Solar panel fitter near West Yorks

It is not compulsory to fix a panel to the roof. I have been using a freestanding solar panel for nearly 3 years now. This one 90 watt panel makes us self sufficient indefinitely through Spring into Autumn because having it angled keeps it working at around maximum output. As I have said before, I prop it up with a short stick in Summer and a longer stick in Winter. :dance:

Works for me.

I have just modified my solar setup because I also have an additional 100 watt panel now. My batteries were fairly well charged up but I was getting up to 11 amps going in to the batteries.
 
don t know where you are in west yorks but if Oldham is reachable try this fellow What We Do?, he did some work on my campervan and i think he could do yours for a reasonable price i think,let me know what he quotes if you ring him.
 
Wellhouse are great for customer service. I'm sure if you explain the difficulty and urgency they will do their very best to get you sorted.
 
Just spotted in Dunvegan Castle car park a Burstner Viseo running on German plates.
It has solar panels moulded above the windscreen, looked very professional. Hung about for a while but the owners hadn't returned by the time I had to go
 
Its a 2-3 hour job, could probably arrange for it to be done en route.
 
solarman said:
don t know where you are in west yorks but if Oldham is reachable try this fellow What We Do?, he did some work on my campervan and i think he could do yours for a reasonable price i think,let me know what he quotes if you ring him.
Click to expand...


thanks solar man i will try him, Oldham isnot too far..though on the link it says Rochdale which is even nearer, not sure if will beable to get hold of hime today as bank holiday but has got mobile number so thought would send text. I will letyou know what he quotes
 
maingate said:
It is not compulsory to fix a panel to the roof. I have been using a freestanding solar panel for nearly 3 years now. This one 90 watt panel makes us self sufficient indefinitely through Spring into Autumn because having it angled keeps it working at around maximum output. As I have said before, I prop it up with a short stick in Summer and a longer stick in Winter. :dance:

Works for me.

I have just modified my solar setup because I also have an additional 100 watt panel now. My batteries were fairly well charged up but I was getting up to 11 amps going in to the batteries.
Click to expand...

Hmm, thats a thought.....Not sure if that would work for me thoughMaingate, van not very big and not sure where it could safely go when travelling. Plus need it to be charging whilst travelling if possible, as leisure battery not chargimg currently - though that may get fixed, its going to autoelectricians tomorrow... but this is third time for same problem so not 100% confident. :)
 
lotusanne said:
Hmm, thats a thought.....Not sure if that would work for me thoughMaingate, van not very big and not sure where it could safely go when travelling. Plus need it to be charging whilst travelling if possible, as leisure battery not chargimg currently - though that may get fixed, its going to autoelectricians tomorrow... but this is third time for same problem so not 100% confident. :)
Click to expand...

It's a good idea if you can find somewhere to store it Anne. I've seen Jim's setup and it seems to be an efficient way of doing it. You dont need to worry about the van parking position, you can park in the shade of a tree and still have the panel in a sunny patch and you can easily move the panel to get the optimum position in the Sun.

The only downside I can think of (apart from storage) is that if you leave the van it would probably not be a good idea to leave the panel out for thieving hands to get on! (you could always put it up on the roof though if leaving the van for a few hours).

I am thinking of going this way.
 
Not sure about charging whilst moving Anne. I thought (could be wrong) that they are designed to charge whilst the alternator is not charging the batteries. Somebody more knowledgeable than I will come along I'm sure.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rob is correct in that. The solar panels are connected to a controller which permits the leisure batteries to be charged by the alternator when the engine is on, and then switches over to the solar panels when the engine is off. This is simply because the alternator is a more powerful source of power when it is available.
 
Thanks for all replies, have texted the guy near Oldham will post back if he gets back to me and let you know the cost. The free standing option may be a possibilty then if it doesnt charge whilst travelling, am going to check it out see if I can find a spot for it,its quite long though and delicate...the fact that you can put it in a suitable spot is attractive, but would worry about someone walking off with... but I suppose I could try that if I cant get it mounted on roof, and suck it and see...:)

PS the guy gas just rung me back from Oldham, can do it this week but no idea of price until he checks in his book tomorrow, he sounded a nice guy good of him to call on a bank holiday too, just hope price is not too bad
 
Last edited:
What about this 60watt folding panel with regulator fitted on ebay £84, you would only need to fit cable to controller with crocodile clips to batteries, they also have bigger wattage for sale.

NEW 60W FOLDABLE FOLDING SOLAR PANEL CHARGER SYSTEM FOR 12V BATTERY

John.
 
Hi John, now thats a really good idea, much easier to transport. The link didnt workby the way but I pasted it in and got this..which i think is what you mean

NEW 60W FOLDABLE FOLDING SOLAR PANEL CHARGER SYSTEM FOR 12V BATTERY | eBay

As Rob said earlier more versatile as to where you can point it. If I hadnt already got mine i might have gone for that, also its 60 w but mine is only 50 as thats all i can fit on roof. Grr... Rob may be interested though??
 
lotusanne said:
Hi John, now thats a really good idea, much easier to transport. The link didnt workby the way but I pasted it in and got this..which i think is what you mean

NEW 60W FOLDABLE FOLDING SOLAR PANEL CHARGER SYSTEM FOR 12V BATTERY | eBay

As Rob said earlier more versatile as to where you can point it. If I hadnt already got mine i might have gone for that, also its 60 w but mine is only 50 as thats all i can fit on roof. Grr... Rob may be interested though??
Click to expand...

And so he is!:) Thanks for the link John (and Anne!).
 
I had our panel fitted by aire and sun I'm not sure of the cost but will of been similar to what u were quoted. He fitted our own panel travelled to us and spent most the day fitting it! All the cables are labelled and he did an excellent job. The panel works fab and I was glad to have it done professionally!!
 
That's even better, more than double the watts for less than twicethe proce - you may as well have the extra charging capability especially if you want to use it in winter Rob :)
 
The guy from Oldham rang, from MJP, he quoted £70 - £80 and said it might even be cheaper... so taking it in tonight. Thanks all for the suggestions, will post final price when I get it back :)
 
Got van back, and am really pleased with the job. Harry, who is the guy from MJP is really nice and helpful. I told him that the panel came complete with everything, which I thought it did, but there were no brackets to fit it to the roof, so he had to find his own. he thought of using Sikaflex but cos roof is curved he was worried it might come off in the wind. It was also awkward to fit cable to battery as panel is at back and battery under bonnet. So all in all it took a lot longer than expected.. he also found and fitted a new spotlight to replace a broken fluorescent one, and fastened back the bolier casing which had come off. I did also ask him to have a look at fridge which has never worked on gas, but he ran out of time. Total cost was £110 which I was very happy with and would recommend Harry to anyone. Thanks to Solarman for the info :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top