Solar charger

trailrunner

Hi all
I do a good bit of wild camping so was thinking of investing in a solar charger for the leisure battery , anyone recommend a type ?? Are they worth the investment??
Thanks
TR

crabbypaddy

trailrunner wrote: »

Hi all
I do a good bit of wild camping so was thinking of investing in a solar charger for the leisure battery , anyone recommend a type ?? Are they worth the investment??
Thanks
TR

I finally bit the bullet this year and put a 140w panel on the roof, van hasn't been plugged in since, its great noy paying for hookup, no need to worry about leaving laptops and phones on charge or radio on, battery life expectancy should be improved also with a good charge controller.

moonship

Could you tell what regulator are you using with the solar panels?

trailrunner

crabbypaddy wrote: »

I finally bit the bullet this year and put a 140w panel on the roof, van hasn't been plugged in since, its great noy paying for hookup, no need to worry about leaving laptops and phones on charge or radio on, battery life expectancy should be improved also with a good charge controller.

Thanks CP
Looks neat ,
Much of a job to hook it in ??
Thanks

crabbypaddy

I like Morningstar Corp. controllers. They are the business. No need for MPPT, PWM works great.

crabbypaddy wrote: »

....no need to worry about leaving laptops and phones on charge

I get a lot more laptop miles powering it on demand from a 12V regulator. Cycling the laptop battery uses a lot more juice in the long run. Peukert corrected discharge curve for a short heavy load (charging laptop battery 60W) versus long low load (powering laptop 20W) and charging a battery from a battery losses are big factors.

trailrunner

crabbypaddy wrote: »

I finally bit the bullet this year and put a 140w panel on the roof, van hasn't been plugged in since, its great noy paying for hookup, no need to worry about leaving laptops and phones on charge or radio on, battery life expectancy should be improved also with a good charge controller.

CrabbyPaddy did you need any additional equipment to fit this .??

crabbypaddy

moonship wrote: »

Could you tell what regulator are you using with the solar panels?

Currently a steca 6.6f but I wouldn't recommend it I have a morningstar sunsaver coming from germany.

trailrunner wrote: »

CrabbyPaddy did you need any additional equipment to fit this .??

I fitted the panel to aluminium angles with tek screws with plastic washers between to allow for expansion/movement and allow the panel to be easily removed from the roof. I then bonded the angles to the roof with wurth bond and seal. I used a standard cable gland to run the cable through the roof to the aforementioned steca controller.

Plan is eventually to mount a tilting mechanism to the angles I have already bonded or if I'm going somewhere hotter and I need more air circulation in the future I can bolt some standoffs to the angles.



The aluminium angles area really tough alloy, they started out life as the uprights on a bread trolley in the 1970s, then they were holding a bunk bed together for 15 years, then holding up some shelves now holding a solar panel on the roof of my van - thats real recycling

If I was adding anything to the image I posted it'd be a garage consumer unit for the circuit breakers instead of the naked DIN rail and a compression gland where the flex exits the enclosure for cable stress relief.

I prefer to limit the cables going to the battery to one main conductor set and charger & meter sense wires only so I use bigger cables to connect the solar controller to the battery downstream of the main fuse. It's better practice to have a single point of isolation.

crabbypaddy

crabbypaddy wrote: »

That skylight will create shading if you open it facing the wrong way P.

zambo

The sunsaver looks like a great piece of gear but the price is huge,more than the cost of a 140w panel.there are many other units available but are any of them any good.I don't need the very best possible unit,it won't spoil my holiday if it fails,as long as it does not cause a fire.any suggestions welcome particularly from users of other units.

zambo

zambo wrote: »

The sunsaver...price is huge,more than the cost of a 140w panel.

Not quite

I'd rather a used Morningstar to a new Steca.
Besides what's wrong with that? The solar controller is where the rubber meets the road. Factor in battery replacement costs and a good one gets better value.

Why the double standard?
A genset costs more than petrol.
A hook up costs more than the electricity you use.
A mains charger costs more than mains.
An alternator costs more than diesel.

Personally I know nothing that'll hold a candle to a MorningStar but also interested in replys.

trailrunner

Thanks CP and Sir L
I've ordered both. €230 . A fair investment in my opinion for my camper considering the cost of plug ins at campsites etc .
Thanks for the help .👍

zambo

Wow I spent that just on the panel and diesel to get it back in the day.
Do you wild camp much TR? No system is complete without a battery monitor imho if you spend more than three days outtov port on a regular basis I'd recommend an SOC meter.
But you can get pretty far with a volt-ammeter.



I only buy meters with trimpots on ebay because the calibration is always off, can't tell with that one, no pics of the board.

zambo wrote: »

.there are many other units available but are any of them any good.

Actually there is another that I reckon is a contender. It's more expensive though and there's no point in buying it unless you buy the monitor too.

When you cable it TR I'd recommend a 2 x 3mm² cable run from the panel to the controller and put the the controller as close to the battery as sensibly possible (not in the path of gassed electrolyte) on 2 x 6mm² controller to battery for correct regulation. Any power loss due to cable gauge or terminations between the controller and the battery will result in poor charge regulation.