Just a word of praise for gopower solar

[jimbo4UT]

My 2021 sunseeker came with a gopower 100 watt panel and a 30 amp controller. I ask the salesman if the panel charged with the coach batteries turn off and he said no. I thought that strange as the controller was working while we were talking and the coach was differently turned off. You would want your solar to keep a charge on your batteries while your in storage- at least that is what I would want.
Long story short YES it does keep a charge on the coach batteries while the coach is turned off. Have been to the motor home while in storage at least 6 times since the end of November and the batteries are charging and topped off every time I go to storage. I have seen the controller at 14.4 and 13.4 and 12.7 which to me means it is working correctly doing the different phases of battery maintenance float bulk etc.
Gone are the days of running an electric cord with a trickle charge battery maintainer.

It’s almost time to head out ( going full time for the second time 2009-2012) see ya down the road.

Jimbo

[stevenal]

I'm a bit unclear on the title of this thread. Is gopower being praised for its ability to charge batteries through an open battery disconnect?

[StirCrazy]

BFL13 wrote:
In the OP the salesman was asked if the solar kept charging with the batteries turned off (meaning ? disconnected? ) and he said no--correct!

Then the OP said with the "coach turned off" -- Now it is all the salesman's fault! 🙂

I think they ment with the battery disconect switch turned off. which would be the wrong way to install the solar as you always must disconect the pannels first or you risk screwing up your controler.

I have the go power on my 5th wheel now and I have to open everything up and see how they put it on so I know if there is a pannel disconect or not. if there isnt I have to cover the pannels before I disconect the batteries.

Steve

Steve

[afidel]

FLY 4 FUN wrote:
I'm not going to blame the salesman fully as the nature of solar systems depends on the install. There are some rigs that still have phantom loads when battery disconnect is off, whereas others that it kills all 12v items. I know my solar setup continues to charge my twin 6v batts even with the disconnect off but that's because I wired it that way. I don't know of any rv's that come standard with solar so its up to the selling dealer how they wire the system. That includes fuses, charge controllers mounts, wires etc. There are many calibers of systems and also skillset of installers doing the work. Before I took the word of someone who is selling the rig I would research the system to ensure it met my needs. Solar is awesome, I wish it was standard or at least properly pre-wired on all rigs.

Lots and lots of RVs come with solar standard these days, this has been especially true since late 2019 when the industry started a large shift to 12V compressor fridges. Even the ones that don't come with it are generally solar prepped meaning the wiring is pre-run and all the dealership has to do is pop in the charge controller and slap the panels on the roof and done. I've even started to see some manufacturers pre-install the roof rail mounts as part of the build process which literally makes it plug and play.

All that is a way of saying it's something they SHOULD know about, but since they can't be arsed in general to learn safety critical things like truck ratings I'm hardly surprised that they don't bother to learn how the solar system works.

[BFL13]

In the OP the salesman was asked if the solar kept charging with the batteries turned off (meaning ? disconnected? ) and he said no--correct!

Then the OP said with the "coach turned off" -- Now it is all the salesman's fault! 🙂

[jimbo4UT]

You stated that you don’t know any rv that come standard with solar but mine did and many brands have models with solar onboard. Seems ( and yes I could be wrong) that certain models the manufacturer picks to puts a solar setup on them. This was a big reason - and of course not the only reason I picked this model. I can add 400 more watts safely by simply adding a panel and hook it up to the other panel. It’s plug and play. Heck they even use that 2 sided very sticky auto tape to attach these flexible solar panels onto the roof so no drilling required. In less than 2 minutes I can add another panel stick it down to the roof and connect it to the existing panel. Love free energy and 500 watts will more than allow me to do what I do during the day while the batteries are being charged. I don’t use anywhere near 500 watts an hour so more will go into the batteries than I will be removing during the day - ?? days of course.

Jimbo

Ps what I’m trying to say is the Dealership did Not installl my solar - forest river did at the factory.

[FLY_4_FUN]

I'm not going to blame the salesman fully as the nature of solar systems depends on the install. There are some rigs that still have phantom loads when battery disconnect is off, whereas others that it kills all 12v items. I know my solar setup continues to charge my twin 6v batts even with the disconnect off but that's because I wired it that way. I don't know of any rv's that come standard with solar so its up to the selling dealer how they wire the system. That includes fuses, charge controllers mounts, wires etc. There are many calibers of systems and also skillset of installers doing the work. Before I took the word of someone who is selling the rig I would research the system to ensure it met my needs. Solar is awesome, I wish it was standard or at least properly pre-wired on all rigs.

[Lwiddis]

Few RV salespeople know much about RVs unfortunately. Solar even more so. FYI when dry camping one 100 watt panel may be inadequate.

[Sandia_Man]

Not all but most salespeople unfortunately don't know what they are talking about, more than likely they don't own an RV and/or don't understand the technical aspect of the equipment onboard. Why would anyone have solar if not to charge their battery bank while unplugged from power, sure they offer some charge while plugged in when converter or inverter charger is doing most of the work. At 12.7vdc battery is not receiving a charge, a proper float charge is at least above 13.2 volts, any effective charging requires a voltage above battery voltage. With a 30 amp controller you can add a couple of more panels before upsizing controller.