Solar

the rocket · Guru

Solar

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Personally I'd say 120+ watt you didn't say the size of battery . Or if it's supplementary charged off alternator when traveling . A few overcast days can really spoil battery charging . Fitting another panel of same size is another option ?

ants_oz · Veteran Member

These types of question are REALLY difficult to answer as there are sooooo many variables.

The RATE at which your solar panel supplies electrickery to your battery will depend on the wattage of the panel, the type of controller, the adequacy of the wiring, the weather (the temperature of the panel affects its output), how many hours sunlight, how much cloud cover.... The list goes on.

The AMOUNT of power you drain from your battery will depend on the type of lights you use (and how many) (for example, are they LED, incandescent, fluoro), the type of TV's and size (some are much more efficient than others), and your computer - are you charging it via an inverter (what size inverter? big ones have a much higher overhead than small ones)...

Sorry, there are just so many variables...

My gut-feel is that you will probably not recharge your battery every day. You will gradually have a lower state of charge each day once the sun goes down.

Vince · Senior Member

Got to agree with ants_oz, there is not a straight forward answer. The Solar Calc spreadsheet allows you to put some figures into it and get a range of need.

Again it is only a basic indicator not a crystal ball.

macka17 · Guru

spend a coupla hundred on a small genny too. along with a 25A Charger.
Go on Generator forums.
Find the best Chinese one to get.

I bought a 3.5kva for $460 del around 5/6 yrs ago.(for my aircond)
Change oil annually and changed spark plug last week

ALl solar needs supplementing at times, and if no mains around.
genny is the go,

If you do.
Get a large cardboard box and unfold ends.
Line the interior with Styrene sheets. with 1\2 of exhaust end open.
Park it on top of genny when running
and not so annoying to neighbors.

Mine is light ply sheets which hinges in corners.
Lined with LOW density Styrene, then a layer of egg cartons inside that.
Also a home made "silencer??" to replace the spark arrestor they call a silencer on one end.

It makes all the difference between a nice week
and a "wish I hadn't bothered" week
believe me.

100a battery or thereabouts. WILL need several panels even up here.
Down South. More.

A 5 mtr LED strip light for around $40 strung along under roll out outside,.
Gives all the outside light you'll need and uses no juice
Just wire into 12v somewhere. (I use the round 12v outside light to connect mine).
You'll be spending most of time outside anyway.

Have fun.

Ron-D · Guru

the rocket wrote:
hello everyone, have a question to ask. We have solar with one battery and we think a 90 panel. It will only be used for lights and 2tv's at night And charge computer dongle n computer. If we go to greens lake will that be sufficient? We have gas for fridge and stove and hot water.
hi auskiwi, it is 123amp. Hour

-- Edited by the rocket on Wednesday 19th of October 2016 09:49:03 AM

We have the same set up Rocket 100 Amp Agm battery 80 watt portable solar panels that are better than roof mounted as you can follow the sun with them. Using LEDs ,12 volt telly only small battery so there's not much for the system to feed,everything else runs on gas,car also chargers the battery, if you have a week of rain slip into a caravan park on 240 for the night,we have never had to do this, we have a modern van ensuite ect That's all we need and all we will ever need. We have thought about roof mounted solar but the potable solar panels are doing a great job for us as they can be put in top in locations while the van is in the shade while camped,the roof mounted is useless on the road as the car fully charges the battery from the alternator..

-- Edited by Ron-D on Thursday 20th of October 2016 05:13:55 PM

-- Edited by Ron-D on Friday 21st of October 2016 03:16:09 PM

the rocket · Guru

Ron-D wrote:
the rocket wrote:
hello everyone, have a question to ask. We have solar with one battery and we think a 90 panel. It will only be used for lights and 2tv's at night And charge computer dongle n computer. If we go to greens lake will that be sufficient? We have gas for fridge and stove and hot water.
hi auskiwi, it is 123amp. Hour

-- Edited by the rocket on Wednesday 19th of October 2016 09:49:03 AM
We have the same set up Rocket 100 Amp Agm battery 80 watt portable solar panels that are better than roof mounted as you can follow the sun with them. Using LEDs ,12 volt telly only small battery so there's not much for the system to feed,everything else runs on gas,car also chargers the battery, if you have a week of rain slip into a caravan park on 240 for the night,we have never had to do this, we have a modern van ensuite ect That's all we need and all we will ever need. We have thought about roof mounted solar but the potable solar panels are doing a great job for us as they can be put in top in locations while the van is in the shade while camped,the roof mounted is useless on the road as the car fully charges the battery from the alternator..

hi rond, thankyou for that.
We were conssidering some more solar but maybe we just need A new battery.
Thanks everyone who had input on this one. Kind regards. Rocket

-- Edited by Ron-D on Thursday 20th of October 2016 05:13:55 PM

-- Edited by Ron-D on Friday 21st of October 2016 03:16:09 PM

Ron-D · Guru

That's good rocket our van has a voltage meter inside one of the cupboards, you can physically see the volts increase as soon as the solar panel is connected ,after a nights use our voltage has hardly dropped and it goes on like that for days on end...

P/s when we eventually go back on 240volt power the battery goes into obsorbtion charge and then fully charged after a couple of hours , so the solars keeping it up to pretty much full charge obviously ,when you can be free camped for sometime and it only needs tiny charge to bring it back up that's good enough in my book...

-- Edited by Ron-D on Saturday 22nd of October 2016 04:11:48 PM

-- Edited by Ron-D on Saturday 22nd of October 2016 04:15:59 PM

Hylife · Guru

Install as much battery capacity and solar panels as you can afford and forget about heavy draw 230V appliances such as aircons and heaters.
If you really need 230V luxury appliances then maybe camping is not for you perhaps a motel would be a better option.
Everything you really need can be got for 12V these days. A $30 150watt coke can inverter is all you need to charge up the laptop if you still use one of those old things
Recommend you don't buy a generator if you don't want to be disliked by other campers. Many state and national parks are finally banning generators outright.
It is funny how everyone who has a generator is under the severely misguided opinion that theirs doesn't upset anyone and is really quiet.
Everyone hates generators, period!

A week in the warm climates and you acclimatise and don't use the aircon.
If it gets cold collect more firewood you don't need that heater.
If it gets freezing visit a van park and plug into 230V whilst you plan your expedition north to warmer climes.
Microwave? Relax and make a real meal instead.