Solar trickle charge in garage

[Sad]

I see alot of people use solar chargers on the roof of their Cali, but ours will be stored in a garage with no electricity and not used regularly as a daily driver. From what I've searched on the forum the leisure batteries are best maintained, and only charge to 100%, when on EHU. What we're considering is a solar panel on the roof of the garage to trickle charge and keep the batteries in good order.
Does anyone have any experience of this kind of setup?

 

[hirsty]

No reason why it won't work the same on the garage roof as the van roof.

You'd need to think about how to connect / disconnect cables, are you 'indoors'? Some folks here seem to be able to drive away with a hoofing great orange lead plugged in externally let alone a little 'un.

 

[Hotel California]

If there's a 220v plug in the garage using the hook-up and a timer would be much easier , more effective and cheaper (price of the panel compared to power used during hook-up)

 

[Sad]

No reason why it won't work the same on the garage roof as the van roof.

You'd need to think about how to connect / disconnect cables, are you 'indoors'? Some folks here seem to be able to drive away with a hoofing great orange lead plugged in externally let alone a little 'un.

It's a garage away from the house, with no windows, I was thinking it would connect through the external EHU...

 

[Loz]

It's a garage away from the house, with no windows, I was thinking it would connect through the external EHU...

That wouldn't be very efficient, as you would need a panel and an inverter to get up to 240v then when you plug in you are transforming back down to 12v.
A panel, solar charger and a cigar plug pushed in and acess through the door would be fine but there is a risk that some oik might remove your panel from the garage roof if not screwed down well enough.

 

[larrylamb]

Might be better in the long run to look at installing mains to the garage, I'm sure it would come in handy for other things as well as the Cali. Probably not as expensive as you think.

 

[Max-Felix]

If it is a detached offsite garage then mains would be an issue/big cost to install.

The solar idea is a good one but I'd do the van too and then buy a separate panel for the garage and simply plug into that when laid up.

That way you get the huge benefits of solar when camping and you'll need to buy a controller and wire in the battery anyway. You'll need two panels and harnesses of course but you should be able to do the whole set up for around £500 to £600 or so incl MPPT and dongle for BT.

Just fitted solar myself and it's a no-brainer on a camper.

 

[Sad]

If it is a detached offsite garage then mains would be an issue/big cost to install.

The solar idea is a good one but I'd do the van too and then buy a separate panel for the garage and simply plug into that when laid up.

That way you get the huge benefits of solar when camping and you'll need to buy a controller and wire in the battery anyway. You'll need two panels and harnesses of course but you should be able to do the whole set up for around £500 to £600 or so incl MPPT and dongle for BT.

Just fitted solar myself and it's a no-brainer on a camper.

That sounds reasonable, it's the 'simply plug into that' I think I'm struggling with Does your panel feed the on-board battery charger or directly to the batteries?

 

[larrylamb]

Is the garage on the same site as your property?

 

[Sad]

Is the garage on the same site as your property?

It's in a garage block only about 60 yards away, there two houses in the terrace and the communal parking area between us and the garage though...

 

[WelshGas]

That sounds reasonable, it's the 'simply plug into that' I think I'm struggling with Does your panel feed the on-board battery charger or directly to the batteries?

The Solar Panel, on a vehicle, is connected to the MPPT Controller unit and then directly to the Leisure Battery. If you have a SE/Ocean then connected just to the rear Battery.
Additional wiring would be needed if you wanted to charge the Engine Battery as well.

If you had this vehicle system and a plug connection from the Vehicle solar panel to the MPPT controller, then a 2nd panel on the garage roof then all you would have to do is swap over panel plugs.

 

[larrylamb]

It's in a garage block only about 60 yards away, there two houses in the terrace and the communal parking area between us and the garage though...

Might be worth checking if anyone else's garage has power to it, you could with their agreement have a metered supply installed i.e. landlords type pre paid card meter.

 

[Max-Felix]

To answer the how easy query then As WG said just unplug the van roof solar plug and swap to the garage roof as and when

 

[Spartan]

It's a garage away from the house, with no windows, I was thinking it would connect through the external EHU...

Pretty dark if there's no electric lighting in the garage either? Otherwise, maybe there is power nearby ...

 

[WelshGas]

That sounds reasonable, it's the 'simply plug into that' I think I'm struggling with Does your panel feed the on-board battery charger or directly to the batteries?

Roger Donahugh is a Forum Member and a Forum Trader who owns
http://www.solarcampersolutions.co.uk/

I would suggest contacting him via his company website with your requirements and he could probably make up a kit with all the necessary wiring, plugs etc: to do what you want and offer more advice. Very helpful.

 

[briwy]

Been through this before but the manual (at least ours does) states power supplies should not be plugged into the cigar lighter sockets. Why I can't imagine but that's what it says. You need a flying lead from one of the leisure batteries with a plug and socket and then a controller as WG has already said.

 

[Digger]

Portable honda generator.

 

[JohnGuppy]

Your vehicle starting battery will have a clock alarm fitted and will completely flatten over a few months
your leisure batterys will discharge over time if you don't plan a way of keeping them charged up the cost of three new batterys will be expensive as a previous post using a solar panel and charge controller on the engine battery will keep that battery changed up
you will need a separate panel and charge controller for the leisure batteries

Best option is to remove all batteries and buy 2 mains battery conditioners charges and charge at home plug in and forget I use one on my car in the US and its fine after 7 months away

 

[JohnGuppy]

Cost around £30 off flea bay

 

[andyinluton]

solar panel on the van roof & put a vellux roof light in the garage obviously positioned to align with the solar panel below.

 

[hirsty]

... or just go to a campsite each month & hook-up overnight. Put the several hundred pounds savings from not wiring-up the garage roof into budgeting to potentially replace the leisure batteries a bit earlier.

If you have a requirement to run the fridge for longer than the leisure batteries will allow then give Roger a call & get a roof panel on the van.

Depending on how often you'll be driving the van I might be more concerned about the starter battery going flat, I've had persistent problems with (partners) 'second cars'.

 

[Sad]

... or just go to a campsite each month & hook-up overnight. Put the several hundred pounds savings from not wiring-up the garage roof into budgeting to potentially replace the leisure batteries a bit earlier.

If you have a requirement to run the fridge for longer than the leisure batteries will allow then give Roger a call & get a roof panel on the van.

Depending on how often you'll be driving the van I might be more concerned about the starter battery going flat, I've had persistent problems with (partners) 'second cars'.

Thanks Hirsty, I think this is going to be the way we'll go initially. We want to use it right through the year...

 

[Roger Donoghue]

For your garage, to keep your starter battery topped up, it is dead cheap.

Just grab a small panel - anywhere from 30-50 watts - more than enough to keep a starter battery full and conditioned, even in winter, with an alarm / tracker fitted. Then grab a solar regulator.

My first search on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40W-Mono-...048391?hash=item25ca9c9147:g:zzYAAOSwn-lZcKDb

40w panel witha cheap charger £60 - by no way a definitive search but give you the idea.

Then connect the solar charger to your starter battery with crocodile clips (couple of quid) and shut the bonnet on the cable - there is always room.

For a charger I'd be inclined to spend a little more as you need to trust it long term unattended. I supply these as standard: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EPever-LC...690390?hash=item569d445c16:g:icQAAOSwjDZYa0Sh

No need for an MPPT charger on such a small scale.

 

[Sad]

Thank you for all your help. This is our current solution:

20170819_180700

• Sad
• Aug 19, 2017

You can see our garage in the distance...

 

[WelshGas]

Thank you for all your help. This is our current solution:

20170819_180700

• Sad
• Aug 19, 2017

You can see our garage in the distance...

Lucky you haven't got an "Electric" California.

Well Done.