solar panel (removable) on T5 facelift (waiting roof rot work)

[Roger Donoghue]

I'd love to but I'll be in Italy, and also, I'm not going to have any stock until late July. Just can't order anything right now as it'll be delivered when I'm away.

Next year though......

 

[Gavinskii]

Ok Roger, I quite understand.
As you will no doubt have noticed the paid up forum members get some cracking deals from our forum "Partners" I have personally spent a fortune and saved a fair bit with the likes of Comfortz and SMG, so it might be a good opportunity for you to have some extra turnover!

 

[Roger Donoghue]

Sounds perfect. WIll arrange something when I get back!

 

[WelshGas]

How much height will the solar panel unit add to the California?
I want to keep mine at 2metres or less. The standard California is 1995cms.

 

[Gavinskii]

How much height will the solar panel unit add to the California?
I want to keep mine at 2metres or less. The standard California is 1995cms.

The solar panel fits onto mountings which sit within the roof rails - so no height is added!

 

[WelshGas]

Good. On my list. Thank you.

 

[Ricotansky]

I like this. It does look like a good idea and I think it could work for us, but I'd be interested in answers to a few questions...

How does it connect to the battery? As I am a technical luddite, how much skill/competence does it require to fit?

How does the controller fit to the interior? Does it mean drilling holes? Can it be removed without leaving any evidence?

Also, how do you clean the roof beneath the panel? It looks easily removable but will wear and tear from repeated removal cause any damage to the panel or cables?

Is it always on, or can it be switched off? Or do you not need to? We sometimes leave the van for a couple of weeks in storage so is there any risk associated with leaving it unattended?

I'd be interested to know how people get on with this kit though as it could be just what we want!

Thanks

Rico

 

[jeff]

Another question to add if only connected to one battery on the se does it charge the second one under the passenger seat ?

 

[Roger Donoghue]

Connection to the battery is with 2 wires that have ring connectors on them. You undo a nut on each terminal of the battery, slip the rings on, then replace the nut . That's it.

The controller can be simply placed on a shelf. The display that comes with it: same - or you can temporarily fix it somewhere with tape. There is no need to drill any holes depending on how "zero-impact" you want the installation.

The roof, well, the only way to clean it is to remove the panel. Loosen 4 bolts and slide it off, or if you are very worried about marking the roof, remove 4 bolts and lift it off. It will be cleaner under the panel than the rest of teh roof The cable is plenty robust enough for continuous movement. Most people will tend to leave the panel in situ for long periods of time.

By default it is always on, but there are two ways of switching it off. You can unplug the solar panel from inside the van. That will stop the solar charging. Or, you can remove the fuse that comes with the kit. That shuts down the whoel kit completely.

Finally - if the two batteries you refer to are already linked to each other, which I suspect you are, then they will both charge together with the solar.

 

[GrannyJen]

I can see another addition to my shopping list coming up.

 

[Bearonwheels]

I have a marine grade solar panel (80W) fitted to my van and it seamlessly tops up both the vehicle and leisure batteries. It saves a lot of hassle in the summer months with hookups (though I never stay anywhere for that long) but at least I know that if the wine, beer and food are being kept ice cold in the fridge the battery has the legs to cope with it as it gets topped up when I'm parked up in the day. Thoroughly recommended.

 

[zeratul]

Can you make the connection from the charger to the starter battery easily? I don't quite see how to go from inside the van to the engine compartment.
I want to charge both the starter battery and the leisure battery (on a beach).
So if only the engine battery is connected to the solar charger, will it also charge the leisure battery? Or is that only happening when the engine is running as well?
Or would a dual MPPT charger be a better option?

 

[Roger Donoghue]

To charge your starter battery you are going to need to run a wire from the solar charger to a point that connects to the live terminal of the starter battery. The direct way is to run a wire all the way to the battery , but you will probably have a terminal you can connect to at the back of the VW power management unit - this I am not familiar with.

I still don't recommend charging the starter battery. There is absolutely no need to, and you are adding a layer of complexity that just isn't needed .

 

[zeratul]

I still don't recommend charging the starter battery. There is absolutely no need to, and you are adding a layer of complexity that just isn't needed .

My battery seems to get flat in about 2 months of not driving. That will happen in winter. It's either a faulty battery or the standby power consumption of the non-standard radio or the power consumption from the electrically assisted door/tail gate closing systems. So currently I have to plug it in once a month. That's why I'm interested in charging the main battery. It would take away the problem where I'm not able to start the van.

 

[MattBW]

I charge two batteries on my T25, one being the starter, and it keeps both in good nick all through winter. I have to do this because I don't drive it daily or sometimes even weekly and the battery would quickly go flat with my alarm and GPS tracker hooked up. However as mentioned above, for some reason charging the starter battery does cause the alarm to trigger occasionally (usually when there is a big change in output (sun coming out on a dull day or cloud coming in on a bright one), it is rare but does happen.

I don't know if it would effect the alarm on the California, it may do. They often look for changes in voltage and see them as someone upto no good.

 

[snowy55]

I was hoping to a solar panel or two at COTF, there was one there on Friday early evening but the owner wasn't with the vehicle and it had gone on Saturday morning never to be seen again

 

[WelshGas]

"greenfintry " was at COTF all weekend with his Solar Panel supplied by Roger Donahugh, and his Air Suspension ( thought he had overloaded his California with Beer ). Left on Sunday morning.

 

[greenfintry]

I was there with mine all weekend...... just Roger's super thin one, so almost impossible to see! Quite a few folk had a look and i was showing the controls etc... Shame you missed out

 

[snowy55]

I was there with mine all weekend...... just Roger's super thin one, so almost impossible to see! Quite a few folk had a look and i was showing the controls etc... Shame you missed out

I saw a solar paneled Cali next to the gate into the marquee field on Friday, where did you go after that?

 

[greenfintry]

That wasn't me, we were the grey 4 motion 3 down on right in first field area with plug in option. We were there with a Keela awning tent throughout and also an odd posture due to,the air suspension levelling us so,that rear looked down and the front very high...

 

[snowy55]

Sorry I missed you.

 

[estresao]

Hey Tharabas, cannot access to your pictures (it might be something related imageshack). You can upload images to your post using the "upload file" option. I'd like to see the details of your installation

There is the photos

 

[tharabas]

Hey Tharabas, cannot access to your pictures (it might be something related imageshack). You can upload images to your post using the "upload file" option. I'd like to see the details of your installation

Sorry stresao, I can't upload photos using the "upload file" option. I don't know way.
But I can see the uploaded photos...



Enviado desde mi GT-I9100 mediante Tapatalk

 

[estresao]

I'm not quite sure, but I think where you connect from (country) is related. I had problems accessing from UK to other forums pictures located in imageshark.

 

[estresao]

I've got a question: because this solution requires a frame and the panel is flat, why not to use a rigid panel instead. I'm not quite sure, but looks like rigid ones are more efficient.