- Jul 5, 2013
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I am about to buy a new Hymer A class B678 and want to fit or get fitted a 200W solar installation. I think the Hymer has a Schaudt Electrobloc ELB 29 and a Schaudt control panel LT 95F. Am I the only person to be decidedly unimpressed with these in an expensive new A class? When compared with my 7 year old much cheap Adria coachbuilt they seem extremely primitive.
I was planning to use a Schaudt LRM1218 (MPPT) solar controller. The EBL has connectors to take the output from this but does not appear to have any input for the signal cable for the control panel, which means that the control panel cannot show the charge from the solar panel. And even if it did have the input it would be no good because the display only shows voltage and there is no way to read either the current or the % capacity of the battery on the Hymer display panel (both of which my Adria does).
Any advice on the best way forward please?
I am worried that if I just connect a non-Schaudt MPPT controller direct to the batteries it will fool the EBL into thinking the batteries are fully charged when I am driving along or on an EHU and therefore not charge the batteries via the alternator or EHU, which would provide much more charge than the solars (as per the advice on A&N's website) . So should I connect the solar controller's output via the EBL anyway and then have a new separate remote display dedicated to the solar? If I use the Schaudt LRM1218 and its remote control panel (which only shows current) they will come to over £300 between them, and I suspect I could get a better controller and panel for a lot less. What alternatives could I use?
At the moment I am likely to get the dealer to do all of this (he has given a good price for it and several other additions I want) and his fitter has said that he could use an MPPT controller to feed only the leisure battery and then install a Battery Master to trickle charge the vehicle battery. That seems a bit crude to me given that the EBL is supposed to be able to charge both and the LRM1218 has outputs for both too.
So any advice to help me would be gratefully received please
I was planning to use a Schaudt LRM1218 (MPPT) solar controller. The EBL has connectors to take the output from this but does not appear to have any input for the signal cable for the control panel, which means that the control panel cannot show the charge from the solar panel. And even if it did have the input it would be no good because the display only shows voltage and there is no way to read either the current or the % capacity of the battery on the Hymer display panel (both of which my Adria does).
Any advice on the best way forward please?
I am worried that if I just connect a non-Schaudt MPPT controller direct to the batteries it will fool the EBL into thinking the batteries are fully charged when I am driving along or on an EHU and therefore not charge the batteries via the alternator or EHU, which would provide much more charge than the solars (as per the advice on A&N's website) . So should I connect the solar controller's output via the EBL anyway and then have a new separate remote display dedicated to the solar? If I use the Schaudt LRM1218 and its remote control panel (which only shows current) they will come to over £300 between them, and I suspect I could get a better controller and panel for a lot less. What alternatives could I use?
At the moment I am likely to get the dealer to do all of this (he has given a good price for it and several other additions I want) and his fitter has said that he could use an MPPT controller to feed only the leisure battery and then install a Battery Master to trickle charge the vehicle battery. That seems a bit crude to me given that the EBL is supposed to be able to charge both and the LRM1218 has outputs for both too.
So any advice to help me would be gratefully received please