Solar camper solutions

[CaliforniaSeb]

One.

I went for two panels for days when there is very little sunlight. However, I have realised that two times very little charge is no different to one times very little charge!

 

[dspuk]

I went for two panels for days when there is very little sunlight. However, I have realised that two times very little charge is no different to one times very little charge!

We went for one with the thought of one day going to two. Never had the need - two or three would be a use case of being totally off grid in a sunny climate for weeks on end. We will never go that long off EHU. We have found that one keeps the battery (inc starter with my recent upgrade of contoller) topped up nicely between uses, allows us to do up to 5 days off grid. We did Wilderness last year - my sisters Cali was nearly empty at end and ours was still 3/4 topped up. All just gives us a little peace of mind. Two or three, for our use, would be a waste of money. I get enough bragging rights with one

 

[Ch1pbutty]

This, subject to the controller being up to the job. I spoke with Roger about this and decided on getting a single panel setup, but with the Victron MPPT bluetooth controller which can handle a second panel if necessary. I definitely don't see the need (in our case) for 3 panels, I suspect 1 will be enough but it's plug-and-play to add a second panel at a later date should we need it.

Rogers victron controller supports 3 x panels.

 

[yossarian]

Rogers victron controller supports 3 x panels.

The 75/15 will limit max power slightly. I'm sure Roger can source a 100/20 which won't. See Victron calculator.

 

[RockinNRollin]

The 75/15 will limit max power slightly. I'm sure Roger can source a 100/20 which won't. See Victron calculator.

Yep, Roger said the 75/15 is good for two. I’m sure he stocks ones capable of handling three as he can supply a triple panel setup.

 

[Dave bee]

One for now then, thanks everyone

 

[Wannabecamperman]

They still work. If van sits in same spot for 24hrs, it will always get some sun during the day. We found that ours were on float by lunchtime, even in the winter with a dometic cfx 35 running 24/7. With 3 panels you never need to worry.

Gives you more campsite options as you won’t need EHU, so can choose the nicest spot.

Not to mention saving a fortune versus the sometimes exorbitant EHU costs.

 

[markusschork]

…
Another advantage is that here at home the solar panel keeps the leisure batteries healthy and there's no more real need to use EHU for 24h once a month.
…

This is an interesting point and I’d love to learn more about it.
We haven’t put our 6.1 (2 years old) on EHU at all so far. We do drive it from time to time (like once every 2 weeks roughly). How bad is that really?

Thinking of getting 1 panel in the future but we actually never run low on power and on trips always drive enough to charge.

Thanks

 

[ThomasHJ]

This is an interesting point and I’d love to learn more about it.
We haven’t put our 6.1 (2 years old) on EHU at all so far. We do drive it from time to time (like once every 2 weeks roughly). How bad is that really?

Thinking of getting 1 panel in the future but we actually never run low on power and on trips always drive enough to charge.

Thanks

I'm not an expert when it comes to the newer T6.1 model, as I own a T5.1, but the advice is to hookup your California roughly once a month for 12-24 hours to keep the batteries in a healthy state. I believe that when they are being charged by the alternator they are not fully charged as they are when connected to EHU. I would guess this is also the case for the T6.1.

Solar takes away the need to get your van on EHU once a month.

In the end there's probably a lot of people who don't put their van on EHU every month. And the worst that could happen, I guess, is that your leisure batteries have a shorter life span then if you would. They are costly things, especially because you need two. Depends on the size of your wallet also. That said, weird problems can pop up when your batteries are in a bad state which could give you a headache.

 

[Nik_campervan]

In UK it would be unwise to believe solar is as capable as plugging into mains once a month, prolonged attainment of float is an unknown when compared to mains power over a couple of days.

 

[RockinNRollin]

In UK it would be unwise to believe solar is as capable as plugging into mains once a month, prolonged attainment of float is an unknown when compared to mains power over a couple of days.

Our single panel at the moment will generally get the leisure battery to float every day, but on a very dark day (like yesterday) it was on bulk all day. This is just fighting general slow drain, no actual use and starting from a pretty full battery. Our van is parked in a pretty shaded spot though so not ideal for charging and in mid-winter I doubt it'll be drawing anywhere near enough to keep the leisure battery topped up. If the van is better positioned to get winter light it might be OK.

The other benefit of plugging into EHU (on a 6.1 anyway and assuming you don't have a split charge on your solar system to take power to the vehicle battery) is it'll also get your vehicle battery to full, again 80% (unless on max charge I think) is the limit when driving about.

 

[chockswahay]

We went for one with the thought of one day going to two. Never had the need - two or three would be a use case of being totally off grid in a sunny climate for weeks on end. We will never go that long off EHU. We have found that one keeps the battery (inc starter with my recent upgrade of contoller) topped up nicely between uses, allows us to do up to 5 days off grid. We did Wilderness last year - my sisters Cali was nearly empty at end and ours was still 3/4 topped up. All just gives us a little peace of mind. Two or three, for our use, would be a waste of money. I get enough bragging rights with one

@dspuk …… did you upgrade the controller yourself? how did you connect it to the engine battery? I am still (!) pondering over which way to go. I have read it somewhere on here but search engine broken again……

 

[Ch1pbutty]

In UK it would be unwise to believe solar is as capable as plugging into mains once a month, prolonged attainment of float is an unknown when compared to mains power over a couple of days.

Victron bluetooth controller gives you detailed historical data inc float time. Plugging into the mains gives you no float data - you just trust the lights on the smart charger.

 

[dspuk]

@dspuk …… did you upgrade the controller yourself? how did you connect it to the engine battery? I am still (!) pondering over which way to go. I have read it somewhere on here but search engine broken again……

Well. I fitted the whole thing myself initially anyway so basically just swapped out the Victron for a controller that had a second feed for starter battery. One day when Victron offers that type of controller I’ll swap it again as they are much better units. Then I ran a cable from the unit behind the kitchen and under the carpet to the drivers seat and connected to the relay switch.

Took an hour.

You don’t get a massive amount to the starter. But enough for a decent trickle.

 

[Begize]

I've got one panel. Don't use much other than the fridge, lights and USB type gadgets (phones mainly), certainly nothing mains powered through the inverter anyway. It's been more than adequate for 3 or 4 day festivals, off grid completely.

Last year did a longer festival where it was 9 days combined with probably not ideal positioning to catch the sun and overcast days. Found that it wasn't enough and ended up running the engine for 15 mins a few times just to charge it back up.

Was toying with getting another panel but for flexibility I've now invested in a Ecoflow River Pro and a 400w portable panel, just need to sort the cabling to allow it to charge the leisure batteries when required.

 

[chockswahay]

Well. I fitted the whole thing myself initially anyway so basically just swapped out the Victron for a controller that had a second feed for starter battery. One day when Victron offers that type of controller I’ll swap it again as they are much better units. Then I ran a cable from the unit behind the kitchen and under the carpet to the drivers seat and connected to the relay switch.

Took an hour.

You don’t get a massive amount to the starter. But enough for a decent trickle.

Thanks @dspuk

I agree, Victron do seem far more sophisticated than the Epever (which I think does not work with Apple IOS?). I had wondered about going with the Victron and using one of these for maintaining the engine battery....... best of both worlds?

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/user/downloads/Sterling-battery-battery-maintainer-12-12V-3A-instruction-manual.pdf

(I'd need to find space for it tho....)

 

[dspuk]

Thanks @dspuk

I agree, Victron do seem far more sophisticated than the Epever (which I think does not work with Apple IOS?). I had wondered about going with the Victron and using one of these for maintaining the engine battery....... best of both worlds?

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/user/downloads/Sterling-battery-battery-maintainer-12-12V-3A-instruction-manual.pdf

(I'd need to find space for it tho....)

Looks like a sledgehammer to crack a 1A nut.

 

[chockswahay]

Looks like a sledgehammer to crack a 1A nut.

Probably right..... I just don't like the Epever

 

[dspuk]

Probably right..... I just don't like the Epever

Same but have used it and in reality it performs no different to the Victron just isn't as small or pretty. The screen is handy and of course the ability to 1A trickle the starter. Just bear in mind the conditions to allow it to do that are quite tight, so don't expect solar level charging. It basically only charges if the leisures are all at float, the amps coming into the solar are above a certain level (5 I think) and the starter battery below a certain level (12.2 from memory). Numbers will be wrong, but the theory is right. Pretty sure there is a pic up on my solar thread. Will find link and add later.

 

[RockinNRollin]

What happens if the batteries are full and you’ve got solar power incoming to the controller, ie on float? What happens to the extra energy? If you had a 200W setup and in high summer your batteries are full (say parked on the drive) where does all that energy go? That’s quite a lot if dissipated as heat via the controller

 

[dspuk]

What happens if the batteries are full and you’ve got solar power incoming to the controller, ie on float? What happens to the extra energy? If you had a 200W setup and in high summer your batteries are full (say parked on the drive) where does all that energy go? That’s quite a lot if dissipated as heat via the controller

When the batteries are full, I believe, the MPPT just opens the circuit. So nothing is taken and nothing is created. It is the MPPT that converts the solar amps coming through into battery ready electricity - if it does not need it then it just ignores it. No different to not turning your light on at home I guess. From some light reading the open circuit just pumps any excess back to the panels which heat up and dissipate into the air. Ready and happy to be corrected.

 

[WelshGas]

What happens if the batteries are full and you’ve got solar power incoming to the controller, ie on float? What happens to the extra energy? If you had a 200W setup and in high summer your batteries are full (say parked on the drive) where does all that energy go? That’s quite a lot if dissipated as heat via the controller

Nothing is generated if there is not a circuit. You need a completed circuit.

 

[RockinNRollin]

Nothing is generated if there is not a circuit. You need a completed circuit.

Yep, no I get that if the circuit is open, I just wasn't sure if it worked that way (i.e. the supply circuit is opened/closed) or if the excess was dissipated.

Makes sense though!