Phil we have a 2014 Grandby with 100W Zamp Solar on the roof. We have a rear plug and 2 batteries. We purchased an 80W Zamp portable from Zamp and had discussion with both FWC and Zamp. The rear plug and roof top panel are wired to the Zamp solar controller, so the portable panel needed to be without the controller on the backside of the panel. We store our camper outside and covered so the rooftop panel can't be used. We plug the portable in for 4-5 hours every 5-6 weeks. We take the portable panel when won't be hooked to shore power.Wallowa said:Can the Zamp 80w portable solar panel sold by FWC be used as a stand alone to directly charge electronic device batteries? If yes, specifically what connectors, inverters and wiring is needed?
Thanks...Phil
longhorn1 said:Phil we have a 2014 Grandby with 100W Zamp Solar on the roof. We have a rear plug and 2 batteries. We purchased an 80W Zamp portable from Zamp and had discussion with both FWC and Zamp. The rear plug and roof top panel are wired to the Zamp solar controller, so the portable panel needed to be without the controller on the backside of the panel. We store our camper outside and covered so the rooftop panel can't be used. We plug the portable in for 4-5 hours every 5-6 weeks. We take the portable panel when won't be hooked to shore power.
Summary, get the portable panel without controller.
JD
That is a question I can't answer. Trying to put my hands on the use of the panel for the purpose you want and I can't. Way over my brain capacity. [emoji41]Wallowa said:JD thanks...but that was not in question for me...we bought the '16 Hawk with 160 w roof and 80w portable [two batteries] and understand the interface...my question was, even if poorly stated by me, was can I use the 80 w as a stand-alone unit [not plugged into the Hawk] as a charging source for phones, Inreach, GPS, Ham radio...etc...while on the road..
I assume I will need an inverter to convert the 80w panel DC to AC as a charging source..
Need to know if this is feasible and what connectors/devices do I need to accomplish this.
Thanks...Phil
takesiteasy said:The easiest approach would be to use the 80w solar panel to charge a small battery (would need a charge controller for the panel) and use a standard 12v cigarette lighter type outlet wired to the battery to plug in 12v chargers for the phone and other devices. Each device may need a unique 12v charger depending on the device. You could hook up a small 120v AC inverter to the battery if you wanted to use AC to charge devices. There is some loss of power doing the conversion. There are a variety of battery boxes on the market which package all this up neatly in a battery box that you can hook up to the solar panel controller. Here's an example without the AC: Powerwerx PWRbox Portable Power Box for 12-15Ah SLA or AGM Batteries
Having said that, you could use the camper batteries to do the same thing, assuming your camper has some 12v outlets wired to the camper batteries or an AC inverter.