I tested my rooftop solar yesterday in bright Texas sun for roughly 5 hours. Went from 23% to 38% on the factory LI battery in that period at about 4 amps max input. Not terrible for 126w and this time of year (sun angle).
With the fan running at about 60%, the stereo on and all lights on I pull 3-4 amps, so by my reckoning the rooftop solar will compensate for that when the skies are clear; besides that, I never have the fan on that high, nor all the lights going at once.
Where the rooftop solar won't keep up with is when I have my fridge, starlink and computer stuff plugged in too. So in preparation for that I'm augmenting with a 230w bifacial panel, ordered last night. The other thing I'm gonna do is make a Reflectix cover for the fridge (why BougeRV made it black is beyond me).
Per Cary, the factory CTEK controller will handle 20 amps max, and he's seen the rooftop solar bring in as much as 6 amps under "perfect" conditions. Call it 7 amps for a safety margin, that leaves about 13 amps for the other panel. The one I ordered has a max standard output of 11.5 amps, so that should be just about right.
What I'm NOT sure about is the voltage using both rooftop solar + an external panel. The external panel has max voltage of 20v, and the rootop solar I've seen as high as 19.6v. The CTEK will handle 23v max. So it might be an either/or setup at camp, I'm not sure.
With the fan running at about 60%, the stereo on and all lights on I pull 3-4 amps, so by my reckoning the rooftop solar will compensate for that when the skies are clear; besides that, I never have the fan on that high, nor all the lights going at once.
Where the rooftop solar won't keep up with is when I have my fridge, starlink and computer stuff plugged in too. So in preparation for that I'm augmenting with a 230w bifacial panel, ordered last night. The other thing I'm gonna do is make a Reflectix cover for the fridge (why BougeRV made it black is beyond me).
Per Cary, the factory CTEK controller will handle 20 amps max, and he's seen the rooftop solar bring in as much as 6 amps under "perfect" conditions. Call it 7 amps for a safety margin, that leaves about 13 amps for the other panel. The one I ordered has a max standard output of 11.5 amps, so that should be just about right.
What I'm NOT sure about is the voltage using both rooftop solar + an external panel. The external panel has max voltage of 20v, and the rootop solar I've seen as high as 19.6v. The CTEK will handle 23v max. So it might be an either/or setup at camp, I'm not sure.
ZAP! This was a conscious decision -- if the extension cord did get plugged in it would kill the panel -- not the rig. Also, make sure you use a heavy extension cord -- something light weight does not work as well -- and in November that can make a sizable difference.