The Man Stands Tall

Ever purchase something only to discover the service department didn't meet your expectations? I think it's happened to most of us.

Last winter we had our solar system installed in Texas. Paul went out of his way to do an excellent job both on the roof and inside our trailer. Wiring, location, equipment was all installed to maximize usage. We were delighted. No longer did we need our generator to have coffee or toast in the morning, watch a movie at night and keep the furnace running so we could be warm when it snowed in April.

But on June 23rd it stopped working. No longer were our batteries being re-filled each sunny day. What could have gone wrong? I sent an e-mail off to Paul explaining our problem and within an hour had a reply and what to do. I checked everything Paul listed including the fuses but they looked fine, no black spots on the glass and the metal strip look complete. What next? Off with more e-mails and more things to check. Paul even shipped a replacement solar charger just to make sure ours wasn't at fault.

Up on the roof I opened each panel box and tested for current.

Each box and connection was solid and each panel was putting out about 19.3 volts.

Back inside I checked the fuse again and this time discovered that it was the problem. No fuse, no current, no batteries being charged.

It was the first thing Paul had asked me to check and I had missed the right diagnosis. Paul was patient, understanding and persistent, knowing that the problem could be corrected and with his help I was able to do so.

If you are thinking of solar for your Airstream, Paul is the guy to call.

Thanks Paul. You Stand Tall in my books.

Safe travels

Solar on a Cloudy Day

Yesterday's forecast called for hail just east of Dallas and Paul thought we would be safer here in Cottonwood. Mary spent the day baking, I spent the day reading about our solar system and checking our meters every few hours. Paul was kind enough to drop off a wiring diagram of the system he installed and so I filed that for future reference.

As you can see the day was heavily overcast. I was surprised that our panels were able to collect some energy even without direct sunlight.

While we were in Fort Worth (on Monday) another customer dropped of her trailer for repairs. It is amazing how many women are travelling alone in "Airstream" trailers.

Our Trimetric 2025-A meter showing the amps coming in from the solar panels (don't forget this was in heavily overcast skies). This meter is essential if you plan to use solar power and want to know how many volts or amps are going in or out of your batteries.

Paul watches while we use an hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of each battery cell. This gives us a true reading of the state of charge and health of each battery cell.  If you think Paul looks a little different you are very observant; he shaved last night.

Mary records the data, which gives us a history of our batteries for future reference.

Today we leave for Zavalla. How far we get ................... who knows?
Safe travels and stay in touch.

Living on Solar

Paul worked all day Saturday to complete the installation. First the brackets and hinges had to be installed on each panel. Next each panel was placed on the roof of the trailer and secured with 12 rivets to make sure they don't come loose when we are going down the highway at 70 mph.

Next each panel was wired and connected to the solar charger, which then controls the rate of energy flow so our batteries stay healthy.

We can tilt our panels which is helpful in the winter months and increases their production by about 30% as compared to leaving them flat on the roof.

All panels in place. Note the high quality window covering on the rear window. Looks a little "red-neck" to me.

Panels in the closed, riding position. If we are able to camp with the front of the trailer facing west then the panels do not have to be tilted since they would already face south at an angle.

That's it, fully wired and living off grid. I will report back in a few weeks as to how everything works. As for now we are happy to be living with solar and without the aid of a generator.

Our system: 3 - 130 Kyocera Solar panels, 4- 6 volt Trojan Batteries, Morningstar TriStar Solar Battery Charger with Temperature Sensor, Prowatt SW 2000 Sine Wave Inverter, IOTA Power Converter/Battery Charger, plus wire, fuses, clamps, battery box, hydrometer,

One Up - Two Down

As promised yesterday, we did make it up on the roof. Before we started on the panels, I decided to have Paul remove the air-conditioner and TV antenna. These two items we never use and without them the chances of shadows interfering with our solar collection would be reduced.

Paul starts to remove the air-conditioner. It was the original and we found a huge bird's nest tucked inside.

While Paul worked on the roof, I added a pigtail clamp to the trailer frame.

Careful........... we don't want to drop it or damage the trailer.

OK, nothing goes as smoothly as planned when you are working on an old trailer. Our inverter kept shutting down, which meant there was a short somewhere in our electrical system. Three hours later we found the problem, rewired the plug and we're ready to fix the holes in the roof.

We've decided to call our trailer "Shotgun Girl" and here she is with a clean roof. (Remember kids when you called "shotgun" to ride in the passenger seat? We heard a country song called "Shotgun Girls - Just along for the Ride" and we thought ...............  that's our trailer; Shotgun Girl.

Time to patch the holes and start working on installing the solar panels.

Paul holds our first panel to see if the location is acceptable.

Paul, happy that finally the problems have been solved and we are actually putting up the solar panels.

One up, two still down in the workshop. We are happy to finally reach this stage of construction.

Today we will finish the project, stay overnight to make sure everything is working fine, then leave to camp nearby just to be sure we know what we are doing with everything.

Safe travels and see you tomorrow.