Solar panels for camping

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Before you start buying regulators for that panel, check the panel's voltage. Most house systems use 24V panels, not 12V. A 24V panel will fry a 12V regulator.
 
Thanks Tony. The one I bought has a 12/24v switch, I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks for your help
 
I would have thought that if the regulator is set to a 24V panel it will expect to be charging a 24V battery bank? I'm not sure it'll do 24V-in 12V-out or vice versa. I'd be very careful with it, particularly if your house battery is a gel or fully sealed battery. Anything over about 14.5V in a gel will kill it fast, and anything over 16V in a VRLA/AGM/wet cell battery will make it fizz like mad. Be ready with the multimeter!
 
Ok well ive mounted the panel on the camper roof & weve taken off for a free unpowered site 1hr from home for a trial run.
In full cloudy (rain cloud) condtions it was pumping out 20.3v, but I dont have anything to measure amp yet.
 
The usual method with solar is to stick a shunt in and measure off it. You can get battery monitors on eBay like this one or even this one (or dozens more).

Watch the start (unloaded) voltage, and let us know what the end (unloaded) voltage is. It'll give us a reasonable guide as to how much power was used in total.
 
I like the look of those battery monitors, plus theyre alot cheaper than the baintec ones in my local home of 12v shop.
 
Looks good to me. I assumed the other one did too, all of the ones I've seen in caravans measure charge and discharge rates. The one in my previous van even kept a tally of how many amps had gone in & out too so you could see at a glance if you'd been overspending the power budget.
 
what do you guys reckon about this battery monitor? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DC-5-40V-0-200A-Volt-Amp-Combo-Meter-Battery-Charge-Discharge-No-Need-Power-/171298214298?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e22b519a I like the fact it can measure current in two directions, so you can keep an eye on both usage & charging current.

Boostin,
Can you keep me updated on how it goes
Keen on putting one in myself,
Would love a bit of feedback back, on the product.

Cheers
Geoff

GOT A V6 PETROL, BUT I LIKE TO CUSTOMISE!
 
will do mate, im still uncertain on any figures yet until i sort out the monitoring situation.
We did an overnighter to test out the camper last weekend but didnt run anything major off my battery because the fridge in the camper was suffice running off gas.
That being said though, the panel was pumping out around 19-20v into the ctek in overcast conditions.
It is a big bugger, but its actually the perfect size to fit on my campers racks.
 
OLD TONY i actually prefer the look of the unit you posted, but in the description it shows to wire it up in opposite when measuring the charger input....so im assuming it only measures current in one direction.
 
ok i ended up purchasing this panel
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261430649476?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

Now its maximum open circuit voltage is rated at 22.23v, i spoke to a guy at Jaycar about using a diode to drop the voltage & he had no idea.
Any idea guys on what spec diode to get....or will a few extra meters of wiring coiled up cause enough voltage drop??

You wont need a diode, the 22.23v ont he spec sheet is OPEN voltage, NO load, straight at the panel, by the time you run a few meters of 6mm cable and have it on your regulator, you will never see that voltage.

I have a Mono 120w panel on my van, over last weekend (raining ond overcast) I was still getting 1 amp at 13.3 volt out of the panel, laying flat on the van roof.

I get around 6.6amp in sunshine at 13.6 volt.
 
With those solar controllers what do you use the "lightbulb" sybol for?
Solar panels in one of them then the battery to the other one but unsure of the other.

Cheers.
 
With those solar controllers what do you use the "lightbulb" sybol for?
Solar panels in one of them then the battery to the other one but unsure of the other.

Cheers.

The light bulb indicates the terminals where you'd connect the load. Check the manual to make sure you don't exceed the rated capacity.
 
Sorry old tony but you will have to explain what you mean by "the load".
When I bought this car the owner had the solar panels connected in the solar icon symbol and a lead with Anderson plug going to his arkpak connected to the battery symbol on the controller.Thats all I know about it so far.
 
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"The load" means anything that you're connecting to use the battery power. Consider it to be where you take power from, rather than directly from the battery.
 
Thanks oldtony but I'm still lost mate.

I will be plugging the ArkPac into the controller so using the battery pack for all power usage and charging from the panels.

I tried the panels out in the sun hooked up to the controller...battery in the "battery" conection on the controller and a ciggy adapter hooked into the "light bulb" on the controller.Plugged a camping light into the ciggy adapter and nothing.Hooked it onto the battery and on it came.

So yeah the "load (light bulb)" thingy has got me stumped.
Any chance you could explain in "dummies" terms please.

Pjw.
 
Some solar regs will have a "load" connection for you to hook your appliances to. They will try and save your battery from over discharge.
Depending on the type of reg they will disconnect the battery from the "load" terminals at a preset voltage - maybe 10.5V. They may also be current limited so will disconnect if you try and pull too much power out of it.
What sort of light were you trying to run off it?
Does it have a surge startup current? I would think any half decent reg should handle even an old style fluoro at startup...
If you manage your battery by yourself then just don't worry about connecting up to the "load" terminals, I never do.
 

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