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I can’t seem to find anything so far about solar pannels but apologies if i’ve missed it (can you point me toward…)
Wondering about running a leisure battery completely from solar rather than having it parallelled with the van battery.
Also what size pannel (and rest of kit) might i need. The power will only be for lighting mostly and the occasional charge of battery for laptop / phone, not planning to run a fridge etc although an occasional blast on a food processor may be needed!
All tips / thoughts / expertiese received gratefully 🙂
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I wouldn’t go much bigger
I wouldn’t go much bigger than you anticipate. Batteries are heavy and take up a lot of space. Also good to go for proper deep cycle batteries and not the ones that are advertised as leisure batteries. Thes type are a hybrid between a starter style battery and a deep cycle one.
For leisure use you want something like a golf cart or pallet truck battery. These are 6volt so you will need to run 2 of them in series, but they are ideal for leisure use and can be discharged fully many times more than other types due to the shape and number of cells in them.
I am currently running 4 of these for my leisure use. http://www.trojan-battery.com/Products/T-1256V.aspx
I have a contact who sells fork lift truck batteries and he supplied these second hand with very little use on them at a very good price. 🙂
KS
Thanks
Thanks KS.
I shall have to sit down and think what we will need. Guess its better to go that bit bigger that you expect, future proof etc.
With making the two batteries parallel I guess you charge both / use both either way? I mean they’ll both get charge from the pannel and from the alternator, and both be drained when in use.
The more I read about cheap pannels and regulators, the more I want steer clear of them!
Thanks again for the info 🙂
Hi Fash.
Due to the cost of
Hi Fash.
Due to the cost of solar panels it would be wise for you to try to gain an accurate estimate of your electrical needs on a daily basis. Use power=voltage multiplied by current.
P=vi. V=12 and your apliances will give you P allowing current to be calculated.
Batteries are sized in terms of amp hours. So an 85 amp hour battery will power a 1 amp appliance for 85 hours etc.
By adding up all your appliances you will get a feel for the size of battery bank you will need to store your daily electrical needs.
Then you can estimate the size of solar panel you will need to provide this amount of charge/day.
A cheap 20 watt solar panel will not provide much charge so you need one that is the right size.
Also bear in mind that your solar panel only provides full charge when place at 90 degrees to the sun. Clould and not being at 90 degrees (like on the top of a camper van roof) will effect its charge giving potential, so you should build in a margin of error for this too.
You will also need some form of charge/voltage regulator so as the panel will not just charge at 12v!
I agree with darren that you should definately hook up your second battery to the alternator via means of twin battery charging system. There are many different types out there and this is an area that is worth researching properly too.
KS
If you are stationary that
If you are stationary that long then I would get a solar panel.
You can easily add it to the same system as a split-charge reply.
I hope to write the article soon.
Try these for information:
http://home.iprimus.com.au/rfh/solar.html
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/forum-83.html
Hi Fash
The alternator on
Hi Fash
The alternator on your engine will generate way more power that a solar panel, and will ultimately charge your leisure batter much more quickly than just a solar panel.
I would always recommend fitting a split charge replay to connect to the engine battery and your leisure battery. That way your leisure battery will always charge when the engine is running.
Also fitting additional leisure batteries allows you to store more power. They can be fitted in parallel to act as a single battery. I had 3 lesiure batteries fitted to my camper. Just make sure they are all the same spec and age.
In addition to that you can fit a solar panel, if you will spend large periods of time without driving, maybe a day or 2. If you’re driving every day then you’ll have plenty if charge from the engine charging the leisure batteries.
I had a 85W solar panel. This gave me lots of power on sunny days, a some on cloudy days.
I ran my laptop for long periods of time, and ran an electric fridge.
To fit you need cable from the solar panel to a regulator. The regulator ensures a clean supply of power if given from the solar panel. From the regulator run a cable to the leisure batter. It’s very simple.
I think cheap solar panels are available on http://www.ebay.co.uk
I’ll be writing a article on solar soon.
Cheers
Thanks Darren. Duely noted.
I’ve been lookiong on eBay and am just a little confused by the diffent types / specs etc
We will be stationary for up to week[s] on end which is why the solar power is being considered. I don’t want to have to rely on liquid fuel for power for lighting etc. Also in the event of the van battery loosing power by being statiary we’ve got the pannel to give it a boost up 🙂
When will you write your article??!! [waits eagerly…]