Solar panel

[Paul]

Hi, I am looking for a portable kit that would include everything I need to recharge my battery while dry camping for a weekend but I am not sure what to get, I don't want something too big and heavy and I would like something that I could fold to carry. I probably don't need something too powerful just something to help me extend my battery life when I go camping for 3-4 days weekend.

It's not something I would use often just once in a while because most time I have access to electricity so I don't want to invest too much

Any advice?

[Paul]

I wonder if something like this would be enough for my use

http://www.amazon.ca/ECO-WORTHY-40Watt-Portable-Folding-Controller/dp/B00UWJGBSY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451920589&sr=8-1&keywords=40w+solar+panel+kit

[rideandfly]

I currently use a 20W panel with controller, but it takes all day to recharge our 12V battery with sun light.

This one was recommended to me by another CampLite camper as good quality with good reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HR8YNK6?ref_=sr_1_4&qid=1424623842&sr=8-4&keywords=solar%20panel%20rv%20kits&pldnSite=1

[Paul]

With 20w you can recharge your battery in one day? That doesn't seem too bad, I am looking for something that would just recharge during the occasional weekend that I don't have access to electricity just to run my water pump and lights for 3-4 days weekend max.

[rideandfly]

Recharge battery in one day with a 20W solar panel when it's sunny. Only use LED lights for a couple hours and 12V DVD player for about an an hour at night. Battery is not fully discharged.

Would go with at least 40W panel or more.

[Mitch]

2o watts really isn't enough  unless it's a perfect day and the panel is getting full sun all day and your battery only need about 1/4 charge. 40 or more is good advice.  I use a 70 watt and if I were to do it all again I wouldn't go less than 100.

Mitch

[Paul]

2o watts really isn't enough  unless it's a perfect day and the panel is getting full sun all day and your battery only need about 1/4 charge. 40 or more is good advice.  I use a 70 watt and if I were to do it all again I wouldn't go less than 100.

Mitch

Thank you for the advise!

[Chappy133]

If you are buying a panel go for 100+ watts.  I have an 80w and it was great for the pop up but just hangs in for the TT.  You can see our panel just to the left of the left rear tire on the TV.

[DavidM]

100 watts is the sweet spot in 12V solar panels. You can buy one for $110 including shipping if you are a member of Amazon Prime. If you need more watts than that, and I suspect you won't, then buy two.

Here is some math and rules of thumb:

Most single trailer batteries have about 70 amp hours of capacity and most of us only use 15-20 amp hours daily. A 100 watt solar panel laying flat in full sun will make 25-35 amp hours each day. So the 100 watt panel will keep your battery fully charged if you get full sun at least every other day and you use the typical amp hours each day. More watts also compensates for afternoon shading, because many campsites are in the shade at least part of the day. In that case a 100 watt panel might only produce 10-15 amp hours each day, but even that will extend your batteries from lasting 2 days to almost a week, as long as the sun shines.

Here is a simple system that costs about $200-250. All it takes is a little wiring to put it together. The controller is waterproof, so you could mount it to the back of your solar panel if the distance to the batteries is short- say 10' or on the side of the battery box if it is longer. The panels are Chinese made, like most of them and I have never seen any complaints about Chinese solar panels. They make a gazillion of them. The controller is American, well at least American design and QA management and are from a major supplier of solar controllers- Morningstar. I have a system like this on my boat and it has kept the batteries charged nicely while on a mooring away from shorepower.

Here are some simple instructions for building a solar system and mounting the controller on the outside of your battery box:

Mount the controller near the outside of your battery box using a couple of #10 or larger screws and nuts. Then get as many feet of MC4 cable as you need to go from the panel to the controller. For 25' of cable, you will need to use a pair of MC4 10 gauge cables like these- www.amazon.com/Solar-Panel-Extension-Cable-Connectors/dp/B00KDNQQRK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1480515257&sr=8-8&keywords=mc4+cable. You can use 12 gauge if the distance is less. 100' is probably the practical maximum as there would be too much voltage drop otherwise.

Then wire a short MC4 pigtail cable like this to the input of your solar controller- www.amazon.com/Grape-Solar-GS-MC4-CC-6-Inch-Conversion/dp/B00MS8AKRU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1480515257&sr=8-7&keywords=mc4+cable. You can use automotive type clamp connectors or butt crimp connectors. Finally wire the output of the controller to the battery lugs using a couple of short lengths of stranded 12 gauge cable. Use an inline fuse in the positive wire to protect it like this one- www.amazon.com/AutoEC-Inline-Waterproof-Fuse-Holder/dp/B013JG8GIY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1480516741&sr=8-5&keywords=inline+fuse

When you get to your campground, place the solar panel in a sunny spot. Run the MC4 extension cable from the panel and plug it into the MC4 pigtails on the controller. Make sure that you maintain polarity when you hook up the extensions. Then you are in business. When you are ready to go home, disconnect the extension cable and flip up the pigtail into the battery box to protect it while traveling.

Solar panel- www.amazon.com/HQST-Watt-Polycrystalline-Solar-Panel/dp/B018BOK9WU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479928915&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=100+watt+solar+panel&psc=1

Waterproof controller- www.amazon.com/Morningstar-SK-12-SunKeeper-Charge-Controller/dp/B007NYZ5VU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479929271&sr=8-3&keywords=morningstar+pwm+charge+controller

David

[Pinstriper]

100 watts is the sweet spot in 12V solar panels. You can buy one for $110 including shipping if you are a member of Amazon Prime. If you need more watts than that, and I suspect you won't, then buy two.

Here is some math and rules of thumb:

Most single batteries have about 70 amp hours of capacity and most of us only use 15-20 amp hours daily. A 100 watt solar panel laying flat in full sun will make 25-35 amp hours each day. So the 100 watt panel will keep your battery fully charged if you get full sun at least every other day and you use the typical amp hours each day.

Here is a simple system that costs less than $200. All it takes is a little wiring to put it together. The first controller is for if you can put it in a waterproof place. The second one is waterproof, so you could mount it to the back of your solar panel.

Solar panel-  https://www.amazon.com/HQST-Watt-Polycrystalline-Solar-Panel/dp/B018BOK9WU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479928915&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=100+watt+solar+panel&psc=1

Non waterproof controller-  https://www.amazon.com/SunSaver-Charge-Controller-12V-10A/dp/B002MQW3H8/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1479929034&sr=8-11&keywords=10+amp+solar+charge+controller

Waterproof controller-  https://www.amazon.com/Morningstar-SK-12-SunKeeper-Charge-Controller/dp/B007NYZ5VU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479929271&sr=8-3&keywords=morningstar+pwm+charge+controller

David

At that price and size, laying out 2 panels is not twice as much work as one, so may as well throw 2 down to make up for less than full sun or seasonally shortened days.

D, have you found any good 100w panels that are flexible/roll up for storage ?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DavidM]

No, the really flexible panels that were offered a dozen or so years ago had a serious flaw- their output deteriorated after a few years. I had some that I tried to use after 5 years and it wasn't worth it, the output was so low.

I have seen some that are flexible and bend up to 30 degrees on Amazon, but that isn't what you are looking for.

David

[Merlin]

I just used a Cyber-Monday sale to order a nice Samlex SMK-135 solar battery charging system for our camper. I re-read Davidm's newsletter article on solar and did some searching on the forum (hence posting in this thread!) before I decided on size and type. What I bought is a 135 watt portable system that folds up into a 22X25X3 soft-sided "suitcase" that I will toss (weighs 29 pounds) in the back of the TV to have with us when we camp without shore power.  It unfolds into a 3 panel system, complete with a PWM charge controller and battery clips and can be put anywhere in the sun within the 16 foot cord length. I would rather have had a MPPT controller, but I have a spare one of those and if I don't like the charging characteristics of the PWM controller I'll swap out. Since we purposefully park in the shade, especially when we can't use A/C, a portable set up made the most sense for us. I'll post photos and the set-up when it arrives and I have time to check it out. Meanwhile.....on to check out more Cyber-Monday stuff!

A quick update.....29 pounds is too heavy to "toss". I'll be putting it in the pass-through compartment. The charge controller is non-adjustable and is set for AGM type batteries. The charge controller is mounted on a panel and is not waterproof. Otherwise the system is well made and easy to set up.

Second quick update......I do not recommend this unit. I am returning it. In addition to the comments in the first quick update above, I found the wiring has no strain-relief and therefore had loose/detached connections as a result of the wires/plugs banging around inside the case. I re-attached the wires, but it will happen again under the stress of travel and I don't want to repair this design flaw. Hopefully, there are other portable, folding solar systems for my camper.

[catmanriff]

I like the looks of the Zamp kits for our QS10, and was looking at the 80 watt kit. Expensive but good reviews and seemingly well thought out, quality package. $400-500

[DavidM]

$400-500 for 80 watts, wow!! If you follow my solar panel article, you can get 100 watts and a better controller for about $200, a bit more for cabling.

If you already have a Zamp connector on your CL, buy one of these to hook up to it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057ZQJ12/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3SWULPLORRIPP&colid=3RQ44LC06SQ2O&psc=0

You can use the MC-4 cabling discussed on my article. Just cut the other end off at the right length and splice it to the connector above.

David

[Merlin]

Be careful about value on solar. The Zamp kits may have been an ok value several years ago when solar panels were costly, but they failed to lower prices with the lower panel costs of today. You can get high quality panels for less than $1 per watt, even at retail. Throw in a good controller, some wire and a case and a good value for an 80 watt system would be half what Zamp wants. If you go with Zamp, look for a super sale!