Feel dirty by asking... Generic MPPT solar CCs?

In theory, having some East into it would work well, since by late afternoon you are down to low amps anyway, so the loss of amps late in the day would not show. Just have to get the weatherman to go by that theory!

I think it's location and weather specific. Where we camp SE was best to take advantage of the morning sun before the clouds rolled in. last trip I laid it flat on some logs with a slight eastern tilt and we never had to worry about the battery.

As far a s cheap panels go, there is a person here selling for 69 cents a watt by the pallet. No tax and local to me if I didn't already have my panels.

BFL, my question was so old that I might not remember it myself. I think it was - whether a semi-fixed tilt makes sense for a panel pointing not S (obviously it makes sense then), but to SE or SW. Assuming, for simplicity, that there is no specific morning/afternoon clouds pattern. Many roof installations allow only one-axle tilt (if any), so people would like to know whether it's worth climbing the roof when they are not parked strictly S/N.

Almot, as long as you are here, I might as well answer your old question wrt pointing the panels SE instead of S.

Hasn't arisen. Some days it doesn't clear up till noon, so the advantage is to point them SW. Other days it clags in at noon so SE would have been better. There are no useful rules of thumb. It is all up to what Global TV has to say will happen next.

With my twirler contraption I have max flex. Even so, sometimes (not often) the gen and charger come out to save the day. (we are three months into our five month stay at our off-grid site for the third year now on solar)

mlts22 wrote:
One thing I'm considering doing is getting with a few friends and going to buy a pallet of panels. The ET Solar panels which are 36 volts and 8.8 amps selling for ~$300 each or $7000 for a set of 26 from Wholesale Solar can be useful for all parties involved.

This is $0.85 per watt wholesale. Dozen places will sell you at that price - retail, no need to buy a pallet. If you are into cheap off-brand stuff, there are panels at $0.66 per watt at Solar Blvd - also retail.

The company Wholesale Solar in Mt. Shasta have a nice website but I've got impression that they are having management problems. Also, due to the location, there can be a problem to pick up the panels from their warehouse when it snows, which is pretty much every winter. May be you will have a better luck.

You don't need friends. Strangers will do. If you can sell 280w panels for $200 to locals at the flea market or wherever, you won't be stuck with them very long. Add enough to the cost so they pay the shipping.

mena661 wrote:
You can get 20 280W 24V panels from Solarblvd for $3700. The website says $450 to ship 10 panels anywhere in the US so $4600 for all 20 with shipping.

That's even better. I almost wish this subforum had a sticky for deals on panels.

You can get 20 280W 24V panels from Solarblvd for $3700. The website says $450 to ship 10 panels anywhere in the US so $4600 for all 20 with shipping.

One thing I'm considering doing is getting with a few friends and going to buy a pallet of panels. The ET Solar panels which are 36 volts and 8.8 amps selling for ~$300 each or $7000 for a set of 26 from Wholesale Solar can be useful for all parties involved. Just one mounted atop a trailer can keep my battery topped off without having to resort to the generator. Other panels always come in handy. Having one 15A circuit at one's stick/brick house that is just powered by solar and batteries, and intended for low-draw stuff (laptop/cellphone/tablet chargers), would help a bit on the electric bill, but would get the parasitic loads off the mains power, and also offer a circuit that is guarenteed to be live in case of a power outage (so the refrigerator can be plugged into it, for example.)

Of course, since this is a 36 volt panel, a MPPT controller is a must, unless I want to chop off 2/3 of the incoming wattage. Maybe BFL13 is right with wasting money, but I'm going with a more expensive CC, even if it is a no-name Chinese model that is no-frills, but can get the right power to the batteries at the stage of charging needed.

The solar charging system for my RV and cargo trailer is less about money, but more about being able to be at a festival where most people are tenting it on weekends, and not have to wake up the neighborhood by starting up a generator, even a super-quiet model. That, and passively keeping batteries charged to compensate for the energy lost due to running the furnace at night.

Plus, it is a cool tinkering project. Good, reliable power without having to pay for the local utility to come string a line, or have to fire up a fairly high cost/watt generator. Always a nice thing to have.

JiminDenver wrote:

Both the float and absorb voltage is adjustable with the Eco-worthy.

Great info, thanks!

BFL13 wrote:
The local guy I am dealing with charges $1.08 per watt (tax included) whether 12v or 24v so it all 'depends' how the economics fit. Shipping panels is the killer at any voltage.

Great price for 12V panels. Wonder how he gets them that cheap.