Solar panel for battery top up.
We keep our caravan at a storage facility and the alarm and tracker device are switched on but of course this is gradually draining the battery. We are looking to purchase a solar panel for the winter to keep the battery topped up - we have been advised
by our Powrtouch engineer to use an 80watt panel but we are confused whilst looking for one when they are rated in ampage. Does anyone know the correct size and are they worth the expense - we do have two 110ah batteries but we are getting fed up having to
change them over. Any advice would really be appreciated.
Comments
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Bod, YES, YES,YES! They are soooo worth it. We have 2 x 110ah batteries. I haven't changed a battery for 3 yrs ever since I had my 135w SP installed In fact, I dont even bother with hook ups now. Do yourself a favour and go to the 'Tips on making caravanning cheaper 'section. Get a large cup of coffee, a packet of biscuits, settle yourself down and read the thread" How to survive a non 240 v site" you'll get all the info from there. It's a big thread but well worth sticking with! The SP has been the invention of the century as far as I'm concerned and more and more caravanners are finding out just how useful and money saving they are. I have a feeling that many will agree with me! Good luck. Get as big as you can afford is my advice- at least 120w and you'll find that you have fully topped batteries all the time.
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Bod, YES, YES,YES! They are soooo worth it. I haven't changed a battery fo 3 yrs ever since I had my 135w panel fitted. In fact, I dont even bother with hook ups now. Do yourself a favour and go to the Tips on making caravanning cheaper section. Get a large
cup of coffee, a packet of biscuits and read the thread" How to survive a non 240 v site" you'll get all the info from there. It's a big thread but well worth sticking with!Plus 1. Merge is an expert on it on here. Font if knowledge
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80W would be more than enough to keep the battery topped up. However if you are going to do the job you might as well do it properly. For very little extra cost you could fit a 120-150w panel which would give you independence from ehu.
Just because you have it fitted doesn't mean you cant go on ehu if you want to. If you want to buy a panel then my advice would be to steer clear of caravan dealers or glossy magazine adverts but look on eBay or Amazon they are so much cheaper.
My 150W panel cost £130 last year compare that to the price of for example a Truma panel set, they are not rocket science to fit either You should be able to do it yourself or any half competent caravan engineer should be able to do the job
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Boff makes a very good point- in fact 2. Firstly- he agrees with me about size- the bigger the better and 2, get it fitted properly by someone who knows what they are doing- that only applies if fitting to the roof. You don't want to end up with a leak in the roof! A 'suitcase' panel will be simpler but I just didn't fancy running out every hour or so and pointing it at the sun! A large panel will charge a decent amount even when not in direct sunlight. As Boff says, the price of panels has come down - Go for it Bod- you'll love it
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