Solar

[Micky]

Hi guys and girls,going through my bucket list for the motorhome,check scooter on its way,scooter trailer I have decided to contruct myself .Sat nav,hgv,birthday present son daughter,wife sorted.solar I am ordering next week so I know nothing about solar,can you help just on what watt I need.this is what I have in mind.Bimble solar supplies 1 12v 175watt monocrystalline used ,cable mounts ect 230 pounds upwards.so should I go bigger.up to now 50/50 with leke,but I may go commando from time to time like Glastonbury next year.fitted by copetent fitter 200 pounds. All fine,but do you think a bigger panel.thanks for looking and help in this matter.mick

 

[colinm]

Unless you (or we) know how much power you use and when you use van then it's total guesswork, we have 85w panel with 90ah battery and this suits us.

 

[craig9760]

if you are getting solar panels keep with the 19v ones can be 120w or more on. ...but when you going in to 180w plus they are mostly 36v panels ok for 24v charge when a 36v goes thought a regulate for 12v you do not get back all of the power .., but if its 19v panel you do , iv been selling panels for a long time
hope this helps you

 

[trevskoda]

200w on my bus and never a flat service or starter battery winter or summer.
Only lights, and 12v water heater which uses a big lump of juice.

 

[justRoamin]

Like already said... it all depends what your thinking of using.
We have a 110Ah battery and 100amp solar, changed all the interior lights to LEDs,
And we even watch the TV a couple of hours in the evening with no problems.
I'd at Glastonbury you'd only need lights and water pump on as you'd be out all day partying while the battery's charging.
Mark

 

[IanH]

See my post further down this section.......Autosleeper Warwick Duo solar installation.

This is 140w , 40% more than we had on the last van. On the last van we never used EHU unless it was unavoidably included in a site price, 2 1/2 weeks Spain/Portugal April, no EHU at all.

The real secret is to minimise consumption, led lights (a must) Avtex or similar TV, etc etc. We have an on board charging station which is either solar powered or engine powered if under way. This charges, simultaneously, 2 x tablets, 2 x phones and some camera batteries, no noticeable power used.

We went for 140w instead of the last one, 100w, this time as we can now use the Truma heating overnight in winter, OK less solar but the alternator does a good job when on the move.

Be wary of weight too another good thing to minimise! This complete installation is only 6.5Kg.

Good Luck
I

 

[Micky]

200w on my bus and never a flat service or starter battery winter or summer.
Only lights, and 12v water heater which uses a big lump of juice.

Thanks I will have some of that,it's not what I use,it's what I may need.i have avtex tv,full led lighting, all run for the last three years on leisure batt.half on sites with ehu,half wilding up to 4days no hook up.just finished euro trip 6500 miles in 5.5 weeks but it was touch and go at times.best be prepared so more I think is good ready for 2019.if her indoors give me any more lip,I will have spare weight available.thanks again for all your help in this matter.it may be easy to build a space ship.micky

 

[mistericeman]

We have 2 100w solar panels on the roof and a Durite voltage sensing split charge relay charging 3 x 100ah leisure batteries.
We run a 3000w inverter to power microwave/toaster/kettle/slow cooker etc as well as running the eberspacher/tv/phone charging etc...
Never yet needed hook up...
we were short of electric once over xmas/New year (short low sun days and eberspacher on almost constant)
But just ran the engine for 10 minutes whilst we had a brew and toast before setting off.
I'm tempted by another solar panel and a mppt controller But not sure it's worth it as I'd have to move the roof box.