller inside the camper for that system. As mentioned here the ability to track the sun at a better angle allows those 400 watt panels to pull 50-100 more watts than the roof mounted solar on the camper. 2 days ago I used it with my anker f2600 solar generator and was able to pull up to 325 watts for quite a while in morning sun.

[Galway Girl]

Attached article on building a solar add on for the Olivef with specific instructions on the zamp connection polarity.

 

https://4-ever-hitched.com/blog-articles/f/here-comes-the-sun?blogcategory=Electrical+Upgrades

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, carpenter said:

Thanks for the input guys! I will likely reach out to a solar installer to see about upgrading the wiring on the zamp port and potentially installing a charge controller inside the camper for that system.

This is correct in that you will need an additional solar charger. It is not recommended to have one controller for panels of different makes and wattage and adding 400W is just too much for your OEM controller.

We run the Renogy 400W suitcase and added a Victron 30A MPPT SC. The new SC should be very close to your batteries, connected with heavy gauge wire. We used 8 AWG 1-2 foot length to the +/- buses. Wire from your suitcase to the SC can be light. 12 AWG is required for 400W. I used 10 AWG since Lowes had a crazy sale on some at the time. Wire costs a lot today, but labor hours are worse when hiring a solar installer.

It's not a difficult installation. I made my own cables for cost savings, but you can buy any kind of cable with custom premade terminals here: 
https://powerwerx.com/wire-cable

 

Edited 27 minutes ago by jd1923

[rideandfly]

Our original Furrion solar port was rated for 10 amps. It was OK with one 100W panel, but did not have enough rated capacity to handle two 100W solar suitcases. Decided to modify the original Furrion 10A solar port to handle 20 amps by installing a Zamp 20 amp port in the existing Furrion port. Should have used the Zamp port to start with.

Modified Furrion solar port 20 amps:

 

[Steve Morris]

22 hours ago, carpenter said:

2022 elite 2 with 400 watt roof solar and 360ah lithium batteries.

I don't *think* the 2022 models had the Victron charge controller yet. Our early 2023 was supposedly the first year they became standard equipment, but some 2022 models had 2023 components early. When I was first investigating upgrades, I considered moving the external solar port wires over to the inbuilt charge controller. Then run the two solar arrays in parallel. The first obstacle, was of course the amperage/voltage limitations of the charge controller. I'd need to swap to a larger model to get what I wanted. But more importantly, and something I was not aware of, is that the 2023 rooftop panels are 400W at a rated 24V DC, not 12V. And when I checked Victron's site for information, I learned that mixing panel voltages causes the charge controller to default to the lower voltage. So the 24V 400W panels would be operating at 12V 400W instead.

As have many others here, I elected to temporarily build a portable box with an appropriately sized Victron charge controller, fuse, etc., and plug that into the external solar port. My intention is to eventually replace the SAE type port with an Anderson plug, and run a second internal charge controller, allowing me to use the full output of my 400W 24V DC rooftop panels, and my three 200W 12V DC portable panels.

Edited 1 hour ago by Steve Morris