Solar Installation Complete

Today I completed the solar installation on my new Tiffin.

I also installed rubber matting in one of the bays, and installed liners in my big toolbox.  Both were easy to do, but fiddly and time consuming.

Up on the roof, I needed to finally stick down the solar panels in their final positions and tidy up the wiring.   This involved cleaning off the mounting points with rubbing alcohol.  For each panel you had to lift it up, pull of the red cover on the VHB tape on each panel's feet and set it down in it's final position.  You can only do this once, as no matter how hard I pulled, I could not get one to pop off.

I zip tied all the wiring so it couldn't flap around when traveling.   I also covered each foot with Dicor to seal it up so they don't get hot from the sun, but also so water doesn't penetrate the tape.

I also did a final seal on the roof penetration with a healthy mount of dicor.  It all looks a little messy, but the Dicor is self leveling and will smooth out in the days ahead.

It ain't perfect, but I think it will do.

Final Panel Layout, BMK and Camping World

Today I'm almost wrapped up with the electrical mods on the Tiffin.

My day started off in a mild panic - I needed a disconnect switch, and some Dicor, so I went up to my dealer to buy these items in his parts store.  They were closed!   So in my desperation, I decided to go over to Camping World - surely those money grubbers would be open!   Of course they were.   I got my stuff, and at checkout discovered my membership had lapsed.  Like two years ago.  ;)    Of course they pressured me to re-up.  Not only did they have a two years for $50 deal, but I could get the club prices on the stuff I was buying (saved $5), they give you a $25 gift coupon with your new card, you get 3 cents off gas at Pilot/Flying J, you can use their dump station for free at CW, and they have discounted propane (by the gallon, and another 25% off Tuesdays and Thursdays).  To top it off, when I got home and looked at my receipt, they charged me for the membership, and the Dicor, but not the $40 switch!  Thanks CW!  

It will be interesting how they react when I take my Tiffin up there to dump my poop tank. They'll know I didn't buy it there, as they don't carry that brand.  Same with the Travato.  I look forward to giving them lots of my poop.

Anyways, back at the shop, I finalized my solar panel array.   After much consternation and research, I decided to downsize it a bit.   The information out there is very mixed on whether it is safe to oversize the array to account for the real world output based on weather conditions, shading and obstructions, plus the wiring losses.   One post I read confirmed that the Outback FM-80 clips to output power to 80 no matter what the inputs are (according to his call with their tech support).  Then I read other posts that that was all horseshit.   So what I decided to do was play it safe for now and see how she does.  If I consistantly get charging in the 40-50 amp range, then I may add the two panels back in.   If I get close to 80 amps as this is, then I'll leave it alone.

So I moved the remaining 6 panels closer together.  They are wired in two strings of 3 in series, and then paralleled at the roof penetration.   It should be 55.5 volts @ 17.3 amps to the controller.  At 14.6 volts, I should be seeing 65.8 amps of charging.  We'll see.  If you run the numbers at 12 volts, you get right at 80 amps - so that combo would be full sun coupled with a dearly empty battery.  Another benefit to this layout is that less wiring run is required.

Down in the electrical bay, I cleaned up loose ends.  I connected the main positive and negative cables to the batteries.   I also installed a disconnect switch and a fuse for the positive cable from the solar controller.   Initially, I didn't think I'd install a switch here, but seeing that the solar controller could bleed power if you were in inside storage, I wanted a way to turn it completely off.

I also installed the Magnum BMK.  This allows you to see the state of charge (SOC) and you can see it on the Magnum display, and you can control generator start based on this instead of voltage, as well as control charging based on SOC.  

Not as pretty as I'd hoped, but everything fits.  When my Lithionics battery comes in, I'll make it a lot more tidy - there are only two poles on this big battery - one pos, one neg.  I'll get some custom cables cut and install a couple bus bars on the poles for the numerous attachments.

I did get to set up the Magnum to charge on the CC/CV profile.  It was able to push 100 amps into the battery bank.  I believe that is the maximum for the Magnum 2012.   What I need to figure out is if I can set things up to "stack" charging - solar, charger, or alternator.  

Rubber flooring, toolbox, Zillareel and wet bay accessories

Today was another big day of DIY mods.   May be partly procrastinating to finish the solar project.

I installed the rest of the rubber flooring in the storage bays.  I love this stuff - heavy rubber, interlocking tiles - just trim to fit with a carpet knife.  Hopefully it keeps cargo from moving around.

I trimmed around the cord reels so I can use every bit of usable space.

I was really excited to get this Husky Tool Box.  It's 18" deep, which is hard to find.  I don't plan on filling this with alot of heavy tools, but I want the extra drawer space for all the little items that you collect along the way.   I did have to mod the top so the locking bars are released - otherwise you don't have enough headroom to open the top fully and release the locks.  Each drawer has a tension latch on it anyways, so I'm not worried about any popping open when underway.

Next I installed the ZillaReel.  This is a 50' foot extension cord on a retractable reel.  I drilled two holes in the toolbox and bolted it to the side.  I'd plugged into the outlet for the vacuum system.

The final thing I did today was install some accessories in the wet bay.   I installed a soap dispenser, a paper towel holder, and a holder for a box of disposable gloves.   Pretty easy, just drilled some holes in the compartment door's aluminum skin.  You have to be extremely careful drilling into this, as you could push right thru and dent the exterior door skin. Thankfully, I didn't as I just went very slowly.  I would really like to do something with that exterior shower - getting rid of the hose and just have an articulating spigot would be great.

I did fool around on the roof.  I sealed up the roof penetration box and played around with panel layout.  But nothing final yet.

Solar Project Moving Along...

Today was another long day of mods.  Wanted to make some more progress on the solar project on the Tiffin.

First up was installing the rubber flooring I bought at Lowes for the floor of the new battery compartment.   Actually, this stuff is going to go into all the compartments eventually.  It's a nice 3/8" thick rubber matting that is in interlocking tiles 12' x 12'.  Cuts easily with a carpet knife.   Nice, non-slip surface.

I had a heck of a time deciding how and where to mount the solar controller.  It's pretty big, but I decided I wanted it in the battery compartment, but I also wanted it oriented so I could read the LCD display.  I did have to relocate the existing AC/DC outlet box in this compartement a couple inches up and over.  That was fairly easy, but required drilling 2 holes in the steel wall.  The controlller needed another 4 holes in the wall.

The wiring was a project in and of itself.  Starting with the overhead cabinet inside (that I showed you a few days ago), I cut out about 10 feet of that cabling and joined it all together with crimp connectors, and then taped it up.  Then replaced the wood cover.  While I was in there, I replaced the Magnum remote with the advanced remote (ARC-50).  This one will allow me to control charging based on SOC, as well as other nice features.

I pulled the solar cables out of the battery tray (under the steps) and rerouted them to this new battery compartment.  Had to drill a 1/2" hole in the steel wall for those cables.  Thankfully there was enough length to reach the controller.   I wired in a breaker box and breaker so I can shut off the PV power.  I selected a 30 amp breaker for this.  Then I ran to the controller and terminated.   Additionally, I ran a ground cable and terminated the 0 guage charging cables that will go to the battery.    Here is a picture of the termination end of the controller.

Here is how I left things for today.   I put in the Stark Batteries I had that eventually are going in my boat.  These are LiFEPO4, 125 AH batteries like I installed in the Travato.  I'll use these to get everything configured until my Lithionics 600 AH battery comes in.  In the picture below, you can see how I mounted the controller, my breaker box and installed combing over the wires.

Next, I had to install the remote display inside.  I was really nervous about this, as I had to take a jigsaw to my new cabinets.   In their wisdom, instead of a square cut, they require you to make an oval cut!   At least they give you a paper template.  To make this easier, I drilled two starter holes on each side of the oval.  Taped the shoe of the jigsaw so the wood doesn't get scratched.  I think it turned out pretty good.

I also had to drill a hole in the floor inside the cabinet to run the network cable between the controller and the remote/display.  That was actually easier than I thought, as it was all clear back there and the floor is just plywood.

That's it for now.  More in the days ahead.

Installing Powered Cord Reel & EMS

Today I installed several items in the electrical bay.

Standard with the coach is a transfer switch with a built in surge suppressor.  This is fine for surges, but it does nothing for power dips or polarity problems in older power pedestals.

First task was to install the Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C.  This device works very well and will disconnect the power to your rig if it reads high or low voltage, polarity errors, etc.  There is a remote display so you can see what volts and amps it's drawing, as well as error codes for problems it discovers.  It also has a switch if you want to bypass the device.

To install the EMS, you have to cut the shore power cord, strip back the leads and connect it to the device per the instructions.

Since I was cutting the 25' shore power cord, I decided to install a Shoreline Powered Cord Reel.  It comes with 34' of 50 amp cord, plus a short pigtail to install it to your transfer switch. In my case, I installed it to my EMS unit.  There is also a switch to retract/release the cord that you need to run to 12 volt power to make it all work.   I ran some 12 gauge wire over to the next bay where the generator lives.   It has posts for positive and chassis ground on the side of the generator.   I routed the wires over there, covered them in combing, and zip tied it to secure it.

The cord reel works smoothly and makes quick work of what are normally unwieldy and heavy 50 amp shore cord.

The final item I installed was a Moryde Manual Cord Reel to house my 50 amp extension cord.  This gives me an additional 30 feet of length for those rare occasions where the power is farther away than normal (like at rallies, or if you regular power pedestal goes caput.)  You don't use this very often, so a manual reel works just fine.  All there is to install it is to drill the holes and bolt it down.   The picture below is all this hardware in my electrical bay.  Before, the shore cord alone took up this whole compartment just layed in there.   Now I have room for a bin of other stuff, TBD.

Lippert Waste Master

Today I also got my new Lippert Waste Master sewer hose installed on the Tiffin.  This is a high end sewer hose with a bayonet connector that is common in industrial hose applications.  It's virtually spill proof and cannot be pulled apart resulting in nasty accidents.

Here is a link to it on Amazon:  Lippert Waste Master

This is a premium system, and it's priced like it.   I like that it's crush proof, and has a valve on the discharge end you you can control the length of hose, but also both ends of the dumping operation.  There is also a clear section so you can see what is going thru it.

To install the coupler, you need to make a permanent alteration to your sewer outlet.  You have to saw off the pegs for the standard coupler, and sand the surface to prep for the ABS cement you apply to join the pieces together.    You could always put this back to original, but it would require taking it all apart and replacing this piece.

Installing the coupler is as easy as swabbing both pieces with the cement, and pushing them together.  Inside of 2 minutes, you couldn't pull it off.

For those times I go to rallies, and need the services of the pumper truck, I bought this accessory to go back to a standard bayonet style coupler.

Here she is with the hose attached.

And the end with the rubber donut and the shutoff valve and sight window.

I also got the extention hose so I can go a really long distance for those rare occasions it's needed.   All of this fits just fine in the bottom of the wet bay.

Big Solar on the Tiffin

Started my solar project on the new Tiffin Open Road 32SA.  Putting eight, 160 watt panels on the roof for a total of 1280 watts!   I got the solar pre-wire from Tiffin (which I'll explain further below).   For a controller, I got an Outback FM80.   This controller is MPPT and good for 80 amps and 150 volt input.   It's a very robust looking peice of equipment.

Today's goal was to get the feet bolted on the panels, get them on the roof and uncover the wiring to see what I'm dealing with.   Lucky for me, I had my nephew Alex to give me a hand.  It would have been impossible to get this done without some assistance, so I thank you very much, buddy.

My plan is to have two banks of panels - 4 each, wired in series.  Then they will be joined in parallel to the two wires at the roof penetration.   So what is coming down off the roof is roughly 80 volts and 16 amps.  There will also be a 20 amp DC breaker mounted down below as a shutoff for this power before it gets to the controller.

I played around with laying the panels out without getting shadows.  Of course, that is pretty much impossible, so trying to get few is the goal.  First was as you see here (the cardboard is still on the panels to protect them and so there isn't current when I connect the cables).

 I didn't like that they were all over the place.  My OCD demands symmetry, so I moved a few around.  I like that the center is clear for walking to get to the various items on the roof.
The little white dome you see on the right is where the wiring bundle is supposed to be for the pre-wire. 

I had to chisel off the sealant around the dome and over the screw heads.  The red stuff you see is what I refer to as "project lubricant".  You can't get any project done without it getting smeared on you equipment or tools.

I'm mulling how to do the roof penetration.   Drill holes in the dome, and push the cables threw and seal around them?   Discard the dome and install a roof mount box?

Inside was packed with sealant too.  They must have used an entire tube on just this dome!
The wires were bundled inside, just below a piece of insulated foam.

The wires were all marked with the coach model (32 SA) and the service (solar panel).

A finger for perspective.   Looks bigger than the 10 AWG that the panels are wired with.

And it's a stranded cable.

Inside the cabinet, overhead of the driver's seat, I found the other end of the cable, as well as the set of cables that go down to the battery compartment.    Tiffin intends for you to mount your solar controller here.   It's just unworkable to do this, as while this cable size is adequate to come down off the roof, it is not to run to the batteries.

I'm going to splice these cables together with butt connectors, and take the end of these cables (down in the battery compartment) and hook those to my controller.  Then I'll run new, heavy guage cables from the controller to the batteries.

What's odd is there was about 10-12 feet of cable shoved up in there, and all of it in combing.  Crazy!   I'll cut most of this out, as unnecessary cable length is not what you want in a solar installation.

What's up in there, inside the front cap, it a rat's nest of wires, and no insutation.  Looks like another project is in order to stick something in there to keep the heat down in the front of the rig.

I found other markings on the cable - the standard stuff from the cable manufacturer.  Looks like it's all 8 AWG.   10 AWG would have been more than adequate for how I've layed this out, so 8 is great.

Down in the battery tray, I found the other end of the cabling, stuffed in the side against the wall of the compartment.  There is plenty of slack, so I can pull this wire out of this area and feed it into the compartment I'm going to install the solar controller.

 That's all for today.  More in the days ahead.