Feedback on this solar kit?
Hello, I see Harbor Freight has this kit on sale for $140. Yes, I know it's probably the cheapest cheesiest thing I could probably buy because it's from HF, but it's my first endeavor into solar charg...
Forum Discussion
I bought an 80 watt panel from Solar Blvd last year and was very pleased with the price and service.
Solar Blvd is selling a 75 watt panel for $93.75 plus shipping and tax (link). This panel weighs 15 lbs. which would make it easy to handle and store.
To start with, I would advise buying a 75W panel and no controller. When I helped a fellow camper hook up his panel I used a standard 3 wire 50ft. 12 gauge extension cord. I then chopped a short cord in half and wired the female end to his battery and the male end to the panel. Since only two wires are needed you can tie the green and white wires together which gives you less resistance and thus less voltage drop. Connect black to positive and green/white to negative.
If you monitor your battery condition closely you can get by without a controller. Also it would be a good idea to unplug the panel at night to prevent possible discharge through the panels. Some panels have diodes to prevent this.
If this works well you then can think about a controller. The cheapest approach is a PWM controller. The most efficient and more costly would be the MPPT controller.
Solar Blvd is selling a 75 watt panel for $93.75 plus shipping and tax (link). This panel weighs 15 lbs. which would make it easy to handle and store.
To start with, I would advise buying a 75W panel and no controller. When I helped a fellow camper hook up his panel I used a standard 3 wire 50ft. 12 gauge extension cord. I then chopped a short cord in half and wired the female end to his battery and the male end to the panel. Since only two wires are needed you can tie the green and white wires together which gives you less resistance and thus less voltage drop. Connect black to positive and green/white to negative.
If you monitor your battery condition closely you can get by without a controller. Also it would be a good idea to unplug the panel at night to prevent possible discharge through the panels. Some panels have diodes to prevent this.
If this works well you then can think about a controller. The cheapest approach is a PWM controller. The most efficient and more costly would be the MPPT controller.
