Solar The Solar Panel Thread

[Dobbie]

Engel would challenge the solar methinks.

At this time of the year, I reckon the panel would be sufficient for everything apart from the Engel.

In summer it would probably still stretch it so I'd be looking at a separate panel and battery to keep the Engel going. It's doable with care but with some extra margin needed.

 

[DWWood]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input. Have been thinking of a second battery in the car with a solar panel for just that battery to run the fridge. I do a bit of tent camping so don't have the van with me sometimes.

 

[Drover]

This time of year my 80w panels on the ute are holding up keeping the Engel going but when it warms up and the back gets hot (it can get over 35 in there easy)the Engel kills the battery in 2 days as it runs nearly all the time, the secret is keeping the temp around the fridge down and decent air flow.

 

[DWWood]

Makes sense, thanks @Drover

 

[Mitchbat]

Firstly, apologies if this has already been covered but at 16 pages this thread was too much for my little brain to take in. Does anybody know what the standard factory solar setup on a 2012 OB consists of? We bought our van second hand and the previous owner mentioned that the van had been "setup for solar" from the factory but never had panels mounted. At this stage I only have a 105AH battery and was thinking of adding 200w solar onto the roof (will probably add a second battery at some stage). Do these factory solar setups have a controller or are they just wired straight to the battery?

 

[Dobbie]

I'll give it a go!

Set up for solar means the factory include the wiring for solar connection from the roof and to the battery area. I haven't actually looked as ours was setup with fixed panel and controller but I know the wiring is put in when van is constructed.

So...my understanding is that all you need to do is fix panel on roof, buy a good controller (suggest MPPT) wire panel to controller and then to battery. Controller is usually fitted on a wall so it is visible and wiring goes behind that wall.

I'd check the roof to see if there's a box for the wiring already fitted.

Unless you need huge amounts of power, one battery and a good 150w panel should be enough for lights, pump, tv etc. At least it was more than enough for us.

 

[Ckmlk]

Hi all, looking at installing solar to my starcraft just a bit confessed on how to wire this up.
Running dual batteries the stock 100ah that came with the van and I purchased a second 120ah so I need to run a dual type regulator to charge them separate. I intend to buy a morning star 25a duo regulator that will do this. I intend to buy a single 250w-300w panel to charge them( I haven't settled on what panel yet but it needs to be under 30 volt for this reg)
My question is can I install a 3 way switch between the solar panels and the solar charge input on the regulator and input my 240v - 12v charger providing it is less then 25a?

This way I can manually switch between 240v or solar charging and the reg can prioritize which battery needs the charge. not sure if this would workor if anyone has done this.
Thanks in advance.

 

[NoWorries]

Are your batteries wired up in Parallel ? as in wired up so its just one bit 220ah battery.
If so just one regulator is fine wired to one battery it will see the battery as just one big one.

If the battery's are isolated then you could put a three way switch between the battery's and the regulator

 

[boots33]

My question is can I install a 3 way switch between the solar panels and the solar charge input on the regulator and input my 240v - 12v charger providing it is less then 25a?

This way I can manually switch between 240v or solar charging and the reg can prioritize which battery needs the charge. not sure if this would workor if anyone has done this.
Thanks in advance.

I would suspect not. Their installation manual says

Step 3: Solar
Connect the solar module(s) output to the Solar input connection of the SunSaver Duo. Multiple 12V nominal modules may be wired together in parallel and wired to the SunSaver Duo with one pair of wires. Use red wire for solar positive and black wire for solar negative.
Confirm that the modules are wired for 12V nominal output before connecting them to the SunSaver Duo. Double-check polarity before connection. In full sun, the output voltage of the solar modules should be 18 – 25 Volts before connection to the SunSaver Duo. Upon connection of the Solar positive wire, the SunSaver Duo should begin the start-up sequence, flashing the Status LED 3 times.

So it would seem to need a minimum of 18v input . Your 240v charger certainly will not go that high. The only way to be sure would be to contact them for clarification.

 

[Ckmlk]

I wasn't going to do that because I was told that if I hook it up that way when the smaller battery was fully charged I the regulator would sense this and stop charging only ever charging the 120ah to the 100ah capacity. Not sure if this is true. That is why I was going to go to a spilt system

 

[boots33]

I wasn't going to do that because I was told that if I hook it up that way when the smaller battery was fully charged I the regulator would sense this and stop charging only ever charging the 120ah to the 100ah capacity. Not sure if this is true. That is why I was going to go to a spilt system

That certainly is not true. batteries in parallel are seen as one large battery and will charge up together. It is true that the best results are achieved when they are identical ie. same brand, same type, same capacity. But you can mix it up and still get good results. The most important thing is to have the same type of batteries together for example do not try and have a gel and a calcium battery together as they both have quite different charging requirements.

mixing a 120ah and a 100ah should be fine provided they are of the same type.

 

[Drover]

Next Question...................................Roof top panel in position, how can you tell what it's capacity is without pulling it off and hoping there is a label underneath ??????????

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Next Question...................................Roof top panel in position, how can you tell what it's capacity is without pulling it off and hoping there is a label underneath ??????????

Most commercial panels are approx 175w/m2

So if you measure the area you should be able to calculate it.

 

[Drover]

I will do a measure on my panels on the ute and my 120watt portable and see, count how many little squares ?/

 

[Dobbie]

Take your shoes and socks off so you can use all digits to add up.



I agree it's possible to tell capacity based on the number of cells per section, multiplied by the number of sections. At least, that's what I was told.

It might make a difference if they're the grey or blue ones...I think the mono crystalline (?) are different in efficiency. Must read more about it.

No van so can't check.

 

[Ckmlk]

Can I use a 100ah gel battery with a 100ah agm charging in parallel?

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Can I use a 100ah gel battery with a 100ah agm charging in parallel?

It's not a good idea to mix battery chemistry.

Gel batteries normally need 14.4-14.6v to charge whereas AGM needs 14.6-14.8v.

Even smart chargers will only set themselves for one or the other, so you would either overcharge the GEL or undercharge the AGM.

 

[boots33]

Can I use a 100ah gel battery with a 100ah agm charging in parallel?

As @Bellbirdweb has rightly said it is best not to mix different types if possible.

Having said that, as you already have the battery I would not be too worried by hooking the two together. If you are using the setec charger that comes with the van it has no settings to allow you to modify the charge profile so it will not be doing anything different no mater which battery or combination you use.

You can see by the setec charging profile that it never goes much over 14v and spends most of its time well below that.

If you have an aftermarket charger that does allow you to select then you must select the lower of the two charge rates and be happy with that. Overcharging a battery should never be considered.

 

[davemc]

what about different brands? Current 22.68 has a Bosch the 17.58 had a Century battery.
Was thinking to add another to the 100amp one. Bosch not overly easy/cheap to find

 

[Bellbirdweb]

what about different brands? Current 22.68 has a Bosch the 17.58 had a Century battery.
Was thinking to add another to the 100amp one. Bosch not overly easy/cheap to find

Different brands don't matter.

Mine came with a Bosch Gel Cell (or Valve Regulated Lead Acid), so I found another brand gel cell for
My 2nd battery.

The other most common type is AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) and there is also Calcium.

If possible try and match the same chemistry and capacity.