Which Solar Panel

[Traydaloor]

Can someone give me advice please as to which solar panel to buy to help in the top up of a 110amp leisure battery, I have a limited budget so nothing over the top.
Thanks

 

[Deleted member 9237]

Hi.
I have one 100w panel that keeps my 2 110amp batters topped but i live in Spain. We have been in Portugal now 7weeks and not into camp sites. with no problems.:cheers::cheers:

 

[jellybean]

Solar panel

Hi have you had a look on ebay there is a company called solar solutions,I bought one for £25.00 and have just been wilcamping for two weeks and was pleased with it ,it all depends on what you want you can pay from £25.00 up to £300 plus the more the output wattage the more you pay make sure you get one with the diode in so it does not disgarge the battery at night, i am now thinking of buying a bigger one and fitting it on the roof and hardwireing it .Good luck:mad1:

 

[vwalan]

hi have a look on ebay. you should beable to get a 80wt for about 155quid. forget smaller . you may even get a reg thrown in. just about every panel over 50wt comes with a non return diode. decide where you want to put one on the roof .i would leave space to add another . i use angle aluminium to rivet my panels to. the supports can be sikaflexed or screw, bolted , riveted to the roof. try and get a pulse mode regulator they seem to work better than a standard one.
the only hook up i do now is at home, hook up house to trailer and use power from the inverter to power things in the house. saves a shilling.
cheers alan.

 

[solarman]

80 watt minimum as you can never have enough sun over here.generally the bigger the better as you can double up on batteries too,
Solarman.

 

[Deleted member 3011]

Usual first question to you is - can you tell us what sort of RVing lifestyle you are looking for.

Once we have a little more detail about what you think you want to achieve we can give you some useful advice.

So far you have had suggested outlays ranging from 25 quid to 400 so maybe we need to get more info so we can narrow that range down a bit.

 

[Bigpeetee]

I agree with Tony, It all depends on what you do.

Initially I'd fit an additional battery then suck it and see. An additional battery is also very useful to store all the suns rays.

However, if the habitation battery is old, putting a new one in parallel with the existing one will mean that the new one will never reach full capacity.

Both leisure batteries should be the same size in ampere/hour capacity and connected together with good quality cables and connectors, ensuring that if the positive (+) cable can rub against anything that it's well insulated. I use plastic foam pipe lagging, just slip it on. ( I also use this on all water pipes)

When you have a good battery supply, try it out to see if it will last. Change to LED lighting to reduce power consumption, make sure that there are switches on the TV to disconnect the supply, even on standby, they can draw half an amp or so.

Then if you decide to get solar a minimum of 80w panel

 

[Traydaloor]

Usual first question to you is - can you tell us what sort of RVing lifestyle you are looking for.

Once we have a little more detail about what you think you want to achieve we can give you some useful advice.

So far you have had suggested outlays ranging from 25 quid to 400 so maybe we need to get more info so we can narrow that range down a bit.

Hi Tony, we have only just picked the MH up and our trip has consisted of 5 days to get it home to the IOM. Along the way we used very small camp sites with hook-ups, we would like in the future to be able to wild camp (when we pick up the courage).

Our van is a 1997 Compass Herald Aragon and currently the leisure battery consists of one 85amp under the bonnet so I am not sure where I could hide another without taking valuable cupboard space from the interior.

As for price someone else suggested 25 to 400 the 400 too much for me. I think going to 150 is enough for my needs considering our very limited experience.

all advice is greatly appreciated

 

[Deleted member 12539]

I fitted a 100w solar panel to the roof connected to a regulator (that is currently allowing 16v through!!!) and then to a splitter for the leisure battery and vehicle battery, via a double switch isolator, so I can isolate the solar panel from both or either batteries.
It may seem excessive, but it allows me to keep an eye on the state of my batteries, with and without the solar panel assistance.

I have included a diagram.
Whole system cost just over £250, with evreything from ebay.

 

[Deleted member 3011]

Hi Tony, we have only just picked the MH up and our trip has consisted of 5 days to get it home to the IOM. Along the way we used very small camp sites with hook-ups, we would like in the future to be able to wild camp (when we pick up the courage).

Our van is a 1997 Compass Herald Aragon and currently the leisure battery consists of one 85amp under the bonnet so I am not sure where I could hide another without taking valuable cupboard space from the interior.

As for price someone else suggested 25 to 400 the 400 too much for me. I think going to 150 is enough for my needs considering our very limited experience.

all advice is greatly appreciated

Thing is - and the reason I asked the question - if you are likely to be just a weekend warrior for the foreseeable future, or maybe wildcamp for just two nights and then the third night in a park on hookups, then you may not need a solar panel if your 12V needs are low. Just a single battery, fully-charged will give you several nights of modest lighting and a bit of TV. Certainly you will be able to wildcamp for at least one night at a time regardless of how poorly your existing system is and WITHOUT SPENDING A PENNY. Many people do it for years using just the starter battery, but of course you need to be careful you don't leave yourself stuck wilding in a store car park with a flat battery. Others use tents and never have power so you are way ahead as far as comfort and convenience goes.


However, once you start installing sound systems, TV and computers and microwaves and electric kettles or 12V compressor refrigerators, it becomes a whole different scene and then especially if you want to wild camp full-time in all seasons as we do while enjoying ALL the comforts of home, you need to spend big money to install a reliable system.

Obviously most people fit somewhere in the middle so a single 80 to 150 watt panel and a modest regulator AND a battery in good condition will allow you to stay an extra night under summer conditions. Your vehicle may have a decent mains charger and some sort of charging system from the engine alternator and if so, that also means spending less to achieve your aims. As others have said, 80W is as low as you should go to get any decent improvement (because solar panels need the sun and word is out that the UK doesn't get too much of that)

BUT if your next question is "Now that I have installed solar, can I take my hair dryer and toaster and hair straightener and coffee machine, our answer will be YES, of course, but you can't use them.

First step is to work out exactly what system you already have installed - or maybe ask someone that already has motorhoming experience. How is the battery charged, What lighting is installed. Is it LED lighting. Heater installed and does it have a fan that needs to run. Fridge - gas??. Pump? HWS that needs 12V control supply. Anything else 12V???

Or you can use the suck-it-and -see approach that also works for many people.


BTW we have wildcamped constantly for several years in 20 countries from Iceland to Morocco to Alaska (where recently a black bear decided our tail light lens looked edible) and even in the UK , and never once have we been in a situation where we felt in danger - well except for a few very hairy roads that were truly nightmare stuff - so just forget about courage, just follow Nike's advice and Just Do It.

 

[Bambi 2]

Which solar Panel

Oh Dear! Tony, I hope the bear did not do too much damage to that lovely Airstream. Bambi 2

 

[Firefox]

Maingate posted the link to some good 80 or 90 W panels a while back. I think they were about £150 to £190.

Panels like 12 W or 25 W are really too small. 12W is only 1A and that's assuming you get full sunlight which hardly ever happens. You only get a fraction of the rated figure especially in GB.

So those small panels will only give 1/2 or 1/3 A which is trickle charge for keeping topped up only. No use for taking anything out of the battery.