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Topic: Has anyone installed Solar Panels, Charger, Inverter from Costco? (Read 18 times) previous topic - next topic
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Has anyone installed Solar Panels, Charger, Inverter from Costco?
Yahoo Message Number: 86281
Hello all. We recently purchased a 1990 22' TK that needs new house batteries. Our LD does NOT have a generator, and we've talked about installing solar. Has anyone used this package from Costco? It sounds good, tho I'm not sure if the $1700 is a great buy or not.
I'm including the URL link to the costco site as well as their description. Thanks for any input/feedback you might have. -- Camille, proud owner of 1990 LD "R-VILLA"

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx? Prodid=11248624&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC| 1482&N=4000486&Mo=43&No=4&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=1482&Ns=P_Price|1|| P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=#

Convert the power of the sun for additional electrical needs with this solar power back-up kit. Two high-efficiency crystalline solar panels can be used for RVs, homes, boats, solar power stations, bilge pumps, 12 volt battery charging and more. Maintenance free and easy to install.

2-123 Watt Crystalline Solar Panels

* Designed for RVs, Homes, Boats, Back-up & Remote Power Use, 12 Volt Battery Charging and Solar Power Stations, Pumps, Beacons, and Lighting Equipment *

High Efficiency Crystalline Cells *

Easy to Install & Maintenance Free *

Weatherproof *

Connect Multiple Panels for More Power *

Complete Kit includes: Wiring, Brackets and Screws *

Includes: Mounting Brackets, Voltage Tester & Extra Wiring *

Max Output 60 Watts 4 Amps *

Dimensions: 42.6" x 19" x 2.4" *

Weight: 15 lbs.

*

5 Year Warranty

30 amp Digital Charge Controller

*

Prevents Overcharging 12V Batteries *

Protect Battery from Overcharge and Discharge *

For Use with 12 Volt Solar Panels and Batteries Only *

Handles up to 30 Amps of Array Current *

Handles up to 500 Watts of Solar Power *

Maintenance Free Protection of Your Solar Panel and Batteries *

Maintains Battery Voltage *

Maintain 12V Batteries in a Fully Charged State *

Dimensions: 8.8" x 10.2" x 2.2" *

Weight: .8 lbs.

Xantrex XPower Inverter 175 Plus

*

150 watts continuous power with 300 watts surge * Automatic shutdown protection against overload, over temperature and low battery conditions *

Two, three prong grounded AC outlet *

Quiet operation *

One year warranty * Runs: Cell phone, camcorder, stereo, laptop computer, 13" TV, portable work light
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86284
Here's a working link to the system Camille is talking about:

http://tinyurl.com/yt8t3v>

The price is a bit on the high side, though not outrageous. The unidentified charging controller may or may not be a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) type--and a non-MPPT controller wastes power.
The panels have only 36 cells rather than the 44 cells on the AM Solar-supplied panels that Lazy Daze uses. The mounting brackets don't appear to permit tilting.

My feeling is that if you took the same money to AM Solar (http://www.amsolar.com>), or to an AM Solar-certified technician such as Mike Sylvester (http://www.thervguynm.com/>) or Ron Walter (ronwalterusa@...>), you could get a better system than Costco is offering.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86288
Thanks, Andy, for your quick response. Any suggestions on RV Solar installers in the San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach/Morro Bay area?
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86289
wrote: My feeling is that if you took the same money to AM Solar (http://www.amsolar.com>), or to an AM Solar-certified technician such as Mike Sylvester (http://www.thervguynm.com/>) or Ron Walter (), you could get a better system than Costco is offering.
--- JMHO, but I think that buying an expensive and complex system from a vendor who probably knows little, if anything, about the product could result in a lot of wasted time and money, especially when the vendor and the installer are not the same. Unless one has a clear understanding of the product, its application and use, and the best way to install it and can oversee the whole deal, I suggest buying a "total" system, including installation, from a knowledgeable and experienced professional.

I haven't dealt with Mike Sylvester or Ron Walter, but I do know Greg Holder at AM Solar in Springfield, OR; he has a *lot* of "solar savvy" and is honest and straightforward. Greg helps customers define their solar needs, he advises them as to the best system to accomplish what they want, and he offers good after-sale customer support.

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86291
Hmm...  I don't know...

Why would two 123 watt panels only provide "Max output 60 watts 4 amps" from their bulleted list?

Doesn't sound that great to me

-Dave '06 MB, Indianapolis
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86292
Quote
My feeling is that if you took the same money to AM Solar (http://www.amsolar.com>), or to an AM Solar-certified technician such as Mike Sylvester (http://www.thervguynm.com/>) or Ron Walter (ronwalterusa@...>), you could get a better system than Costco is offering.

I absolutely agree!

For that same $1,700, you could get this system from AM Solar: http://www.amsolar.com/sunrunner100-22.html which includes the second solar panel.  These are 100-watt panels, but are equivalent to 125-watt panels, and the HPV-22B solar controller is a top-of-the-line controller.  The only thing the kit doesn't include is an inverter, but depending on what kind of inverter you wanted, they're not all that expensive.  And you'd end up with a system far superior to the Costco one.

Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Linda Hylton
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86293
Quote
JMHO, but I think that buying an expensive and complex system from a vendor who probably knows little, if anything, about the product could result in a lot of wasted time and money, especially when the vendor and the installer are not the same.

 Joan, that may be true under normal circumstances, but both Mike Sylvester and Ron Walter are AM Solar-approved installers.  When we contacted AM Solar last spring to find out if they were going to be in Quartzsite, they said that they wouldn't be, but recommended Ron Walter to us.
 Both Ron and Mike are very familiar with the AM Solar products...they are both "knowledgeable and experienced professionals."  And Ron did a great job of installing our AM Solar equipment (4 solar panels, HPV-22B controller, Prosine 2000-watt inverter/charger, and 4 AGM batteries).
 But you're correct...if Ron Walter hadn't been specifically recommended to us by Greg Holder, we would have driven all the way up to Eugene to have our solar installed.

Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Linda Hylton
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86294
Andy, I know you have the tilting feature on your panels. If I recall you also have 5 panels. Do you have to get on the roof to tilt them and is this something you are doing everyday?

Jim

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86295
"Linda & Earl Hylton"  wrote: Joan, that may be true under normal circumstances, but both Mike Sylvester and Ron Walter are AM Solar-approved installers.
--- My statement wasn't clear; I was referring to those "normal circumstances"!  ;-)

What I meant was that buying a system from Costco or wherever and then having it installed by an "unapproved" shop or installer who has no real ties to the product, the manufacturer of the product or to the original vendor could lead to "jurisdictional" problems!  A local shop *might* do a great job with an off-the-shelf product, but the customer might also end up in the middle of some back-and-forth stuff: problems? System doesn't work properly? Installer says, "There's nothing wrong with the installation; it's a poor- quality system! Take it up with Costco".  Costco says, "Hey, the thing is already on top of your RV; whaddaya want us to do? Take it up with the installer!" Yada yada...

As I said, I haven't dealt with Mike or Ron, but I know they have excellent reputations, and have done a lot of work for LDers; if either was more conveniently located (to the OP, Camille) than Greg's shop in OR, and Mike or Ron had consultation/appointment time, either would definitely be worth hiring!

(Hmmm, maybe my little rig would like another trip to Oregon in the spring; my one solar panel is lonely...)

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: solar panels
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86296
"Andy, I know you have the tilting feature on your panels. If I recall you also have 5 panels. Do you have to get on the roof to tilt them and is this something you are doing everyday?"

Yes, I have to get up on the roof to tilt the panels. The AM Solar tilt bars are simple stainless steel bars that insert in one side of the mount (two per panel)--for $15 a panel you don't get electric motor drives. (Although if you were really clever, you could probably cobble up something using junkyard electric window openers...)
 On the bright side, it only takes me ten to fifteen minutes to change the positions of all five panels. And I've found that in the winter (which is when I'm most likely to tilt the panels), if I park facing east-west and then tilt the panels so they're angled south, I can just leave them that way. The sun's arc is low in the southern sky at that time of year, so the angle works well all day--no need to scramble up on the roof twice a day.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86297
"Any suggestions on RV Solar installers in the San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach/Morro Bay area?"

Not offhand. But remember, your RV has wheels--you can go where the good installers are. :-) Ron Walter usually hangs out in the Phoenix area during the winter, and Mike & Lisa Sylvester wintered in Yuma last year--so why don't you contact both, and ask where they're going to be? Come on, you know you're itching for an excuse to take a little trip! ;-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86299
How well do these solar panels work? Sunforce 246 Watt, I suspect means 246 Watts is at best, so if you had several, you could run some things.
Most computers have a 250 or 300 Watt power supply, so to run a computer you would need that much plus the monitor. Then you would have lights, fridge and other stuff. So how long would it take to get your investments back?
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86303
On Nov 25, 2007, at 16:13, rb_cmpbll wrote:

Quote
How well do these solar panels work? Sunforce 246 Watt, I suspect means 246 Watts is at best, so if you had several, you could run some things.
Most computers have a 250 or 300 Watt power supply, so to run a computer you would need that much plus the monitor. Then you would have lights, fridge and other stuff. So how long would it take to get your investments back?
Get your investment back from what?  Certainly not anything related to a motorhome.
 In reality, the output of the panels is used to charge the batteries, so the output of the panels can be (usually is) MUCH less than the total maximum demand.

But everything spent on my motorhome is money gone. I expect to get nothing out of that spent money, except a ton of FUN!

-Dave
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86306
"Most computers have a 250 or 300 Watt power supply, so to run a computer you would need that much plus the monitor."
 Few RVers travel with a full-sized desktop computer of the type you're describing. Nine out of ten RVers use a laptop computer with a power consumption of 60-90W, display included. (Even my 20" iMac, which has computer and large-screen monitor in a single flat case, draws "only" 180 watts.)

"So how long would it take to get your investments back?"
 A very long time... but nobody buys solar panels for their RV because they expect to save money on electricity. It's always going to be cheaper to go to a campground with hookups and plug into municipal power. There's just one problem with that: all too often, it means your "scenery" consists of a closeup view of your neighbor's slideout.
;-)
 Solar panels aren't about saving money; they're about being able to go wherever you like, and stay in scenic places that don't happen to have electric hookups. They're an investment in freedom... and that's an investment that pays off from day one. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86308
Andy,
 I agree with most of your post, but not on the computer power usage, I think you are getting behind the times.  The last couple of PC's I bought have used more than 100 watts (not all the time, it depends on what is happening).  In fact, I recently good-willed a 100 watt inverter because I couldn't use it with my PCs any more.  It used to be OK for my earlier computers.

Barry 2001 Red RB, TX Where are we?  http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=122
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86310
I just bought 4 solar panels from AM Solar - they're having a sale, because Greg's moving his factory. Might make a fast call to him to see if he still has any on sale.

Mike Sylvester's installing them on our 5th wheel in a week or two when they get to Jojoba Hills. So I'm echoing Andy, Joan, and others who recommend AM Solar, Mike Sylvester and/or Ron Walter, both of whom have worked with Greg and are very good at what they do.

I think AM Solar still supplies the LD factory with the panels they put on our LDs. At least they did when I bought mine.

Sarah So. Calif, not burning so far today.
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86314
"The last couple of PC's I bought have used more than 100 watts (not all the time, it depends on what is happening)."
 Assuming by "PCs" you mean laptop PCs, I can believe that--Intel keeps talking about lower power consumption in their chipsets, but I have yet to see them deliver. ;-) But even 100+W (including the laptop's display) is still a long way from the "250-300W plus monitor" power consumption cited in the message I was responding to (#86299).
 My point was simply that the computers used by most RVers consume only a fraction of the power mentioned in that message, so it isn't as bad as suggested there.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86318
"Mike Sylvester's installing them on our 5th wheel in a week or two when they get to Jojoba Hills."

It's against my religion to pay someone to work on my LD but If I every convert, Mike S. will get my business.
I have watched Mike at work and spent more time talking with him, He is a first class act.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86323
Andy Another point of view is it wouldn't take to long at todays fuel prices to get a solar investment back if the other option was running a noisy fuel hog of a generator to recharge every day. In other words if away from a plug in on a regular basis then I suspect solar could actually have a break even point not all that far out.

Garry
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #19 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86327
Quote
Another point of view is it wouldn't take to long at todays fuel prices to get a solar investment back if the other option was running a noisy fuel hog of a generator to recharge every day. In other words if away from a plug in on a regular basis then I suspect solar could actually have a break even point not all that far out.

I certainly agree with this...it's certainly true in our case.
 Because we had an extensive solar system installed on our RV which allows us to boondock/dry camp, often for free or for very little, our payback has been less than a year based on what we would have paid had we had to stay in a full service RV park every night.
 Of course, we're fulltime RVers, so we're "camping" 24/7/365...casual RVers would have a longer payback period.  If one stays mostly in RV parks, it makes little sense to install solar when one can run the generator for a few hours per day to keep the batteries charged on the rare occasions they might dry camp.

Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Linda Hylton
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86598
Quote
Mike Sylvester's installing them on our 5th wheel in a week or two when they get to Jojoba Hills.
Sarah,
 What do you mean installing them in OUR FIFTH WHEEL?  I think that I read every post, but maybe I missed something??  Do you still have your LD?  I know that you guys were on a long trip to Alaska this year, did that change your mind about the LD?  Or are you "putting down roots" in Jojoba and not traveling?

Are you and Pete OK?

Cindy
Cindy Beck
2004 MB Blue/White, Honda CRV
Corona, CA
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86631
Notice that according to the Costco stated size of the panel (42" X 19") there is NO WAY the thing can produce 123Watts....More like 60W, I surmise. Likewise no way could two of that size panel produce 246W, aga
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86655
What do you mean installing them in OUR FIFTH WHEEL? I think that I read every post, but maybe I missed something?? Do you still have your LD?

Cindy

Relax! The keep a 5th Wheel at Jojoba Hills as a home base.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Solar Panels from Costco
Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88995
Folks,

You may recall the dialogue we had here early last month about the Costco solar panel kit.  As a Costco shareholder as well as customer, I got a hold and got them to correct the information the posted on their web site.  It looks more reasonable to me now.  The item