camper solar panels

[Fixit]

i got two free coleman 18W solar panels for free, and just purchased a charge controller.

im wondering how well solar is going to work during hunting season, ie cloudy days etc.
not sure if its worth putting more holes in my roof for 36W worth of power. or would a 100-200w panel be better suited?
ive already swapped all lights to LED, im very stingy with my 12v power. only other thing that uses 12v is the fridge pannel and the furnace.

also im still running a group 31 (very big) 12v "deep cycle"/combo starting battery, will 2x 6v's be that much of an improvement???




anyone have a good hookup for panels?

[Sako Hunter]

The panels amp output is important to know, along with how many amp hours you use per day... I run 3 Coleman 40w (2.3amp max). On sunny days we do fine, but they don't do much on cloudy days.

[Blockcaver]

Two deep cycle 6V batteries seem about 10x better in my Northernlite camper than the stock 12V battery was. The stock battery would only make it through a few furnace cycles and be out of juice. I have never run out now with the twin 6V units, although I am sure you could. I think my camper came with an 80w solar panel but are 't able to verify that right now. It also has all LED lighting.

[ruger#1]

You can buy flexible solar panels. They glue onto your roof. My father has one on his fifth wheel. I think it is 100 watts. You will still have to deal with a hole for the wires.

[ruger#1]

I think you should go 3 X 1.7 Amps. 120 watts should = 5.1 amps on a sunny day.

[Johnny G1]

Get a 100 watt panel and never look back,, BUT don't buy that Canadian Tire Junk, go to a solar outfit and try to get a Kyocera or Evergreen panel and 2 6 volt batteries are the only way to go, Have installed 100s of panel's and batteries, my mh has 8 trojan batteries and 500 watts of kyocera panels. Riverside Energy in Kamloops are the guy's to talk to.

[finaddict]

I started with a 100 w Kyocera Panel and added a 2nd fora total of 200W of solar power. Now as long as I get a few hours of sunlight I have two fully charged batteries everyday. IN cloudy weather I still get a decent charge but certainly nowhere near as good as a couple hours of sun shine

[Ronforca]

I have a 126 watt roll out stick out panel on my fifth wheel.It is good for the fifth wheel but being 21 feet long is not too good for a camper.

[Fixit]

ive worked out that i use abour 40 amp hours a day... been playing with my old honda ex 350 ( 2 stroke 300W gen)... piston is on its way out, plug fouls with aluminum dust...

so the debate is, top end kit if i can find one, or solar? looks like theres a ton of room for 2 100w panels.

[REMINGTON JIM]

My HONDA 2000 WATT gen works BEST ! jmo :wink: RJ

[Marc]

I have a trolling motor and wanted to charge the battery mid morning till it was juiced up again. Its a 100 AH AGM battery that loves being charged hard and fast. With 360 watts and the solar controller the demand is dependent on whats required. If there are no clouds in the sky I've seen this system pump out 16 Amps amps out of a possible 19 and fully charge the battery after being on the lake for 3 hours in about the same amount of time.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6023&stc=1

[Fishgutz]

Don't drill holes just run your wires down the vent hood for your fridge if it's on the roof.

[One Shot]

I have a 180w rigid solar panel that charges 4 - 6v deep cycle batteries.

[Farmer001]

Yup Honda gen, here also. Biggest issue is packing. Camper with 2 x 6 volts huge improvement. Was gonna do solar cells thru fridge vent but did not want to drill holes in bigfoot camper. Usually when I go camping have a enclosed that goes with me also so gen and fuel and misc stuff go in there anyway. Plus wife said no more dead critters in new camper. In cold weather hunting use the gen with a electric heater, works well also when you get wet clothes to put electric heater in shower stall and dries clothes in a couple of hours. Only complaint is 2000 watt gen can only handle heater on low setting. Another bonus is when really really cold had to plug truck in for a few hours before to warm things up a bit.

[Sleep Robber]

My HONDA 2000 WATT gen works BEST ! jmo :wink: RJ

Yuup, couldn't agree more !!

[Marc]

Canadian tire has their 2 pack 100 watt panels on sale right now for $349.00. That is a steal of a deal, I own two and they work like a charm. Seriously thinking of getting another set as I'm planning to buy / build a cabin.

[Lastcar]

Our trailer never moves. Stays in place outside of Logan Lake. I finally got my system completed that I've been planning and adding components over the last few years.

I am far from an expert. Despite hours of research I still had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. And expensive way. Here is what I "know" now. Most importantly, don't take this as me telling you that you are wrong. All that matters is you are content with what you have and does what you need. I am not the solar police. :) I've researched the snot out of solar and this is where I am at with it. But at the end of the day, I don't chit from page 8.

Here is what I have learned.

If you have a generator or have minimal power needs, I am not sure I'd bother. I hate listening to a generator, so I get it you'd prefer to minimize that. Reality is an underpowered solar system isn't doing much for you. It'll seem like it is, but really it isn't.

Spend the money on 4 x 6v batteries and make sure they have a full charge when you leave home. You should be good for a week if you are smart about power usages. Starting with switching to all LEDs. You'll get way more out of that and spend not much more than the minimum solar system you'd need. And don't have the hassle of dealing with solar.

Go onto some of the solar forums, they make this clear over and over. Some of them are more crotchety than BgBlkDg about it. Those guys know their stuff. Both on grid and off grid.

When you get home, use a proper battery charger. Most inverter/chargers in RVs don't cut it.

Never trust any numbers you see on lower end charge controllers. Never trust them to charge your batteries properly. Most are set to stop charging at too low. My Trojans need to be charged at 14.8. Most lower end charge controllers cut out in the 13V's. Never giving them a full charge and tricking you into thinking they are. Which is fine on short trips (7 days or less) as long as you charge them properly when you get home.

Use the right size wire. Find a chart, based on your amps you are generating go with the right size or size up now in case you add to it later. Use the shortest run possible. No matter how many panels, size charge controller, battery bank size etc. If the juice can't flow the juice can't do what you need. You've wasted money on everything else if you aren't getting the full juice.

6V batteries wired to 12v win every time. Doesn't mean you need them, but if you are serious about relying on your batteries and the lifespan of them you should get them. Trojan T105s are "alpha" batteries. There some a bit better apparently but these are good for our type of needs. The Costco ones are good too and cheaper.

Small solar array and big battery bank is very inefficient. Bigger the battery bank the bigger the array. You need to be pushing the juice in with enough force to charge as larger bank.

Proper panel tilt based on time of year can help get the most out of a system. If you Google it, there are charts based on time of year and latitude.

Oh and of course don't buy junk. Which is the bulk of what is out there. Google WeGoSolar. Local company with pick up locations on the island and lower mainland. Good prices.

My system is overkill for sure. But I wanted to be able to use the trailer until the end of the season. Also like guys can do when they are excited about something, I couldn't stop myself...must make it bigger and better!!!!

6 x 100w Renogy mono panels in 2 panel wired in parallel strings to a combiner box with 3 20amp fuses

Combiner box to charge controller wired with 14 feet of 2 AWG with 56amp breaker inline prior to charge controller. Acts as a safety for over current but also lets you "remove" the panels from the system to work on it.

Morningstar Tristar 45amp PMW Charge Controller wire to batteries with 2 AWG wire. Wanted to go to 1/0 wire but doesn't fit into the charge controller. Using remote temp sensor to minimize under or over charging at different temps.

4 x Trojan T105 6V batteries wired to 12v and parallel with 4/0 welding cable. Then wired to the trailer with 2 AWG wire. With a marine switch inline between batteries and trailer to turn off power to trailer completely. Always turn it off when we leave. Minimizes risk of anything going south in the trailer wiring and causing a fire etc. Also despite our best efforts we do forget to turn the furnace or water pump off from time to time. If a hose under the floor was to go it'd be a shame to keep pushing the water.

From batteries 500amp shunt with Trimetric 2050 battery monitor inside the rig to keep an eye on the batteries and power use. It is more for my curiosity, pretty rare that I'd need to keep an eye on anything due to the overkill. Its shows current battery voltage, amps in or out depending on panel output or draw from appliances in the trailer. It shows a few other numbers as well, including days since last full charge and equalization.

800W pure sine inverter wired with 2 AWG wire with 80amp fuse connected to shore power. I bought a remote switch on eBay and rigged it up on the inverter so we can turn it on and off from inside. Next year I am going to wire it directly to the panel inside the trailer.

Clouds kill the production. Doesn't even take much of them. If it is cloudy it is best to assume you are getting next to nothing out of them when calculating your needs. That said I do get 3-5 amps from the six panels on heavy cloud days in the sweet spot of 11am to 3pm. Which is when the bulk of your valuable charging happens.

Rainy days, forget about it.

On totally clear days I have seen as high as 36.4. Which is about peak for my system. That charge controller throttles the amps down as it goes through its various stages. But I always get excited when I get to see the system running in all its glory! :)

When we are up for extended times and the weather stinks. Kids and wife will watch movies, furnace blows a lot, charging devices, lights get used a bit more. But we never even come close to putting a dent in the batteries. With a larger inverter, there is little we couldn't use and still not have to greatly worry. There just isn't much we need up there. But we could run the microwave, a slow cooker etc. The batteries will drop but we got enough panels to top them up in short order.

An occasional deep discharge isn't the end of the world with the 6v batteries. Knowing it will be back to full not long after we leave I have no concerns about wear and tear on the batteries.

Come late fall and winter with the furnace running more and less daylight I am still in fine shape. I don't bat an eye at staying in the trailer in December at -25. Can keep it warm and not trash the batteries with the furnace blower running all night.

I expect to easily get 6-8 years out of the Trojans. Maybe more although at reduced capacity. So the extra investment in panels to keep discharge to a minimum and the ability to do as proper an equalization you can with solar is made up in the extra years I'll get from those batteries.

All the fuses and what not are a safety thing, as I get older I realize a few hundred bucks and a few hours efforts is worth it to not burn the rig down.

Only thing I would do differently if I was to do it over, would be 2 or 3 260w panels in series and an MPPT charge controller. But the way my system evolved I stuck with PMW.

MPPT lets you get away with lighter wiring and longer runs. You get a bit of a bonus out of your panels in the right conditions but not really enough for most folks applications. The MPPT chargers are 3 times the cost of PMW but some of that can be offset by the grid tie panels that you can use are cheaper per watt.

[Johnny G1]

Lascar, A very good write and explanation, Like I said I have 500 watts Kyocera and 8 Trojans that are coming up 12 yrs old and still working but never let them go under 12.2 volts, as my teacher in solar said, they only have so many discharges and then they are toast.

[Lastcar]

Lascar, A very good write and explanation, Like I said I have 500 watts Kyocera and 8 Trojans that are coming up 12 yrs old and still working but never let them go under 12.2 volts, as my teacher in solar said, they only have so many discharges and then they are toast.

Shoot, didn't notice your post. You managed to say it in 1/16th of the words. But hey, what would I have down with the half hour it took me to write mine. :) Good to see another solar nerd on here!

I do cringe at the thought of the Canadian Tire panels. To each their own, but for not much more you can get a very high-quality 100w panel. The old buy once cry once applies to solar, much like it does to optics.

I really wish I had gone with higher voltage and MPPT. But I had sailed too far down the river. Looked at selling the setup and eating the difference to do so, but for my need it'd have been little gain for a lot of pain.

I am optimistic I see that kind of lifespan out of my Trojans but am counting on 8. Everything else is gravy.

Good catch on the Riverside guys for those in that area.

I think the most important thing with solar is it is never giving you as much power as you think. If you stick to that rule until proven otherwise with accurate tools you'll never leave yourself disappointed or in a bind with no juice.