Solar Panel Project

Evan,
nice job - looks like it was well worth the effort and courage to do it. I'm impressed.
Pat

 

Ken, Bob, I have yet to add anything that would cut wood. I guess if I didn't like what I see, I would have made some changes.
I looked at a used Camp-Inn. There were holes where something had been mounted at some time. I thought it looked tacky. I don't like tacky. That does not mean Evan's work is tacky. That work looks very good. I just don't have the moxie to drill baby drill. One day, but not today.
Steve

 

Sometimes I am so dumb I amaze myself...



Look closely and you will see that my battery cables are not plugged into the terminals marked 'battery'.

Oops.... I ran out and fixed that in a hurry - hope nothing bad happened.

 

Craig said to screw it down but make sure you put silicone in the screw holes first.

He said that the silicone you already used on the hole should be enough to take care of it & the vent cover will hide it.

 

Nice work Evan...You are one brave soul for tackling a project like this. Glad to see everything has turned out well. Looks very nice and can't wait to see it in July. I'm in with everyone else and don't cover the wires inside, the curtain there makes it barely noticable. We will now sit back and await to read the continuing saga after your weekend outing. Have fun camping.

 

So, we're back - I'll post some pictures and stuff later. Regarding solar, I think it is working pretty well. We were camped in old growth forest and the sun never shone directly on the panel the whole weekend. We pumped all 8 gallons of water, ran lights off and on for 3 days, and even ran the stereo for about an hour. The volt meter never went below 12.2 - so that seems like a good scenario to me.

more later...

 

It stayed between 12.2 and 12.3 the whole time.

 

Evan, Do you think that the angle isn't very critical after using your new panel this weekend? It seemed to be quite effective judging from your experience. I am very curious to see how it does in full or direct sun.
Charlie

 

It's hard to say, based on one outing. However, on our previous trip, with roughly the same usage of the electrical system, the meter had dropped all the way down to the low 11's. With the panel mounted flat in the shade we stayed at 12.2.
In two weeks we will be in a place that I think has direct sunlight. I'll let you know how it does there.

 

Thanks Evan. I am following your story with great interest. Maybe the size of the panel makes a big difference as to whether or not it needs to be directed at the sun or not.
( I noticed you have a fairly large panel ) Thanks for posting your solar panel story. It is a big help.
Charlie

 

Here are a few pictures of the first outing with the new solar panel.

I hadn't considered this before, but one of the straps for the side tent has to pass under the raised panel - very small clearance, and a bit difficult to do. I'm going to have to think of a better way to do this.


Large old-growth trees kept the trailer and panel in shade all day. Even then, the power never went below 12.1

 

Good suggestion - is there a chance this would fry something?
Has anybody done this before?

 

How's the solar working for you - any updates on how well it is recharging the battery? We're looking to buy a panel soon and are curious about your experiences - hoping not to have to buy as big a panel - would prefer to stay around 60w.

 

Last trip we were out for 3 days in semi-sunlight. We ran reading lights, the water pump, the stereo for an hour, and tried to find the world cup on the TV. The battery still never went below 12. I don't feel that we've really found the limits so far, but it seems that we have a good chance of being able to run indefinitely with it - with moderate use. We're just not sure how moderate we'll have to be.

Next week were going to IRG. We'll be out for a week so we'll learn more then.

 

Eric,
We ordered a 55w panel recently. We haven't recieved it yet, but will post how it does here. We liked the size of the 55w,and we saw pictures of other setups that looked like they were the same size. Hopefully it is enough panel.
Charlie

 

Hi Eric,
Our 55W solar panel came late yesterday. I plugged it in this morning and after about two hours the battery went from 12.3 volts to 12.6 volts and it was cloudy out. The sun came out shortly after this and the voltmeter read 13.1 volts. This afternoon it is reading 13.6 volts. We are happy so far with the results. The truer test will be when we leave the 12v crockpot going while the solar is hooked up.Hope to try that soon. The panel came from UL Solar. I think Evan got his there as well. Prices were very reasonable I thought. Now to make a frame or brackets to support it. I also got a 30 ft cable for the panel to give us more flexibility for location on whatever site we are at.
Charlie