Hi,
I'm new to motorhoming and this forum, but after a few 'life changing events' I recently bought a Westfalia James Cook (2004) with a view to travelling for months on end to nice places. I intend to wild camp quite a lot and have the potential power wise to stay in one place for a few weeks at a time. I had a 100w panel fitted to the roof when i bought it and went away for a couple of months. I soon realised that after wild camping for a few days in the same spot it would not be anywhere near enough wattage for my needs. With my condensor fridge on and charging laptops etc, my batteries went down everyday, and after 3 days or so, I had to drive off to re-charge them. So, on my return, I did some roof space calculations, and bought 3 x 100w semi-flexi panels, which is the maximum i can get to fit on my roof. I also purchased the mppt controller i saw recommended on this forum, the 25a MPPSolar PCM 3012. I have done a lot of reading on this forum, and intend copying one of forum member 'Techno's system installs i read about (Many thanks to him, its really helped me a lot reading his posts on solar). That system had a fuse between the panels and the controller (just so i can turn power off quickly if needed) and between the controller and battery's, (two 85ah gel type already fitted to van.) My first question is whether i should wire in parallel or series. I'm still a little confused about what is best for my set-up and wild camping plans. Secondly, I'm not sure what fuse sizes i need either side of the controller? Finally, and again copying the previously mentioned forum member , i'm intending to fit a 12v cigarette lighter type socket to the controller load terminals so i can charge things during the day. Is that a good idea with my set-up, or are there some down sides to using it for that? I show details of my panels below. Thanks for any help.
I'm new to motorhoming and this forum, but after a few 'life changing events' I recently bought a Westfalia James Cook (2004) with a view to travelling for months on end to nice places. I intend to wild camp quite a lot and have the potential power wise to stay in one place for a few weeks at a time. I had a 100w panel fitted to the roof when i bought it and went away for a couple of months. I soon realised that after wild camping for a few days in the same spot it would not be anywhere near enough wattage for my needs. With my condensor fridge on and charging laptops etc, my batteries went down everyday, and after 3 days or so, I had to drive off to re-charge them. So, on my return, I did some roof space calculations, and bought 3 x 100w semi-flexi panels, which is the maximum i can get to fit on my roof. I also purchased the mppt controller i saw recommended on this forum, the 25a MPPSolar PCM 3012. I have done a lot of reading on this forum, and intend copying one of forum member 'Techno's system installs i read about (Many thanks to him, its really helped me a lot reading his posts on solar). That system had a fuse between the panels and the controller (just so i can turn power off quickly if needed) and between the controller and battery's, (two 85ah gel type already fitted to van.) My first question is whether i should wire in parallel or series. I'm still a little confused about what is best for my set-up and wild camping plans. Secondly, I'm not sure what fuse sizes i need either side of the controller? Finally, and again copying the previously mentioned forum member , i'm intending to fit a 12v cigarette lighter type socket to the controller load terminals so i can charge things during the day. Is that a good idea with my set-up, or are there some down sides to using it for that? I show details of my panels below. Thanks for any help.
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