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Marc
08-08-2005, 10:33 PM
anyone have any experience with them good or bad? I've got a buddy of mine picking me up one of the coleman solar back up systems.

http://www.icpsolar.com/specifications.php3?id_article=40

I'm hoping it will extend my deep cycle battery by a couple of days between charges during a week or so hunt in cold weather.

Marc.

Ronforca
08-09-2005, 05:54 AM
I have two solar panels on the roof of my camper for a total of around 60 watts.Don't how many Amps.they work real well for me unless it snows The answer is Solar panels and 2x6 volt wheel chair batteries.Hooked up so that they put out 12 volts you have an unbeatable combination.I am using a 12 volt deep cycle but 2 x6 volts are a whole lot better.My next purchase.
Hope that this helps. Ron

Marc
08-29-2005, 07:29 PM
Well I picked up the coleman solar panels from costco and so far I'm impressed. They total 45 watts 3amps peak output. I went camping one weekend showed up with 12.7 volts on a friday and left with 13 volts on Sunday. I'm sure that the fall will not supply as much light and energy as the summer but as long as it helps recharge the battery between nights I'll be happy.

I'm going hunting the 7th to the 12th of September here on the Island:mrgreen:. Grouse for the first 3 days then bear/deer for the last two. The evenings get a little chilly but not to the point of freezing yet, it will be interesting to see if the solar panel can keep up in those conditions. It will also be interesting to see how long the propane tank will last:|

Marc.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/3camper_with_solar_panel.jpg

rock
08-29-2005, 09:25 PM
It's nice to have 2 propane tanks specially in cold weather, rig looks nice,

Freshtracks
08-29-2005, 09:41 PM
Marc ,

Is that the solar panel on top of the camper. Does it come with that support(up) bracket. Looks like a smart rig.

Ronforca
08-30-2005, 05:56 AM
Nice set up .Mine lay flat on the roof of my camper and it does not take much snow to pit them out of commision .

Marc
08-30-2005, 04:56 PM
That's the panel on top of the camper, the frame it is on is made from PVC piping so it's fairly light and durable. It came with the kit. I put it up on the camper to get it out of the way from getting triped on during the night.


Marc ,

Is that the solar panel on top of the camper. Does it come with that support(up) bracket. Looks like a smart rig.

Farmer
09-01-2005, 07:39 PM
Marc, unless it is quite cold and you run your furnace for long periods, a 20lber of propane should last for your whole trip. If you are out hunting, you won't be using propane anyway.

Good luck,
Gord

Marc
09-01-2005, 08:02 PM
Farmer, I'm going to bring a spare 20lb bottle just for insurance and see how long the original bottle last running the fridge, stove, and furnace for a period of 4 nights and 5 days. This should give me a good indication and if it can last that long then I can safely plan for other outings.
It will also be a test for the solar panel to see if it can keep the battery fully charged at the end of the day from running the furnace fan at night, stove fan for meals, and lights in the evening. I should have a good indication by the second evening how the solar panel is keeping up with the power demand.
I can always start my truck and charge the battery if it comes to that but I'm pretty sure that the panel will make up what was lost the night before as you have stated I'll be out hunting for most of the day (furnace turned off) and going to bed fairly early to be rested up for a morning hunt.

I'll post my findings at the end of the trip. This is sort of the test trip to check the endurance of the camper’s battery, propane, and water holding tank.

Marc.

Marc
09-04-2005, 06:24 PM
Well I filled up the propane tank from the last two camping trip I had done and in a full 4 days(96hrs) period I had only used 10 lbs of propane.

We cooked 3 meals a day, heated water after every meal to clean the dishes and used the oven a couple of times for fries and shake and bake. I packed another 20lb cylinder of propane just in case I need it as the evenings have been getting a lot cooler and it's even colder in the mountains. This 4 1/2 day trip will defanitely give me an indication on how much propane and if the solar panel can keep up. I'll let you know when I get back.:mrgreen:

brotherjack
09-04-2005, 08:43 PM
Farmer, I'm going to bring a spare 20lb bottle just for insurance and see how long the original bottle last running the fridge, stove, and furnace for a period of 4 nights and 5 days.

I've only had my furnace on once, but I filled up my propane tank when I got my camper, and using the fridge all the time I'm in the bush, and the stove for 2 full meals a day (3 courses usually), and I don't know how many nights camping (couple dozen probably), I'm still not out... As I said though, I don't run my furnace (it's an old one with just a low to high control, and on low it's too hot until it gets seriously cold, and I don't camp when it's seriously cold). :mrgreen:

Marc
09-04-2005, 08:55 PM
I was just scratching my head thinking about why I'm bringing the extra 20lb of propane? I used everything for 4 whole days, except maybe the furnace and I only used 10lbs of propane. Surely an extra day and keeping the furnace set around 18C(I like to sleep out of the sheet:mrgreen: ) during the night isn't going to suck my bottle dry.

I'll probably pull that bottle out and put my gas can in so I can covered a bit more area for grouse/scouting without the fear of running out of gas on the way home.

Marc
09-13-2005, 06:30 PM
Well got back on Sunday and I've got to say for the most part I'm impressed with the solar panel. My battery was charged up to 13 volts everynight. The temperature range was from 5 to 7 degrees everynight so the furnace was running between 3 to 5 times an hour in the evenings. The last night I cranked up the furnace to around 20 degrees and the furnace must have been comming on every 10 minutes. By morning the battery was still showing 12 volts. For 95% of the time it was sunny during the days and cold at night so the solar panel was working close to peak output I'd imagine. I was also situated in such a position that I was getting close to 8 hours of sunlight. That was just pure luck as I didn't know where the sun was going to be when I picked this spot.

I only brought the original propane tank and I think I've got at least 1/4 tank left. I'll find out for sure when I get it filled.

Freshtracks
09-13-2005, 07:13 PM
Sounds impressive. Is a mid winter trip in order to get a final grade?

Marc
09-13-2005, 07:21 PM
My wife is all for going camping in the winter she loves camp fires so it shouldn't be a problem in getting her out for a winter camping trip. I might try and find a location that's got some wolves and try my luck at a bit of predator calling or maybe get the tail end of deer season as it still runs till the 10th of December on the Island. That would defanitely be the ultimate test of the solar panel as the furnace would more then likely be used during the day as well as the evenings that time of the year.

Marc.

Farmer
09-14-2005, 10:47 AM
Sounds impressive Marc. We always turn the furnace off at night. We tried having it on overnight once, but by morning our lights were very dim. Of course that was in October and it would have been dark from around 6 pm, so we would have been in the camper a lot more. Let us know how it works after a late fall trip.

Gord