Solar panel - Check your battery

peedee
peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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edited November 2020 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

The weather has been so dire these past few days, dark and dismal with absoluely no sunshine for about  a week now and I discovered yestetday on a routine check of my motorhome that the battery was almost flat  because of little to no output from my solar panel. This is the first time I have seen this since  the panel was installed 6 yeas ago.

While there has been the odd period of brightness prior to this dismal period, it has clearly been insufficient to do any good  and the latest gloomy period and lack of use has been the last straw. If you rely on a solar panel and have been experiencing similar conditons, it might pay you to check your battery's state.

peedee

Comments

  • Mr OrangeTree
    Mr OrangeTree Forum Participant Posts: 32
    edited December 2020 #2

    I second this.

    I would write more, but I am just costing up new domestic batteries, as mine was totally flat!

  • SeasideBill
    SeasideBill Forum Participant Posts: 2,112
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    edited December 2020 #3

    I’m using a 3 year old leisure battery, Truma iNet box confirms 13.9v this morning in the cornish sunshine with 150w panel. That’ll settle back to about 12.9v when the sun disappears. I guess something like that is what you can reasonably expect with a good battery.

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited December 2020 #4

    yup solar panels on my bungalow only clocking up approx 2.5kw per day if lucky and i have 16 of them undecided

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited December 2020 #5

    Managed 6.4Kw today but last week one of the days it only made 0.4Kw. 

  • crusader
    crusader Forum Participant Posts: 299
    100 Comments
    edited December 2020 #6

    Mine 150w panel is in for service and I have just checked on my phone and at 20.17 today it was reading 12.9v which is good in this weather cool

  • mothball56
    mothball56 Forum Participant Posts: 2
    edited December 2020 #7

    if you find that the battery is low , what do you surgest the remedy should be , shut all fuzes down for the winter ???

     

     

  • SeasideBill
    SeasideBill Forum Participant Posts: 2,112
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    edited December 2020 #8

    Check the drain on your battery, if it’s feeding something then isolating will obviously help. Do you have a solar panel? If so, you might need a higher output panel and/or locate the panel in the optimal position relative to the sun position. There’s no doubt that a battery subject to a regular cycle of discharge and full charge will not last anywhere near as long as a battery constantly maintained in a fully charged or similar state.

  • SeasideBill
    SeasideBill Forum Participant Posts: 2,112
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2020 #9

    Yes, just checked mine on a gloomy overcast day....13.4V

  • Allyneil
    Allyneil Forum Participant Posts: 26
    edited December 2020 #10

    Checked ours last weekend on a gloomy day, was surprised and pleased to find it on 13.7v , charged with a 100w panel through a clear window in the winter cover.  Only the alarm should be running off it.