Solar Panels

[robcaz]

They say you need big bait to catch big fish.

Looking forward to catching up with you & Elwyn at the national meet in 34 days.

[fredsdad]

When we were camping in the tent I bought an 80 watt folding panel off Ebay. Ozplaza was the company for about $190. It was running an 80 ltr Waco fridge freezer and a few lights. Had a problem with it not recharging the 120 amphour battery in very hot weather, so I replaced the cable with 6mm cable connections with anderson plugs and bought an MTTP regulator of ebay. I placed the regulator next to the battery. This should have bought the output up to about 100watts apparently. This worked really well even on the hottest days.

Now I have the camper trailer I thought it may not be big enough for the extra power needed eg water pump lights etc. I have removed the MTTP regulator as the trailer charges via a cetec dc to dc charger.

So far it has worked well, catching up on the overnight usage by mid morning and then just replacing usage during and keeping it full for the rest of the sunlight hours, but I have not had it on very hot days. As I have 330 amp hour of batteries so that should last until I can get it charged again.

[robcaz]

Hi Fredsdad,

Running your fridge as a fridge & cryovacing your meat will save heaps of power than running it as a freezer
40 litre Engel power draw http://www.campertrailers.org/fridge_draw.htm
35 litre power consumption http://www.campertrailers.org/fridge_po ... mption.htm

The MPPT solar regulator does a great job. You will find plenty of useful information on what solar panels really produce & MPPT regulators in this article by Collyn Rivers http://www.exploroz.com/Vehicle/Electrics/Solar.aspx

[fredsdad]

Rob I agree about running the fridge as a fridge only and cryovacing. I pre freeze anything else then pack it at the freezer end of the space having taken out the dividers and baskets. They will still stay frozen for several days. The cryovacing is also much tidier.

The MTTP regulators are good as is the DC to DC charger in the camper trailer. One of the greatest improvements in charging was gained when I put the regulator as close as possible to the battery rather than on the panel. I was then able to increase the length of cable from a few meters to 10 without voltage drop affecting the final out put of the regulator.

[leeke0]

Hey Smartypants Rob,
You wanted a harder problem
With approximately 100 campertrailers at Glenn Innes, I presume there will be a lot of solar panels.
I am a bit concerned that because we wont be arriving until Monday, ALL the allocated solar rays for Glenn Innes, will be snapped up and I will miss out
Am I going to have to negotiate with members to get my fair share or do you think there will be enough to go round?
Thanks for your anticipated attention to my concern.
Malcolm

[robcaz]

Hi Mal,

Plenty of solar rays to go around, although I'm sure the grass will suffer from no exposure to the UV.

[FAB68]

I feel a little under done I have an 80a/h allrounder 3 years old 160 watt ebay panels. They pump out between 6-7 amp/hour i run our 40L waeco 4 led light and water pump. We went to fraser for a week no drama the only thing is the cord is only 5m so getting a 10m one which will make it easier.

[robcaz]

The best size for a ten metre lead from your solar panel to the battery is 6mm auto cable twin core sheathed which will minimise the voltage drop.

The rule of thumb is 100 watt solar panel & a 100 amp hour deep cycle battery to run a fridge as a fridge. This will see around two days without any solar input.

40 litre Engel power draw http://www.campertrailers.org/fridge_draw.htm

35 litre Engel power consumption http://www.campertrailers.org/fridge_po ... mption.htm

Don't forget for best battery life it is recommended not to discharge the battery below 50% capacity http://www.campertrailers.org/elite4.jpg

[spoton5]

UPDATE

Just thought I would update on my setup
Now have a 160w Kyocera Multi-Crystalline Cells, these panels should work better in overcast conditions etc
(as per link)
http://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/solar ... nese-Cells

Unit is 2 x 80w with a fold up size of approx. 800mm x 700mm x 72mm & 16.5kg
This came supplied with a very well made carry bag, re-inforced straps
I brought the solar panel without a Solar Regulator for $30 less
I brought when on special for $ 420 delivered
I have this hard wired to 8 B&S cable at a length of 7m, this has a RED Anderson plug attached
in the CT I have a 120w AGM battery
On my Camper I have a separate 8 B&S cable for un regulated solar power again with a Red Anderson plug
This is Hard wired to the Roc Solid MPPT regulator, which is mounted in the camper next to the battery
The model I am using is 20amp 12v (see link below )

http://www.roc-solidsolar.com.au/ps2012.php

All solar controllers work better when mounted as close to battery as possible
I have a 100amp c/breaker between Regulator & battery, with negative cable going to BM1 negative Shunt
I mainly run Led lights, charge of Ipads & Phones & a CPAP machine
My Fridge is a Dometic 3 way, which we run on 12v when travelling, CT Battery being charged from car through a Redarc isolator & gas when camping
Hope to give it a good run at Maq Woods to see how it goes

I just added the links so you can get more info. easy
Not trying to sell for any company
Regards
Peter