DefiantManuelito1980Dolph Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I just got a hundred watt solar panel, and am thinking of connecting it to a deep cycle battery--- an inverter, then into the electrical hook up, as to use all the existing wiring inside. Has anyone done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Yes, more or less. The solar and the inverter are two separate issues though - as I see it. I've got 240 watts of solar panels on the roof of my 1988 Minicruiser. They are hooked directly to my house batteries with a cheap controller in-between . My 2000 watt inverter is also hard-wired to my house batteries. The inverter has its own duplex outlets on it. When I park and there is no shore power - I simply plug my RV's main power cord into the inverter and then - all the AC outlets in the camper work. Make sure the air-conditioner is turned "off" if doing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I have a 100 watt panel & controller hooked directly to my coach batteries. If I need to use the inverter, I hook that directly to the battery. We rarely use the inverter so I never bothered hard-wiring it. We removed the microwave and A/C. We rarely use the microwave in the kitchen at home and the A/C on the RV was so loud that you could not hold a conversation in the RV. We also rarely camp where is shore power anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 We never camp where there is shore-power. The microwave runs off the inverter and batteries. Not something we use often but nice to have to heat something up without using any pots, pans, etc. If your inverter is not hard-wired - it must not be very big. Pretty hard to run any inverter over 750 watts if it is not hard-wired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustrmrk Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Same here - 240 watts of solar, rare shore power connections. Our fridge runs off the inverter which has it's own duplex outlet built in. I installed a "fridge only" outlet inside w/ a plug and cord that can either plug into the inverter or into a 120v ac outlet nearby. If we have shore power, I turn off the inverter, and move the fridge plug to the shore powered outlet near the inverter. Simple and it works great. My only problem now is that the sun is so low in the sky during the winter, the roof mounted panels aren't keeping up. My Christmas project while we visit our son in Redding, CA will be to make them tiltable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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