Solar panels - quantity discount?

[davemh]

Ok, thanks for that, it's another option. I've created a new thread called Solar Confusion. Groovy.

 

[curlytail]

Wind chargers

Well I see that Firefox has mentioned me a few times, so thank you to him.

I know everyone looks at eBay & maybe some on here think the panels I'm trying to sell are too expensive, but I'd tried to get my company interested in importing some items that might be of use to Motor-homers, but that has (at the mo) back fired.

All I would say, again, is that it is my belief that if you are 'going solar' buy the most watts that your roof & your pocket will allow.

Looking on eBay, I don't see any seller offering a 'see before you buy' or free personal delivery between Herts & Lincoln next weekend. Unfortunately, everything is now about an 80w panel at £140 on eBay that may arrive as a 50w (as posted earlier in this thread)!!

PM me or look on eBay for the 70, 90 & 140w panels, item numbers 150662500485 , 150662505759 & 150662507610

Wherever you get your panels from, unless you only go on sites with hook up, you won't regret going solar - good (wild)camping

A question: why don't we use wind chargers as an alternative/additional means of charging?

A year or two ago I read an article in one of the motorhome mags from a guy who had fitted one to his unit to operate when he was stationary. Although he didn't quite say outright that it was not very effective he certainly intimated it.

 

[curlytail]

Alternative roof fixing of panels?

I am reluctant to Silkaflex my panel (thanks for the excellent feedback from everybody regarding panels) when i purchase it, to the motorhome roof as I will not be able to move it to another motorhome if I change units in the future. I have 2 roofrails and was considering using aluminium angle across the roofbars and bolting/rivetting the panel onto the 2 (or 4) roof bars. Can anybody see any problem with this please? I am not sure if the panels will flex too much whilst travelling that is why I am considering 4 roof bars.

 

[Techno100]

If you're worried about flex, block off the airflow from the front edges. Force the slipstream over them.
I would still use sikaflex and leave the brackets on the van if you want to move them.
Or why not use them to increase the sale price of the van and have a fresh install?

 

[Wildboyz]

I'd expect you'd be able to find discount on bulk orders as you can with most products.

 

[maingate]

Just a couple of points to add to the mix.

I have monitored my freestanding 90 watt solar panel from February this year by using a digital Ammeter.

You do double the output by angling the panel. 60 degrees is the best in Winter (with low sun) and between 10 and 15 degrees in high Summer. We wildcamp all year round and it is important to maximise the output in Winter. At 10 am on a bright Winter morning, I have had 4 amps from the panel.

I may be wrong but I think you only get what you pay for. I did not go with the cheap ebay panels but shopped around and found that stonewindandsolar.co.uk had panels on offer at a reasonable price. They supplied the full kit (mounting brackets, cable, Sikaflex etc.). I already had the regulator for my wind turbine so I only needed the panel and 6 metres of cable. It cost me just over £200 about 15 months ago. I get almost 6 amps on a good day and can go all summer without hookup unless there is a prolonged spell of bad weather. Occasionally my wind turbine helps out (I can have them both operating together.

Generally, if you are considering a wind turbine, I would not bother. Go for solar.

 

[David & Ann]

Anyone know how many amps I would get with the 120w x 2 =240w that I have on the roof. I bought the MH with it on. It was done professionally by the previous owner. All I know is I can wild camp forever without hookup. Granted, I hardly use any battery life.

 

[Techno100]

In ideal conditions if the battery was very low or under a lot of load you could get 13 or 14 amps

 

[David & Ann]

In ideal conditions if the battery was very low or under a lot of load you could get 13 or 14 amps

Hi Techno, my batteries are less than a year old and are in very good condition. When I check the battery Indicator needle, they always seem full, about 13.8 on the dial.

 

[Techno100]

Yes that is good during the day. It should drop to 12.6 or 7 overnight when off charge and resume with daylight.

 

[Techno100]

Bulk buy or not no one will get a better price than this!
German has dropped even lower and I cannot fault them
eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

I have just secured 3 weeks work in Guernsey so I can't take advantage of this as I won't be here to take delivery :-(

 

[RobKeeble]

DIY Tilting/Rotating Solar Panel

Just to let you know that last week I took delivery of these two items to construct a tilting and rotating solar panel in the next couple of days.

I noticed that the expensive tilting hinges were just like standard window friction hinges, and as the 300mm ones take a 20Kg load and the solar panel only weighs in at 8Kg, I figured I wouldn't need a longer hinge. So I bought a pair for £4.95 and also bought a digital multimeter to take my order over £10 for free postage.
Toolstation > Hardware > Window Hardware > Side Hung Friction Hinge

For rotation I searched for lazy susans and came across these, so bought the 300mm which takes up to 450Kg for £12.92 inc P&P.
Flint Hire & Supply Ltd Lazy Susans
I just need a little aluminium angle to connect :hammer: to the German 80W solar panel (£137) and Bob's your uncle. The two cables feed into a waterproof electrical junction box (that was lying around in my garage) which will be positioned in the centre of the lazy susan for minimal movement during rotation. Then they feed through the roof into a junction box to connect to some spare 6mm T&E (also spare from the garage) which runs to the Maplin regulator (£21), then some spare red and black 6mm cable (yes, garage) joins to the vehicle and leisure batteries.

Will post some piccies when all's done, but seems very straightforward at the moment.

Rob

 

[saxonborg]

I am not dishing solar, and in an ideal world we would all live off it.

But here's my 2 penneth. I have 2 110a/h led lighting, no TV, 1000w inverter for laptops and iPads and phone charging.

I once left my 12v fridge on and in the morning we had flat batteries. I started the engine for 20 minutes and I did another 4 days without moving (festival).

So in conclusion 20 mins of tick over charging will cost next to nothing and if done at the right time will not upset anyone nearby, and believe me at a festival they pack us in.

Hi
When I ued to deal with diesel engines, running them on light load was not recommended, due mainly to the fact that you get polished bores and subsequently higher oil consumption. I dont know if this is still the case with modern diesels, I imagine it still is.
saxonborg

 

[Firefox]

I just bought another 90W panel off AL8 http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/sale-wanted/14850-sample-solar-panels-sale.html

He's parting with the 90W for £160 now. If you can get proven quality 90W panels for much less than this by the time you've factored in scambay vagaries, postage, and paid your cream off to pay pal, then good luck to you!

He drove 10 mile round trip to deliver panel direct to me for zero postage, and I got to inspect before I bought. I've got one 90W from him installed already and it's providing useful charge. I've got a permanent voltmeter on the battery, but I'm putting an ammeter in the charging circuit soon so I can see exactly what is happening.

With this other 90W panel making 180W I'm hoping to be largely self sufficient in power. I can't fit any more solar panels on my roof after this!

 

[Canalsman]

Just to let you know that last week I took delivery of these two items to construct a tilting and rotating solar panel in the next couple of days.

I noticed that the expensive tilting hinges were just like standard window friction hinges, and as the 300mm ones take a 20Kg load and the solar panel only weighs in at 8Kg, I figured I wouldn't need a longer hinge. So I bought a pair for £4.95 and also bought a digital multimeter to take my order over £10 for free postage.
Toolstation > Hardware > Window Hardware > Side Hung Friction Hinge

For rotation I searched for lazy susans and came across these, so bought the 300mm which takes up to 450Kg for £12.92 inc P&P.
Flint Hire & Supply Ltd Lazy Susans
I just need a little aluminium angle to connect :hammer: to the German 80W solar panel (£137) and Bob's your uncle. The two cables feed into a waterproof electrical junction box (that was lying around in my garage) which will be positioned in the centre of the lazy susan for minimal movement during rotation. Then they feed through the roof into a junction box to connect to some spare 6mm T&E (also spare from the garage) which runs to the Maplin regulator (£21), then some spare red and black 6mm cable (yes, garage) joins to the vehicle and leisure batteries.

Will post some piccies when all's done, but seems very straightforward at the moment.

Rob

Very interested to hear how you get on Rob.

I saw the lazy susan device when I Googled for a swivel platform and wondered if it might be suitable ...

Regards

Chris

 

[davemh]

Below is an email I got from maximum_solar who sell these mppt regulators. FYI, the devices discussed are:

"PCM3012"
25A mppt solar charge controller regulator 12V battery 15~33V PV panel range LCD | eBay

"2012" (PCM2012)
eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

80W panels referred to are the ebay German ones:
eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace




The PCM3012 was designed to accommodate/include a wide range of 18V panels that we have seen in many markets including Asia and Europe, and these typically have an Voc/Vmp of 36~37/26~28V, respectively, which fit right into the now wider mppt range of 3012 (15~33V). The 2012 was great if you have sufficient voltage, but we've received also many valuable inputs from customers who purchased that the input was a bit too narrow (15~22V) and depends on your setting, once the voltage dips below 15V, the performance was not good. This was another reason why the 3012 was introduced.

Typically a 12V panel has a Vmp of around 16~19V (with some exception in my previous email to as low as 15.x!) and Voc of around 20~22V. We call panels exhibiting these characteristics as a 12V panel because they're meant for 12V battery system. A lot of the larger PV panels (e.g. >200w) they can have around double the figures for these parameters and they are the so-called 24V panel. The 18v panel I referred are something like this -

Solar Panel 230W Poly Crystaline MCS certified 1 panel | eBay

230W MONO Solar Cell Panel Power Battery 64.9''x39.1'' | eBay

Both of these above have Vmp of around 29~30V.

Generally speaking a "18V panel" would have 1.5 times the main parameter values of a 12v panel, but sometimes you do see some oddball panel specs which don't really qualify as "18V" and they might call it "20V". In any case, I think the key is to focus on the specs and how well it matches with the charge controller of choice.

Back to the 80w panel - if careful planning is involved during setup and weather cooperates, it really shouldn't be a challenge to maintain around 17V on this panel. Most of our customers who purchased 2012 used 12v panels like the one you're looking at, and while most don't have problem with it, around 5% of individuals reported that they have trouble maintaining the minimum 15V. This could be an issue where the wire was dragged too long which contributed to voltage loss, quality of panel, or just really bad weather or inclination angle/location. Best way to test this is to acquire 1 solar panel and measure its voltage during different weather conditions; if voltage is below say 16V most of the time, I would just get 2 of these and hook them up in SERIES.

Thanks,
-Maximum Solar

 

[Techno100]

As I understand it polycrystaline are not as good in low light as Mono
Be aware that panel is PLUS VAT so £360 not £299

Series connection is the best option for 2x equal wattage spec panels :thumbup:

http://community.gogreensolar.com/video/wiring-solar-panels-in-series

http://partsonsale.com/learnwiring.htm

Series connection is only good with mppt regulators NOT PWM regulators

 

[AL8]

CAN YOU REALLY REALLY GET CHEAPER :hammer::
GIVING THEM AWAY ON EBAY - LOL

ALSO AVAILABLE, 2x90w @ £160ea& 2x70w @ £120ea

 

[RobKeeble]

DIY Tilting/Rotating Solar Panel

Well I managed to get the solar panel brackets made and fitted as you can see from the piccies.

I used a conduit terminal box and cut the lead plug and sockets in half just to connect to the lid.

Full view of the back showing the frame made up from a couple of old blinds, and the leads feeding into the centre of the lazy susan.

A close-up of the window friction hinge pop-riveted to the frame.

Another rear view.

To keep it held down while travelling I've added a bracket which is accessible from the rooflight, oh and
a couple of rubber feet made from some rubber matting offcuts.

The leads feed into a 20 amp double pole switch, and then along the cupboards to the cab.

The Maplin regulator connects to both the leisure and vehicle batteries and I can easily see which is charging at any time.

Well we'll see how it all performs on the road, but hopefully we will be self-sufficient on the electricity front.
All that's left is to fit some kind of catch so that the panel is fixed when it is up and doesn't whirl around like a wind turbine. :lol-053:

Rob

 

[mrbigglesworth]

Bulk buy or not no one will get a better price than this!
German has dropped even lower and I cannot fault them
eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

I have just secured 3 weeks work in Guernsey so I can't take advantage of this as I won't be here to take delivery :-(

Ordered one last Wed. Arrived in 6 days and looks ok.:bow:

I really like the idea of mounting it a la RobKeeble.:bow::bow:

Mr B.