Solar

Hi,

Getting everything on the camper ready for a cross country trip and plan on getting a solar panel.

I am pretty sure a 65 watt panel will be all I need to power an Engel, house lites, and the occasional laptop.

My main question is.... in all my research, I am finding so many different brands and types. What should I look for? I really like the dimensions of the BP 65 watt panle. It will fit in the luggage rack thet is on the roof. Is that a good brand?

I searched the threads and found a lot of info, but no brand reccomendatios. I did look at Harbour freight and they only had 80 watt (which was too heavy and too big) or 15 watt....

Thanks for the help

Randy

I was talking to Marty at All Terrain and he said all I would need is a 65 watt. He also suggested I look at the prices on ebay.

Darryl

Hi Randy.I installed a solar system on my bobcat just this past june.The panel I used is sold through amazon the company is ASUNPOWER . I chose a 45w panel so it would fit also in the rear area of the roof rack.I did a thread with pictures,its under truck mods on the second page under "solar 101". I hope this helps.Is your camper wired already wired? The controlled i used is a 'HQRP' scb it can handle input up to 120w.Perfect for my use.I have room to install another 45w panel on the left side if i need it.The controller fits in the battery box, I'am told the closer to the battery the better.

The 45w worked great for my but i may get another don't really know for now.

Since I had to wire my system I ran the wires through the roof at the very rear so that I went through the main roof frame work and than the wires run in back of the rear lift panel,with a large loop of wire.

Hope this helps
Frank

Thanks Frank,

My 2002 Hawk is not wired already. This will be an adventure for sure. I am learning about controllers and inverters and the like. I will definitely check out the install you did. I need the 60 watt I think cause I will be running an engel.

Randy.I have an inverter just a 140w one I think it came from Harbor Freight.I placed it right next to the battery on the outside of the storage box so that it is easy to use.My use of it is only for recharging things and my coffee grinder.This past trip to Yellowstone I found a nice plug in one at the NAPA store in West Yellowstone. I can use it in the plug in buy the sink or in the cab of the truck.

The wiring was easy.I used #10 wire and cramp type connectors.About 25' of wire should, do better to have some left over.I ran two wires but you can actually use only one as the camper is grounded.I just liked it better with two wires.

The panel , controller ,and wiring came to about $250 well worth it.

Frank

Randy,
I bought a used Kyocera 65 watt panel off of Ebay for $190, and it is a very high quality. I would suggest that 65 watts be a minimum for your power needs. There is a spreadsheet on this website, but I could not find it on power consumption and the proper size solar panel. You just plug in the amps of your fridge and lights and depending on your location/latitude for day length, it gives you a recommended wattage.
The only thing not addressed is the storage of your power. If your going to running your Engel 24 hours your going to need at least an 100 amp battery to keep from going below 50% of your capacity. Constant draining below that wears out your battery much quicker, but if you have a good return policy, go with what you have.
Another thing to consider is your charger, many of them are junk and your not going to get the full efficentcy from your panel with a $20 dollar charger. If you want the most from your minimum size panel, I recommend any model that uses "MPPT" technologhy. They are pricy, but I was planing on living in my camper for while and needed the most from my panel. Like I said, it really depends on your needs on how complex you want your setup to be.
Hope this helps and if you try a search, you may find some really good posts on the subject. -Joel

Skeeter,

Thanks so much for the info. I have a Optima blue top in the camper. I think it is 115 amp.

I was looking at a 65 watt BP panel (cause it fits perfectly) and if needed I can add a 15 watt to the mix.

I will look into the charger..

Appreciate all the info.

One more question...

If I got a 65 watt panel and found I needed more and added a 15 watt panel...

Can I start with a 10 amp controller or can I use a 6 amp for now and add another charger if I add the other panel?

I am a bit confused about this..

Thanks

I am looking at the BP panel........ any pros or cons to that one?

I'd get the 10 amp controller. Using 2 different controllers one the same battery often works, but not always, and never at full efficiency. Also 2 6 amp controllers will likely cost more than 1 10 amp unit. I have a 16 amp controller because I got it for free. There isn't any penalty with going bigger.

Once you find out nice it is to always have electricity you may well want more.

I have 150W of solar panels and 200 amp-hours of battery. That runs my Engle and laptop just fine but I think half that would be enough.

If some is good then more must be better - right?

Also LED lights help a lot, they take 1/10th or less current (amps) than the standard bulbs. My older LED boards take about 0.1 amps, the standard bulbs take around 2 amps. Some of the newer and brighter LED conversions may take a bit more, but I doubt more than 0.2 amps (200mA).

I've been really happy with my 90w kit I purchased here:

http://www.ul-solar.com/category_s/1.htm

I've been really happy with my 90w kit I purchased here:

http://www.ul-solar.com/category_s/1.htm



Thanks, I will check that out...

So many out there... hard to decide the difference.