Battery question

[RRB]

This may sound silly, but I have two 6 volt batteries installed in my motor home and I’m thinking of installing solar panels to charge them. The batteries are wired together so would I use a 12 volt solar panel and controller? Thanks and no laughing.

[Colorado350]

Yes, they’re wired in parallel. Just make sure you hook everything up in the correct order. I ordered a kit from Renogy, lots of information on their site.

Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Off Grid Premium Monocrystalline Solar Panel with 20A MPPT Rover Controller/Mounting Z Brackets Adaptor Kit/Tray Cables Set /MC4 Fuse, 200W-20A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CTHCZJ3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_IMvcEb3DF8334

[UAHaerospace]

there are a lot of simple 12v 'package' solar panel sets online. I ordered HQST's, which came with two 12v 100w panels, a 20aPWM controller, the parallel wire connectors for the panels, and some wire to get them down to the controller.

The set also included roof mount aluminum mounts, and screws.

I also purchased a few feet of additional wire to connect the controller to the battery bank... it's pretty simple, and you don't 'have' to necessarily mount these panels anywhere to start with, especially if you just want to get started, learn how it works, and then decide to mount them at the best place for your needs.
We actually mounted ours initially on a 4-back rack I customized to allow them to articulate/angle so that they would be best used on our trip to Alaska back in 2017. The traveled all the way and back and we were able to angle them, when parked, for the best sun hours.
Later, I moved them up to the roof, for a more 'permanent' mount and travel place.

Either way, they give somewhere between 5 and 10amps on good sun hours, and can help keep your batteries recharged for additional hours, sometimes many hours, depending on your lifestyle and usage.
You'll still need your generator, but it allows you to use it less. And, there will still be times that the sun is not out, it's raining/cloudcover, or you are just parked somewhere in a campground that is full of shade. In those cases, solar won't be of much help.

Our package was about $300

[Chuck v]

John,


The 6 Volt cart batteries are wired in SERIES to make a 12 volt stack. When two 12 volt automotive/deep cycle batteries are used in an RV, it is those that are wired in parallel to keep the voltage supplied to the vehicle at 12 volts.


In any event, a 12 volt RV system can be charged by a solar accessory, independent of the battery source being a 12 volt stack of two 6 volt cart batteries in series or a parallel pair of 12 volt batteries. In my 2007 Tour Master diesel pusher coach there were three sets of batteries -- a parallel pair of diesel start, a parallel pair of 'house' deep cycle batteries. and four each 6 volt cart batteries in series/parallel to make a very amperage source for the Inverter that ran the AC appliances like the residential refrigerator. In all cases these banks were set up for a terminal voltage of 12 volts to their respective loads...so theoretically each could have had its own solar charger added. I was full timing and mostly in RV parks, so I never added solar to any of my three separate systems (each was set up to charge off of float from the shore power...built into the inverter, built in to the 12 volt converter for the house system, and added by me to the diesel start batteries since I went 3 months or more between starting the engine.)


Chuck