Welcome back everyone today, we’re, going to be installing solar panels on the adventure, bus, [, Music ]. Most of you guys probably know what solar panels are. These things convert the sun’s; energy into energy, to charge the batteries in the back of the bus.
So if we’re at the racetrack or if we’re in the middle of nowhere – and we want to use electricity, but we don’t have any way to charge the batteries. These will charge the batteries. You will always have access to electricity as long as it’s sunny outside.
So that is really awesome. That’s, why we got solar panels. I want to start off by giving a huge thanks to energy for sponsoring this video. If you guys need any sort of electrical stuff for your RV for your bus for your boat, for your house go check out renergie, they have batteries, they have inverters, they have chargers, they have solar panels, they have literally everything you guys need in order to make An awesome off-grid electrical system – this is their 400 watt solar panel kit, so we & # 39.
Ve got four of these solar panels to mount on the roof of the bus. On a sunny day. Those panels can provide 400 watts of electricity to the batteries, which is about 30 amps, which is very good, also included in the kit.
Is their charger controller, their Bluetooth modules? So once everything is installed, I can control the solar panels through my phone, all the electrical stuff. You know plug wires, mounting system. This kit has everything believe it or not.
Floor panels are actually really easy to install mount. The panel’s. You run some wires, you plug everything in and it’s. Pretty much done. The kit does all the hard work for you, which is really awesome so yeah.
We are gonna start off by mounting the panels on the roof. So we have to go get a ladder: yes, [ Applause, ], yeah, [, Music, ], [, Music ]. We’re starting off by just mounting all the solar panels up there with these brackets.
These brackets just bolt to the solar panels, and then you just use self tappers to attach it to the bus. All the wiring on the solar panel part is all just just plug plug in so you just plug it all in you use these reducers.
So it goes from four grounds into one grounds for positives into one positive and then the two cables run from the roof of the bus through an awesome little like Junction thing and into the actual interior of the bus.
We’re gonna be doing two rows that are going down the length of the bus, so one right next to this, and then two in front of that, if we were gonna do this like super super legit, we’d. Have a system that allowed the solar panels to pivot according to where the Sun is, but that’s, unnecessary [, Music, ], [, Music ] by my drugs, hey kick one of my drugs better! I don’t hit.
Doubt you peace out, as you can tell, the slow panels are mounted, so we’ll, run those two wires down through right, here-ish into the cabin the wires run through this through hole into the roof into the wall.
Down to the batteries. Oh yeah, we have to drill some holes up here, well, sketchy, but you can do it. [ Music ]! There they are and then we drilled the holes in all the studs. So we can run the wires into the battery area.
They gave us some 30 feet of wire, so we’re, going to go ahead and run this through the entire bus. It’s, not ran very clean yet, but the wires are running through into the battery area. They run through this and then over to the solar panels over there.
So what we have to do is just this thing and mount it in place laying Dynes a couple days later. The is dry. Yes, I said a couple days: it was supposed to dry for two weeks 14 days, but I decided that was way absurd and I didn’t want to wait that long.
So here we are the wiring on the top of the bus. Is nice and tidy now the charge controller? So this is what controls the solar panels. It’s, a super super nice unit and it can be mounted flush Lee. This is gonna go pretty much right here.
Obviously, we’ll. Have a sheet of wood paneling that covers this. The wiring on this guy is super easy, as you can tell, the two cables from the solar panels go here: two cables from the batteries there.
I just plug these guys in and then it’s done so we’re. Almost there. The hardest part was mounting the solar panels: [ Music, ], [, Music ]. So, since the wires are roughly ran, we’re gonna go ahead, put everything together test it and if it works, then we can, you know, cleanly run the wires, so they’re, not everywhere yeah.
So this thing’s, pretty rad everything is working normally just like we wanted to so I’ll, run the wires a little bit cleaner now and then tomorrow we can take her outside. Hopefully it’s a sunny day and we can test it.
It’s cool. It tells you all this stuff voltage of the solar panels, how many amps, how many kilowatts you’ve. You know generated over the entire lifespan of the solar panels, battery temperature voltage of the batteries.
This is awesome. The wires come from the battery cleanly ran as one all zip-tied up and into the controller and then from the controller through the walls. Again, they tie in with the amp cables, so that’s, the power and ground for the amp, and it goes up through the same place that the lights go through and up through the roof and through the thing and it’s.
All tied together nicely up there speaking of running wires. I know a couple of you guys are concerned about the staples I’m using rest assured. They are wire, specific staples. The top of them are actually flat, so they shouldn & # 39.
T. Rub through the insulation they couldn’t shouldn’t cause any shorts or anything worst-case scenario. If the staples do rub through any wires, everything is fused. Nobody is getting injured from this electrical system right.
Who did it so much better? Last time and it’s actually safe this time. Another thing I’ve, totally decided – I wanted in here at some point – is a ladder to get to the roof through this hatch because it’s, so dope being able to open this hatch and then go up to the roof.
I’m thinking. If we have a roof rack up there, we can make some sort of mechanism on the roof rack that you know we can open this hatch and then grab the ladder that’s connected to the roof rack, bring it down then go up onto The roof and chill on the roof rack.
I think that would be so cool wherever we are whenever it is, we can just go on the roof from shell problem. Is that a roof rack would be both heavy and expensive, so it probably won’t happen for a while, but I do want to happen eventually yeah.
Sadly, it’s a terrible day to test the lip panels, but we’ll, see what happens. Twelve point six volts on the battery twelve point: seven. Now let’s charge a little bit. I see okay. So this is the voltage of the solar panels.
Twelve point: six voltage of the battery is also twelve point six, so it’s. It’s charging a little bit as you can tell there that’s, so cool, even though yesterday was a shitty rainy day today. Is it a beautiful sunny winter day we’re gonna go ahead, pull the bus out and test the solar panels, see what they’re capable of it’s still winter.
So this line isn’t directly shining on the solar panels, but much better than clouds, and it was even charging yesterday in the clouds and in the dark. So I’m excited to see what what do you think and ooh the sun’s already so so low that this building just blocks all the direct sunlight, don’t like coupon.
I know what today goes. Oh, it’s, charging thirteen point, one volts on the solar panels. How many amps are we? We’re charging? Oh six, amps nice, that’s, pretty decent yeah. It’s, really cool that thing up in the sky is putting power into those batteries and well automatically charge it up to, like.
I think, thirteen point eight volts and then I’ll, just hold it steady there. It needs to be a really sunny day in order to get the full 400 watts, but no matter what it will constantly be charging the batteries during the day, which is it’s.
Awesome solar panels are installed huge. Thank you again to Randy for sponsoring the channel sponsoring this bill. If you guys need any electrical stuff, you name it Rena G. Has it also? I’ll, have a link in the description to check them out real quick.
I do want to address some comments that I’ve, been seeing in last couple videos number one. I need to add some conduit and grommets on wires running from the frame you’re right. We’re gonna. Do that number two, I can’t use staples to tie down wires.
You’re wrong, but staples. I’m using the tie down the wires and there are actually specifically for tying down wires. The top of them are flat, so it’s, not gonna rub through the insulation, I made sure not to hammer them down too tight, so that should also help they’ll, be fine number three I need fuses.
Everything is already fused. The inverter has built-in circuit breakers for the 120 volt stuff. It has a fuse coming from the 12 volt stuff. The charger has a fuse. The only thing I need to add a fuse for are the sweatpants.
Why am I using extension cords for the wiring through the walls that’s, not safe? It’s. Gon na burn down the bus. I’m using extension cords because they’re more flexible. They are multi strand wires and I just found them easier to work with the extension cords.
I got our 14 AWG, so they waited for plenty of power. They’re rated for more power than the circuit breakers on the inverter, so the circuit breaker on the inverter will pop before one of those wires melts it’s.
It’s, all dead. It’s. Gon na be safe, don’t worry. I think those are all the concerns ahead. So thank you again. Hopefully you guys did enjoy this video if you did give it a like. If you didn’t, please get a dislike check out.
My other social media support the channel on Terron subscribe and turn on the notification bell in the next video we’re gonna be installing a baller audio system in the adventure, bus, amps subs speakers head unit.
It’s, gonna be really cool, so I’ll, see you guys, then thank you so so much for watching supporting the channel. I appreciate it so much and bye: Russo, [, Music, ], [ Applause, ], [, Music, ]
