Solar Power

Stfreddy · Stfreddy

i have just joined this website having purchased a silverline outback a couple of months ago. The van is just on three years old and the previous owner used it sparingly and onply in caravan parks. I bought the outback to travel off the grid and found that the first time I free parked , after a week of carav...

Cupie · Cupie

A big thanks to all of you who provided me with advice both in direct response to my questions and in the various other "Solar sub-Forum" posts. What I ended up with ... From Vehicle .. Used the existing relay off an accessory feed that connects the battery/Alternator to the van via an Anderson plug. In...

Cupie · Cupie

I have read that AGM batteries in particular are susceptible to damage by overcharging. The use of Smart chargers address this but how do you avoid this issue when charging from your solar panels and from your vehicle? In my case I use a DC to DC charger to connect my solar and vehicle alternator, which I...

Ron-D · Ron-D

Received my160 watt portable solar panel to day guess you get what you pay for ,157 dollars sounded like a bargain ,no bag included ,very small diameter cables ,no information at all on the panels who knows wether there even 160watt ,they seem big enough ,crap regulator,looks like. I will have to buy a...

Craig1 · Craig1

Has anyone purchased from these guys please. They are offering a 130watt panel for a really good price. Claims to be " German Certified" and fits my available space on roof rack, plus I get extra 30 watts on next best deal. They say " no middleman". cheers and thanks Craig

mr glassies · mr glassies

Ok so today just keeping away from the flys and wind . So at 11 37 with full batteries I switched on the air con bugger me it didn't go . Silly me didn't turn on the inverter . So now it's 2.20 ano we have had 4 slices of toast 2 raisin 2 white . And 2 coffees 1 2SM 1M . i just looked at the victron and have still got 100...

mr glassies · mr glassies

https://www.ebay.com.au/i/262369930825?chn=ps&dispItem=1&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F705-139619-5960-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com.au%25252Fi%25252F...

meetoo · meetoo

My solar regulator is a PWM and doesn't show state of charge. Without having to change the regulator, what are my options to be able to show SOC of my 2 batteries which are 2 x 120 amp agm connected in parallel - pos to pos. Don't really require all the bells and whistles, (already have volt meter on batteri...

meetoo · meetoo

Reassessing power usage. Anyone know the power usage of the Wineguard amplified wind up/down antennas used on many current vans? Been searching online and 12 volts is the only thing I can see listed. Cheers, John.

Ron-D · Ron-D

After reading what Jaahn Aus Kiwi and others have said about moveing the voltage regulator,from the portable solar panels to closer to the battery's,it makes a lot of sense so I had a serious look at what's involved today . At the moment the long cable is connecting the panels to the battery. when the r...

Allyoops · Allyoops

Hi all I have bought 3 solar panels for van roof 2x 200w mono, and 1x 170w panels. the reason is these are the only ones I can fit due to hatches etc. I have 2 deep cycle 100ah calcium batteries in good order and intend to a 50amp mppt controller and a 3000/6000w pure sinewave inverter. We would like to fr...

PA · PA

I have a 220 watt panel to fit to my pop top roof. The roof is Aluminum sheet that is fixed and siliconed all around the perimeter. I am concerned that if I Sikaflex glue the Aluminum angle to the roof the solar panel may cause fatigue in the roof sheet as the panel is subjected to wind and other loads. Does an...

Ron-D · Ron-D

Our only source of solar for years was our portable 80w Sp now I have just ordered a 160 sp to replace the 80w panel,that I purchased years ago for $500,now many years later the much larger panel is $150 dollars thanks china. anyway is there a way to join the two panels together, the way things are set up at t...

Ron-D · Ron-D

speaking to the brother inlaw yesterday about power use while free camping, when there's not enough sun to top up the batteries. we dont carry generators it's not the way we like to camp,if his batteries are running low and there's not a lot of sun,he hooks the car up and runs it for twenty minutes that u...

Woody n Sue · Woody n Sue

Well I have spent a fair bit of last week fitting up two new 150 w 8 amp panels on the roof removed the old 68 w one will put it up on the shed roof for when the van is in the shed, all hocked up and Friday in the mid day sun was pumping in 8.3 amp, very nice, will see how it goes in a couple or three weeks Oh I had to sh...

kezngaz · kezngaz

Hi there. In very simple terms can some body explain why/if panel output is effected if mixing panels. Eg: 120watt with 80watt. Thanks in advance. Kezngaz.

Ron-D · Ron-D

would anyone know how to calculate how much 12volt power we would use over night when we arrive at a sight with a full battery load lets say 13 volts on the meter ours is in the cupboard,and the same meter is reading 12 volts in the morning,that means we have used one volt over night right? thats how I though...

2Lazy · 2Lazy

G'Day I am going to install a new MPPT controller and the recommendation is to change from parallel to series. From the pwm picture the positive and negative leads from two panels are wired into the same ports on the controller, to make it series do I join one +ve to -ve ( in an isolated block) and then wi...

Martin_QLD · Martin_QLD

Hi I have never heard or seen this before however I have an Anderson plug which is failing. I have followed the current and amps from my solar panels through the solar controller and the watt meter to the Anderson plug which goes into my camper however when I plug in to the camper the watt meter does not pic...

benno · benno

Apologies if this has been posted before. I have looked through the forum and can't find anything, so here goes..... We have a Toyota Coaster bus converted into a motor home. It runs on 24 volt; 2 12 volt batteries in series. We have been looking for a 24 volt solar power set up. Seen hundreds of 12 volt sy...

Topic		Started By	Replies	Views	Last Post
	Power shortage (Preview) i have just joined this website having purchased a silverline outback a couple of months ago. The van is just on three years old and the previous owner used it sparingly and onply in caravan parks. I bought the outback to travel off the grid and found that the first time I free parked , after a week of carav...	Stfreddy	8	2140	01:08 PM Nov 29, 2017 by T1 Terry
	My New 12V System is installed (Preview) A big thanks to all of you who provided me with advice both in direct response to my questions and in the various other "Solar sub-Forum" posts. What I ended up with ... From Vehicle .. Used the existing relay off an accessory feed that connects the battery/Alternator to the van via an Anderson plug. In...	Cupie	2	1731	07:54 PM Nov 23, 2017 by swamp
	Overcharging AGM on Solar? (Preview) I have read that AGM batteries in particular are susceptible to damage by overcharging. The use of Smart chargers address this but how do you avoid this issue when charging from your solar panels and from your vehicle? In my case I use a DC to DC charger to connect my solar and vehicle alternator, which I...	Cupie	23	3895	05:18 PM Nov 16, 2017 by Ron-D
	Cable size (Preview) Received my160 watt portable solar panel to day guess you get what you pay for ,157 dollars sounded like a bargain ,no bag included ,very small diameter cables ,no information at all on the panels who knows wether there even 160watt ,they seem big enough ,crap regulator,looks like. I will have to buy a...	Ron-D	13	2768	10:53 AM Nov 12, 2017 by Cupie
	Solar Panel from Vic OffRoad, Altona Victoria (Preview) Has anyone purchased from these guys please. They are offering a 130watt panel for a really good price. Claims to be " German Certified" and fits my available space on roof rack, plus I get extra 30 watts on next best deal. They say " no middleman". cheers and thanks Craig	Craig1	16	5623	09:00 PM Nov 11, 2017 by Craig1
	100% (Preview) Ok so today just keeping away from the flys and wind . So at 11 37 with full batteries I switched on the air con bugger me it didn't go . Silly me didn't turn on the inverter . So now it's 2.20 ano we have had 4 slices of toast 2 raisin 2 white . And 2 coffees 1 2SM 1M . i just looked at the victron and have still got 100...	mr glassies	10	1929	06:25 PM Nov 9, 2017 by oldtrack123
	Victron (Preview) https://www.ebay.com.au/i/262369930825?chn=ps&dispItem=1&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F705-139619-5960-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com.au%25252Fi%25252F...	mr glassies	4	1603	01:45 PM Nov 7, 2017 by mr glassies
	SOC State of Charge meter ( 1 2 ) (Preview) My solar regulator is a PWM and doesn't show state of charge. Without having to change the regulator, what are my options to be able to show SOC of my 2 batteries which are 2 x 120 amp agm connected in parallel - pos to pos. Don't really require all the bells and whistles, (already have volt meter on batteri...	meetoo	33	6516	05:58 PM Nov 5, 2017 by meetoo
	Wineguard power usage (Preview) Reassessing power usage. Anyone know the power usage of the Wineguard amplified wind up/down antennas used on many current vans? Been searching online and 12 volts is the only thing I can see listed. Cheers, John.	meetoo	9	2300	09:31 AM Oct 30, 2017 by Cupie
	Moveing the voltage regulator (Preview) After reading what Jaahn Aus Kiwi and others have said about moveing the voltage regulator,from the portable solar panels to closer to the battery's,it makes a lot of sense so I had a serious look at what's involved today . At the moment the long cable is connecting the panels to the battery. when the r...	Ron-D	19	2474	09:37 AM Oct 28, 2017 by Ron-D
	Locate budget inverterl solar system on caravan (Preview) Hi all I have bought 3 solar panels for van roof 2x 200w mono, and 1x 170w panels. the reason is these are the only ones I can fit due to hatches etc. I have 2 deep cycle 100ah calcium batteries in good order and intend to a 50amp mppt controller and a 3000/6000w pure sinewave inverter. We would like to fr...	Allyoops	22	3716	01:26 AM Oct 26, 2017 by macka17
	Fitting Solar Panel to Aluminium roof (Preview) I have a 220 watt panel to fit to my pop top roof. The roof is Aluminum sheet that is fixed and siliconed all around the perimeter. I am concerned that if I Sikaflex glue the Aluminum angle to the roof the solar panel may cause fatigue in the roof sheet as the panel is subjected to wind and other loads. Does an...	PA	15	3735	09:53 AM Oct 25, 2017 by Bardos
	Joining portable panels (Preview) Our only source of solar for years was our portable 80w Sp now I have just ordered a 160 sp to replace the 80w panel,that I purchased years ago for $500,now many years later the much larger panel is $150 dollars thanks china. anyway is there a way to join the two panels together, the way things are set up at t...	Ron-D	7	1295	09:58 PM Oct 21, 2017 by Ron-D
	Twenty minutes (Preview) speaking to the brother inlaw yesterday about power use while free camping, when there's not enough sun to top up the batteries. we dont carry generators it's not the way we like to camp,if his batteries are running low and there's not a lot of sun,he hooks the car up and runs it for twenty minutes that u...	Ron-D	24	3144	03:50 AM Oct 21, 2017 by macka17
	New solar panels fitted (Preview) Well I have spent a fair bit of last week fitting up two new 150 w 8 amp panels on the roof removed the old 68 w one will put it up on the shed roof for when the van is in the shed, all hocked up and Friday in the mid day sun was pumping in 8.3 amp, very nice, will see how it goes in a couple or three weeks Oh I had to sh...	Woody n Sue	12	1714	03:38 PM Oct 20, 2017 by swamp
	Mixing panel output sizes (Preview) Hi there. In very simple terms can some body explain why/if panel output is effected if mixing panels. Eg: 120watt with 80watt. Thanks in advance. Kezngaz.	kezngaz	19	2799	03:19 PM Oct 20, 2017 by swamp
	Doing the Maths (Preview) would anyone know how to calculate how much 12volt power we would use over night when we arrive at a sight with a full battery load lets say 13 volts on the meter ours is in the cupboard,and the same meter is reading 12 volts in the morning,that means we have used one volt over night right? thats how I though...	Ron-D	28	6596	12:32 AM Oct 19, 2017 by macka17
	Change panels from parallel to series (Preview) G'Day I am going to install a new MPPT controller and the recommendation is to change from parallel to series. From the pwm picture the positive and negative leads from two panels are wired into the same ports on the controller, to make it series do I join one +ve to -ve ( in an isolated block) and then wi...	2Lazy	12	3155	12:21 AM Oct 19, 2017 by macka17
	Anderson plug (Preview) Hi I have never heard or seen this before however I have an Anderson plug which is failing. I have followed the current and amps from my solar panels through the solar controller and the watt meter to the Anderson plug which goes into my camper however when I plug in to the camper the watt meter does not pic...	Martin_QLD	4	2183	04:57 PM Oct 14, 2017 by Aus-Kiwi
	24 volt portable solar panels (Preview) Apologies if this has been posted before. I have looked through the forum and can't find anything, so here goes..... We have a Toyota Coaster bus converted into a motor home. It runs on 24 volt; 2 12 volt batteries in series. We have been looking for a 24 volt solar power set up. Seen hundreds of 12 volt sy...	benno	4	1342	07:05 PM Oct 13, 2017 by Peter_n_Margaret
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