I have 2 x 70 watt folding solar panels,only bring them out when we free camp. I have them running through a regulator and it states Solar in 6.5a Load 10a, a fellow techie told me this was not big enough. As this was on the rig when we bought it I have not bothered to check it out, is he correct.Thanks
A 70 W panel will only give you a maximum current of 4 - 4.5 A. What sort of loads are you running off your battery If you are only running a couple of lights and TV then I don't think you will draw more than 10 A. Work it out yourself. If you can't then supply us the full details of your appliances, what you will be running as a maximum and we may be able to work you max load current out (that will have to include the wattage of globes and the figures on the back of your TV and other appliances.) As an aside, if you are drawing in excess of 10 A load for any lengthy period you probably need a larger panel.
What is the make and model number of your regulator?
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
We only run lights and TV,The techie was a guy from Battery World who was camping not far from us and he just looked at my solar panels and my regulator and told me it wasn't big enough for the panels.He did not ask me what I was running of them but suggested a 20a or 30a regulator. We have 2 x 120ah gel batteries.
I have 2 x 70 watt folding solar panels,only bring them out when we free camp. I have them running through a regulator and it states Solar in 6.5a Load 10a, a fellow techie told me this was not big enough. As this was on the rig when we bought it I have not bothered to check it out, is he correct.Thanks
Jimricho that's how I read it,, regulator not big enough.
answer is ,, 2 x 70w panels at the agreed (by you both) output of up to 4.5amp would total up to 9 amps into the regulator
Goldcoaster states his regulator is rated at "Solar in 6.5amp with load 10amp out"
On face value Jimricho (and the advice given on inspection) seems right ,,, sailing too close to the wind or just over input specs
but again agreed Jimricho, if working leave it stat, the only thing is the mean time before failure may be depleted to early failure.
Helps to read the questions prior to opening up with misguided advice.
One thing I should add is that if the issue has been inspected in real life by a qualified person, little help is gained from asking people who cannot see the issue in real life.
The answer appers that the real life inspection offered a real answer.
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There are 3 types of people in this world, Ones who make it happen, the second who watches what happens and the third who wonders what happened
I think I previously may have misinterpreted the original question. I now assume that the regulator is one of those that provides a third set of terminals giving the option to connect all the van/RV loads to the battery via the regulator instead of directly to the battery. My own folding 80 watt panel has one such unit fitted and provides a low voltage cut-out to protect against total discharge of the battery. I don't use this facility.
If that is the case the 6.5 amp capacity of the solar input is clearly inadequate for two x 70 watt panels.
Without doing any calculations or measurements I would consider that, prima-facie, 10 amps would be inadequate capacity for the van's total load if you were to connect the load to the battery in this manner. The normal load may be less than 10 amps but there is no reserve for those occasions when this would be exceeded.
On that basis I would concur with your techie from Battery World and perhaps you may wish to discuss with him a regulator that is suitable for your gel batteries and appropriate to your needs and budget.
