Renogy solar suitcase question

mickietucs

I could ask Renogy this question but don't know if they're familiar with our T@Bs so I'm coming to the experts! If I were to get two Renogy solar suitcase products (I was told I could connect 2 together) would I get a controller that says positive ground or one that says negative ground? I know Jenn said Renogy now sells the correct plug to go right into our Zamp port but have heard about the wires are "reversed" (which is way over my head). If I order two I know I need to order a separate controller and those two choices are listed (positive vs. negative ground). Anyone?

Michigan_Mike

First of all let me just add that the solar charge controller you use for pairing or paralleling two solar panels together will be clearly marked and that there are icons (battery icon & solar panel lead icons) that denote both the positive/negative terminals to be used when attaching the leads to both the battery side and the solar panel side of each device.  And when the Zamp solar port is connected to the battery it is also hooked up accordingly with the red lead going to the positive side of the battery and the black lead going to the grounded terminal on the battery.  

With the above being said, Zamp's solar port is designed for their solar panels.  This means that IF you are holding the charge wire hooked to the back of one of their solar panels, the exposed or bare connection on the panel wiring harness end is in fact the ground side of the solar panel.  They wire their panels this way (with safety in mind) because if the panel is outside or is in a position to where it is exposed to and is gathering sunlight there is a current flow through the wiring harness.  Should someone accidentally make contact with a grounded surface this will protect the panel from any damage, as will the fuse in the solar panel.  

The "reversed" scenario or concern only comes into play when you are trying to use the Zamp port when hooking up a battery tender.  If you plug-in a battery tender (without flipping the Zamp leads (which is not really a good idea) to the Zamp solar port without modifying the battery tender quick disconnect the tender will not charge or maintain the battery because the battery tender wire leads are reversed.  So you would need to cut the battery tender wire lead, flip the wiring and splice them back together (+positive connected to negative and - negative connected to positive).  The bottom line here is that the Zamp solar ports are built specifically for their solar panels and were never intended by Zamp Solar to be used to hook up a battery tender.  This is what creates the confusion therein.  

Hopefully this helps to clear things up for you and helps to answers your question above.  And if it were me, I would call Renogy and ask to speak to their solar tech, Jesse.  He is a very helpful man, very knowledgeable and will tell you the correct charge controller to buy and the most efficient means of doing so.  Feel free to tell him I recommended you call him as he is a great guy and is very giving of his time when answering questions and helping people out.

Good luck!

mickietucs

Thanks Mike. From reading your note then, you're saying if I'm all I want to do is connect a different solar panel (and not a battery tender) then I would NOT have to flip the Zamp plug wires that are on the battery? JennK said that's what she did when she plugged in her Renogy panels. I've been in touch with Renogy (I thought Jesse works for Zamp) and the tech said "Hello Michele, I believe that is all you would have to do - reverse the wire going to the battery bank. We used to sell the suitcase model with SAE plugs but we recently changed the plugs for MC4 connectors."   "In order to wire our solar panel to a Zamp port you will need to purchase a MC4 adaptor kit which MC4 on one end and bare wire on the other. You can then wire an SAE connector at the end of this adapter kit."

I could call and ask for Jesse as you suggest (if he works for Renogy). I do not want to purchase anything until I'm positive of what I need to get to make this work! 

Michigan_Mike

mickietucs said:

Thanks Mike. From reading your note then, you're saying if I'm all I want to do is connect a different solar panel (and not a battery tender) then I would NOT have to flip the Zamp plug wires that are on the battery? JennK said that's what she did when she plugged in her Renogy panels. 

That's correct....  You can also follow either lead (+ or -) back and verify whether the polarity is correct or not.  It is always good to recheck things anyway and be certain as these things are man-made and I have found defective and incorrectly wired accessories in the past.  I found a 12 volt light made in China (with black and white electrical leads) that utilized the white wire as the hot lead.  Whether it's a Zamp or Renogy panel the panels should be similar and easy enough to follow the wiring out to verify correctness.  

mickietucs said:

JennK said that's what she did when she plugged in her Renogy panels. I've been in touch with Renogy (I thought Jesse works for Zamp) and the tech said "Hello Michele, I believe that is all you would have to do - reverse the wire going to the battery bank. We used to sell the suitcase model with SAE plugs but we recently changed the plugs for MC4 connectors."   "In order to wire our solar panel to a Zamp port you will need to purchase a MC4 adaptor kit which MC4 on one end and bare wire on the other. You can then wire an SAE connector at the end of this adapter kit."

I could call and ask for Jesse as you suggest (if he works for Renogy). I do not want to purchase anything until I'm positive of what I need to get to make this work! 

My mistake on Jesse as yes, he does work for Zamp.  

The Renogy panels will have the MC4 leads on the back of the panels.  You can purchase varying length MC4 wires on Amazon and that is where I picked up my Renogy panel and the wires with connectors.  I'd be curious as to how you plan to use your panels and what kind of panels you are considering?  Are you going to hinge them together and buy mounting legs to create a portable set-up?  Nonetheless you might want to call Renogy or look for additional information on-line via YouTube or Google if you have further questions in pairing the two panels and getting them configured properly.  It sounds like you have done some homework already and when you get things finalized I'd enjoy seeing some photos of your set-up in use.  

mickietucs

Hey Mike - I just got off the phone with a Zamp tech (Jesse wasn't available). He said Zamp does not "do" reverse polarity but to check with Little Guy on how THEY install that port. Do you know if LG install those ports that way?  I can do as you suggested next time I go to the storage lot and follow the port wires to the battery and see.  Perhaps all my worrying is for naught.  I like the suitcase solar but wanted more than 100w so I can get 2 Renogy suitcase units, and wire them in parallel (seems fairly straightforward). Renogy said I'd have to get an adapter to go from the controller to the Zamp port since that needs the SAE connector and they use MC4s.

Michigan_Mike

mickietucs said:

Hey Mike - I just got off the phone with a Zamp tech (Jesse wasn't available). He said Zamp does not "do" reverse polarity but to check with Little Guy on how THEY install that port. Do you know if LG install those ports that way?  I can do as you suggested next time I go to the storage lot and follow the port wires to the battery and see.  Perhaps all my worrying is for naught.  

No, Zamp doesn't do reverse polarity but as noted earlier they do make the solar ports solely for their solar panels and NOT to be used for battery tenders.  So if you are not planning to hook a tender up to the solar port everything should be fine and all systems should be normal.