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Solar and Converter models on the Deltas?

daemonic3

Well-known member
Hi all! First post as I'm a new Delta owner, coming from 2 previous Grand Design Imagines over 6 years.

This is my first time with solar, and I am also immediately bringing my own lithium battery to drive off the lot with it when I take delivery. Can anyone tell me the models/vendors of the solar unit and the main converter? I would like to know ahead of any settings to switch for lithium as I'm not 100% confident the dealer will know (they provide lead acid as default in their prep package, and I have greater confidence in other Delta owners).

I've read the converter manual in the resources on here already so if the Deltas use the same converter as the rest I only need to flip the switch to LI. I can't find specific settings for the solar units though.

Thanks!
-T
 

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Hi all! First post as I'm a new Delta owner, coming from 2 previous Grand Design Imagines over 6 years.

This is my first time with solar, and I am also immediately bringing my own lithium battery to drive off the lot with it when I take delivery. Can anyone tell me the models/vendors of the solar unit and the main converter? I would like to know ahead of any settings to switch for lithium as I'm not 100% confident the dealer will know (they provide lead acid as default in their prep package, and I have greater confidence in other Delta owners).

I've read the converter manual in the resources on here already so if the Deltas use the same converter as the rest I only need to flip the switch to LI. I can't find specific settings for the solar units though.

Thanks!
-T
Hello folks, friends of ours took delivery of a Delta RK about 2 months ago. It is equipped with RICH Solar components.
Not sure what specific controller, but I have found most controllers in a given line operate the same.

 
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daemonic3

Well-known member
Excellent! These appear to be a step up from the Go Solar controllers I thought probably come with it. I hope I get a RICH in our unit as well. I see one table where you pick the battery type, and it appear to populate some safe defaults in most of the parameters automatically, which is great. I'll make sure I do this soon after connecting my battery.

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BryanValRox

Well-known member
They also have an(Optional) BT-1 Module(Bluetooth) so that you can remote monitor your charging and discharging.
We were over at our friends house last evening and he indicated that he ordered the BT1 but didn’t get it plugged in yet.
We have Renogy components in our 310 RL with the BT-1. For the most part they look(except for the color) and appear to function the same. Some of the graphics in the instructions even look the same. We have been happy with our Solar and BT-1 to date.
 

Jim Beletti

Owner Experience Liaison
Staff member
We were using Rich Solar for a short while on early Deltas. A running line change resulted in us switching over to Renogy for both the PV Panel and MPPT Solar Charge Controller.
 

daemonic3

Well-known member
We were using Rich Solar for a short while on early Deltas. A running line change resulted in us switching over to Renogy for both the PV Panel and MPPT Solar Charge Controller.
Aha! Thanks for confirming... My dealer said he's sure it is Renogy but didn't know the model number. I deduced that the only 40A model from Renogy was an MPPT and not the PWM. I suppose it does not have the BT module by default, so I will change the battery type from the menu buttons (according to the manual I found).
 

Jim Beletti

Owner Experience Liaison
Staff member
Aha! Thanks for confirming... My dealer said he's sure it is Renogy but didn't know the model number. I deduced that the only 40A model from Renogy was an MPPT and not the PWM. I suppose it does not have the BT module by default, so I will change the battery type from the menu buttons (according to the manual I found).
Mine did not come with the BT-1 module but I believe the MPPT has the port for it (lower right).
 

daemonic3

Well-known member
So here are my results!

We indeed have a WFCO converter, which should have auto battery type detection. I watched my battery all weekend (shake down trip) and it definitely was charging (started camp at ~50%, ended camp at 86%) most of the time when I checked my battery via BT. The only times I noticed the battery indicated draining was when the 12V fridge kicked on periodically. Otherwise current flowed into the battery.

Our Solar is indeed the RICH solar charger, not Renogy. I was able to climb into the pass through to change the settings to lithium. It was gloomy all weekend so I assume we didn't get much help from it. But on the sunny drive home I checked the battery and either my truck or solar charged it the final 14% fairly quickly, which I think was the solar providing enough current at high enough voltage.

Thanks for all the help!

-T
 

BryanValRox

Well-known member
So here are my results!

We indeed have a WFCO converter, which should have auto battery type detection. I watched my battery all weekend (shake down trip) and it definitely was charging (started camp at ~50%, ended camp at 86%) most of the time when I checked my battery via BT. The only times I noticed the battery indicated draining was when the 12V fridge kicked on periodically. Otherwise current flowed into the battery.

Our Solar is indeed the RICH solar charger, not Renogy. I was able to climb into the pass through to change the settings to lithium. It was gloomy all weekend so I assume we didn't get much help from it. But on the sunny drive home I checked the battery and either my truck or solar charged it the final 14% fairly quickly, which I think was the solar providing enough current at high enough voltage.

Thanks for all the help!

-T
Thank you very much for the follow up, glad things worked out! Rest assured, you will get at least a little solar input even on a gloomy day. Also, as I am sure you know, your converter will actively provide output to the battery while plugged it, so you get the benefit of a double dip!

Best regards!
 
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