Folding Solar Panel

DBoondocker

Hi,
I have a new 2022 T@B 320 and am thinking about getting a LiFePo Battery. I have a Dokio 150w folding panel and was wondering how to hook it up to the battery. Is there a way to connect it via the Victron MPPT so that I can monitor the charging? Can anyone post pics of their solution. Thanks!

pthomas745

What ever panel you have attached to the battery, the Victron controller will measure the battery state of charge, but will not monitor the incoming solar. Someone might be able to tell you how to network two Victron controllers together, but you would have to figure out how to get a  the Dokio panel wired to the Victron controller.  (Shouldn't be hard).  What type of cable comes off the Dokio panel?  What sort of connector does it have?

techietab

You shouldn't connect dissimilar panels (or even identical panels in drastically different sunlight conditions due to positioning) to the same MPPT controller. You would want to add a second Victron Smart Solar device and network the two with the Bluetooth ve.Smart capability so they can negotiate charging outputs with each other. 

Denny16

The Victron solar controller in the TaB 320 and 400, is sized for the factory installed solar panel, and will not effectively handle adding additional panels.  To use a portable PV panel setup,with the existing rooftop solar, you need a second Victron MPPT solar controller matched to,the size of the portable panel.  A 100-watt would require the 75/10 MPPT controller and 200-watts, the 75/15 controller.  

You wire the portable panel to the controller, and connect the controller to the battery.  You can use an SAE plug to make,the portable solar panel connection.  Then use the VictronConnect app to network the factory controller with the portable panel controller.  This is the advantage to using the Victron system, each Bluetooth component works together.
 Cheers 

MarkAl

In searching the internet for this panel it looks like it includes the panel controller. If that is the case then the output must go directly to the battery. It will not interface with the Tab's installed Victron. I would recommend like many 320s, install a connector on the front storage bin and connect through a fuse directly to the battery. The SAE is a popular connector (https://a.co/d/9mf1hqO). 

VictoriaP

If you want to monitor the input from any power sources, including portable panels that have their own controller, the easiest way is to add a Victron SmartShunt to the battery. As others have noted, the onboard stock Victron isn’t sized to accommodate a second panel, and even if it were, you shouldn’t mix panel sizes. A Smart Shunt can give you the data you want, and plenty more, since it monitors all input and usage. And it’s easy enough to install that I managed to DIY mine despite limited hands on experience with wiring to that point. I would not add a LiFePo without adding this to monitor it.

Going forward, if you plan to replace the Dokio at some point, you can often find portable panels without a pre-wired controller, which would allow you to add another Victron MPPT to the mix and network it in. Pre-wired controllers are quite often inefficient garbage, so buying without and supplying your own will get you a more efficient configuration. You can certainly look at your current portable to see how hard the controller is to replace with a Victron (75/15 or larger needed for a 150w panel, if I recall; your stock unit should be a 75/10.)

But for now, if I were in your shoes, I’d add the SmartShunt instead, and an SAE port for quick connect to the battery (if needed, some 2022 units have one already).

Denny16

I second what Victoria said.  I got portable solar panels without a built in controller, and added a second Victron 75/15 to control the portable panels.
 Cheers 

MarkAl

I totally agree with @VictoriaP I noticed that NuCamp is now adding the smartshunt as an option. My problem is on installation is keeping it water safe and close to the battery - it can get pretty wet in the front bin and with my luck I'd fry it once a year. I'm waiting for my Lead Acid batteries to need replacement and then putting Lithium inside the cabin.

VictoriaP

@MarkAl I enclosed my SmartShunt in a lidded box made for weatherproofing electrical components:

The box has ports all around to snake cables in and out. Used 3m dual lock (heavy velcro) to attach it to the battery box, and a velcro strap to secure the lid while keeping it easy to get into if needed. Box contains the SmartShunt and two Blue Sea bus bars, with adequate room around them for all the cabling. (Thanks to @BrianZ for his well detailed setup, or I would never have figured this out myself. https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/8051/battery-spaghetti-fix-bus-bars)

Haven’t managed to fry it yet! 😁

dsfdogs

@VictoriaP why do you have the bus bars?

Denny16

A bus bar reduces the battery connections to one cable, and allows multiple connections to battery via the buss bar setup.  Buss bars typically have a zero voltage loss, and provide a safer connection setup.  Keeps wiring tidy and reduces any chance of battery shorts from occurring. 

Cheers 

VictoriaP

@dsfdogs Between the Purpleline mover, the SAE/NOCO connection, and the trailer’s own cabling, connectors were really piling up on my battery terminals and making it awkward to fit the lid onto the battery box without bending cables at fairly sharp angles. As Denny notes, using the bus bars cleaned that mess up significantly. Probably not absolutely necessary, but I did it as much for peace of mind as anything else. It’ll also make replacing the battery fairly easy when the time comes, with just two cables to shift from the old terminals to the new ones, instead of the spider’s nest of them I had to deal with previously. As an aside, while the box I picked is fairly roomy (which gave me plenty of room to work!), there’s still space enough on top of it to store the coiled 30 amp cable. The dual lock fasteners make it easy to remove if I do need access to the battery itself.

The SmartShunt is probably my second favorite mod, and the one I’m most proud of tackling myself despite being a total novice at wiring. I can honestly say this is a project anyone can do, at least on a 320 where the battery is easy to access. Being able to check the accurate battery charge & usage right from my phone is a massive help, and I’ll never own another rig without that functionality. My only regret is not doing it six months earlier when it first hit the market. Anyone who boondocks or uses LiFePo batteries should have either this or the BMV712 shunt with physical display monitor installed. The monitoring provided by Victron’s solar controllers is great, don’t get me wrong, but inadequate by comparison.

Marceline

MarkAl said:

I totally agree with @VictoriaP I noticed that NuCamp is now adding the smartshunt as an option. My problem is on installation is keeping it water safe and close to the battery - it can get pretty wet in the front bin and with my luck I'd fry it once a year. I'm waiting for my Lead Acid batteries to need replacement and then putting Lithium inside the cabin.

I bought a plastic box that was big enough to hold the SmartShunt and my battery. 

MarkAl

@VictoriaPI had very short range when I put my Smartshunt into the metal bin. I pulled it out so as not to have to go outside to read the smartshunt. Maybe I got a poor transmitter. So I had to mount it outside the bin thus began the water issues. It makes the most sense to put it close to the battery. I tried it with a smashed copper pipe strap to the shunt input but got worried about corrosive gas venting right next to the smartshunt. I think it may be fine with a large plenum of air but that plus the short range I moved it out.

VictoriaP

@MarkAl Your range issue with the later model tub is a bummer. I do wonder if it’s possible you got one with bad Bluetooth? I will say my shunt has a fairly short range, but it easily responds from inside the trailer. Obviously I have the older tub with the open back, but others with the newer tub have reported the same performance as mine, which is why I wonder about yours.

Marceline

VictoriaP said:

@MarkAl Your range issue with the later model tub is a bummer. I do wonder if it’s possible you got one with bad Bluetooth? I will say my shunt has a fairly short range, but it easily responds from inside the trailer. Obviously I have the older tub with the open back, but others with the newer tub have reported the same performance as mine, which is why I wonder about yours.

Same here. I can connect to my SmartShunt from the driver's seat of my tow vehicle and from inside the trailer. Sometimes I can connect from my galley at the back of the trailer, sometimes not. But I have the open back tub.