Yes true. But how many watts are people putting up? I have a 120 watt panel on the roof and I'm thinking off adding another portable panel of about 150 watt. So I might get 14 amp or half the controller capacity? I really need to understand this stuff as I dont want to cook my system.
Solar The Solar Panel Thread
- Thread starter cruza driver
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By what I have read and it could be wrong if the reg is too small it creates a bottle neck in the system so all the extra solar panels are doing nothing when the max amp of the reg is reached
A good quality MPPT controller is smart enough to convert excess volts into amps, and can therefore charge the battery more efficiently.
You won't cook your battery because it's less that 30A, you'll cook them if you have a poor quality controller that doesn't properly manage the charge rate.
Most of the good quality MPPT chargers happen to be 30A, but in reality you only need a controller rated to the maximum output of the panels connected to it.
You might leave room for adding additional panels in the future.
You will never get 200 watts from a 200 watt panel
due to losses in cells connectors and cables
A 200 watt solar panel should be 16.6666 Amps but in reality you will get a maximum of 12 amps with full sunlight at the perfect angle at about 23 degrees temp (this probably will never happen)
If you put a 10amp controller on this panel you would maybe lose an amp every blue moon or so.
Be careful putting a regulator that is too large as you can actually reduce the output again of your panels
But rule of thumb 200w panel 15 amp is perfect but 30 amp is still ok
due to losses in cells connectors and cables
A 200 watt solar panel should be 16.6666 Amps but in reality you will get a maximum of 12 amps with full sunlight at the perfect angle at about 23 degrees temp (this probably will never happen)
If you put a 10amp controller on this panel you would maybe lose an amp every blue moon or so.
Be careful putting a regulator that is too large as you can actually reduce the output again of your panels
But rule of thumb 200w panel 15 amp is perfect but 30 amp is still ok
Thanks for the replies. My other question was can I run the extra panel into the existing Jayco controller?
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
Extra...portable I assume....panel needs to have its own controller and be wired directly to battery. Easiest way is to fit an external Anderson plug and wire to battery directly. Then add portable panel, with its own controller.
If you add another fixed panel to the roof I think it can be wired in parallel....that needs confirmation...but you can use the Jayco controller.
If you add another fixed panel to the roof I think it can be wired in parallel....that needs confirmation...but you can use the Jayco controller.
Thanks Dobbie. Yes I mean't a portable panel. I will run separate wiring and controller directly to the battery.
I bought our panel and controller separate, off ebay. Seems to be working well so far. 150w panel and a 20A MPPT controller with remote display. 20A controller will leave enough capacity to add another 150w panel in the future if we find the need.
This panel,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/26186304...49&var=560708438200&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
This Reg,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/252019248295?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
This Mount kit,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261959376245?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
This panel,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/26186304...49&var=560708438200&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
This Reg,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/252019248295?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
This Mount kit,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261959376245?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
What's with the remote display for the panels?
I've never seen them as they weren't invented when we bought our solar.
Can you sit under a tree and read what the portable panel is getting its solar input without having to get up every so often and look? I like that idea, if I've got it right. Might ask Santa Claus if he stocks it.
I assume it can't be retro fitted?
I've never seen them as they weren't invented when we bought our solar.
Can you sit under a tree and read what the portable panel is getting its solar input without having to get up every so often and look? I like that idea, if I've got it right. Might ask Santa Claus if he stocks it.
I assume it can't be retro fitted?
You can get one of these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hobby-Pe...760674?hash=item2a591df022:g:Fm8AAOSwhAZWBndN for your portable panels as well.
Tells you whats going on with current voltage etc. Works well
Hey @spiderpig I have the same mount kit, I notice you also have not screwed/rivited to the roof of the van
Are you like me and tend to check it everytime you tow hoping that the panel is still there ?
I know that Silastic is stronger than screws but it still has me checking
Are you like me and tend to check it everytime you tow hoping that the panel is still there ?
I know that Silastic is stronger than screws but it still has me checking
Thanks!
It seems I don't need to buy one as I already have one and have fitted Anderson plugs to both ends so I can hook it up to the regulator if I need to. I've always found it difficult to read in sunlight so use it rarely.
I think the "remote" terminology excited me!
Ha ha yeah i pondered for days, checked and rechecked its bonding strength numerous times wondering whether to screw it to the roof aswell, i tend to over-engineer things normally.
Thats the other reason i used 8b&s wiring direct from the panel to reg, surely that will hold the panel flapping on the roof long enough till the next stop
Ha Ha , my mate was following me (not closely) with his Van on the first trip and said he would call me if that happened
I just plug it in, check it's working and thats it, better things to do like fishing.....thats the portable unit not the roof job.
Correction to above may get a little paranoid about checking it from now on, in fact might revert to caveman camping...............http://www.expandasdownunder.com/threads/cooking-the-battery-nearly-well-done.8449/
Just a brief update on solar charging and power usage while off grid.
As stated, our van has one 150 panel, wired from factory and one 100amp battery, also stock standard. We needed to be sure we had enough power for off grid camping which is our main type of camping.
So...needed enough for lights, pump, hot water system and charging of multiple phones, iPads etc. We already had a portable 120 panel and assumed we'd use that to get battery charged quickly and were debating whether we'd need another battery but decided to wait and see.
We've been carrying the extra panel the last couple of weeks in case it was needed.
The last few weeks we've been off grid in rain, gales, extreme heat and decided to waste time by giving the 12v capacity a challenge. We kept all electronics fully charged, watched Tv far more than we would normally (3 to 4 hours per night, didn't skimp on lights and even used 12v fans a lot.
Outcome....never needed to supplement the roof panel, don't need another battery and the battery got down to 12.4 and was up to 14.2 by about 9 the next morning.
I've mentioned this in another thread somewhere but, in the interest of keeping to my new found challenge of topic clinging, thought I'd better put it in the Solar thread!
Also, because there are many questions on how much solar you need and how many batteries should be added.
I'd suggest you consider what type of camping you want, what your needs are and decide accordingly.
I know we're a bit extreme on free camping ....but if it works as effectively as ours has for the last 18 days off grid, it might help with some expensive decisions.
As stated, our van has one 150 panel, wired from factory and one 100amp battery, also stock standard. We needed to be sure we had enough power for off grid camping which is our main type of camping.
So...needed enough for lights, pump, hot water system and charging of multiple phones, iPads etc. We already had a portable 120 panel and assumed we'd use that to get battery charged quickly and were debating whether we'd need another battery but decided to wait and see.
We've been carrying the extra panel the last couple of weeks in case it was needed.
The last few weeks we've been off grid in rain, gales, extreme heat and decided to waste time by giving the 12v capacity a challenge. We kept all electronics fully charged, watched Tv far more than we would normally (3 to 4 hours per night, didn't skimp on lights and even used 12v fans a lot.
Outcome....never needed to supplement the roof panel, don't need another battery and the battery got down to 12.4 and was up to 14.2 by about 9 the next morning.
I've mentioned this in another thread somewhere but, in the interest of keeping to my new found challenge of topic clinging, thought I'd better put it in the Solar thread!
Also, because there are many questions on how much solar you need and how many batteries should be added.
I'd suggest you consider what type of camping you want, what your needs are and decide accordingly.
I know we're a bit extreme on free camping ....but if it works as effectively as ours has for the last 18 days off grid, it might help with some expensive decisions.
Thanks very much for that. When we first got our van I was planning on changing out the factory battery to a 120Ah and adding a second 120Ah but some wise words on this forum commented it wasn't required. This has saved me approx 35-40kg in my payload. I only have the factory 120W solar panel and so far it has shown to be up to the task. We like to free camp as much as possible so now I am a lot more comfortable knowing I have the battery capacity to keep up with our needs which are less (so far) than what you have shown in your experiment.
I guess the limiting factor is the state of the battery.
If it helps, ours is charged....religiously on the first of each month.....for about 8 hours. We discovered it had to be done on a regular basis when we found a dead deep cycle battery once and were annoyed that we could have avoided the problem with a little care.
Monitoring it on a regular basis would give an indication of its overall health....but no guarantee.
If it helps, ours is charged....religiously on the first of each month.....for about 8 hours. We discovered it had to be done on a regular basis when we found a dead deep cycle battery once and were annoyed that we could have avoided the problem with a little care.
Monitoring it on a regular basis would give an indication of its overall health....but no guarantee.