solar panel suitcase offer ?

pianosonic

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Hi All
Maplins have £40 off a solar suitcase .usual price £100.Im gonna go n have a look at one today.Has anyone got one? Are they any good

regards T.C.
 
Suitcase Solar Panel

I had serveral about 5 years ago, linked them together to power a battery, 13 watts I believe and totally useless. They are not waterproof so can't be left out, they do look pretty. Suggest you spend your money on a panel for external use, you can mount it or bring it out when the sun shines. Some swear buy solar panels but they tend to be 25% efficient and degrade over time, there are two types, the more modern version tends to be more efficient. There are even flexi versions but whether they are long lasting and robust as the say is another question. The simple answer is to get the largest you can afford and a simple regulator to stop overcharging, Maplins is not that cheap aleast for solar panels, shop around, off ebay back then I got them much cheaper!
 
I got one and it keeps the engine battery topped up. Worth the £40 in my opinion. Had it 2 years now and always have it plugged in when parked or stored
 
cragh said:
I got one and it keeps the engine battery topped up. Worth the £40 in my opinion. Had it 2 years now and always have it plugged in when parked or stored
Click to expand...

Hi cragh, often wondered about getting one of these. Do you leave it on the dash and plug it into the cigar lighter socket ? How is it regulated to stop overcharging the battery or does it not matter ?
A picture would be nice - to see the size in relation to the cab.

Cheers
Sam
 
pianosonic said:
Hi All
Maplins have £40 off a solar suitcase .usual price £100.Im gonna go n have a look at one today.Has anyone got one? Are they any good

regards T.C.
Click to expand...
Hi Pianosonic,

I have just bought an 8w solar panel (reduced to £30 from £60). I have been trying it out on the wifes car and it is not putting anything back into the battery. It is dull and cloudy but it is claimed that it will still work. I have even tried it on a flat battery without success My multi meter should detect something. So I am sat here waiting for some sunshine so I can test it again.

I need it to work a bit better than it is now as my next van will be in storage. If it is faulty then I am snookered as it was the last one in the store.
 
maingate said:
Hi Pianosonic,

I have just bought an 8w solar panel (reduced to £30 from £60). I have been trying it out on the wifes car and it is not putting anything back into the battery. It is dull and cloudy but it is claimed that it will still work. I have even tried it on a flat battery without success My multi meter should detect something. So I am sat here waiting for some sunshine so I can test it again.
.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes: you'll be lucky te recharge a rechargeable AA battery with it ...:eek:

regards :p
aj
 
Seen them in use and not too impressed. Probably better to have something larger on the roof permanently. Check ebay - there are some bargains around at the moment.
 
I am also interested in a solar panel but I believe you only get what you pay for in this life and sometimes not even that. When I bought my 'van in 2006 it came with a Katherin manual tv aerial. I had only a compass to 'set' it. Sometimes I was able to pick up the signaal in a couple of minutes, other times I failed to do so and occasionally used inapproprite language in frustration. After a few months I had an Oyster automatic aerial fitted by Tranleisure, who unfortunately no longer exist. It is really good aerial even though at the time it cost c.€3000 because the exchange rate was approximately €1.50 to the GB£. However I think it was worth it and if I change my 'van next year it will be the first accessory I will buy. It gets me a signal as far south as Barcelona.

However, back to solar panels! it seems the best panels are polycrystaline ( I am not an expert) and it seems they are expensive. I too have thought about the portable panels but I formed the impression they are a toy and that I would be wasting my cash. As campers we should always go for the best but of course some of us are restricted by the limitations on our budget and we have to live with that. If I do have a panel fitted in the future I think I will get one which will deliver a least a 100 watts even if I have to wait a little longer to get it.

Apologies for being so long-winded.

Len
 
LOC
Having done some research, as we are about to fit solar panles to our motorhome, we have found that the monocrystalline panels are in fact the better ones to use.

Like you we were originally going to buy the polycrystalline panels but, on further research, found that the efficiency (conversion of sunlight into electricity) of monocrystalline panels is better than the polycrystalline panels, which, in our opinion, outweighs the (sometimes negligable if search around) extra cost.

I have lost the original link to where I got my info but have found this one, which makes similar informative reading. Solar Energy Home-solar energy, solar panels, Photovoltaic

Hope this helps & feel free to pick our brains as we are in process of buying/installing pv panels as I type.

bevdrew
 
We have a knaus SunTi with 2 x 100ah batteries and a 80w solar panel on the roof, the halogen lights and currently being replaced with LED units. This lets us avoid hookup most of the year except for N Scotland in winter when we back it up with a rutland wind generator. The panel would probably suffice but it's mounted flat which isn't ideal in winter.

Paul
 
Mastodon said:
We have a knaus SunTi with 2 x 100ah batteries and a 80w solar panel on the roof, the halogen lights and currently being replaced with LED units. This lets us avoid hookup most of the year except for N Scotland in winter when we back it up with a rutland wind generator. The panel would probably suffice but it's mounted flat which isn't ideal in winter.

Paul
Click to expand...
Hi there,

What model Rutland do you use and how is it fixed?

Is vibration a problem?

Do you need the Rutland voltage regulator or will any do the job.
 
We have one of the Maplins suitcase panels, in my opinion they aren't much use. At the best you get less than 1amp & thats if you keep moving it to get the best angle to the sun. If you only want it to keep the battery from running down to much when the vans not in use & parked up it might do the job but they won't put much back in the battery. We have a roof mounted panel (I think it's about 85 watt) & this keeps my battery topped up with no problems even without the sun shinning it does the job.
When it comes to solar panels size & cost do matter, I was lucky the dealer I got my van from fitted a panel to my van instead of another Adria Izola by mistake so it was a freebie.:):)
 
Hi
It's the 504 - the one with the ring around it that looks like a rad fan. It's on a short mast (about 1.5m I think) which slots into a matching tube bolted to the side of the ladder, or into another 1.5m tube which is free standing (with guy lines). The ladder mount transmits a lot of vibration through the van, but goes up in a couple of minutes. The freestanding mast takes a little longer to put up, but no noise or vibration. Mine was a bargain on ebay and came with the Rutland generator, this feeds back to the generator to prevent overspeeding in high wind. You could possibly use a solar regulator, but you wouldn't get the braking facility.
Paul
 
quicksam said:
Hi cragh, often wondered about getting one of these. Do you leave it on the dash and plug it into the cigar lighter socket ? How is it regulated to stop overcharging the battery or does it not matter ?
A picture would be nice - to see the size in relation to the cab.

Cheers
Sam
Click to expand...

Yep, just plonked on the dash. The Solar Suitcase comes with a regualtor to which you can attach 2 of these panels.
Well worth the £40 in my opinion

Sorry I haven't got any pics just yet
 
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