Welcome details on components and "wiring diagram" of your second charge controller to run a solar suitcase.
OBI Dweller Review and Discussion
- Thread starter gendlert
- Start date
USMCBladerunner
New member
I'll post some pictures when I do the install. Components are 2x Growatt 200w Solar Suitcase, Renogy Rover 30 Amp MPPT controller, 1 solar cable gland w/ MC4 connectors; 8AWG cable from SCC to battery, 1 ANL inline fuse 40 Amp.
Gland will go on the top left back wall of the "bar." Charge Controller will go on the wall behind the fake wall of the "closet" .
Someday I will upgrade the distribution boxes to accommodate more cable inputs, but for now the SCC will cable directly to a battery.
It was on the lot for a year and they wanted to dump it. The dealership was great. According to Roa and other dealerships, they purchased the Dwellers at an inflated price during covid and now they cannot sell them. I think obi burned a lot of bridges. I love the trailer so far though. It seems really, really solid. I think the only wood in the trailer are the cabinets. When I drilled through the floor for the new kitchen sink drain line, It looked like it was metal, some sort of honeycomb / composite flooring, then metal and the fake wood flooring on top.
My 15 has the anderson plug on the tongue. According to obi emails the only place to charge batteries are from the anderson plug or shore power. Then there is solar. Dumb question, doesn't the zamp suitcase solar panels have the charge controller to adjust the batteries from overcharging ?
Obsessed2findARuggedHybid
Well-known member
Ya ROA sure had or possibly has a lot of units on thier lot. I could feel the frustration in thier video. My guess is you got your dweller for about what some of the Xplores and Pauses have in thier battery bank and solar.
BernieMulcahy
Member
Regarding the Anderson plug at the tongue. My trailer has one and does not route through the existing solar controller. It goes straight to the battery bus. I have the Renogy suitcase panel, and it came with its own solar controller. I use it when I need more juice, or the trailer is in the shade. It works great. I bought about 20' of wire, put an anderson plug on one end for the trailer and wired the other end directly to the panel's controller. I seem to get the same or more AH from the 200 watt suitcase panel than I do from the rooftop panels.
Regarding the inverter/charger. My results seem to be different than gendlert. For me it only seems to charge the batteries when on shore power AND I press the button on the remote panel. I check the battery voltage on the main display before pushing button and after, and it only goes above 13v after I push the button.
Regarding the inverter/charger. My results seem to be different than gendlert. For me it only seems to charge the batteries when on shore power AND I press the button on the remote panel. I check the battery voltage on the main display before pushing button and after, and it only goes above 13v after I push the button.
I like the fact there is a local solar guru on this website. Thank you ! I have the anderson plug on the tongue of my dweller 15. I tried plugging in my zamp solar ( I had a zamp to sae solar connector made from a local battery shop ). When I plugged into the Anderson, nothing registered on the zamp control board. So I switched connections ( thinking maybe it is was my zamp panels) I switched to the I I tried running my zamp portable solar panels ( 200 total watts ) directly to the anderson plug on my trailer tongue. I had an sae andeson connector made by my local battery shop. By the zamp did not register anything. so I switched to the alligator clips and connected to my truck battery and the zamp controller worked perfect. Per your previous post. how would I know if the Anderson plug is running through the onboard solar controller ? Since the zamp controller is not registering anthing, i am assuming the Anderson plug is not connected to anything at the moment. I am new to solar and exited to getting it dialed in. I even thought about doing my own modification by drilling hole through the Dweller floor and connecting to the battery directly with a 12 volt "cigarette style" plug. Not sure If It matters which battery I connect to though. Or if it should even be done.This is partially true. Yes, the button turns on the inverter, but it does NOT control the charger (I think; please, anyone, correct me if I'm wrong on any of this).
Noob clarification for @Riviot. The big Renogy box under the bed is an inverter/charger combo, which has three main functions:
You'll also notice there's another panel that says Renogy which is for your Solar Controller. This is a completely separate device, with its own settings, that takes solar power (photovoltaic energy) and charges your battery bank. That is always on (assuming there's sunlight). The two charging systems each have individual battery monitors, so when the batteries are full, neither of them will overcharge your bank, and when your batteries are low, they will try to recharge your batteries through whichever source of power (shore or sunlight) is available. They both have the same goal, but are completely clueless that the other one exists.
- CHARGER
- The charger takes shore power (generator, campground power, or plugged in at home) and uses it to charge the battery bank
- In order to allow power to come from the shore, you need to turn the MAIN breaker on the breaker panel on and the charger will do its thing (pushing the Renogy button doesn't matter)
- Note: It comes pre-set to handle AGM battery banks, and if you ever upgrade to lithium, you will want to change the setting so it keeps the batteries at the proper voltage
- INVERTER
- The inverter takes DC power and inverts it to AC power (essentially battery power (12V) to wall-plug power (120V))
- In order to turn on the inverter, you have to push the little round Renogy button you were looking at before, and you'll hear a beep and some whirring, but the 120V outlets in the trailer still won't be on
- In order to make the outlets "live", you need to flip the INVERTER breaker on the breaker on and you can use your curling iron
- Note: you do not have to have the MAIN breaker flipped on to run the INVERTER function if you're not hooked up to shore power; it will take the power from the battery and invert it to 120V through just the INVERTER breaker.
- PASS-THROUGH POWER
- It's silly to go through the trouble for the CHARGER to take shore power (120V), convert it battery power (12V), just to have the INVERTER invert it back to outlet power (120V)
- Your Renogy inverter/charger thinks so, too, because it's smart (smart enough, anyway)
- IF you have shore power hooked up, and both your MAIN and INVERTER breakers on, the inverter/charger actually passes the 120V power directly through to your outlets, bypassing both the CHARGER and INVERTER functions
- This is also how you run your A/C (and why there's a separate A/C breaker on your breaker panel); it's intended to be run on PASS-THROUGH POWER so it doesn't tax your battery bank (the draw would kill your AGM bank in a matter of minutes)
Oh, and if your trailer is equipped (mine is not yet), there's yet a third source of power to charge the batteries through that Anderson plug on the tongue. If your truck is also wired up (wire running from the battery or alternator back near the hitch receiver, with an Anderson plug on the end), the trailer can pull power from the alternator on the truck that is charging its own battery. The truck alternator is designed to work with AGM batteries (your trucks main battery isn't lithium), so it won't overcharge your bank. That same Anderson plug could be used for a portable solar panel (@S J I'm certain Zamp makes Anderson adapters), but you'll need to ensure that your panel either has its own controller so it doesn't overcharge your bank, or that the trailer Anderson plug is running through the onboard solar controller (which is how you would manage the voltage from the truck if you changed to Lithium). So now I think I've answered both of your questions, maybe too thoroughly.
That was a lot, and probably way more than you were looking for, but I hope it helps. And I hope it's right. Someone will chime in if I'm a liar; they always do.
I was monkeying around with the Renogy controller and noticed the controller was on the "gel" for the battery type. My battery is a vrla, a valve regulated lead acid battery. Then I started looking up batteries and noticed gel, is similar to vrla, vrla is similar to flood and sld is similar to sla, it got really confusing. Seems like all the batteries except lithion are similar but not the same. What setting should I select for the renogy controller on for the battery type.
Last question. Should i turn off inverter when trailer is in storage ? Or does the inverter turn off automatically when I turn the battery switch off at the control panel by the front door ?
My first modification was adding a new sink with faucet. Turned out beautiful, I am really surprised on the build quality the dweller has. I think the only wood in the trailer are the cabinets. The flooring looked like there was a layer of metal, some sort of honeycomb flooring then back to metal, then the fake wood floor.
Sorry about the novel. Just trying to figure this stuff out and the dealer is not very knowledgeable.
Thank you !
Steve
Hello, wouldn't the controller on the zamp shut down automatically when it senses enough battery charge. ? Because the zamp would be directly wired into the batteries. '
Thx
gendlert
Well-known member
First, there are definitely a few solar gurus around here, but I'm not one of them. I'm learning as I go, just like you. I had a Zamp panel for my previous trailer, and it was wired backwards from the rest of the universe (I think it's a Zamp thing). I had installed an SAE connection in the wall of the trailer that went straight to the battery terminals, and had to get a little adapter that switched the polarity of the connection from the Zamp. Something to consider, but not guaranteeing that solves the problem.
If your panel has a controller with it, you don't need to run the wiring through your trailer's solar controller. Someone else that had the Anderson plug wired said it isn't going through the solar controller; it's going directly to the battery bus (connection hub for all your battery wiring). So getting that connection to work would be the right solution if you panel has the controller.
As for terminal connections with a battery bank, the bus would be the ideal place to make that connection, not directly to any of the batteries. That direct battery will charge faster than the other two. In a parallel wiring of the batteries, you could theoretically connect to the positive of battery 1 and the negative of battery 3 so the charge is running through the whole bank, but I think that would be less efficient than connecting directly to the bus. Someone else can weigh in on that; I'm not certain. Also, I would use an SAE type plug since you already have the connectors for your Zamp panel. You still probably want the polarity adapter.
Gel, AGM, Flooded, VRLA. My understanding is the settings are within tolerance of one another. You're correct that Li is the standout. But check the Renogy manual to be certain. When I swapped from AGM to Flooded (before I went to Li), I did update my settings, but I don't know that it was really necessary. It's worth the 2 minutes it takes to fix it, though. If VRLA isn't an option, just google what you should use or reach out to Renogy; their customer service is pretty good.
Lastly, as for the inverter in storage, yes, I would turn it off, unless you're keeping the trailer plugged in to charge in storage. Then you'll need to have the MAIN breaker on, and the charger/inverter turned on as well. The battery disconnect by the door is to disconnect the main relay (controls the fridge, Trumi, all lights, all USB/12V outlets, awning, fans, TV/DVD, etc.). The only things that are NOT going through the main relay that run on DC power (to my knowledge) are the propane/CO detector and the toilet flush, but I can't remember for sure about the latter. The inverter/charger is on the other "side" of that disconnect so you can still charge the batteries without the relay having power.
Keep asking questions, and we'll do our best to answer them.
gendlert
Well-known member
I stand corrected (and updated my previous post). The button does control both the charger and inverter functions. You will have to have both the MAIN breaker on and the charger/inverter turned on to charge via shore power.
I see more and more people here and on the FB group are pulling their Dwellers with mid-size SUVs and pickups.
I ran my Dweller 13 across the CAT Scales with both of my tow vehicles. When I did this with the Grand Cherokee, I had full fuel and a full load in the Jeep. As you can see, I was at/over the GAWR for my Jeep's rear axle This was one of the reasons that led to me purchasing the RAM 1500. With the Jeep, I would likely have been fine and had adequate safety margin if I had added a weight distribution hitch. I did not choose to do that because of the limitations it placed on where I could drive on secondary roads.
Measurements with Jeep Grand Cherokee:
When I weighed things this last week with the RAM 1500, I had just returned from a camping trip. I still had probably 3/4 of a tank of water up front and 1/4 tank of water in the rear.
Measurements with RAM 1500
Two trips across the CAT Scales to gather this data takes maybe 20-minutes and costs about $20.
My point out of this is that, even if you have a vehicle with a rated tow capacity greater than what your Dweller weighs, it is still a good idea to gather some data and see whether you are approaching or exceeding your vehicle’s axle or GVWR ratings.
I ran my Dweller 13 across the CAT Scales with both of my tow vehicles. When I did this with the Grand Cherokee, I had full fuel and a full load in the Jeep. As you can see, I was at/over the GAWR for my Jeep's rear axle This was one of the reasons that led to me purchasing the RAM 1500. With the Jeep, I would likely have been fine and had adequate safety margin if I had added a weight distribution hitch. I did not choose to do that because of the limitations it placed on where I could drive on secondary roads.
Measurements with Jeep Grand Cherokee:
When I weighed things this last week with the RAM 1500, I had just returned from a camping trip. I still had probably 3/4 of a tank of water up front and 1/4 tank of water in the rear.
Measurements with RAM 1500
Two trips across the CAT Scales to gather this data takes maybe 20-minutes and costs about $20.
My point out of this is that, even if you have a vehicle with a rated tow capacity greater than what your Dweller weighs, it is still a good idea to gather some data and see whether you are approaching or exceeding your vehicle’s axle or GVWR ratings.
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gendlert
Well-known member
Interesting. You weighed the trailer twice with varying water fills and happened to be within 3 sig figs without delta. I think I'm most impressed with that detail!
This is very helpful. And makes me want a 2500.
Yeah, that surprised me as well.
What I also found interesting, is that when I went across the scales in May 2022, I had 2 bikes on the tongue. I had no bikes with me last week yet the tongue weight was 40 lbs greater (720 lbs vs. 680 lbs) this time without the bikes. I am attributing the difference to the water load in the rear tank when I measured in May 2022. I "think" it was nearly full that time.
We chatted about this when I was vehicle shopping last fall. There are lots of manufacturers, brands and models. For me, it came down to a Rebel vs. Power Wagon decision.
Of course there are plenty of 3/4-ton class pickups that have superior payload and towing capacities. It was surprising to me to learn that the Power Wagon comes with a tradeoff on payload and towing capacity. In most configurations, a Rebel 1500 has greater payload and towing capacity than a "similarly configured" Power Wagon 2500. I am guessing that is due to the cushy, rock-crawling suspension on the Power Wagon. That being said, I'm sure a Dweller would feel much more secure behind a Power Wagon due to the greater curb weight.
At the end of the day, I ended up with the Rebel 1500 for several reasons. Most importantly I was able to find one configured how I wanted on a dealer lot below MSRP. It was going to be difficult to get the life partner comfortable with anything bigger than the Rebel and neither of us were interested in feeding the additional fuel to the 6.4L engine and 4.10 gears.
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USMCBladerunner
New member
I accidentally had my remote button off last winter in storage. Even though I was plugged in...I destroyed the batteries due to overdischarge, so I think this is correct. All breakers were on.