gemsworld wrote:
NinerBikes wrote:
gemsworld wrote:
What do you think about this 100W portable kit?
I think that because you are in southern CA, you should go to Solar Blvd, and buy directly.
120 watt folding panel.
Maybe call them and also ask about their 100 watt or 80 watt panels that are portable too.
Or look at this. with an RJ special 12V 10 amp controller, for like 12 or 13$ on ebay.
20 watt panel.
Thanks for pointing out this kit. I will give Solar Blvd a call.
Like you, about 6 months ago, with a 21 foot travel trailer, I sought the same information. I ended up jumping in with that 120W solar kit, that is folding. I can tell you, that once it's March, if my single 24DC battery is at a 50 to 60% charge, by about 9:30 AM that panel will make almost 7 amps, and if you move /aim the panels 2 or 3 times during the day, here at the 33* N, I'll get that level, if the battery can take it, to 4 or 5 pm. I get more time as the days get longer and approach June 21st. Safe to say that for half the year, you're good for 35-to 50 amps of charging during the strongest portions of sunny days with this unit. 50 amps on a 75 amp hour battery is plenty. It might not be enough if you drain two 75 amp batteries down to 50% daily. You'll come up 25 or more amps short.
But if you put LED lights in, to replace your incandescents, and go a little easy on inverters and TV's, the 120 watt is good enough for one group 24. If you use a lot of TV and a sat dish, consider the 160W or building a system that will get you 2 100 or 120 watt panels for 18 to 25 amps of PWM charging at 12 volts, and a single 30 amp charge controller to handle it.
Run the controller as close to the batteries as possible, without them getting exposed to gases and corrosive sulfuric fumes while charging from the batteries, and run fat, low resistance wires, on a very short run from controller to the batteries, to minimize amperage and voltage drop. Wiring from the panels to the charge controller is a bit more forgiving, you can afford a bit of voltage drop if the run from the portable to the charge controller needs to be a bit long from areas of sunshine to the shady rest you are parked at.
