Solar Panel Project

[_1nobby]

I do more boondock style camping then anything else.
My 2 - 6V batteries do a good job keeping me powered up for the few things I need powered whilst camping....but I have a 7 day trip planned with my Dad in Northern Quebec and thought that a little Solar power help would be justified.

I bought the Coleman 40W kit on sale at Canadian Tire for $113.00 and some wiring accessories on Amazon.

My plan is to mount the controller in the forward basement compartment. From there it is about a 4 foot run to the batteries.
I bought a weatherproof, marine, female 12V accessory plug that I will install just forward of the compartment door.
I also purchased a 10 foot long cable with the correct SAE plug on one end and the male 12V accessory plug on the other.

Plan is to set up the panel in the sunny spot....plug it in and let it assist in prolonging my battery charge.

I am now waiting for:
1) the trailer to be moved from winter stowage back into my driveway
2) Warmer weather
3) My Amazon order to show up

I also bought an SAE polarity adapter as I'm not clear on how the 12V extension is wired. The Coleman wiring is quite clear.

[_1nobby]

All my do-dads showed up this week to accomplish my Rev.A.

Just need the effing snow to stop falling and the temperature to warm up a bit.

Oh....and I need to go fetch the Porta-Nobby at storage.

[westend]

SoundGuy wrote:

westend wrote:
Aim higher. Home Depot also sells the Grape brand controllers that will support up to 40 amps of charging.

Different world here in Canada where many of the products those of you in the US are able to purchase at reasonable prices either just aren't available here in Canada or end up costing an arm & a leg if ordered from a US supplier. 😞 Nothing wrong with the OP's approach as anything is better than nothing, also nothing wrong with his portable panel approach as camping here in Ontario very often involves camping on well shaded sites where a permanently mounted roof panel would be ineffective much of the time. Personally I wouldn't mind a simple 100 to 130 watt folding portable panel for those few times we do camp without shore power - not the ultimate answer obviously but better than nothing and simple to use. Must just drive the solar pundits crazy. 😛

The largest cost of obtaining modules is, typically, shipping. Since most modules are large (in the shipping sense), it costs big money to ship them.
Sure, you could add a set of butt hinges to those Canadian Tire panels and have a nice little charging system. I don't have any problem with smaller modules, it's just that, as module size decreases, the price/watt goes up.
Forum member BFL13, headquartered in BC, has found local sellers in CA that sell modules at fair prices. With the increased production and availability of panels, there should be some availability in your local area at affordable pricing.
Good luck to all that choose to get on the solar bandwagon. 🙂

[kayakparrothead]

I've used 2 40 watt panels for several years never had a dead battery. I switched out the light bulbs to led. Also no fridge fan.

[Lwiddis]

In Washington, Corvette? You bet I’d do 1.5 solar watts per battery AH.

[SoundGuy]

westend wrote:
Aim higher. Home Depot also sells the Grape brand controllers that will support up to 40 amps of charging.

Different world here in Canada where many of the products those of you in the US are able to purchase at reasonable prices either just aren't available here in Canada or end up costing an arm & a leg if ordered from a US supplier. 😞 Nothing wrong with the OP's approach as anything is better than nothing, also nothing wrong with his portable panel approach as camping here in Ontario very often involves camping on well shaded sites where a permanently mounted roof panel would be ineffective much of the time. Personally I wouldn't mind a simple 100 to 130 watt folding portable panel for those few times we do camp without shore power - not the ultimate answer obviously but better than nothing and simple to use. Must just drive the solar pundits crazy. 😛

[_1nobby]

Yeti plus wrote:
#1nobby,
I have 3 of those panels, also bought on sale at CTC. I have them paralleled together. I made my own 3 to 1 adapter with plug sets from Princess Auto, because they are 10 gauge wire. We have used them a few times when we didn't have power and they were great. I bought a different controller from Amazon that has a digital display, and my batteries were fully charged.
I would set up the panels in the morning and reposition them at lunch time if we were back to the camper.
One word of warning about the SAE connectors. Coleman wires all their plugs the same way, but they are not the same as battery charger manufacturers. I happen to have a couple of small battery tenders that came with various adapters to charge different batteries. I happened to use one of these adapters with the solar charge controller playing with the system before putting it into use.I tried all 3 controllers , bought a larger controller from CTC, couldn't get it to work, because the output was reversed due to the adapter from the charger. I had already ordered the charge controller from Amazon and when it arrived and I wired it up all was good with the world.Then I looked at the way the Coleman controllers were wired and the output wiring was backward to the output wiring I used for the Amazon controller.So you may need that gender changer plug you ordered.
I just wish we could get those Grape Solar panels from Home Depot at a reasonable price up here in Canada.
Good luck with your new toys.
Brian

Ya....I read that somewhere in the minimal research that I did.:)

I'll figure it out.

It amuses me that some of the industry got together and decided to use SAE connectors. But then decided not to keep the polarity constant.

[_1nobby]

westend wrote:


One of the intracacies about RV solar charging is that when you get some, you want more. Free power and it's uses become addictive.

Thank you for the input.

However.....this is more about "let's see what happens" than "Holy Sh*t I need more power"

I actually don't need more power but it would be nice to know that the batteries will be slowly maintained throughout a week of camping.

Hell....I bring my generator and 5 gallons of gas when I go....anyways:) I have yet to use it, though. Some noise is TOO MUCH.

[Yeti_plus]

#1nobby,
I have 3 of those panels, also bought on sale at CTC. I have them paralleled together. I made my own 3 to 1 adapter with plug sets from Princess Auto, because they are 10 gauge wire. We have used them a few times when we didn't have power and they were great. I bought a different controller from Amazon that has a digital display, and my batteries were fully charged.
I would set up the panels in the morning and reposition them at lunch time if we were back to the camper.
One word of warning about the SAE connectors. Coleman wires all their plugs the same way, but they are not the same as battery charger manufacturers. I happen to have a couple of small battery tenders that came with various adapters to charge different batteries. I happened to use one of these adapters with the solar charge controller playing with the system before putting it into use.I tried all 3 controllers , bought a larger controller from CTC, couldn't get it to work, because the output was reversed due to the adapter from the charger. I had already ordered the charge controller from Amazon and when it arrived and I wired it up all was good with the world.Then I looked at the way the Coleman controllers were wired and the output wiring was backward to the output wiring I used for the Amazon controller.So you may need that gender changer plug you ordered.
I just wish we could get those Grape Solar panels from Home Depot at a reasonable price up here in Canada.
Good luck with your new toys.
Brian

[westend]

#1nobby wrote:

westend wrote:
40W will only whet your taste for solar. Stateside, Home Depot sells 100W Grape modules, on sale, for $100.

You are probably right.

However...I haven't actually NEEDED any external power help up to now.....so this will be a bonus.
Kinda like this years profit sharing check from work....a small bonus. 🙂

However....the included controller will support an additional 40 W panel if I decide that more is required.

Aim higher. Home Depot also sells the Grape brand controllers that will support up to 40 amps of charging. They have a smart phone app so, once everything is installed, you can engineer charge settings, find out battery SOC, and monitor real-time solar harvest. They are also relatively inexpensive.

One of the intracacies about RV solar charging is that when you get some, you want more. Free power and it's uses become addictive. Also,having enough solar charging means that you will always have full batteries, those batteries lasting longer than if manually charged.

Forum member Pianotuna has written a series of short, easily understandable articles on Adding Solar to an RV.

[corvettekent]

My rule of thumb is 1 watt of solar for each amp of battery, so you should have 230 watts of solar. Others will tell you 1.5 watts per amp.

[_1nobby]

azrving wrote:
You might even mount a much larger one on the roof someday so you dont have to deal with handling it.

I know there are a lot of roof installs out there....but I'm usually parked in the shade....at least....that is always my goal.

[azrving]

There is no bad solar. This will let you get used to hooking things up and see how it works. Later you can always buy a bigger panel or build a suitcase etc. You might even mount a much larger one on the roof someday so you dont have to deal with handling it.

[Lwiddis]

OK...80 watts is still a....toy. Your batteries need a full recharge every day for maximum life.

[_1nobby]

westend wrote:
40W will only whet your taste for solar. Stateside, Home Depot sells 100W Grape modules, on sale, for $100.

You are probably right.

However...I haven't actually NEEDED any external power help up to now.....so this will be a bonus.
Kinda like this years profit sharing check from work....a small bonus. 🙂

However....the included controller will support an additional 40 W panel if I decide that more is required.

[bobndot]

I use a 100w portable panel to move around the campsite, to follow the sun. 100w is barely enough and my use is very light. I offset it using my genny on rainy days.

40w is not a lot of solar. Here is a good project to use for additional 'how to' info.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23419900/