Portable solar
Would like to hear from those who own and use a PORTABLE solar panel system. We have 2 campers; Eagle Cap truck camper, and an Airstream trailer. Our power needs are minimal. A few (LED) lights...
Forum Discussion
I make my own portables, I now have three functioning. I find the large inexpensive 24v panels left over from roof installs at ridiculously low prices on craigslist. ($50-85 each) Add a $102 Eco-worthy 20a MPPT charge controller, ($85-90 with free shipping in auction) and a $50 set of 10 AWG cords with MC4 connectors and you have 15-16 amps of charging whenever the sun is out. A pair of c-clamps and pine slats make for easy legs.
This the pair of 245w panels we used this year.
this the 230w from last year, and a close up of the fancy legs. lol
These ride in the walkway of the trailer, on the bed or on the trucks rack. I could mount one to the rack, run the cords back to the controller and get a charge while on the road.
So what can we do with the power they put out. Lets just say that if Roy had the 245w twins chasing the sun all day, he wouldn't need his generator except on cloudy days. It doesn't take 30+ amps of charging that long to bring up a modest bank. Once you are in float the power is still there every time you use some. Last year with the single the grp 27 would be in float early and even turning on everything we had in the camper including the furnace blower couldn't make the batteries voltage drop. The panels picked up all the loads till night fall. Over night it can drop below freezing up there, so we run the furnace, the LED lights and maybe watch a movie but no big loads. In the morning the battery is never lower than 12.57v. Without a big inverter to run big loads, we just couldn't use the power.
That was fun so this year I found the twin 245w panels that someday wish to mount up top. The twin set ups can be run on separate banks or combined into one for aiding in running a 3000w inverter and fast recovery after. That 30a plus of power helps keep the voltage from dropping while running the microwave, recovery to float is 20 mins. We also run a auto drip coffee maker, hair dryer, vacuum, plus all the normal trailer functions. A flat screen TV and satellite system may be on all day distracting the dogs, so we keep it on a small 150w inverter that uses less power.
All three should be good for close to 50a in full sun. I'm hoping to run a 5000 BTU air conditioner pulling 460w with them. It doesn't get hot often, and then only mid day if the sun is shining. I don't want to turn the trailer into a fridge, just keep it below 80 degrees.
So that's the story of the BIG portables. Each take about five minutes to pull out and connect the wires, seconds to adjust and they make all the toys in the trailer possible. I have less than a dollar a watt into the 720w total.
This the pair of 245w panels we used this year.
this the 230w from last year, and a close up of the fancy legs. lol
These ride in the walkway of the trailer, on the bed or on the trucks rack. I could mount one to the rack, run the cords back to the controller and get a charge while on the road.
So what can we do with the power they put out. Lets just say that if Roy had the 245w twins chasing the sun all day, he wouldn't need his generator except on cloudy days. It doesn't take 30+ amps of charging that long to bring up a modest bank. Once you are in float the power is still there every time you use some. Last year with the single the grp 27 would be in float early and even turning on everything we had in the camper including the furnace blower couldn't make the batteries voltage drop. The panels picked up all the loads till night fall. Over night it can drop below freezing up there, so we run the furnace, the LED lights and maybe watch a movie but no big loads. In the morning the battery is never lower than 12.57v. Without a big inverter to run big loads, we just couldn't use the power.
That was fun so this year I found the twin 245w panels that someday wish to mount up top. The twin set ups can be run on separate banks or combined into one for aiding in running a 3000w inverter and fast recovery after. That 30a plus of power helps keep the voltage from dropping while running the microwave, recovery to float is 20 mins. We also run a auto drip coffee maker, hair dryer, vacuum, plus all the normal trailer functions. A flat screen TV and satellite system may be on all day distracting the dogs, so we keep it on a small 150w inverter that uses less power.
All three should be good for close to 50a in full sun. I'm hoping to run a 5000 BTU air conditioner pulling 460w with them. It doesn't get hot often, and then only mid day if the sun is shining. I don't want to turn the trailer into a fridge, just keep it below 80 degrees.
So that's the story of the BIG portables. Each take about five minutes to pull out and connect the wires, seconds to adjust and they make all the toys in the trailer possible. I have less than a dollar a watt into the 720w total.
