Solar panels

[Owens grandad]

With restoration of the Dormobile at an advanced stage thoughts have turned to fitting out. Anybody have any thoughts or experience with the roll-up solar panels for use with a dual battery 12v charging system. With price of diesel and amount consumed to recharge vs solar panel to top up whilst parked up it looks attractive, but am I missing something?

[bvudzichena]

You aren't going to get very far with anything less than an 80W panel.

This (http://www.bushpower.co.za/products.asp?pid=261) is a decent piece of kit.

I use Kyocera from this guy to provide power to my high sites and since our average amount of sunshine at some of the high sites on the sides of the mountains around Cape Town is only about 5.5 hours a day, I've sometimes had to wire multiple panels together to charge banks of batteries. These panels work very well.

Hopefully Marc will join in to explain the math. I'm still not fully up to speed with how much power can be safely drained from a leisure battery and tend to over compensate - hence I'll probably end up recommending you get three Optimas, two huge alternators, a solar panel and a wind turbine.

[bahamarover]

the flexible panels generally produce only a third of a rigid panel,but cost just as much,the advantage of them is you can walk on them,but the rigid panels take a lot of beating
....keith

[Owens grandad]

You aren't going to get very far with anything less than an 80W panel.

Hopefully Marc will join in to explain the math. I'm still not fully up to speed with how much power can be safely drained from a leisure battery and tend to over compensate - hence I'll probably end up recommending you get three Optimas, two huge alternators, a solar panel and a wind turbine.

That's an interesting thought, a UK company is offerring combined 100W solar panel, 510mm dia demountable wind turbine and controller package for a little over £500. Solar panel could just fit on roof between vent and windows with a small overlap, but in your experience do they need to be handled with kid gloves, could it be mounted permanantly or would it require to be rigged down before each move?

[bahamarover]

the solar panel can be permanently fitted,but i would suggest a canvas cover with a thin layer of foam in it to cover it in tough conditions,large hailstones,driving through the overhanging bush etc,i've had a 75W panel mounted on my boat for 4yrs and its been beat up in winds in excess of 100mph and its as good as the day we fitted it,windturbine?....have a look at the at the southwest wind power turbines,the size your looking at is just a fraction to small really,but these are the dogs doodads for generating power........keith

[bvudzichena]

windturbine?....have a look at the at the southwest wind power turbines,the size your looking at is just a fraction to small really,but these are the dogs doodads for generating power........keith

Those are the ones I use :D:D:D

[bvudzichena]

The turbine needs to live inside the vehicle when not in use.

Connection to the battery system (for either / both ) would be via 50A (http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/battconns/battconn.php#powerconn) Anderson connectors. You could probably get away with a high quality DIN (http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/switches/12vacc.php) plugs and sockets, but I tend to over engineer things and therefore fit the Anderson connectors.

As far as mounting the solar panel goes, make a steel frame (http://www.bushpower.co.za/content/product_images/MNT-PFR-M.jpg) for it to sit in, make some brackets and slide it under the roofrack. Make sure whatever you make has a locking mechanism of some sort to deter long fingers.

[Owens grandad]

The turbine needs to live inside the vehicle when not in use.

As far as mounting the solar panel goes, make a steel frame (http://www.bushpower.co.za/content/product_images/MNT-PFR-M.jpg) for it to sit in, make some brackets and slide it under the roofrack. Make sure whatever you make has a locking mechanism of some sort to deter long fingers.

It should be easy to get a secure storage box fabricated and mount it on the rear door. I am perhaps wrongly assuming the tail weather vane is easily detachable, otherwise I'd end up with a huge box sticking out the back.

[bahamarover]

Those are the ones I use :D:D:D

great pieces of kit...probably the best small turbine around,a genuine fit and forget (especially on boats)........keith

[bvudzichena]

great pieces of kit...probably the best small turbine around,a genuine fit and forget (especially on boats)........keith

Or on mountainsides where it takes you an hour in low range with dif lock to reach your repeater site :D

[bvudzichena]

It should be easy to get a secure storage box fabricated and mount it on the rear door. I am perhaps wrongly assuming the tail weather vane is easily detachable, otherwise I'd end up with a huge box sticking out the back.

These (http://airbreeze.com/?q=land) are the ones that I use. I assume Bahamarover uses the same on his boat.

They are a bit too cumbersome to fit into a box strapped onto the back door.

[bahamarover]

These (http://airbreeze.com/?q=land) are the ones that I use. I assume Bahamarover uses the same on his boat.

They are a bit too cumbersome to fit into a box strapped onto the back door.

absolutely!!...spot on pieces of kit......keith

[Owens grandad]

These (http://airbreeze.com/?q=land) are the ones that I use. I assume Bahamarover uses the same on his boat.

Thanks, I see there is an agent here in the UK, so a good excuse for a day or two out to see them in action.