Re: Solar panel installation
I ran the wire from the solar panel to the edge of the PH top (outside the flexible wall - hereafter called canvas) and through the top. That way, any leaks were outside the living spaces and not an issue. Then came the hard part - routing to the interior.
From the inside, I loosened the screws that hold the top and canvas together - be careful here, you don't want the screws to come out and have the wall separate from the top. I loosened the screws in one corner.
Note that you basically have 3 layers - fiberglass top, the canvas and the interior liner. From the outside, you want to route the wires over the canvas and under the fiberglass top. From the inside you need to route the wires over the liner and under the canvas.
I chose to route the wires about 1 foot from the corner, 1' towards the middle from the outside and 1' towards the front on the inside. To separate the liner from the canvas I stuck the housing from a ballpoint pen in there. Then, from the outside I pushed a piece of stiff, heavy wire (12ga building wire with the end bent over to make a smooth tip and lessen the chance of putting a hole in the canvas) towards the pen housing. Then go inside and check progress, repeat until the wire comes out where I wanted it. Eventually, I got it out. It could have been alot easier with two people, one on the inside and one on the outside, but I got it by myself.
Then I routed the wire down (similar to the SMB wiring for the 3rd brakelight) and under the SMB trim and up to my Solar Controller. All the interior wiring and routing will depend on your floorplan and where the controller is mounted.
My panel is a 125W Kyocera panel and I used 12ga 2 wire outdoor cord (SJOW or SOW or any other cord that ends in W for weatherproof). You may want to use lighter or heavier wire depending on your panel power.
Mike
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