New [to me] Grand Cali - Yay

[andyinluton]

Have you looked at the roof yet? I'd be amazed if you can get 300w of solar on it.

I have the OEM panel on the front and am adding 2 x 50 watt panels to the roof which by my measurements are the only sizes that will fit.

The OEM for the original front panel thinks that you can get 324 watts up there on a GC600 I’ve posted their details previously & they can supply panels for the layout shown below

 

[dominichayhoe]

The OEM for the original front panel thinks that you can get 324 watts up there on a GC600 I’ve posted their details previously & they can supply panels for the layout shown below

View attachment 93869

That actually adds up to 304, but wow, what an effort to get that much up there!

From stock panels I was hoping to get an 80 and a 50 in the space in the middle but I just cant find an 80 small enough so 2 x 50's for me bringing mine up to 204.

More important though I feel, if your van is parked away from the sun with just the front panel you get very little from it!

 

[andyinluton]

That actually adds up to 304, but wow, what an effort to get that much up there!

Try adding it up again - it’s 324.
Pretty easy to do as the company provides all the correct shaped panels & they are just stuck on.
If you don’t have the front bed they can fit slightly more up there as the front roof light is smaller. If you have rear aircon it’s slightly less.

Just fitting the 62 and 72 would be as easy as fitting your 2x 50 & give 34 more.

 

[The Blue Merle]

The OEM for the original front panel thinks that you can get 324 watts up there on a GC600 I’ve posted their details previously & they can supply panels for the layout shown below

View attachment 93869

My Solbian panel has finally arrived, if anyone is ordering there’s a delay (around 9wks my order).
Also be careful about sticking aftermarket panels to roof as I had problems with that on my old joker panels faulted after 18mths and had to replace.
Solbian do come with 5yr warranty but whether they will honour it if there’s no air gap, you would hope so if they have designed the above.

Once my panel is up and running I’ll post review of Solbian panel.

 

[Chainline]

My main concern is the wiring and dissassembly of the roof/lining required internally with this and obviously the degree of drilling. Tho clearly with the right installer this should be no more, and possibly better, than the oem as it’s their business.

I recall @andyinluton you linked to the oem, it would be worth me finding out the cost of this set up but more than anything I’d want to know/find an installer that was confident with a GC and the disassembly etc. any recommendations gratefully accepted.

Balanced with the £2.5k cost of a 2kw + 300w generator or the pic on here where the chap fitted a LIFEPO4 replacement leisure and an mppt on top under the bonnet to just plug in external solar. Some thought required.

 

[dominichayhoe]

Try adding it up again - it’s 324.
Pretty easy to do as the company provides all the correct shaped panels & they are just stuck on.
If you don’t have the front bed they can fit slightly more up there as the front roof light is smaller. If you have rear aircon it’s slightly less.

Just fitting the 62 and 72 would be as easy as fitting your 2x 50 & give 34 more.

Sorry saw 52 not 72 as it was upside down.

True, although Im not convinced on the quality of the OEM panel so in preference I wouldn't add more from the same company. I may find my 100w actually produce more than their 134w.

I have 8kw of solar on my house, and I know that cheaper panels don't actually produce what they claim. There's some very cheap 100w panels on Ebay, but they look awful!

 

[dominichayhoe]

My main concern is the wiring and dissassembly of the roof/lining required internally with this and obviously the degree of drilling. Tho clearly with the right installer this should be no more, and possibly better, than the oem as it’s their business.

I recall @andyinluton you linked to the oem, it would be worth me finding out the cost of this set up but more than anything I’d want to know/find an installer that was confident with a GC and the disassembly etc. any recommendations gratefully accepted.

Balanced with the £2.5k cost of a 2kw + 300w generator or the pic on here where the chap fitted a LIFEPO4 replacement leisure and an mppt on top under the bonnet to just plug in external solar. Some thought required.

Im not sure why you'd put the mppt under the bonnet.

Surely you'd want the solar split charging both your batteries?

The OEM mppt unit is fitted in the electrics cupboard, which suggests the wiring is already there to connect to, and then both batteries will receive a charge from your solar.

What is this? Balanced with the £2.5k cost of a 2kw + 300w generator

Did you mean a 2kwh battery back up like an Ecoflow AND an inverter? or AND a petrol generator? Not sure why you'd need the latter as the battery backup already have an in-built inverter.

 

[dominichayhoe]

My Solbian panel has finally arrived, if anyone is ordering there’s a delay (around 9wks my order).
Also be careful about sticking aftermarket panels to roof as I had problems with that on my old joker panels faulted after 18mths and had to replace.
Solbian do come with 5yr warranty but whether they will honour it if there’s no air gap, you would hope so if they have designed the above.

Once my panel is up and running I’ll post review of Solbian panel.

OOI which aftermarket panels only lasted you 18months?

I've had issues with the flexible type before, so this time I'm going back to the tried and trusted fixed panels for an extra 100w.

 

[Chainline]

Im not sure why you'd put the mppt under the bonnet.

Surely you'd want the solar split charging both your batteries?

The OEM mppt unit is fitted in the electrics cupboard, which suggests the wiring is already there to connect to, and then both batteries will receive a charge from your solar.

What is this? Balanced with the £2.5k cost of a 2kw + 300w generator

Did you mean a 2kwh battery back up like an Ecoflow AND an inverter? or AND a petrol generator? Not sure why you'd need the latter as the battery backup already have an in-built inverter.

Poor wording on my part, yes like an ecoflow/Jackary/Bluetti and 300w of solar.

I only mention the mppt under the bonnet as that is what the post (that I now can’t find) showed, it was from a German forum who had installed a LIFEPO4 and external solar with the connection under the bonnet.

If the wiring and controller is there, even if solar not specced that would be super useful to just use offboard panels.

 

[T3Z-GB]

Try adding it up again - it’s 324.
Pretty easy to do as the company provides all the correct shaped panels & they are just stuck on.
If you don’t have the front bed they can fit slightly more up there as the front roof light is smaller. If you have rear aircon it’s slightly less.

Just fitting the 62 and 72 would be as easy as fitting your 2x 50 & give 34 more.

You can purchase 2x genuine 50 watt Flexible Sunpower solar panels for £125 each, paired with a Victron controller, very much cheaper, the 34 extra watt in my opinion is not worth the extra money.

Some other options are flexible foldable solar panels, Bluetti make a 120 watt, which uses genuine Sunpower cells, and fit inside against the windscreen, Ecoflow mace a 160 watt.
After much back and forth Iv ordered both the Bluetti, SP120 and SP350, should be here next week.. happy to take a few pics and stats.

 

[dominichayhoe]

You can purchase 2x genuine 50 watt Flexible Sunpower solar panels for £125 each, paired with a Victron controller, very much cheaper, the 34 extra watt in my opinion is not worth the extra money.

Some other options are flexible foldable solar panels, Bluetti make a 120 watt, which uses genuine Sunpower cells, and fit inside against the windscreen, Ecoflow mace a 160 watt.
After much back and forth Iv ordered both the Bluetti, SP120 and SP350, should be here next week.. happy to take a few pics and stats.

Yes I think the 2 x 50w I've bought will add more than enough to the 104 at the front.

As I pointed out before the position is even more important though because with just the front panel the van gets hardly any solar if the sun is the other end of the vehicle!

 

[T3Z-GB]

Yes I think the 2 x 50w I've bought will add more than enough to the 104 at the front.

As I pointed out before the position is even more important though because with just the front panel the van gets hardly any solar if the sun is the other end of the vehicle!

From a 104 watt panel, not bad, you only really need to reposition the car once maybe twice. Plus the 2x 50’s on the roof should be enough to keep everything going.

 

[T3Z-GB]

To be honest though, no point spending to much on solar for the U.K. and personally prefer the portable flexible solar panels, when it’s hot you can park the van in the shade and still position portable panels in the sun. And it’s a lot easier to move them around then the van. Except in an urban environment obvs.

 

[dominichayhoe]

From a 104 watt panel, not bad, you only really need to reposition the car once maybe twice. Plus the 2x 50’s on the roof should be enough to keep everything going.

View attachment 93888

That's good if you're living in it, but if the van is in storage you can't keep moving it obviously.

I have found a vast difference, especially in winter if the van is pointing away from the sun.

 

[dominichayhoe]

To be honest though, no point spending to much on solar for the U.K. and personally prefer the portable flexible solar panels, when it’s hot you can park the van in the shade and still position portable panels in the sun. And it’s a lot easier to move them around then the van. Except in an urban environment obvs.

The UK is much better on solar than most people think.

I have 8kw on my house and barely use any grid March to October - that's with 2 electric cars and a pool!

For my van it's really to ensure the batteries don't run flat, which they tend to do with just the 104w panel on the front in winter.

In summer the 204w means I'll hardly ever have to plug in.

 

[T3Z-GB]

That's good if you're living in it, but if the van is in storage you can't keep moving it obviously.

I have found a vast difference, especially in winter if the van is pointing away from the sun.

 

[T3Z-GB]

That's good if you're living in it, but if the van is in storage you can't keep moving it obviously.

I have found a vast difference, especially in winter if the van is pointing away from the sun.

In that case the portable panel is better. You can have it outside and the van inside. And yes perpendicular to the sun is always better.

 

[T3Z-GB]

The UK is much better on solar than most people think.

I have 8kw on my house and barely use any grid March to October - that's with 2 electric cars and a pool!

For my van it's really to ensure the batteries don't run flat, which they tend to do with just the 104w panel on the front in winter.

In summer the 204w means I'll hardly ever have to plug in.

A van is a whole different scenario, If used regularly throughout the summer months, and especially in Spain and Portugal if you intend travelling there, you won’t want it parked in the blistering sun to keep the battery topped up, hence the foldable suggestion.
Prior to the van I had a 44ft Odyssey, that was different to, you can’t escape the sun. Much like your house.

 

[dominichayhoe]

In that case the portable panel is better. You can have it outside and the van inside. And yes perpendicular to the sun is always better.

Did you mean facing the sun? Perpendicular is a 90 degree angle to something. Solar panels work best from 30 to 45 degrees angle to the sun.

 

[dominichayhoe]

A van is a whole different scenario, If used regularly throughout the summer months, and especially in Spain and Portugal if you intend travelling there, you won’t want it parked in the blistering sun to keep the battery topped up, hence the foldable suggestion.
Prior to the van I had a 44ft Odyssey, that was different to, you can’t escape the sun. Much like your house.

To be honest, I'm anything for the easy life, so can't be bothered with movable panels.

This is my 4th van, and I've had a slightly different config on all of them, but as we a re all usually busy outside our van, and only use it in the mornings and evenings when travelling, mid-day sun is never much of a problem to us, wherever we are.

Unicuique suum.

 

[T3Z-GB]

To be honest, I'm anything for the easy life, so can't be bothered with movable panels.

This is my 4th van, and I've had a slightly different config on all of them, but as we a re all usually busy outside our van, and only use it in the mornings and evenings when travelling, mid-day sun is never much of a problem to us, wherever we are.

Unicuique suum.

Fair enough.

 

[T3Z-GB]

Did you mean facing the sun? Perpendicular is a 90 degree angle to something. Solar panels work best from 30 to 45 degrees angle to the sun.

Sorry yes mate angled towards the sun. You are correct.

 

[The Yorkshireman]

Hi we park the van up south facing when not in use and have no problems even in Yorkshire; had to look up the Latin! the only words of Latin wisdom I know are carpe diem or as we say ‘catch a weasel asleep wee wee in its ear’

 

[The Yorkshireman]

For some reason the language police have changed a word that doesn’t quite convey the expression

 

[Gina-B]

A great look Chainline, Good luck.