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> Solar Panel for charging battery, What do I need?

humboldt chrisandrobin
post Jul 7 2011, 12:39 PM
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I'm new here and undoubtedly there is a thread already somewhere, so bear with me please! We want to get a solar panel to charge our battery while boon-docking for days at a time, especially in Baja and the western U.S. There are a lot of panels out there, but we have heard from an rv repair guy that you need at least a 55W panel to "heat the battery up enough to accept a charge". Can anyone enlighten me on this? A less expensive panel would sure be nice but I want something that will work.

Thanks in advance for any information.
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redrocker
post Jul 12 2011, 11:38 AM
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QUOTE(humboldt chrisandrobin @ Jul 7 2011, 05:39 PM)
I'm new here and undoubtedly there is a thread already somewhere, so bear with me please!  We want to get a solar panel to charge our battery while boon-docking for days at a time, especially in Baja and the western U.S.  There are a lot of panels out there, but we have heard from an rv repair guy that you need at least a 55W panel to "heat the battery up enough to accept a charge".  Can anyone enlighten me on this?  A less expensive panel would sure be nice but I want something that will work.

Thanks in advance for any information.
*


check these guys out solarwholesaler.com
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humboldt chrisandrobin
post Jul 12 2011, 12:02 PM
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Lots of info there! Thanks a lot!!
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kerry4951
post Jul 13 2011, 09:37 AM
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Ordered our TC with 100 watt panel from the factory. Did OK but felt I wanted and needed more. Added another 120 watt on my own. Seems to be the consensus that 200-300 watts is ideal for a TC. I have (2) 12 volt AGM batteries, we do alot of boondocking and dry camping and thats where the extra wattage is nice. If you stay at CG's every night, then solar is not as important. Depends alot on how you use your RV.
I would recommmend going with a controller that can handle the extra wattage if you decide to upgrade. In my opinion the beefier controller is better in case you want to add panels in the future. The factory installed a max controller at 240 watts when they put in my 100 watt panel, so I was limited to not go over 240 watts.
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aqualung
post Jul 19 2011, 07:50 AM
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I just recently finished my solar installation. I went with 2 GS100 panels from AM Solar (http://www.amsolar.com/) and used the Morningstar SunSaver MPPT controller (http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/sunsavermppt). I also included a Xantrex LinkLite Battery monitor (http://www.xantrex.com/power-products/power-accessories/linklite-battery-monitor.aspx).

BTW you don't want to "Heat Up" the battery, its all about charge voltage at the battery. Check your battery manufacturer specs, they'll tell you what the "daily charge" or "Absorption" voltage is supposed to be plus the "Equalization" voltage and the proper "Float" voltage. If you don't get the charge voltage right, you won't get the charging current to charge the batteries properly.

You then need a proper solar controller that is programmable like the Morningstar controller so you can set the proper voltages. Having the battery monitor will tell you how much battery charge you use in a day plus it will give you the actual charge level in the battery in AmpHours. Using a voltage to measure battery charge is very inacurate.

I would install the battery monitor first and do some boondocking. This will tell you how much battery you actually use on a daily basis. Once you know this, you can figure out how much solar panel you need. A good 100W solar panel will deliver approximately 30AHrs of charge on a sunny summer day in the northern part of the lower 48. If you're further south, expect more charge per day. With my system I get about 60AHrs per day but I live in Eastern Ontario at about the same latitude as Oregon.

I bought all but the battery monitor from the people at AM Solar. This is a good knowledgeable outfit and they specialize in solar installations for RVs. So they've figured out all the installaton headaches and build kits for you with everything you need. Do yourself a favor and give them a call. One other thing, don't skimp on the wire. You'll spend a bunch of money on panels and controllers so you don't want to throw away the power in undersized wires, upgrade to the heavier 6guage wiring (controller to battery) and use the heaviest wires you can everywhere to minimize voltage drop.

For more details on solar systems, check out "Handy Bob's Solar Blog" he's done a ton of research over the years on solar systems for RVs and has some good points. http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

Hope this helps.
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jeniD4u
post Jul 22 2011, 05:41 AM
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For implementing solar panel for your rv you must have either 50 watt solar kit or 60-watt,and if you want more speed than you can also go for 95-watt solar-kitt.
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post Jun 30 2012, 04:48 AM
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great to here that you finally got the device you where looking for and the posted here might be helpful for others in choosing correct solar device for there vehicle which fulfills all there needs...
Happy camping
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Dexter
post Aug 17 2012, 12:05 PM
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50 watts is not going to recharge your batteries. I would be willing to bet you use that much power, about 5 times over in a day, which means you have a deficit still.

I recommend a 250watt solar panel kit, at the very least. Ideally you want to have 1.4x as much power in panels as you plan on ever using. This way in cooler/cloudy weather you still have enough power to recharge everything back up in a day.
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KY_Campers
post Aug 18 2012, 05:43 AM
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QUOTE(Dexter @ Aug 17 2012, 01:05 PM)
50 watts is not going to recharge your batteries. I would be willing to bet you use that much power, about 5 times over in a day, which means you have a deficit still.

I recommend a 250watt solar panel kit, at the very least. Ideally you want to have 1.4x as much power in panels as you plan on ever using. This way in cooler/cloudy weather you still have enough power to recharge everything back up in a day.
*


All good advice!

And thanks for the link!


--------------------
. . . .
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elkhornsun
post Aug 19 2012, 01:09 AM
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The larger the panel the higher the output and the lower the cost per Watt. It depends mostly upon the space available. With my TC all I have space for is two small 100 Watt panels from AMsolar. If I had room for a 30" x 61" panel I could get a 200 Watt one for the same amount.

Two panels equals roughly 12 amp and so check that the charge controller can handle that amount of current. Putting two panels in series increases the voltage so a smaller gauge wiring can be used from the panel(s) to the controller without significant loss.

For checking the amount of current going out and into the battery bank you can use devices designed for a specific controller or get something like the Tri-Metric. Think of it as a gas gauge for your batteries showing what goes in and what comes out and the status of the battery bank at any point in time.
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Dexter
post Sep 4 2012, 11:07 AM
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QUOTE(KY_Campers @ Aug 18 2012, 06:43 AM)
All good advice!

And thanks for the link!
*



No problem. I did a lot of research before I dropped money into solar power for our hunting cabin up in michigan and our TT. It pays to read before you jump feet first into something!
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IrvingWW
post Nov 27 2014, 12:17 AM
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That business about a minimum 55watt panel is BS. It really depends on how much charge you need. I use this little guy to keep the battery on my boat topped up. http://www.12volt-travel.com/solar-panel-b...er-p-20238.html
I've also taken it backpacking several times. I can connect this to a small motorcycle battery and recharge my cellphone from the battery, run a small TV or 2-way radio when needed. Since this battery tender panel only puts out 5watts you can't draw directly from the panel to run a device. You leave the panel on the battery until enough power has been accumulated. Here's a few larger panels that will do what you're looking for.
http://www.12volt-travel.com/solar-panels-c-729_731.html

Doesn't sound like you'd need a ton of power. Figure you'll get 8 hours of collection time with only about 4 of that being optimal. So a 100watt panel will give 100w for 4 hours and maybe 50 watts for the other 4 hours. This will buildup a surplus of power if you only use 100watts for less than 4 hours of power per day.

Clear on this??
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raztec
post Jun 14 2015, 08:27 AM
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Just reviving this thread and had a few questions:

1. How much wattage do people recommend for 10-14 day periods in the back country?

2. What's the estimated cost of say a 200W system?

3. Where can one install a second battery if the camper came with only one?

4. Finally, where in the US or Canada would you guys recommend for installation of solar panels on my TC?

Thanks for any helpful advice
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