Thor Forums

[taylorbob1]

Originally Posted by VegasInVegas

@HaRVey I don't think you need to apologize for anything because I'm in the same position as Frank Siddall and your post provided some useful information.

The main questions are:

1. Thor prewired the unit for solar and included a 10 AMP controller. What strength panel(s) can I add without upgrading what has been provided and what kind of benefit would I gain from that?

2. If I do decide to upgrade the system, what am I looking at to get to something useful?

You provided input for both questions and it gives me a ballpark of what I'm looking at. I did reach out to Go Power and they said their 10 AMP controller can support one 190 watt panel. Based on what you said, I would think that would be enough to combat the natural drain from leaving the power on (carbon monoxide sensor, etc) as well as very light use (lights, charge phone, things like that). I would expect to still need to use the generator occasionally if I'm using the fridge and other things. Do you think that's accurate?

Right now, I'm considering getting one panel to utilize what is prewired and see what I think. Whatever panel I get should still be usable with an upgraded system if I decide to do that later.

It is somewhat laughable that the solar controller itself is actually a draw on the battery even when the main power switch is off. If I decide against solar, I will be disconnecting it in the near future.

1) generally speaking...10 amp controller handles about one 100 watt panel. the solar controller that Thor included can be purchased on Amazon for under $15

2) you can purchase a 30 amp PWM controller for under $15 on Amazon as well. Or, if you're concerned with unnecessary draw...purchase a 30 amp MPPT controller for about $80 (more features and benefits for maximum solar input)

Either way, I suggest that you incorporate a minimum two 100 watt panels to charge your battery bank (I assume that you have two lead acid flooded 12 volt batteries on your house-side) and a minimum 30 amp controller (either PWM or MPPT).

With a 30 amp controller, you can add two more panels at a later date if desired.