Renogy 100W Solar Panel Kit with 30A Solar Charge
Renogy 100W Solar Panel Kit with 30A Solar Charge Controller, 12V Solar Kit for Campervan, Motorhomes, Sheds, Boats, Trailer, Marine, Off Grid Homes
| Dimensions: | 119.41 x 3.81 x 53.01 cm; 9 Kilograms |
| Model: | KIT-STARTER-100D |
| Manufacture: | renogy |
| Dimensions: | 119.41 x 3.81 x 53.01 cm; 9 Kilograms |
| Origin: | China |
The controller works well, the panels generate voltage and amperage comparable to other 100 watt panels with a great price on the kit. My kit was missing the jumper connector but the agent I spoke with at Amazon allowed me a credit to order a new jumper kit. I have purchased a total of eight 100 watt panels from Amazon and so far these panels have been the most reliable. Some of the other makes have had unresolved performance issues.
The Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Solar Panel kit has a nice panel (well made) and it outputs 22-24v in direct sunlight. But if you are intending to use this for anything OTHER THAN charging a 12v battery, the included controller is extra baggage. The controller must be connected to a 12v battery. If you want to get 12v out of the panel, you’d need to purchase a separate voltage regulator.
This item is easy to use, has worked well and does not require lots of maintenance.
Keeping a 100ah lifepo4 topped up without any struggle.
The only downside is you will need a 10a fuse.
I bought this kit so as to teach myself about solar power and off grid power. It was easy to install and I have linked it to 2 deep charge lead acid batteries. Due to winter in the UK the sun is so low however I did manage around 48 Watts one day but mostly around 10 which is rubbish really although I’m hopeful for the summer by which time I’ll buy an inverter to actually use the power from the sun. Update 23rd Jan cold day but sunny making 128 Watts.
Bought for my Camper, Using to charge a 230ah battery and does it brilliantly.
Fantastic valve for money.
Product works great, changed it out for another competitor’s flexible solar panel on Amazon and it quit working in 3 days. Go with tried and true.
This will easily fit on a boat or camper van.
It certainly is well made.
Remember to cover the solar panels when doing your electrical connections.
The panels are heavy and do need to be handled with care.
Good bit of kit, easy to instal and works well
Perfect panel for the top of the van, easy fitting and mounting . Main controller fits away perfect in the cupboard.
They perform as described. Quality is good. They don’t always come with brackets which is inconvenient. Overall a good deal
Figured out where to mount the controller box then hooked up the batteries left the full length of the wire so can put the panel outside . Will leave it like this until I find a permanent place to mount it. The moment I hooked the panel into the controller it showed a charge . Am very happy so fa
system was used to charge 2 wet cell batteries for a shed . it takes longer that expected . i have used solar before . the product is really great otherwise . easy setup . clean look . seem fairly durable .
Bought this to keep my battery’s on my 5th wheel charged up while dry camping. I followed the instructions and bam nothing worked. My buddy looked at and found I had seated the wires to deep and the set crews were on the insulated cover. Stripped a little more and everything worked like it’s suppose to. My buddy bought one and is gonna install it on his trailer also. I have a small trailer and Ill buy one for that trailer to
pretty easy to install. Works great. Best upgrade i have bought for my travel trailer to date.
Easy to install and works very well just a shame you can’t add the bt2 to this as it comes with a wanderer controller and it doesn’t fit this controlle
I bought this panel to fit to my shed roof. Unfortunately the pre-drilled holes didn’t match the roof bars on my shed which were 75cm apart so I had to drill additional holes. That said if the pre-drilled holes were longer or even better continuous along the length of the panel this would be ideal and very flexible. The panel itself is sturdy and well made. The connectors cables are excellent and plenty length to deal with just about any install location. The Controller is easy to install and use as I have it connected to a 12v battery and 3000w Inverter. Overall a good simple and effective piece of kit. I added a connector splitter (1 to 2) and now have solar connected to Controller and separate connector to Power Station.
ice set up from the company I’ll buy more for theses product’s from Amazon agai
Great setup for small systems, both permanent and temporary. We installed on a shipping container turned shop. Once the battery charged, we setup a 1000W inverter and ran a 1″ belt sander and a bench grinder for most of the first day.
Maintained float charge status after only a few hours after installation on an 8D AGM battery. Will definitely be buying more of these.
I thought I’d try a DIY Solar addition to my trailer. The hardest part of installation was trying to fish the wires into the trailer to the controller. In addition, the 12v battery terminals included in the kit were too small so I had to buy new ones. The panels have been working well in sunny conditions but definitely struggle to charge the battery on cloudy & overcast days. Having said that, for the price I can live with the product knowing it’s limitations.
Bon kit mais, on s’aperoit vite qui manque des choses (ex: des supports de panneaux, des fils rallonge pour relier 2 panneaux un peu plus distanc, des fusibles sur le fil qui va la batterie et un sur les panneaux).Le matriel est d’excellent qualit et bien emball pour le transport.
I love the panel.
The controller wire clamps have no teeth and no matter how hard you clamp them, the wires eventually slip out if you’re moving this around.
I was surprised how high quality the associated hardware is. The hookup cables are particularly over designed (1500 Vdc rated). The brackets are aluminum, and the attaching nuts and bolts are stainless steel. The screws used to bolt to the roof (or whatever) are the only parts that could rust. The cables seem to be Metric so are probably not something you are accustomed to. It is tinned copper stranded wire with a very heavy insulator. When you bend it, it will not hold the bend, it just springs back. I found that if you need to make a tight radius bend, you can use a heat gun and work it like you would work PVC pipe. Heat it, bend it, hold it until it cools, and the bend will stay.
Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit diesen Set und kauf. Kann ich nur empfehlen. Habe dieses Set fr meine Garage gekauft, weil ich kein Stromnetz dort habe. Ich muss sagen, die Solarzelle ldt sorgar im Schatten mit meinen billig Regler. Das war bei meiner alten Solarzelle anders.
Leider ist das Kabel fr den Anschluss zur Batterieohne Sicherung. Das sollte man noch bercksichtigen.
I am not any sort of electrician nor electrically inclined but this was very easy to figure and was plug-and-play. I just wish that I noticed earlier that the controller has no output for a device so you must connect your device to the battery directly which will require a voltage regulator (sold separately). Other than that the kit is everything you need to get started to set up something off-grid and at a very reasonable price. The only thing to be careful of is when you plug the solar panel and the battery into the control make sure you are doing + to + and – to – in the controller.
Ska montera panelerna p bten p en stllning jag gr sjlv.
Lyckligtvis har jag inte byggt stllningen n, fr panelerna har andra mtt n vad som anges p sljarens presentation (och vad som str i Renogy’s datablad)
Mina paneler r 1076 * 509 * 35.
Vad jag sett p ntet r Renogy’s paneler bland de bsta, s tveka inte att kpa, men bestll och kontrollmt innan ni brjar bygga ngot…
Just hooked up this morning and the system is working very well, far beyond my expectations. Brought my 3 battery/550ah bank up from dead to running my propane furnace and water pump in about 15 minutes of direct sunlight.
I was on the fence after trying a cheap HF panel but finally pulled the trigger on this kit. Night and day difference. Ordering 2 more panels and the Bluetooth adapter this week.
I searched the reviews for a long time without finding much real world comparisons so hopefully this helps someone out. This one panel I think will fully replace my 4000watt generator and 15amp battery charger quite easily. Spending $30+ a week for gas, the payoff will be very quick
Very easy to set up and install but plan it out where its going to fit before running cables and fuses, to achieve the best finish with tidy cabling
The 200w kit will be ideal for powering low power 12volt outdoor leisure equipment.
As winter has come I’ve introduced a MPPT controller to make the most of the little sunlight we have, but the PWM will be absolutely fine for most.
I had a small fridge lying about (actually have another 4 or so). Pick them up at estate sales and such for five to twenty bucks. Used a kWh measuring device (KillaWatt Brand) and ran it for a week, determining that it was consuming about 300 wH per day. So I figured a 100 W panel ought to be sufficient given that they have good sun resource on any day warm enough to need beer.
Note that I did not calculate in the fact that they’d be putting extra stress on the fridge by putting warm six packs in it every day or so. Could have done this by factoring in the specific heat of water (how much energy it takes to raise a given mass of water a given degree) and then working backwards and assuming an inefficiency coefficient based on the efficiency of refrigeration processes. If I had done so and used an egregiously inefficient coeficient, say 1 Wh of cooling (i.e., BTU converted to watt hours) requiring 1 Wh of energy to run the fridge, I’d get about 80 Wh of energy consumption to cool a gallon of beer, or about 50 Wh for a 6 pack. Frankly, I should have included this in the estimation, but assumed it wouldn’t be that big a deal. Note that a 1 to 1 ratio is fairly inefficient, so there’s a lot of wiggle room here. So, bottom line is that even if they switch out a 6 pack a day, total consumption ought not to exceed about 350 – 400 Wh per day. The roof pitch and sun resource here (southern Oregon) is pretty good. I figured they’d get at least 600 Wh ,delivered, with this panel in this location, in the summer.
Bottom line is that the panel seems to be providing enough energy, but we are going to need to add an additional 1200 wH battery since the depth of discharge gets too high if we get any morning fog. Even without that, 400 Wh is about a 33% DoD. That’s not bad, but given the occasional morning fog issue, the battery takes some stress on occasion. For our application, and the price of an extra panel, it might not be a bad idea to add another panel as well. They don’t drink a lot of beer in the winter, but it might not hurt.
As for the system, it was very easy to install and came with mounting brackets and sufficient cable to do it all out of the box.
The only problem was that the client initially used an old deep cycle battery, and on occasion the inverter was shutting down due to low voltage since it wasn’t capable of storing 1200 Wh. I ran a new battery over and they installed it. I THINK but can’t be sure, that they reversed the polarity or shorted the Charge Controller output leads. When I got there, the Charge Controller was not putting out any current. I had a small Victron MPPT unit in the truck so I just subbed it out. I haven’t thoroughly investigated the dead unit yet, but noticed it’s got two soldered in fuses(!) I will hook it up and jump the fuses one at a time to see if that’s what happened (yes, shame on me, I should have put some fast blowing fuses in the wiring – will get back there in the next week or two to do that). Anyway, the client is happy and I can still go in there to buy lumber without a problem.
Amazon has sent me a replacement Charge Controller, no questions asked, so that is good. I bought the Assurion Warranty on it.
I do want to add that the Victron is overkill for this app so I am going to sub it out with the replacement. The reason is that one of the nicest things about this kit is that the charge controller, while only a PWM, IS rated for 30 amps. So it’s easily expandable. (Upto 4 panels I believe.) That’s a nice feature, and the Vicron can handle higher voltage, so it’s wasted on this application.
All in all I highly recommend this kit for small or introductory set ups. Perfect for small dedicated stand alone applications such as a Flojet Water Pump to slowly pump water up a hill to a cistern for gravity flow to an application, or small fridge. Just don’t forget to add external fuses. For that matter, Renogy ought to bump the price up $10 and include them.
Quite easy to fit.
I have also fitted a flexible theory panel, and changed my charge controller because this one is rated at 30A.
All in all, I think that trophy equipment is great value for the money.
The instructions for attaching the cables to the Renogy wanderer aren’t described verbally or aren’t clear in the “Renogy 100 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit”.
“FIRST lower each terminal hatch by screwing the terminals counterclockwise” see the “User Guide (PDF)” which is below the “Product guides and documents”. The “User Guide (PDF)” doesn’t come with the Solar Starter Kit.
I think the “Renogy Rover MPPT Solar Charge Controller” is better than the “Renogy wanderer”. Look at the “User Manual (PDF)” for the “Renogy Rover MPPT Solar Charge Controller” to compare it with the “Renogy wanderer”.
The “Renogy 100 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit” probably isn’t designed to charge a “Pinty Portable Uninterrupted Power Supply 500W”. The “Renogy Rover MPPT Solar Charge Controller” also probably isn’t designed to charge a “Pinty Portable Uninterrupted Power Supply 500W”.
The “Pinty Portable Uninterrupted Power Supply 500W” battery capacity is reduced if a “Renogy 100 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit” is used to charge it instead of the 120 AC power cable (based on my experience).
The “Renogy Rover MPPT Solar Charge Controller” works alright with a “CHINS 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery” when the battery type is set to USE and when the charging voltages are set to 14.6. Four 100 Watt Solar panels should be used with a “CHINS 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery” is what I was told.
The Renogy wanderer is set to 12.8 (default) for Lithium batteries, but the voltage varied from 12.57 V to 13.15 V when charging the Pinty from 53.2% power level to 100%. The Pinty needs 12.75 V +-.075V from a solar charge controller. It was a sunny day with a solar UV index of around 5.9.
I had to temporarily connect a 12 V A23 battery to the battery side of the Renogy wanderer and Rover before they would start charging the Pinty (the Pinty has 0 V at its solar charging port). I added a zener diode (in series) to the A23 battery to prevent reverse current (when the solar panel was connected to the wanderer).
The “Renogy 100 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar panel” produced about 73 watts according to the “Renogy Rover MPPT Solar Charge Controller”. The solar uv index was about 6.2 when the 73 watts was measured. Attached is a screenshot of “DC Home” paired with a “BT-1” and a “Renogy Rover 30 Amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller”. Maybe a “Renogy Rover 20 Amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller” would be enough for four Renogy 100 Watt Solar panels.
Great panels for a great price. Easy to install and mount for a first timer. Working fine with no issues
I purchased this starter kit as “Phase 1 Solar” for my 5th Wheel RV. The end goal (by phase 2) is to have an affordable solution to keep my batteries topped up without having to run my generator for any length of time.
The package was shipped quickly and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and unpackaging experience of the Renogy product. Out of the box, all of the parts looked well built and of good quality.
I mounted and installed all of the components as per the Renogy website instructions and videos. I added a couple extra components recommended by Renogy (not included in the kit) such as a fuse between the PV array and the charge controller, a fuse between the charge controller and the battery bank, and an easy access kill switch between the PV array and the charge controller. I made sure these switches and fuses were rated for the 10 gauge / 30 amp system I was building.
After a few days of running in partially cloud conditions, this single 100 watt panel setup is able to keep my batteries at 100% charge with the fridge running on propane (which uses approximately 20 AH per day for the climate control and circuit board) as well as the small parasitic draw of systems like the LP gas detector, stereo, etc. I do not expect any more from this system in my first phase (1 panel).
Next year, if all goes well, I will be adding 2 more 100 watt panels to the system which will hopefully cover the remainder of my RV power needs (i.e. water pump, stereo/tv, LED lights, and occasionally the furnace fan).
I will update this post with my findings.
Easy too enstall works well thinking getting another panel and wiring kit too put one bank and two more battreys
Great quality for the price, does the job fine.
Keeps my 100ah leisure battery topped up whilst away camping.
I purchased this product to run lights in my shed for use at night, as well as keep my deep cycle batteries charged. This accomplishes this in spades.
I did find that the width of the studs in the walls of my shed didnt quite match up, so i had to make do and use a wall anchor. However that being stated, they were not 16″ in center either so i cannot fault the panel or the predrilled holes.
The connectors attached easily, My one piece of feedback is while the base of the connector is labeled with a plus or a minus, the unique cords are not, and i had to use a silver marker to label them so when i pulled them into the shed down to the regulator, i would know which was which without having to go back to the panel itself.
The regulator works as described. Charged up my batteries, and is working to power both the 12v lights as well as get the battery charged enough to run the inverter.
I am very happy with this purchase. Would definitely buy again.
You don’t get a fuse & you might also need a battery heat monito
Comes with everything you need. Cables are plenty long for optimal positioning.
It easily recharges my single battery during the day when dry camping.
A friend built me a great hinged stand from an old aluminum sign.
It locks up at 45 degrees and we stake down with tent stakes to avoid it being blown over in our high Colorado winds.
I put the controller box in a lightweight plastic toolbox with holes cut for the battery and panel cables.
All except the panel stores neatly in the toolbox.. This has survived numerous rain storms.
I would buy the starter kit again if needed and have recommended to numerous friends.
I have about 20 days of total use on it so far. O problems.
I do have to rotate several times during the day as the sun moves to keep the best angle.
I plan on mounting my frame on an old bicycle wheel to make it very easy.
It is not light but one person can easily move everything around and set up.
The item is as described and contains all parts, packaged well for shipping. The online and hard copy User’s Guide/Installation instructions are well thought out and easy to understand. I was in a hurry to install and could have benefited studying the User’s Guide, systematically, but didn’t have the time as this is my main source of power.
In buying a solar starter kit (from a different buyer on a different platform) I found that one needs to know the exact parts that are needed for individual needs (extension wiring for panel to reach controller 10′-20′, and/or z brackets to secure panel in place). Different kits offer different items and leave out other important ones so it’s important to check all the parts needed to install before buying and pay attention to the features (lcd screen, usb ports, etc) of the controller. There are also blue tooth units and a phone app to use to track what the panel is doing and the state of the batteries, for an additional charge.
In this kit (100W mono panel, 30A controller), the panel works well and will charge 2-12V deep-cycle batteries linked together, at 50% charge level, in two days of direct sunlight to a full float charge. The panel arrived in good shape but I think needs mounted in a permanent location with a metal supporting stand rather than using in a temporary setting. The metal surrounding the panel crystals could be sturdier. The controller is plastic but mounts easily, works well, and is easy to install to the panel and on the wall.
I think that this is a really good starter solar kit for those wanting to use and understand solar, for the price, in an off-grid system. I like that the company put the effort into writing a good installation manual and phone app for tracking. Materials used in manufacture could be a little stronger and sturdier in the panel. Tech support is very difficult to reach: the 800 number rings a fast busy signal (permanently), the local phone number in Southern Cal has long waits (27 callers ahead on several occasions), and it takes about 2 days to get an e-mail answer from tech support that gives cut and dried answers from the book and doesn’t volunteer extra information.
All in all, this purchase was a great value for a well-working product, but along with value be prepared to do a lot of the research/troubleshooting on your own. I hope that after the pandemic, Renogy becomes easier to reach for after sale and tech support.
I initially connected a cheap 800w inverter for about 45 quid. It lasted a week. I upped the budget and bought a Krieger but it lasted 3 months and burned out. Ive now connected an energize 1110w I bought from Argos, so far so good and quiet as a mouse.
If I kept the trailer out in pure sunlight, away from under trees, and in more mild temperatures, and set the fan to a bit higher tolerance (had it at 80%), than there’s no doubt I’d be running them at their most efficient and my battery would stay topped off (single 100ah battery).
I gave it 4 stars because I’d like to see the cost come down on these systems a little more, and I think that can be achieved with their construction. I gave “light weight” 3 stars because I’m surprised they’d even ask. They’re not exactly “light weight”, but I think if they actually cheapen the construction a bit (plastics instead of aluminum) to ACTUALLY reduce the weight, putting more of the protection responsibility on the user, then they can drive down cost AND get away with calling it “light weight”. 99% of the time someone is installing this on a roof, so the need for the heavy duty aluminum frame is just not there. Either drastically reduce the aluminum, or move to bioplastics, relocate the terminal to the end so it can be thinner and mounted closer to the surface.
Anyway.. these are good. Tough. Durable. Easy to install. Worth it.
Cheers
Installed this last year and worked just fine. I’ve yet to mount it to my pickup shell, wanted to see how it worked before drilling holes only to find out it didn’t work/meet my needs.
For the last year I simply had the panel set out angled to the sun while camping and it did fine. I run a 1500v 10a inverter off it for my morning coffee. It runs my LED lights and charges phones/laptop just fine. I also have run a small 750v heater off it and no issues with too much pull or drain (System is connected to a deep cycle gel battery) Panels keep the battery charged.
Pros: Inexpensive and pretty easy to use and setup.
Cons: hard coated cables can be a pain to install, especially in cold climates. I found that the regulator often doesn’t hold the cables secure and the cable pop out if regulator is moved. Most likley a setup flaw in having to bend and secure the cables much more. Mounting hardware looks simple enough. I’ll likely mount it to the shell this summer and update the review.
Simple kit, online directions are pretty good
Great starter kit to get into solar for small projects – charging electric power equipment batteries, deep cycle batteries, etc.
Supplied wires are good enough to trickle charge a standard 12 volt RV deep cycle battery from Walmart to full charge from empty in about 3 days of full sunlight. Many reviewers recommend getting your own solar wires, and that works too if you have that in your budget and need a higher charge rate
Cons:
For the love all that is holy – WHY DON’T THEY LABEL THE SOLAR PANEL WIRES AS + and – ON BOTH ENDS OF THE WIRE??? Maybe I installed them wrong, but for the love of *!*!( I climbed up and down on that roof twenty times before I got everything hooked up and only one end of the wires is marked as + and – so you have to make notes to figure out which is which once you get off the roof and try to hook to the charge controller. In addition, be extremely careful inserting the wires into the battery charge controller – they aren’t joking that the controller connection breaks easily and it’s very easy to *think* you got a wire in (even pull on it and it holds) and later it just falls out. Which is bad because now you have a potential situation in which live wires are available for you to electrocute yourself on when you open the battery storage area. Be careful not to crank on the screws until they are very far out or very far in to the controller – again, it breaks easily.
OVERALL: I would buy this kit again. It has clear directions, its affordable, and it can be installed easily on the roof with a couple of chunks of concrete to hold it in place and raise the upper end to allow drainage (I didn’t screw it down and it’s survived several tornado warnings). It’s also designed to be expandable by buying additional kits. Installing this has guaranteed in one of our frequent power outages and storm failures I can recharge my chainsaw and cut my way out of my driveway and out to the main road without wasting my precious generator gas on running a chainsaw that also needs oil, regular maintenance, and throws my shoulder out every time I try to start it. Who knew going green could be so ergonomic?
Solar panel also has a volume of quite obvious scratches.
Aren’t these supposed to be new/unused items straight from the manufacturer?
I’m an electrician, and tempted to return these. But I want to give you guys a chance to explain what happened to my charge controller and solar panel.
Good value, utterly straightforward and I have high confidence that my batteries are full and my bilges are empty.
Rengery – 1 Suggestion – the brackets that come with these kits are terrible. Once you mount the panel using the brackets it is impossible to remove panels from RV roof without breaking the dicorr seal around the brackets. I opted for the other brackets designed for airstream campers you offer. This allow for panel removal if they ever need replaced or serviced. This 2 piece style of bracket should come with all kits.
Sehr gut! Der Artikel ist wirklich sehr gut verarbeitet.
Das Panel wirkt gut verarbeitet, die Kabel und der Wandler ebenso!
***** Funktionsumfang *****
Das Panel tut das, was es soll. Der Wandler ist gut sowie die Kabel welche sehr lange sind gut verarbeitet und gut Isoliert. Auch die Halterungen welche dabei waren, sind gut!
***** Lieferung *****
Wie immer bei Amazon unproblematisch!
***** Fazit *****
Preis-/Leistung sehr gut! Kann ich wirklich empfehlen! Nutze das 100W Panel zum Laden meines VW-Bus und betreiben eines Khlschrank!
Brilliant bit of kit. This one panel is enough to keep my two leisure battery’s (190AH) fully charged, even on cloudy days. The fixing kit is brilliant too. I mounted mine in my roof rack. Great quality and well worth the extra
I purchased this to install on the Roof of my Jeep wrangler (overland built) to serve as a way to charge an auxiliary deep cycle battery which powers my permanently mounted ARB fridge as well as all the camp LED lights and recharge phones and electronic equipment. I was fairly new at this solar thing but did a ton of research on the subject before settling on this. There are tons of off-brand products in this category as well as a vast array of pricing options, both higher and lower than this set up. However, after careful consideration and countless review reading and youtube watching, I decided that this set up was best suited for my application.
The problem: I built my Jeep to do some overlanding and one thing that I cannot live with is my ARB fridge which is permanently mounted in the kitchen which sits in the back of the car. The car doesn’t have a dual battery system and so the fridge is/was plugged into the cranking battery which is not optimal as you do run the risk of the fridge draining your cranking battery and leaving you stranded (NOTE: Fridge does have a shut off feature which measures the voltage of the battery and turn itself off if said voltage is below “x” volts. Also my Jeep is a standard so I can push it / get a quick tow to get it started and I do always have a battery pack / starter as a precaution…).
The solution: Getting an auxiliary battery to supply the fridge (and other accessories) and a solar panel to keep this battery topped off while at camp and on the road.
I chose Renogy after my many hours of research because of the name brand recognition and the the many reviews that seem to point at a great company with solid products and good support. So far I can say that the reviews are 100% correct in that I made the right choice. The package arrived well wrapped and precisely as advertised. The panel is solidly built and all the cabling provided is the correct gauge with the proper connectors. I really wanted to get a name brand Charge controller after reading that cheaply made units can both be highly inefficient and could be dangerous. In hindsight I probably would rather the version of the solar charge controller than has the integrated LED screen providing the charging and consumption metrics but price point on this project was met with the simpler unit. I am using some third party units to measure charging metrics and load usage which is fine but does require more wiring.
The panel comes with all the brackets to install in on a flat surface and my guess is that 90% of the time people will need to do some custom installation of sort so these brackets, although perfectly adequate for a flat install are useless to me at the moment. All the connections are well made and this gives me no reason to believe that they will not last a long time. Right now in full sun and FLAT on my roof rack (note: flat is not optimal as the sun is never perfectly perpendicular to the panel and a 45 degree angle would be better to adjust for the that) the panel does produce about 5.5/6 AmpH and about 24 volts which according to what I calculated will be more than adequate to keep the smaller deep cycle (35amp hour) battery I am using topped off and run all the accessories I want to run off of it.
I intent to post photos of the set up once it’s complete as well as add to this review when i have had a chance to use the system to a greater extent.
I have 2 100W panels on mine and i camp 9 months of the year in Canada, I don’t even bring a generator anymore as I’ve never had to worry about power since i installed them. The heater and lights will run all night at -20C and by the time i wake up, batteries are fully charged. For most campers a single panel would be sufficient.
The other great thing about these is they keep your batteries cycling/charged in the winter so there is no need to take your batteries out of the RV in the winter,
If your considering this or a generator, I would put my money on these as they are silent, require basically 0 maintenance are cheaper than an inverter generator.
No more 25 to 30 pounds a night on site I’m self sufficie
I have 4x 12 volt deep cycle batteries and the 2 panels have no problem keeping the batteries fully charged during the summer.
I monitor battery condition with digital meter. 19 volt input into controller was noted when panels in direct sunlight.
All dry camping but I don’t waist power.
Power usage with 4-5 hrs on 24inch lcd.
Also dvd or sat dish.
1200 watt inverter to run the above.
water pump for shower and dishes.
I use led lights for night time.
Refer is on gas but the control is 12 volt.
Some people complain about the controller, but I think it does fine. The complaint is that it doesn’t have a meter to show voltage or current. In my opinion, you only want this in the beginning to see how efficient your system is. The controller has LEDs that show when it is charging and when it is in maintenance charge mode (batteries full). I have an inexpensive volt meter that plugs into the 12 volt outlet. Good enough for me.
Do not buy the huge fuse holder and 100A fuses that appear as “Items other people bought with this.” The correct fuses are 15A and 30A, and you can use standard automotive fuse holders. There is an inexpensive meter that appears when you purchase this, and I recommend that you fully read the instructions and develop a plan before buying it. This meter can only tell you what is happening at the point of installation. For example, some people install this between the panels and the controller (shows panel output), between the controller and the batteries (shows controller output), or between the batteries and the load (shows what the appliances are actually using from the battery). In my opinion, the last application is the only one I care about on an ongoing basis, and the installation for this application is independent of the solar install.
Also, take the time to look up the recommended roof attachment procedures for your type of roof. I have an EPM roof, so I looked at the manufacturer videos for attaching a fan to an EPM roof and used those as a guide. I was surprised to learn that butyl tape is the first line of defense and the self-leveling caulk was the second line of defense. If the roof leaks, dry rot will likely follow, and that can be expensive at best or ruin the RV.
Some people commented that the connectors are difficult to separate, but there is an inexpensive tool you can buy at checkout to make this easy.
The instructions say to hook up the solar panels last or cover them so they don’t produce a charge until after they are connected to the controller. I cut cardboard covers from the shipping box and taped them to the panels. This allowed me to lay out everything before the final attachment.
Installed for a cabin and charging nicely even on dull days
At first we mounted the panel flat, but after some testing we bought a tilt mount and increased our power. This also lets snow and rain slide off. Very important!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IYWBOLA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We are charging two 75 amp hour deep cell batteries wired parallel and have since added a second panel. After an average day and nights use . . lights (led), furnace or swamp cooler depending on the season, fan, stereo, water pump, etc. . . . the batteries are fully charged by mid afternoon.
We plan on adding a third panel and a third battery this summer and then a fourth and a fourth next spring. At that point we may add an inverter, but we are very comfortable with 12 volts. This highlights the a great aspect of this kit, you can expand it. You don’t have to buy it all at once. One panel was great for a weekend, two panels gives us almost unlimited use, three will give us extra power. The controller is good for 4 panels.
We are coming up on a year with these panels and we couldn’t be happier. I usually check to see what the controller is doing in the afternoon, but other then that the kit takes care of itself.
I would highly recommend this kit and anything from Renogy. The panels are solidly built and reliable as are the tilt mounts. In my opinion, if you are looking to solar charge an RV or cabin, this is what you want to start with. I was a solar newbie when we first got this kit, but now I’m very comfortable with it. Renogy’s videos and instructions are very well done and their customer service is Outstanding! Our first controller was a dud. I called them and explained what it was doing. We got a new controller via second day shipping. The rep also followed up via email to make sure everything was working properly. Very nice guy and very knowledgeable.
Last weekend my wife got on the roof and changed the angle of the panels for summer, all the maintenance it should need. :). Those tilt mounts are also great!
A major reason for going with Renogy was I have noticed that customers that had problems were contacted through the comment box, OR customers that had problem said service contact was great! Peace of mind.
UPDATE October 31, 2017 Our trailer came with a shore power (120Vac) converter/battery tender unit and wasn’t sure about the Renogy and the trailer unit working together. On the forum at Renogy.com, another customer or two asked about this and it is OK to do. One charger of the two will see the need for charging and the other will see the charge and not turn on. Anyway, the hard part of putting this in the RV was to locate a tie to the battery from the inside without creating a new exit hole. I was able to tie in at the battery connection in the RV converter/charger and do a simple run to the Renogy panel mounted near the door. Then it was easy to connect the solar panel to the Renogy panel at the door. The handy indicator lights on the Renogy panel showed it was charging the batteries normally without any issues! So now, rather than having my house power hooked up to the RV for days to charge the batteries (2 golf cart 6 V) I connect my Renogy unit and forget about it. And now with fall here, and winter around the corner, I can park the trailer with a window facing south for the solar panel. No need to haul out 150 pounds of batteries!
RECOMMENDED!
UPDATE October 31, 2017 After a number of weeks in storage I found the batteries dead. Some detective work uncovered a hidden FM booster that was on behind the TV, also the CO monitor was on and so too was the back-light for the radio panel. With these disconnected the batteries still would not charge. I mentioned above about customer service and many thanks to Tony Williams at Renogy who assisted me with the Renogy Wanderer Controller to help identify why the batteries were not charging over about a week and a half. The Renogy unit was fine. It turns out that the likely problem is the 100 watt kit that I have cannot recharge 2 deep cycle batteries in the limited sun light we have in the northern hemisphere . IF the batteries have a reasonable charge then they should recharge just fine with the 100 watt solar panel.
The panel was the easiest part of the install. just use butyll tape on the bottom of the brakets, screw onto roof, and then cover everything in lap sealant. I ran the cables down one of my vent cover holes which luckly was almost directly above where I wanted to mount the panel.
Running the cables and getting the electronics set up was the biggest challenge. I ended up mounting the charge controller and fuses for the system under my travel trailers kitchen sink. I used a 1 foot by 1 foot piece of plywood. I wired up and installed as many components on the board as I could before installling. This made it easier to not be assembling everything under the sink.
The Campers electrical box housing the fuses and converter box are a few feet away from my where I mounted my chage contoller undert the sink. rather than run from the charge controller directly to the battery I went into the electrical box and joined with the 6 guage wires already going from the converter to the battery. This saved me alot of money on cable!
I finished installing on a sunday night. The sun was down and so I couldnt test right away. I turned on half the lights in the camper, the power vent, and left my 24 inch TV running off an inverter. I let these appliances drain on my power bank all night. I turned everything off monday morning. I saw that the green light was blinking which indicated that it was charging. By the time I got home for lunch 4 hours later the batteries were topped off. It has been installed for a week now and the batteries have never gone below 70% full with full usage of the appliances.
I also purchased a volt meter/usb charger/12v socket so I can measure the voltage and charge things, as you can see in one of the pictures.
I am not an electrician. I know very little about electricity. I think this was a fairly easy project that turned out awesome. I am very happy with the Renogy proucts they seem durable and have lived up to the other great reviews I read. I would suggest this brand and prouct to anyone looking to try out solar power. I was very impressed!!! You should buy this for your camper you wont be disappointed.
Install was a tad nerve wracking when it came to the wiring. I saw people bought fuses and fuse cases with it and got he same thinking I needed them, but I ended up using just what it all came with. It seems to do a good job keeping things charged up and I’ve run the heater and everything for a while to see how it did.
I do not plug in my trailer any more and sold my generator (Honda 2000)… I was glad to get rid of the noise (very nice/quiet generator by the way) and gas smell.
I was very surprised how well the panels did in the winter. It kept it charged even thought we had a fair amount of snow. That was interesting.
Controller is a bid hard to wire to, feel like you are going to break the tiny screws with those big wires. Seems like a little stronger setup could be worked out there. The controller is kinda a self handler though after you get all that done. Haven’t done a thing with it. Just look at the lights.
Was relieved when it was over and seemed to work and nothing had smoke coming out of it! haha 🙂 And that it keeps running like a charm (so far).
Again, I would / will buy more of this one if I get more. I’d like 3-4 panels on my 30′ trailer… its a biggy. I did get all LED lamps in this order as well and replaced my entire lighting. Very happy with that decision also.
I’d love to get a tesla power wall and install a bunch of these to keep that charged. Not an environmental nut case, just like to get off the big bills. Not sure if they’d be the best for that though.
Since installing this kit in February of 2014 and installing a new battery in my camper it has never once been plugged in to shore power or on any other type of charger, let me repeat that, I HAVE NEVER PLUGGED MY CAMPER INTO A WALL OUTLET IN 2 YEARS!. I live in Colorado so the camper is not used during the winter months, yet I have never taken the battery out of the camper and have never plugged it in to anything else to charge it. I have a multitude of ammeters and voltage meters hooked up to my camper to monitor battery and solar performance and this system hasn’t let me down. Tonight I opened the door to the camper just to make sure the battery is in good shape and its sitting there at 12.8 volts in the dead of winter at 20*f ambient temperature and dark outside.
During the use season, I again have never plugged into shore power in two years. Granted I only have a 16′ travel trailer, but it is fully equipped, fridge, furnace, full bath, stereo, etc. Granted, my appliances are efficient. Lights are all LED, furnace only pulls 1.8 amps while running, fridge is old school propane, no fans or circuit boards to deal with, my main power draws are the furnace and stereo. I have a 100ah battery running everything and I have yet to watch it turn dark and this solar system not get my battery fully charged before sunset after supplying my needs throughout the previous night and current day.
This system is a huge asset to anyone that boondocks. I stayed at two campgrounds last year along with my other boondocking trips, which almost all of them are. I never plugged in the shorepower while there, I trust this system more than the inverter/charger that is in my camper and I never need more power, proven by the voltage and am,enters I have hooked up in different configurations. .
I spent the last couple of days building, painting and installing my van roof platform on which I am mounting solar, and for general cargo carrying. After three days late delivery, I installed my basic 100 watt Renogy kit, only to find that it is dead in the water. A disappointment to say the least as we are supposed to be heading out for the Canadian long weekend for some camping and relaxing. Everything was wired as per instructions and when I go to remove the cardboard from the panel and…voila! Nothing!. The green battery light is fine, but the solar light is not lit on the charge controller. Hmmmm…full sun at noon and open voltage of only 10.05 volts. I phone Renogy and am told to test the diodes…voltage between terminal 1 and 2 and 2 and 3; one side good, one side not. They tell me they are sending a new diode, but this gets me to thinking…how do the diodes check out off the panel? A resistance test shows them as fine…would this describe a bad diode or a dead panel? I only had my cheapo meter which lacks a diode test function.
Not only did I waste a couple hours on hold, then waiting for a call back and un-installing the panel to test, but now I suspect I will be without the much anticipated solar for the weekend. I imagine I will receive a new diode, install it and then have to go through the headache of un-installing the whole kit, wiring and all to ship back for a refund when the panel proves to be NFG.
Sorry if this sounds “rantish” but time is precious and I feel like I have just wasted a pile of it…
I will update if the new diode solves the problem.
UPDATE JULY 31st:
Well it turns out that one of the connections in the junction box was not soldered properly. It was not apparent until I gently pried it up. A quick hit with some silver solder and gun and we are back in business. Panel is now outputting properly. Dealings with Renogy customer service were great, but I need to take a star off for the poor quality control…sorry Renogy.
We have 2 – 75 Amp hour batteries on our 14 foot Starcraft travel trailer. (Probably more than we need, but it came with 2.) During the evening we ran the water pump, watched a movie on our 19″ TV w/ DVD player (12 volt input on it), charged our cell phones through the 12 volt cigarette lighter socket in the trailer, had on a couple 12 volt lights for a couple hours, and ran the fan of our small propane furnace in the trailer that cycled on and off over night. In the morning it was very cloudy/foggy, but somewhat bright. By 10:00 AM my battery indicator in the trailer was saying the battery was up to full voltage already. (Should not necessarily be interpreted as being fully charged.) I was totally impressed. I should also mention that we live in the Pacific Northwest where it is not known for being a sunny area.
I was hoping but not expecting that I could also power my refrigerator if I put it in the 12 volt mode. However, later investigation found the refrigerator in the trailer draws around 8 amps. Two much of a load for my setup. I would have to do a little more computing, but I think if I had two of these panels and a slightly larger battery capacity, I would probably be OK with even running my refrigerator on 12 volts. As it is, we just run the refrigerator on propane.
The MC4 cables that come with it gave me enough length to move the panel around an get it into the sun if we are parked in the shade. I just leaned the solar panel against a chair, table, tree, or whatever I could find and pointed it toward the sun. I set the controller on the battery box and made sure it was out of the weather. I made a couple of short wires to go from the controller to the battery box. I put alligator clips on the battery end so I can just clip them on to the battery when we set up.
I keep my travel trailer inside a small shop when at home. Since I already have two deep cycle batteries on my trailer, my plan is to power my shop with a small inverter. I ordered a Xantrex 600 watt inverter this week. I will hook it up to the batteries of my trailer. The inverter will them power a light or two in the shop, an electric fence controller for my pasture, an alarm system for the shop, and a nice bright 30 watt LED outdoor yard light. All of this will be powered (charged up) through the Renogy solar panel system.
I have a better than average knowledge of electricity and electronics, so I have already verified the design will work.
Renogy appears to be an very well constructed product. I’m glad I went this way instead of getting the cheap setup from HF. However, the charge controller is made of plastic and I did accidently break off a small corner of it where one of the mounting holes is.
I expect there will be future purchases of more panels in the future.
The charge controller: ugh. I really wanted to like this and was hoping reviewers were just being picky. I does charge the battery. End of positive review. The wires do not attach into the controller easily or with any stability. There is a small trick to getting it right, but there shouldn’t have to be a trick. The DC outlet feed (for powering a standard 12v socket) decides to work intermittently and with no predictability. Voltage tested the connection…it isn’t sending any power that way at all. It’s a broken wire or a faulty capacitor that I shouldn’t have to fix and most likely won’t. Nor is it worth bitching, boxing, shipping back to Renogy. I’ll just gut it out until I buy a better controller. The light display is cute and tells me if I’m charging, full, or wonky but is really insufficient for a bigger/carefree/important system. I would have to add additional components to keep tabs on use, battery capacity, input voltage…you know, everything you would want to know at a glance.
Overall, I really love the panel and the ability to expand to 400w on a whim. I would buy more of these panels and cables with no reservation.
The purpose of this solar panel was to maintain the charge on my camper batteries. I have yet to mount it to my camper, currently it is sitting alongside it on a stand I built for it. Even in these winter months above the 45th parallel with minimal sunshine on some days it has done a magnificent job of maintaining my camper batteries. Installing and wiring the charge controller was simple and I am very pleased with the performance so far. Aside from the stand, everything was ready to go right out of the box and I needed no additional parts to install this for my application (aside from a screwdriver, but that’s not really a part).
The pros for this particular kit are the price, the easy installation, and the portability. This is, in my opinion, the best value for the money if you’re looking at solar panels.
I do, however, wish I would have spent the extra money and got the MPPT upgraded version of this kit. That is not a con or a reflection on this kit by any means; had I have known this was going to be as great as it was, I would’ve purchased the other kit.
All in all, this is a solid solar energy kit that I highly recommend if you are at any stage of your solar energy plans. Five stars for this great product from Renogy.
Put the solar panel into full sunlight and got about 20v output. In shade or indirect light, got about 15v output.
I used this with 12v deep cycle batteries in parallel to keep them charged. I noticed that the volts of the solar panel measured at the charge controller drops about 5v to match whatever the volts on the batteries happen to be at the time and slowly increase as time goes on the panels slowly charge up the batteries. Not sure if this is normal or not. Also not sure how much power the charge controller uses for its power. Maybe it drains the batteries overnight ever slightly that could be keeping the batteries from being fully charged.
Also, noticed that even with the batteries left in this configuration for a week w/o any use that the “battery full” light never comes on, as I would expect, it usually stays at “battery at right level” or “under-charged.” Not sure if that is an issue with the charge controller or batteries.
Also, wish the charge controller would have LCD/LED numbers to indicate volts and amps for the solar panel and battery terminals instead of that single digit display for the load feature, which I don’t think most people use and it’s confusing.
Update: Aug 7, 2014
I was able to use amp meter to check the current output. Using a branch connector, I had two of these units connected in parallel. In full sun, I got almost 6 amps going into the charge controller, which is about 3 amps per solar panel. I was a little disappointed, expecting to get 5 amps each. In shade or indirect sunlight, the amps dropped way down, to less than one amp… maybe about 50 milliamps and the charge light on controller showed green (meaning a charge, albeit slowly)… so the lesson here is to get a good charge, you really need to have direct sunlight (or even cloud is okay), just no indirect (eg, in shade, etc)… I can’t imagine the branch controller limiting my current (eg, I doubt it has any resistance )…
Overall, still a good product (in terms of the 100v solar panel itself).
Material preparations:
1. Battery – Purchased Amazon recommended 35AH SLA solar battery at Amazon.com
2. Fuses – In-line ATC fuse holders(3x) and 7.5A fuse pack(of 5pcs) for $12 at local auto parts store
3. Wires & wiring tool – Wire strip kit with connecting parts for $6 at local Homedepot
4. Switches – Don’t know where to purchase DC switches(Maybe Amazon or Local electrical stores have it), but Homedepot has AC only switches. Those are rated at 15A/270V for AC only. Because electrons move in one direction only in DC current, AC switch rating has to be de-rated for DC application(divided by 10 for voltage so it is good for my application).
5. Roof flashing – 4 pieces of metal sheet($0.46 each at Homedepot) and roof sealant.
6. Lights – LED lights for indoor and outdoor purchased at Amazon.com. 8AA battery powered utility CFL (I soldered wires at +/- end of battery holder and use DC only). In hinder sight, I should purchase some E26 or E27 base 12V LED bulbs, these are reasonably priced at Amazon.com.
Installation:
1. Test everything work fine before actual installation, it will be too much hassle if we need to un-mount solar panel from roof if anything is wrong after installation. Pay attention to order of connect/disconnect battery and PV. Always connect battery first and disconnect battery last.
2. Attach mounting kit to panel. Measure locations of mounting brackets. Seal underneath of roof flashing, place roof flashing under upper roof shingle(Just as if the flashing is a piece of shingle). Put on panel and screw brackets on to roof(Flashing is in between). Seal brackets and screws.
3. Follow charger manual to connect wires.
Operation:
Nothing to say here, 100W free solar energy is plenty for a playhouse. The quality of panel, charger, mounting kit all looks good.
Manuals:
Easy to follow, but it appears to be written by engineer rather than by doc writer. It assumes everything are self-explanation by large icons on charger(Which is true if user looks carefully). There are some tiny arrows on charger to tell which LED/Connectors are represented by icons.
Tech Support:
I emailed tech support twice, one regarding fuse selection, the other regarding battery LED blinking which means battery full(But manual says “SLOW FLASHING”. Their use of “Flashing” and “Blinking” are not consistent throughout the manual). In both cases, I got responses within 24 hours.
Overall, a five 5 star product and tech support.
Hint: you cannot connect a multimeter to the back of this panel and read current as a couple of YouTube videos suggest (measuring different brand panels). You can read voltage this way, but not amps. I hooked up my panel as the Renogy YouTube video demonstrates and then set my multimeter to the 10 amp setting. I turned off my multimeter. I faced the panel away from the sun. I unplugged the positive cable running from the panel to the charge controller and inserted one probe in to this hole and screwed it down the same way you screwed down the cable. I took the other end of the probe and attached it to the positive end of the cable I just unplugged from the controller. I turned the panel to the sun, turned on the multimeter and got a consistent reading of 5.6 amps. Whether you compare this to the optimum or the short circuit amperage rated on the panel, this is outstanding!
One last hint mentioned elsewhere, go to the Renogy website and order a tray cable as you will need one. They are difficult to find elsewhere. Thanks to Renogy for the help. Thanks to Renogy for the product.
I then wired up the solar panel to the controller, and do not forget the inline fuse 30 amp. This will protect the controller. Then ran 8 gauge wire to the battery bank. Keep your wiring as heavy as you can. Between batteries run 1/0 wire. I purchased this from amazon. Here is a list of things that may help you. Bc1/0b-20 1/0 gauge 20′ x 2, power/ground wire battery cable 1 Blk,1 Red. Db Link ANLFH01 0 gauge ANL fuse holder and 300 ANL amp fuse. Used for inbetween the batteries to the inverter. Schumacher BAF-MT2 coated marine terminal end. Manuel mechanical rotating wire terminal cable lug crimper. Sold by Koval inc. this tool is awesome. 10 pc Tinned copper lug 3/8, 1/0 gauge. Sold by Windy Nation.
At the moment i have 5- 12 volt batteries and with the small panels i did have, i could not keep the batteries charged. 1 radio and a 64 watt shop light. With this only 1- 100 watt Renogy panel the batteries are being charged. when the sun came out batteries were at 12.5 volts. After 2 hrs the batteries are at 12.8 volts The panel are supplying 21.7 volts. .I am going to get more panels. Do the wattage consumption and this will give you the amount of panels. My inverter I purchased off e-bay After many hours of research i purchased a Boost 3000 watt 6000 watt peak soft start 12 volt DC to 120 volt AC. Modified sine wave. The inverter cost me 273.00. A good buy being you can rebuild it if needed with replacement parts from Boost. And a 1 year warranty My goal is to have 12 solar panels and 12 plus batteries. And power the tv, computer and monitor in the house. Whitch is on 18 hours plus. Will update as it goes. In all Hates off to RENOGY for a affordable and well made solar panel.. Thank You. And Hey RENOGY if you have any panels ya want me to test out please contact me.
Les Wolgamuth.
(A word of warning – if you don’t know how to use electricity, then you will be spending a lot of time doing your research. For me, I was lucky enough to have a father-in-law who has a degree in electrical engineering, but even then, I’ve spend several dozen hours reading about solar power set-ups.)
In two afternoons, my father-in-law and I hooked everything up. We purchased a small 8 amp-hour AGM battery from Batteries Plus for under $15, and then, we bought a 1000 watt inverter from Bestek. We took a 18 inch by 18 inch piece of plywood, placed some galvanized sheet metal (as a common ground) on the board, and mounted the controller and inverter to the sheet metal. We wired everything with 12 gauge wire, placed 10 amp fuses between all the connections, added a switch to cut the power from the panels, and added a small 12 volt light from an auto parts store (so I can see everything when it is dark).
After connecting everything, we added the solar panel, and everything works as advertised. The panel will output around 20 volts or so in full sun, and with inefficiencies in the system, it will run about 65 watts worth of lights (measured with a Kill-a-Watt device) before it dips into the battery’s storage. I’ve drained the 8 amp hour battery down to 50%, and the panel will charge it to nearly 100% (indicated by a flashing light on the controller) in roughly a half hour. After 30 minutes of flashing, the controller will then drop its voltage from 14.4 down to 13.6 to go into float charge mode, and the battery is maintained and ready for usage.
I’ve been experimenting with my whole system for several weeks, and I’m confident (even with my lack of electrical knowledge) that I can take this set-up to my cabin and be able to have some basic electricity. I’ve run my electric drill, some LED light bulbs, and an iPad charger with no problems. The next step, though, is for me to get a bigger battery (8 amps goes quickly) and to buy a grounding rod/cable and expand the amount of amps that can go to the battery (the 10 amp fuse doesn’t allow for much juice).
Anyway, I highly recommend Renogy since their controller, panel, and cables all work as advertised (I’ll install it with the brackets soon). The packaging is excellent. The instructions were helpful. And overall, I will buy Renogy products in the future (possibly to expand the number of panels, soon).
Here are my notes:
1. I measured a full 22V of output right when I pulled it out of the box. While it was a clear day, the sun was not overhead…and I still measured full (or almost full) power. That’s pretty awesome.
2. The charge controller was very basic. I guess I don’t know what I expected, but it feels like a cheap science project box. You’ve just got some screw terminals and that’s it. I suppose the low amperage doesn’t require anything better, but I’d pay a little more for a box with a plug-in terminal instead.
3. Once you connect the mc-4 plugs (I think that’s the designation), good luck getting them apart.
4. The including wiring is quite long, and I believe the gauge is more than adequate (10ga, I think), but the wiring is aluminum. Not what I expected. Wondering if perhaps a run of copper would be better in terms of resistance…
5. The panel is lightweight, easy to mount on any surface with the included brackets, and all the components are good quality. For a “cheap” solar panel, this was a nice purchase.
BTW, my ArkPak has a 93ah battery installed. If I drain the battery down to 50%, this panel can charge it back up in less than 8 hours. That means I can take this setup camping and run a refrigerated cooler all day long PLUS recharge my laptop, phones, etc. and never worry about running out of juice. The setup will even run my 37″ TV (I tried it just for fun in the living room). Definitely recommend this setup if you’re a camper.
The Solar Panel Starter Kit 100W Monocrystalline by Renogy had good reviews so I thought I would give it a try. I am pleased with what I received. The solar panel seems to well built. It is solid and well constructed. While there is a YouTube presentation ( [../] ) that tells you connect everything, It does not say anything about how to installing it on an RV. There is another YouTube presentation that explains how to install another product on an RV that is quite useful: […] . It was very easy to install the solar panel. Routing the cable was a little bit of a challenge. The above YouTube presentation recommends dropping the cable down the refrigerator vent. While this is a great idea, it would not work for me. Too far from batteries. I drilled a hole for each wire and ran the wires down behind some cabinets.
I sealed (waterproofed) the wires by pulling the wires up an inch and the putting cauking around the hole and wire and then pushing the wire down replenishing the cauking as I pushed it into the hole. Depending upon where you locate your solar panel on the roof and the routing you have to do, you may have to buy some more cable. An extra 5 ft of cable would be a nice addition to the kit. I also incased the wires and connections on top with split loom tube to protect it from the elements (sun and wind). It would have been nice if the slots for the wires in the monitor were a little larger. It was a little difficult to install the wires in them. By the way, back of the screws used to tighted down the wires in the moniter before you try to install the wires. They are screwed all the way in.
All in all, I am very please with the kit and would recommend it highly.
Not happy yet with my order because of two items not received from Renogy. I’m trying to get my order fixed right now. I ordered this solar panel kit on Jan 2nd, 2014 and this is my experience so far. I received the pictured solar panel, the pictured charge controller, the pictured mounting brackets and screws but I did not receive the pictured 20ft long UL listed Solar Adapter Kit (Two 20′ cable, one female and one male) like I should have which is listed in the ad. The two black cables I did receive are only 10ft long not 20ft and are missing the MC4 male and female connectors which is needed to connect the solar panel to the charge controller. Also, it is important to point out that this kit does not come with the needed 8′ long 12 AWG Wire Copper Tray Cable-Connect Charge Controller and Battery wires which costs an additional $13.99 from Renogy http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FPSBOX4/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and is needed to connect the charge controller to the battery. So I also ordered this from them but never received it in the mail. Today on January 27th I emailed their customer service about these problems and they emailed me back a little later asking me to take a picture of the black cables but they didn’t even mention the missing 8′ long 12 AWG Wire Copper Tray Cable-Connect Charge Controller and Battery wires so I again asked them if this was being shipped seperately. Maybe they have a new employee who forgot to ship it? Who knows. I took several pictures of the black wires and everything else I received from Renogy and am currently waiting to see how long it takes them to fix this and mail me the correct 20ft long UL listed Solar Adapter Kit (Two 20′ cable, one female and one male) and the 8′ long 12 AWG Wire Copper Tray Cable-Connect Charge Controller and Battery wires I ordered. I will update this review after I have more facts. Keep on mind that I just received this kit and have not connected or tested it yet but I will and plan on letting you know.