Installing a solar panel with Tristar 45 charge controller in a RV

toppinish
toppinish Registered Users Posts: 6 ✭✭
Currently I have a 115 amp solar panel, three 100+ amp RV batteries and a Tristar 45 charge controller

When connected to shore power the RV has a Progressive Dynamics (PD9280) 80 Amp Power Converter (w/ Charge Wizard)

The solar is mainly to maintain the three batteries so the gas refrigerator has 12 volts to run off gas, use of a few led lights for a few hours each night and possibly run a light duty stove fan, when off-grid.

I may upgrade the solar in the future with larger solar panels and more batteries.

My question is concerning connecting and using the solar panel when connected to shore power.

* Are there any foreseeable problems operating both the shore power and solar at the same time on the same battery connection?

I have the pos+ / neg- output from the TriStar and the 80 Amp power converter connected to a heavy duty manual ~200 amp  four way switch that connects pos+ / neg- to the three batteries. When using shore power I normally disconnect the solar. However, I sometimes leave the RV and would prefer to leave the solar also connected to maintain the batteries in case of a shore power failure.

With both connected there would be a charging both from the solar panel and 80 amp RV power converter at the same time.

The 80 amp power converter is a three stage charger and puts out up to 80 amps, but normally only enough current for a ~12 volt demand, up to around ~14.x volts.