OUR VIDEOS GALLERY MEMBER SPONSORSHIP VENDOR SPONSORSHIP

User Tag List

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 30

Thread: Advice please?

  1. #11
    I am he, fear me the evil twin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    W.A. (wandering aust)
    Posts
    6,208
    Thanks
    904
    Thanked 6,640 Times in 3,287 Posts
    Mentioned
    44 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    In simplest terms...

    Mono are more efficient than Poly panels... IE a Mono panel is about 5% more than a Poly panel.
    For camping this usually doesn't matter all that much as all it means is that a Mono is slightly smaller.

    Poly have a better temperature co-efficient... IE the hotter it is the less "more efficient" the Mono panels become and the Poly will take over.
    For camping Poly is better

    Solar panel performance is dollar related IE a top end panel of the same physical size and cells can be 20% more efficient than a cheapo.
    This means a good Poly will easily outperform a cheap Mono or vice versa.

    Solar panels degrade and the other main difference between manuf is by how much over time.
    Most specs will be, say, "80% of output after 15 or 20 or 25 years" or whatever.
    This means as the panels get older the performance gap between a cheapo and a high end panel will get better and better.
    For a several thousand dollar house array this is quite important.
    For Camping this doesn't matter all that much

    To "top up" a 105 Amp AGM battery that is in a vehicle which is touring or for short term camping and only running a small Engel then an 80 to 100 Watt Array will be oodles.

    I use a 100 watt array and that easily handles 2 fridges, LED lighting and electronics recharging into a 2 X 105 AH Full River AGM battery bank
    Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to the evil twin For This Useful Post:

    bishbashbosh (3rd December 2014), threedogs (3rd December 2014)

  3. # ADS
    Circuit advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Posts
    Many

     

  4. #12
    Expert bishbashbosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    153
    Thanked 100 Times in 39 Posts
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    thanks all.. time to drop some cash then..

    will look into the poly's as well considering i'm going to be out in hot weather!

    psst - what brand panels do you look for and avoid?

  5. #13
    I am he, fear me the evil twin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    W.A. (wandering aust)
    Posts
    6,208
    Thanks
    904
    Thanked 6,640 Times in 3,287 Posts
    Mentioned
    44 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Just MHO but I am not a big fan of 'hard' mounting panels on a vehicle because;

    You have to park your vehicle in the sun (yes, that is Captain Obvious speaking) and I hate that.

    A panel that is at a poor angle to the Sun can loose 1/3rd to as much as 1/2 it's output which means either a much bigger array is needed or having to move the vehicle... a lot. Much easier to move a free standing panel around in azimuth and adjust the tilt legs.

    With the Alternator running the "extra" few AH from the Panel is either neglible or not used at all or, worst case depending on set ups, can cut out the charge current from the Alternator and only use the few AH's available from the panel.
    Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to the evil twin For This Useful Post:

    bishbashbosh (3rd December 2014)

  7. #14
    Travelling Podologist Cuppa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Ballarat, Vic
    Posts
    6,740
    Thanks
    2,130
    Thanked 7,403 Times in 2,995 Posts
    Mentioned
    173 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Poly or mono not really worth worrying about these days, esp. if A grade. Size difference is very small, buy panels to fit the storage space you have. My preference is for Mono because they are a tad more efficient, but choosing on that basis would only be if all other aspects were equal. I think TD is talking about Amorphous panels when he talks about some panels being much larger for the same wattage.

    Don’t pay extra for the crappy regulators supplied with most panels, best to throw them in the bin & get a reasonable regulator for around $100 or so. Dont even think of using the supplied cables - use them for tying up your tomatoes & get appropriately heavy gauge cable to avoid voltage drop. Not much point having a panel which puts a significant part of it’s output into warming the cable rather than charging your battery.

    Dor portables look for a panel frame design which will stand up well in the wind, some have flimsy legs & can’t be pegged down.

    I’m not over keen on the black frames. Panels become less efficient the hotter they get & black will get hotter than silver.

    Unlike ET I am a fan of roof mounted panels. Having used both mounted & portable, I’ll go with the convenience of mounted any day & am happy to have a bit of extra ‘wattage’ to compensate for the less than optimum mounting angle. Fit & forget rather than having to move the damn things every hour or so throughout the day, or tripping over cables, or worrying about them being nicked. Putting them on a roof with an air gap underneath will keep the car a bit cooler as it creates a ’tropical roof’. Mostly we sleep at night when the sun isn’t shining, so if the bed is in the vehicle it’s not a major issue. If not sleeping in the vehicle it’s not hard to sleep a few metres from the vehicle in the shade. Awnings are handy too.

    When working out your wattage needs, (assuming you know how much your appliances will use) look at the nominal wattage of the panel & divide by 12 (for a 12v panel) & then multiply that figure by 70%. This will give you a realistic estimate of what output you can expect. Eg 120w divided by 12 =10 10 multiplied x70% =7. 7 amps is about what you can expect to see in good conditions (although new panels will often put out a bit more initially).

    Cuppa

    2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
    A Nomadic Life (Blog)

  8. The Following User Says Thank You to Cuppa For This Useful Post:

    bishbashbosh (3rd December 2014)

  9. #15
    Expert bishbashbosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    153
    Thanked 100 Times in 39 Posts
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    do i need a regulator if i have the ctek d250s dual?

    i am going to hook up the cables using 8B&S directly to the ctek with an anderson plug in between for easy connection.

    googling shops close so i can have a look at the panels atm

  10. #16
    Patrol God
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    brisbane
    Posts
    4,934
    Thanks
    963
    Thanked 1,830 Times in 1,250 Posts
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    No just connect earth to earth and pos to the bolt with the pic of a panel next to it

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to megatexture For This Useful Post:

    bishbashbosh (4th December 2014)

  12. #17
    Travelling Podologist Cuppa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Ballarat, Vic
    Posts
    6,740
    Thanks
    2,130
    Thanked 7,403 Times in 2,995 Posts
    Mentioned
    173 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Ctek D250s Dual is a combined solar reg & dc to dc charger, & I assume a crank battery isolator too (MT can confirm the latter).

    Deciding to use 8 B&S cable to connect panels to battery before you decide whether the panels will be roof mounted or portable, & (if portable how far away from the car you want to be able to place them) is putting the cart before the horse. The cable you need should be determined by the total length of the cable & the current you expect it to carry whilst ensuring an acceptably low voltage drop. Thankfully there are tables available to make this easy to work out. My favourite is this one. http://hobohome.com/news/?p=581 It’s a bit old now but the info in the tables holds good.

    2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
    A Nomadic Life (Blog)

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to Cuppa For This Useful Post:

    bishbashbosh (4th December 2014)

  14. #18
    Travelling Podologist Cuppa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Ballarat, Vic
    Posts
    6,740
    Thanks
    2,130
    Thanked 7,403 Times in 2,995 Posts
    Mentioned
    173 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by megatexture View Post
    No just connect earth to earth and pos to the bolt with the pic of a panel next to it
    Is there a misunderstanding here? Having an anderson plug in the solar input line is a good idea I think, at least it’s how I have my setup. Even my current roof mounted panel utilises an anderson plug connection for convenience if/when I need to remove it.

    2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
    A Nomadic Life (Blog)

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to Cuppa For This Useful Post:

    bishbashbosh (4th December 2014)

  16. #19
    Patrol God
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    brisbane
    Posts
    4,934
    Thanks
    963
    Thanked 1,830 Times in 1,250 Posts
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Yes your right cuppa, the only thing I havent tested is if it will allow charging of the crank once the aux id at full charge via solar

  17. The Following User Says Thank You to megatexture For This Useful Post:

    bishbashbosh (4th December 2014)

  18. #20
    Expert bishbashbosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    153
    Thanked 100 Times in 39 Posts
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    i've used 8B&S throughout the whole fitout of my dual system - i don't think i'll need any bigger for the solar panels if i run them at 5 metres max?

    will go with 120watt solar panels just to cover all bases - after thinking about it i'd rather not attach them to the roof as this will take up valuable real estate when travelling - don't mind moving them and will fold up and put in back - i got about 1.4 meter (width) x 1 meter (height) x 300mm (deep) behind my fridge to store them.

    i'm thinking to mount an anderson plug next to the baintech power panel i have already fitted - that way i can just plug in the solar panels as needed without needing to fiddle with the ctek which sits under my wing cover of the drawers. what size amp anderson should i purchase you think?

    should i remove the connection boxes that connect the panels and upgrade them to something better or is it just a case of removing the regulator and using the ctek?

    aux battery - ctek = 1 metre

    ctek - anderson = 500 mm

    anderson - solar panels = 5 metre (max)

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •