Hi. Just want some basic ideas everyone, as I only have a basic brain lol. Have had portable 120w solar panel for 5mths. But I was sure when I started it would charge to 13+ on voltmeter. Now only seems to be getting to 12.7. I run a small waeco 80ltre fridge. day and night. Do other things like play 2hr DVD at night or charge my phone etc- but they dont seem to alter the reading much. I started in Victoria and am now in northern queensland.
I attatch 120 solar panel to outside anderson plug. The leads are 6mm cable. And I have a good regulator attached to house battery.
All answers/ideas appreciated. Cheers Didi
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'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated' - Gandhi
Didi, could be lots of things so lets start with some basics....
I don't have a Waeco, but did a quick search and specs show and average draw of 2.0 Amps per hour, so running day and night will use around 48 Ah. That's not taking into account where the fridge is located, how much ventilation it has and if it's in the sun during the day, etc.... So the fridge could be working harder so will use more power. But for the point of the exercise we'll assume 48 Ah. Add that to your other appliances you are using including lights, DVD, phone charging etc... lets say 12 Ah which would be 60 total. At best your solar panels are only going to return about 60 Ah on a good day with ideal conditions. But how often does that happen!.
Based on the info you've supplied I'd say you need more solar panels. On a typical day your usage would draw more than the panels can deliver, so at some point your your batteries are most likely going below safe limits and the panels are'nt producing enough to cope with the load.
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Steve, Di & Ziggy We named our Motorhome "Roadworx" because on the road works "On The Road Again" Ford Transit with 302 Windsor V8 conversion, C4 Auto, 9 Inch Ford Diff All Lighting L.E.D., 260 Amp/h AGM, 530 Watt Solar + Kipor Backup Gen.
didi, it depends when you are measuring your battery voltage. During the daytime you'll be measuring what the solar reg is putting into the battery, typically around 14.3 volts. At night when there is no solar panel input to your battery (and no 240V charger input) you will be reading the battery voltage charge, which is typically 12.7VDC for 100% charge for an AGM battery.
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Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
if you have been using your set up for five months does your set up keep your battery(not stated as to capacity)charged without other sources of charge or how long can you last offgrid
