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Old 03-28-2010, 03:03 PM   #21
7.3Ford
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quote:Originally posted by pbahlin

John:
The Morningstar website seems to indicate that the 45 and 60 versions both have the same connection capabilities. Am I missing something?

You said you went with the 60 amp version to get Internet connectivity but it looks like the 45 does the same thing...
TS-MPPT-45 does not have EIA-485 or Ethernet, otherwise I would have gone that route. My Monty is about 15 miles away at the storage place, but I have Wireless modem hooked up so I can monitor the system for the next week or two from the house.
Check out whats available http://tsmppt09490337.dyndns.info:1952/
 
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Old 06-06-2011, 04:31 PM   #22
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I have had the panels installed for 15 months now. Last trip while on the road, we hit 450 Watts (I have 408 Watt system). We run frig off of the inverter while traveling.

I was washing the Monty this past weekend (while camping, it was a lot cooler there), and noticed that the hail that hit us almost two months ago, left little dimples.



Picture of panels taken 6/4/2011.



Picture of Hail, 4/9/2011.



Panels after bath 6/4/2011
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Old 06-06-2011, 05:57 PM   #23
Jolu
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John,
Can you tell if there is any less output from the panels with the dimples?
I would guess there should not be any significant loss.
Joe
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Old 06-06-2011, 06:51 PM   #24
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John,
Glad this came up. I was just wondering how the system was working out. The hail obviously made some dents in the panels. What would you say was the biggest PRO for the panels? And what is the biggest CON? If you were going to do it again what would you do differently?

Thanks, Dennis.
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Old 06-07-2011, 02:17 PM   #25
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We are also interested in a few answers - What was the total cost; Did you install yourself; What can't you run in your rig; and how did you get the wires to the AC distribution panel?
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Old 06-07-2011, 03:43 PM   #26
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quote:Originally posted by Jolu

John,
Can you tell if there is any less output from the panels with the dimples?
I would guess there should not be any significant loss.
Joe
Joe,

No change, 450 watts is about the max I have ever seen. Other than the dimples, the panels look great.

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Old 06-07-2011, 05:03 PM   #27
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quote:Originally posted by snfexpress

We are also interested in a few answers - What was the total cost; Did you install yourself; What can't you run in your rig; and how did you get the wires to the AC distribution panel?
Michael,

See bottom of page 1 and most of page two of the following MOC posts has lots of pictures, including invoice for materials.

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=44490

I put a 50 AMP Transfer Switch in the main feed line, and the inverter powers all AC loads.
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Old 06-07-2011, 05:23 PM   #28
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by HamRad

John,
Glad this came up. I was just wondering how the system was working out. The hail obviously made some dents in the panels. What would you say was the biggest PRO for the panels? And what is the biggest CON? If you were going to do it again what would you do differently?

Thanks, Dennis.
Dennis,

I think glass panels will have better performance, because they can be tilted for same square inches. The Uni-Solar panels are more shade tolerant because they have a bypass diode on every cell, where glass panels only have 3-5 diodes (string of cell). Any one cell is shaded, it stops the output of that series cells.

I think there is a good chance glass panels would have of broke if hit with the hail I got hit with. You can walk on the sick on panels, they are tougher than the EPDM rubber roof.

Yes I would do same panels again. They say they are slippery, but I fine them no more than the rubber roof. I laid then out so I could step over them to get to the slides, which is why I used two 68 Watt and two 136 Watt. Maybe if there is room I would go with four 136 Watt, but would have to measure first to make sure they would fit. The 136 Watt panels are 18' long and the 68 Watt are 9' 4".
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Old 06-09-2011, 01:23 PM   #29
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John, I am moving toward adding solar and like what you have but I have a question. If you want to trade units can they be removed or have to stay with the unit?
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Old 06-10-2011, 02:46 AM   #30
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John, I am moving toward adding solar and like what you have but I have a question. If you want to trade units can they be removed or have to stay with the unit?
They will stay with the unit. Another problem would be if the roof has to be replaced. The good part is you don't have to worry about them coming off.

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