The old ’97 50w Siemans on the right compared to the new Renogy 100w panels on the left.
I wasn’t certain about the life span of my old solar panels. I knew they still worked, but I wasn’t sure how well. I saw that Renogy had their 200w kit on sale, so I decided to do the upgrade.
I also wasn’t sure what I would find under the old solar panels. They came off easily enough and the existing wire gauge would be adaquate for the new panels so I had no need to pull more wire.
New panels installed and the wire is now secured with EternaBond tape.
The new Solar controller had a nice flush mount but still protruded into the closet. I decided to build this frame and mount the new controller where the old one was which is in the bedroom under the TV. The smoke/gas detector also was protruding into the closet so this cured that issue too. The new Solar system did not come with a fuse like the old one did, so I mounted it in the panel as well. I find that I need it to fully de-energize the coach 12v system. Switching off the coach battery switch still leaves the solar panel active in my rig.
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