Portable solar panel advice
Hello,
I would like to use a portable solar panel with my Swift Sprite 4EB caravan.
I wouldn't be going off grid for more than two days but I need to keep the Battery charged up so I can use the motor mover when putting my caravan back on our drive that slopes slightly.
I would like to avoid any modification of the wiring.
Has anybody any recommendations of make etc.
I would think a 150 or 200 Watt would be okay
Thanks for any help and guidance as I have no experience of solar panels.
Phil.
Best Answer
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@PhilDK - last year, I bought a 130W folding panel from Falcon Technologies who advertise regularly in the Club magazine and am pleased with it. It comes with a built-in MPPT controller which delivers about 30% more power than a PWM one. I've only used it once, so far, but it kept our battery topped up for a week.
Couldn't be easier to connect - you have the choice of either crocodile clips straight on the battery - or alternatively, it comes with an Anderson plug which allows you to hard wire it to the battery. Either way, the solar lead just goes into the battery compartment from outside. I did the latter.
The advantage of a portable panel is that you can move it around during the day, to maximise the effect of the sun. They do do larger panels if you feel you need one.
I've also just bought a Bluetti portable power pack and my intention is to plug it directly into the 16A EHU socket on the van, thus energising the 240v ring main in the van - but I'll make that the subject of a separate post!
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Answers
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agree with the post above, being able to move the panel to maximise sun exposure works really well. Our new caravan has a roof mounted solar which doesn’t quite deliver the same output as the folding one.
We have a 100w folding panel from low energy supermarket, it’s relatively heavy and bulky being aluminium framed. We use it for rallying and has supported us off-grid for long periods providing the weather is decent. The PWM controller worked OK but we replaced with a MPPT and the performance on overcast days improved. I connected direct to the battery using an Anderson type connector which made connecting/disconnecting easy.2 -
If you can survive 2 days at a site without a solar panel, I would have thought the drive home would be sufficient time to charge up sufficiently for the MM to get the van back on the drive - unless you are only a very few miles away from home. Sounds like a lot of expense and possible hassle setting up for little real need.
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We used 2 folding suitcase panels.
1 x 100 watt+ 1 x 50 watt.
They connect to the battery by means of splicing into the battery cables.
When on site I set up the 50 watt facing slightly South of East and the 100 watt facing slightly South of West. Does away with the need to constantly move them during the day in order to get maximum sunlight.
Regularly go off-grid for 3 or 4 weeks with no problems.
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