Solar PanelCconnection

jamesmarshall

Guest
I suspect this question has been asked before.
I am awaiting the arrival of an 80w solar panel and want to connect it directly to my leisure battery. I have a CF6 Zig unit that also charges my battery via alternator and EHU when appropriate. Is the direct connection of the solar panel to the battery wise? and if so will I need a control?
I await your wisdom.

Jim
 
You're going to need a seperate regulator for that.
 
hi, i would say that will be ok. i never use the out going connections . you may find the quality isnt the best but i dont know that one so could be wrong. have used similar. in fact always carry one as a spare. possibly get two always handy. you will be lucky to get 5amp even in summer ,they dont actually work on 12volts . its a mith. not too sure about the charging from on board chargers etc . i only use solar or a battery to battery system. (mine is 24volt to 12volt). they say having various charge systems on one bank can confuse some of the charging systems . i dont like the m,home set ups and wire my own. i find all the zig and other systems go wrong and are expensive to fix so never use them. you also may find you will want more panels . one hardly puts much in to be honest but you start somewhere. i have a bank of 6x80wt and 800amp battery bank . never use sites and manage very well . even better in spain or maroc in winter. not too smart at the moment in uk.
as for the out going conections try sticking te leads from a 2kw inverter in them impossible .hard wire straight to the batteries. fuse box as well hard wired to batteries.
 
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There are numerous threads that have covered fitting solar panels, and various types of regulators and connection schemes ...

Take a look at these two for starters

http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/motorhome-knowledge-base/15039-make-your-own-solar-panel-brackets.html

http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/general-chat/14910-solar-panels-quantity-discount-7.html

The second thread is a long one - and the link I've given points to where the discussion about regulators begins.

It's all a bit of a minefield getting the connections done satisfactorily - I'm still trying to get my regulator to work to my satisfaction ...
 
vwalan said:
hi, i would say that will be ok. i never use the out going connections . you may find the quality isnt the best but i dont know that one so could be wrong. have used similar. in fact always carry one as a spare. possibly get two always handy. you will be lucky to get 5amp even in summer ,they dont actually work on 12volts . its a mith. not too sure about the charging from on board chargers etc . i only use solar or a battery to battery system. (mine is 24volt to 12volt). they say having various charge systems on one bank can confuse some of the charging systems . i dont like the m,home set ups and wire my own. i find all the zig and other systems go wrong and are expensive to fix so never use them. you also may find you will want more panels . one hardly puts much in to be honest but you start somewhere. i have a bank of 6x80wt and 800amp battery bank . never use sites and manage very well . even better in spain or maroc in winter. not too smart at the moment in uk.
Click to expand...

Thanks Vwalan,

I'll buy two regulators

Regards

Jim
 
hi chris i have been following your posts .i think chuck that reg away and get something different. i have used lots of the cheaper ones . now use a pulse wave mode reg from a place called therapy 2000in stoke prior. not a fancy tells you everything but just its working. have two fitted . my mates have similar . all working fine . cant say what its producing or anything other than it lights some lights . think some are too complicated for their own good . i wire direct from panels to reg then direct to the batteries . never use the outgoing connections as my other post says . try wiring a 2kw inverter to a reg. impossible. do find the pulse wave mode more effective than straight feed. hope you get yours sorted but it does seem something isnt right. best of luck ,alan.
 
It's not a cheap regulator - it's an MPPT regulator that cost £69, and it works fine, it's just that I am working through a series of different connection options to find the one that works best in my motorhome.

I think I will probably have to run a 12v switching feed from the engine compartment under the 'van and up through the floor to correctly switch a relay. Or alternatively use a solid state relay which draws virtually no current in place of the coil operated relay which I've used so far.

Solid state relays are expensive, but can be obtained on eBay at a reasonable price.

The problem with a coil operated relay wired as it now is to connect the solar panel feed when the leisure battery is connected, and which I hadn't realised, is that coil draws around 0.15 amps. Not a lot, but 24 hours a day, over say a week, and that's 25 amp hours! That's around 25% of the battery capacity just for operating a relay for a week.

I know that's offset by the solar panel when there's decent sun around, but at this time of year that's energy that you can't afford to waste.

I'll get it right in the end ...
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

This is a bit of a minefield for sure, so one step at a time.
At the moment I just want to feed LED lights and water pump. I intend to install a coolbox but will cool it down at home prior to any trip and then use the alternator to top it up when travelling.
I am going to locate the panel to one side of the van roof with a view to adding another one later.

Regards

Jim
 
Sarasota Solar Panel Charging Systam.jpg
I have a 100W panel fitted through a regulator then through a splitter, direct to both the leisure battery and vehicle battery, so I can keep both topped up.
I have since found out that I could have connected the solar panel to the Sargent charging unit fitted in the van and it would have decided which battery to charge.. I think I prefer my set up though cos i fitted it, so if there are problems with the solar panel i can figure out the answer to fix it, or isolate it.
I have also fitted a switch before each battery so I can isolate the Solar panel from the batteries if I needed to change batteries at any time.

I have used the 12v output from the regulator to charge up a phone but not tried it on anything else because it does not seem to be very efficient.
 
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There seem to be a few misconceptions in this thread. 80W at typically 17.5V charging voltage will supply aound 4.5amps which incidentally is the max charge I have seen from my panel. The charge relay only draws current when the ignition is switched on and relay energised if it is any other way it is wired incorrectly. whilst many people do not wire the battery output via the regulator if you can do so it is a good idea as it will protect the batteries from running too low.
 
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