Solar panel Vs generator

hot under the collar

hi there toymaker. i'm inclined to advise solar power, if it, and a bank of batteries, can cover the power consumption you might need. trouble is the extra weight of big batts and expense of panel. gennies have a time and place, AS EVERYONE AGREES. i have had a large panel and 3x 110ah batts and still had to run a genny ( greedy, i know ).
have you, or anyone else, considered a sterling battery to battery charging system ? i have just read up on them and i'm very impressed. yet again, there is a large price for the technology but it's a route i'm going to invest in.
by the way daviesport (did i spell that right ?) the idea of letting someone else hook into my genny is brilliant and i feel ashamed i haven't thought of it before although whenever i have used the demon machine, i never seem to have neighbours but i will always bear it in mind from now on. cheers...geoff
 
flashingblade said:
hi there toymaker. i'm inclined to advise solar power, if it, and a bank of batteries, can cover the power consumption you might need. trouble is the extra weight of big batts and expense of panel. gennies have a time and place, AS EVERYONE AGREES. i have had a large panel and 3x 110ah batts and still had to run a genny ( greedy, i know ).
have you, or anyone else, considered a sterling battery to battery charging system ? i have just read up on them and i'm very impressed. yet again, there is a large price for the technology but it's a route i'm going to invest in.
by the way daviesport (did i spell that right ?) the idea of letting someone else hook into my genny is brilliant and i feel ashamed i haven't thought of it before although whenever i have used the demon machine, i never seem to have neighbours but i will always bear it in mind from now on. cheers...geoff
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My bold
I'm assuming that you mean these Sterling Battery to Battery things? They seem to cost about £130 plus
There is also Antares , Victron and you can even make your own if you are a bit switched on (sorry, what a terrible pun).
I do use this type of equipment and it works very well because you don't have to do anything. It is completely automatic in operation.
 
baloothebear said:
OKey dokey

Write the words down that you wish use ie GATS

Open another browser window and find the address at the top which in this case is http://www.guntrader.co.uk/ - usual nonsense R/H mouse click & copy

Now come back to your original post and highlight the words GATS - then go to the little pic of the world and L/H click it - then paste in the guntrader bit - - tell it OK and its Job done :D
Click to expand...

trying lets see :eek::eek:
 
baloothebear said:
OKey dokey

Write the words down that you wish use ie GATS

Open another browser window and find the address at the top which in this case is http://www.guntrader.co.uk/ - usual nonsense R/H mouse click & copy

Now come back to your original post and highlight the words GATS - then go to the little pic of the world and L/H click it - then paste in the guntrader bit - - tell it OK and its Job done :D
Click to expand...

Learning something new every day TY Baloo
 
cipro said:
Yes I now:eek::eek: but thought was appropriate when learning something new:confused:. I could have linked this it is clean thanks again:cool: or this enjoy:D
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Thanks for that M8 - I'd just had my breakfast when I opened your link to that bunch of alkys, poseurs, sex pests and no hopers :eek:
Who do I send the bill to for a new keyboard :D

Now the 2nd link is of such stature and maturity that it should be in a post of its own :D
 
baloothebear said:
Thanks for that M8 - I'd just had my breakfast when I opened your link to that bunch of alkys, poseurs, sex pests and no hopers :eek:
Who do I send the bill to for a new keyboard :D

Now the 2nd link is of such stature and maturity that it should be in a post of its own :D
Click to expand...

Well you are :D:D now have a good day although it P***** down everywhere:mad::mad:
 
cipro said:
Well you are :D:D now have a good day although it P***** down everywhere:mad::mad:
Click to expand...

my bold
And I expect that you want to know the reason why, don't you?
It's nothing to do with Global warming, the El Ninio effect or even Mr Broon's latest speech. It's because











Mrs BtB bought me a rain gauge for my birthday and she wanted to see if it works :D:D:D
 
Hi Baloo, I just bought, and fitted, an "Intelligent Self Switching Split Charge Relay Kit 12V / 30Ampa battery to battery charger" from Brocott Electronics. It costs £21.45. It worked great for us for the last fortnight!! JIM
 
I have one 30 watt panal on my van and it makes a big difference even as its a smallish one,i invested in new batteries ,which i fully charge at home via hook up before leaving.
we can be camped for about 4 days watching tv/dvd's etc before i need to start the van.
Having kept to 12volt low cosumption devices sat rec etc i can make the power last much longer and never ever use the hungry inverter.
I have a generator which i hate and i was able to leave it at home this year.
I just want to arrive and enjoy myself without the hastle of a generator.
for my next van i will be fitting bigger panels like my friend who is fully power sufficiant which is the best situation to be in.
 
Having amused myself reading this arguement,thought i would comment too...
Solar is definately the way to go,maybe a little expensive £300 = 100 watt panel + 2 100 amp batteries at another £160 and a regulator,maybe a small invertor £20 (for emergency) BUT from then on totally FREE and self su
fficient.

A gennie is a cheap alternative to buy,but to use ?(when you can start it,lol)lugging and using PETROL,highly combustable,smelly and EXPENSIVE ,going up all the time,also the rate of use,will you need to top up somewhere?Of course i'm talking long term and 'wild camping' not going down to your local campsite 40 miles away for the weekend.
Once purchased you will realise how good,modern,clean,quiet and USABLE ,SOLAR POWER is,in fact forgeting about wether you'll have power for this or that,over the week,month or even year....camping wild.
There's many advantages,you can just drive off(if needed too) using solar,the gennie is outside on a hook up(in the cold and wet,or does it work in the wet?)
If your 'WILDING' somewhere and you dont want to cause attention or be a pain.
Breakthroughs are happening every year,new technology,solar just needs light these days not sunshine,and to use your power (at night) it's stored in your batteries !!(just stating a fact,that some would not realize)panels are smaller,most 'vans' have 1 or 2 100 amp batteries anyhow,most equipment is 12 volt and better using LED lighting,also gas for fridge/cooking ??!
So the only point i can see in favour of a genie is,it's cheap to buy machine or you already have one !
For you disbelievers of SOLAR out there,please research 12 volt solar on the net.:)
 
I bought one of the 2Kw Honda generators for our western isles trip. It's pretty quiet - so much so that we could barely hear it inside the motorhome. Most of the time we used it there wasn't anyone nearby, but even when we did they didn't appear to notice. I walked out the distance our neighbours were and the generator didn't seem to be audible over the wind noise anyway. We also only ran the gennie for a few hours at a time and never overnight.

We used it more than we'd expected though as at the start of the holiday we found out that our lesuire battery was completely knackered. From our overall experience though I reckon we'd be able to go 3 days if we had 2 x 90AH, although I expect that'd be reduced if we'd wanted to recharge laptops etc.
 
Just thought i would put my two pennith in,i have been reading this thread with interest as we will be full timing on selling our house.We are selling the house to try to escape the ratrace.For us as we are giving up our house and we can afford to make our lives as comfortable as possible,which i fully intend on doing,i plan on using solar panels for topping up our batteries and to also spend some money and get the best possible generator that we can.For me i would rather be with than without and have as many solutions to any given problem that i may have.
Alas you will always have the odd scumbag who doesnt give a toss about anyone else,they will always be there no matter what,which is why i want to try and avoid camp sites as much as possible.
For me full timing is about living a differant way of life,and this means not watching the tv every 5 minuites,as has been said if you dont use too much power you aint gonna have a problem.




And please....put your handbags away!!!!:D
 
coolasluck said:
Just thought i would put my two pennith in,i have been reading this thread with interest as we will be full timing on selling our house.We are selling the house to try to escape the ratrace.For us as we are giving up our house and we can afford to make our lives as comfortable as possible,which i fully intend on doing,i plan on using solar panels for topping up our batteries and to also spend some money and get the best possible generator that we can.For me i would rather be with than without and have as many solutions to any given problem that i may have.
Alas you will always have the odd scumbag who doesnt give a toss about anyone else,they will always be there no matter what,which is why i want to try and avoid camp sites as much as possible.
For me full timing is about living a differant way of life,and this means not watching the tv every 5 minuites,as has been said if you dont use too much power you aint gonna have a problem.




And please....put your handbags away!!!!:D
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We have a Gasparini Self Energy 20 LPG generator slung under the van. 12v 20 Amp output to leisure battery. Auto detects voltage and starts and stops as required without intervention. Silent in operation. Works in the dark as well keeping up my two 110Ah batteries..

I had this fitted by Conrad Anderson and would recommend it to anyone wilding.

On a site in the dunes near Millom at present and living normally for the last 2 days and it hasn't needed to cut in yet. TV and Laptop in use no problem. Although a site it has no facilities and is just like wilding.
 
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5% Price Reduction. Save £146!
If 5% = £146 that means 100% = £2920, minus 5% =£2774
Way beyond my league I'm afraid :(

Frank
 
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