Help me buy a solar panel

[Dirtpig]

I need advice on what solar panel to purchase. I have 2 group 31 batteries holding i think 220AH. All we do is dry-camp, only plugged into electricity a couple times. Electrical needs are very minimal, we do not run any electronic gadgets other then the radio/cdplayer. Even lights are not used all that much as we spend 90% of our time outside. In the winter this changes to more lights and more electicity used because of the furnace but i figure solar is going to do very little for me in the winter time if anything. Right now (in summer) we are able to camp for about 5-6 days with the batteries going down to about 12.1-12.2V and then i will run the generator. I am hoping to get away from this generator use all together.

We live/camp in mountainous terrain so i would say 6hrs of good sunlight at best, probably fair amount of shadows during the day cast onto the panels from trees as well.

I already have a solar panel controller (Specialty Concepts Mark15, 15amp) I was thinking a 100watt solar panel would maybe be OK, should I go bigger? Should I add more then just 1 panel? Tons of room on the overhead cab part of the camper but its slightly angled downward.

What do you think?

Good brandname? specs to look out for?

Probably purchasing in quartzsite AZ unless you know of a good place to buy.

[idaho_camper]

Dirtpig: Wow, beautiful location. Care to divulge where that photo was taken?

Congrats on the solar panel, btw.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you went for it and it's working.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

It depends on the type of panel and the design of the panel. I get up to 7 amps of charging in leafy shade at solar noon. In full sun I get 17 amps.

GoinThisAway wrote:
Quote: "Shade absolutely kills all charging"

Guess I'll stick with my generator for now. Parking in the shade is highly desirable in the SE during the warm season.

[Dirtpig]

GoinThisAway wrote:
Quote: "Shade absolutely kills all charging"

Guess I'll stick with my generator for now. Parking in the shade is highly desirable in the SE during the warm season.

Ya i guess the alternative would be to park in the shade and carry your panel out into the sun somewhere instead of mounting it to your roof.

[GoinThisAway]

Quote: "Shade absolutely kills all charging"

Guess I'll stick with my generator for now. Parking in the shade is highly desirable in the SE during the warm season.

[bka0721]

Thank you so much for coming back and sharing your update and success!

b

[Dirtpig]

Just thought i would write a bit of a long term update on the 140watt Kyocera solar panel. Have had it installed since April and it performs excellent, exceeding all my expectations. In full sun in the summer time the panel was able to recharge the batteries by about 930am from the previous evening/nights usage. Also in summer from around 1130-2pm i could see up to 8 amps charging. Even in cloudy conditions we could see about 1.5-3.5amps depending on how dark the skies were. Dark clouds with rain yielded about ~0.7 amps - pretty much nothing. Last week was our first time out using the furnace every night and far more power with extended use of lights etc. We were camping in a spot that was in full sun but here in october the sun is very low in the sky. The panel was still able to produce 4amps of power and get the batteries charged back up by the late afternoon each day but i could see where tilting them would produce better results. It still would not be worth the hassle to me though. The batteries remained fully charged throughout the 4 day trip.

Shade absolutely kills all charging, the only reason i would buy a 2nd panel is to mount it on a different place on the roof in case one panel is shaded by a tree, the other one may not be.

I can happily say that we did not once have to run the generator for battery charging during this entire camping season so we are very happy with the decision to install a solar panel.

Included is a photo from our camping trip last week, notice how low the sun is in the sky and still able to produce 4-4.5 amps. 🙂

[Dirtpig]

Thanks again for all of the replies. I have decided that I am going to go with one 140watt Kyocera panel. I will install that and see how it goes. If i find that i need more power then i will buy a 2nd one next year. After measuring my roof i have room for 3 of them. Im just going to mount it flat, i have no desire to be tilting the thing or anything like that. I'm really just after a few extra days camp time before having to run a generator.

I think i will also take the advice of converting some of the lights to LED lights.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I'm guilty of "antenna abuse". I wanted a simple reliable no fuss system. That is pretty much what I have.

I'd love to have one panel that was vertical to take care of snow fall. That said, this is the first year that build up has been an issue.

[AnEv942]

That and antennas-Always check our roof when packing but see most any day an antena cutting thru the sky. Cant imagine leaving panle up but its on the list, Im sure it happens. On our camper raised its quite visible. If I raise panel I always take it down in the evening. My biggest concern is wind.

I cant imagine if close enough to have neighbors, anyone being impressed watching someone cimbing up on the roof fiddling with their panels-Probably convinced some they dont want a panle if thats whats invovled..:)
or off loading my scooter or someone unhitching Toad or any thing else we do. Hopefully most would give a yell instead of laughing if you forget to lower your panel(s)? or your Toads tow bar is hanging by safety chains? Taking it down when raining no different than clearing the table-stuffing the chairs under camper, rolling up the windows or any other varied last minuet thing I always seem to be doing out in the rain.

It is nice when I need some extra amps to charge my RC stuff without robbing the camper-or sucking up the last 2 hours of sun on those short cold days. But as noted it is a chore.
Agree for most tilt mounts would be a waste of money-simply cause it wouldnt get used-most wouldnt want to climb up there-and general use not needed. I dont really use ours anymore-but mine were also 'free'. Which as far as mounts, when we installed ours there really wasnt that much available in tilt mounts.

Kinda drifting from OPs question-hopefully havnt wandered to far off & still gleaning info. My opinion is you cant have too much solar. I'd say for most 100 watts would be a minumum & think the 2 100s on TC would be good-cant comment on the brand. The price certainly good.

[Reddog1]

2oldman wrote:

Reddog1 wrote:
, but advised against it. I ask why and he responded it is too easy for people to forget and leave them up, resulting an damaged panels and/or roof.

I have never seen an RV going down the road with his panels up. That's not to say it doesn't ever happen.

I have never seen anyone drive down the road with their TV antenna up either. I almost did, twice. A tree limb tore the first antenna up beyond repair, the second time I managed to straighten and salvage the antenna. I would have have really had my feelings hurt if it would have been my panels.

I have seen more than one vent open on the highway, and have seen several damaged.

I hope you do not have that experience, could get pricey.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Here are some locations to check out prices:

http://www.solarblvd.com/

http://www.sunelec.com/

http://www.dmsolar.com/solar-module-1141.html

[kerry4951]

Reddog1 wrote:
It has been years since I bought my panels. I bought from Northern Arizona Wind & Sun. They were easy to talk to, about as helpful as anyone could be. I called them several times while deciding what I wanted. They had several employees, and at the time a couple were relatively new to solar. They did not hesitate to say they did not have an answer to a given question, and always ask someone else at the store, or found the answer and called me back.

I felt very strongly about tilt panel mounts. The owner said he would sell them to me, but advised against it. I ask why and he responded it is too easy for people to forget and leave them up, resulting an damaged panels and/or roof. He also said before long, I would find that even though it was a gain, most tire of the raising the panels. As it turns out, I made my own mounts, and he was right it did not take long to tire of the process. Maybe in some parts of the country it is worth while, but not for me.

Northern Arizona Wind & Sun is pretty diverse, not specializing in RVs only. They have many solar related products for many applications. There are a lot of self proclaimed experts that read a little, and pass on information that may not be entirely true. What I really liked about Northern Arizona Wind & Sun is their product line is so huge they do not have to sell products using untruths. You want it, they have it and will sell it to you even while advising you against the purchase and explaining why.

Northern Arizona Wind & Sun also has a Forum, Solar Electric Power Discussion Forum by Northern Arizona Wind & Sun, with pretty good info from the Forum members.

As I said, it has been years since I have purchased from these guys, but I doubt they have changed much, other than for the better,

Wayne

Reddog
Your reference to your dealer is very much the same reasoning I got from the dealer in Quartzsite. So I guess any solar dealer that tries to give good sensible advice is either trying to dissuade us or sell us something quick just to make the sale. I would think that a solar dealer would want to push the "tilt" feature since it makes a more complex system which should result in more profit for them. I actually liked the fact that the Q dealer was trying to save me some money. Most of time salesmen would rather reach deep into your pockets.

[2oldman]

Reddog1 wrote:
, but advised against it. I ask why and he responded it is too easy for people to forget and leave them up, resulting an damaged panels and/or roof.

I have never seen an RV going down the road with his panels up. That's not to say it doesn't ever happen.

I recently posted about tilting v. flat. As long as I am healthy and fit enough to tilt 6 panels, I will do so. Yes, I do get tired of it, but I get tired of lots of things. I don't raise or lower them in the wind (dangerous), and, if I ever forget and leave them up while driving, I think it's time to find a new hobby.

CA Traveler wrote:
The two major Q dealers are in the business of selling....

I'm not sure Bob is there anymore. Drove by the other day and it looked like he was OOB.