[Den68]

Haha you beat me to it P@F

[P @ F]

Haha you beat me to it P@F

I was going to say  "What are you , a feckin parrott " 

[nathankaye]

Either way it works well for me.  The vids in the link showing munro clearly shows its working esp if all your wanting to donis charge your leisure battery whilst working. So as not to leave your engine on for some thieving scally wag to nab.
Why over complicate it, get your control panel and go for it. Ive been using mine since feb 2016

[nathankaye]

Any excuse to spend 5 min doing a quick vid to break from the boredom, haha.
So today (mon 7 aug) im doing a couple of vids throughout the day so you can see how effective solar panal charging is. But i will upload on youtube later this evening and drop a link on here

[nathankaye]

Ok, time to be bored if your interested;

1st one was taken at 10am (part 1)

Part 2 & 2.b   was taken after a 10min travel journey and again when leaving a shoping centre (showing difference in just a short time)

Part 3  is just a quickie showing battery voltage at 1.30pm

https://youtu.be/0Sh7SNhvXyY

https://youtu.be/zAvdxkYlVjY
https://youtu.be/Bs0xTmPaq2w

https://youtu.be/NLxRlb_NaM0

I was going to take another reading later but ive knocked off now at 3pm and its still 13v showing so no need to post that.

[Den68]

Nice one Nathan thanks for the videos,  I have a couple of questions

1 Do you have a split charge relay
2 Why don't you use a controller with your solar panel
3 what wattage is your solar panel.

Thanks.

[nathankaye]

Nice one Nathan thanks for the videos,  I have a couple of questions

1 Do you have a split charge relay
2 Why don't you use a controller with your solar panel
3 what wattage is your solar panel.

Thanks.

Answers;
1.  I opted for the solar panal because I     
      dont cover the milleage to warrant
      getting a split relay charger.

2.  I had a controller which at first I forgot to set up. But after some months I did, but it must have been a rubbish one and//or I didnt have a clue about them but it waited to the wattahe was high enough before it started to transfer it to a source. Lol and im impatient as it worked fine and quicker without so i dont bother. I simply at a quick glance when i return to the van to check the voltage on the digi controller.

3, this is my main panal whichbi have fitted to the top of the van;

[Den68]

Thanks again Nathan, think I'm going to look into this but I will defo use a controller just for simplicity sake as would like it automated .

So you only have a 20w panel how often do you bench charge your battery?

[P @ F]

That is nuts , how are you getting that much of a return charge from a 20 watt panel ?
This dude is telling me i want 200 watt on the roof .

Maybe these controllers are that safe that they really do slow the charging process ?
Was the battery bench charged over the weekend or was that just from how you left it prior to todays videos ?

A few things i would like to know though are .......
How long was the pump in use , running time  ?
How much water did you get through ?

Im asking because you got home with more or less the same charge you left with , i cant get my head around that !

Rich

[nathankaye]

That is nuts , how are you getting that much of a return charge from a 20 watt panel ?
This dude is telling me i want 200 watt on the roof .

Maybe these controllers are that safe that they really do slow the charging process ?
Was the battery bench charged over the weekend or was that just from how you left it prior to todays videos ?

A few things i would like to know though are .......
How long was the pump in use , running time  ?
How much water did you get through ?

Im asking because you got home with more or less the same charge you left with , i cant get my head around that !

Rich

Ive not bench charged the battery for some time, perhaps dec/jan time was when i probably last bench charged it.

Ive not been solidly working today, but i do just leave my pump  or controller left on and only turn it off if im having a long break like lunch or ive finished work for instance.

Yes i havent used my smaller panel today apart from in the afternoon but that was to charge up the smaller 12v battery for hose reel.

Around early lunch time I had to disconnect a couple of times as it went up and past 14v (but thats when pump isnt in use and when i start to use the pump it will drop back down to 13).   A couple of times it went down ton12.9 but not much as it was a quieter day for me today.
Tomorrow im flat out and will take some pics and monitor it for you. But today has been quite a sunny day for where I am.

On a flat out day, from memory the battery might drop to about 12.7   or close to 12.6 but then i just hook up the smaller panal and carry on or grab a bite toneat whilst it does its thing

[P @ F]

Thats good , maybe i can save a bit of wonga on panels now !
But for curiousitys sake .....how long was pump running and how much water pumped old boy ?

Also , i see that the small panel is from Photonic Universe , what watt is that one ?
I see they are doing a 100watt and controller for £120 which is good . 

[nathankaye]

Thats good , maybe i can save a bit of wonga on panels now !
But for curiousitys sake .....how long was pump running and how much water pumped old boy ?

Also , i see that the small panel is from Photonic Universe , what watt is that one ?
I see they are doing a 100watt and controller for £120 which is good .

I'll have a look at the back of it in morning to find out for you n post on here.

Im no sparkie at all, but that sounds a good price for 100w n controller. But to show how dim i may be....lol  would a higher wattage panal take longer to warm up n produce the wattage for charging compared to a smaller wattage panal?? Esp if just charging a leisure battery and one pump?? Unless wanting/needing all that wattage or recharging a dead battery?

As im only maintaining //or// topping up a voltage could be the reason for my success with a smaller panal

[P @ F]

That is what you want to be doing , by topping up and maitaining a steady charge it will or should make the battery last longer , deep cycle batteries dont like being wiped out , they dont reckon that going below 50% charge is good , all batteries have a certain numder of charging cycles before they die ,  i bench charge with smartcharger every day , im lucky to get a year out of them so a solar maintained battery would seem to be the answer for me , plus i wont have to drag it in every night .
With regard to big versus small and warming up i really aint got a clue , but you seem to have hit a sweet spot with the bits you have .
Maybe i could run 2x50 watt instead of 1x 100 watt , toggle switch 1 or 2 depending on sunshine  and battery level .

[Spruce]

Solar panels don't warm up to work. They convert sunlight to electrical energy.

So as soon as a panel is exposed to sunlight it will start charging.

According to one RV user he was able to continue to charge his batteries very slowly at night when parked under a streetlight.

[CleanClear]

I done a good bit of reading around this as i hope to do a campervan shortly, so maybe it is not going to work out the same exactly but should be similar. Here's some panels, a bit pricey but they have a good reputation and can't be damaged in the same way a monochrystaline one can (glass etc.. )..... no idea whats best for us... 150  watt or 60 watt..........
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201148281543
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60W-Semi-Flexible-Solar-Panel-12V-Battery-Charging-/401326690766

Regarding controllers, thats a bit of a minefield. As suggested above Mppt controllers are better than PWM controllers, also i believe that split relay chargers arn't all they're cracked up to be. So...........this as far as i understand will take charge from your vehicle battery, and is a solar Mppt controller too, so no unplugging or overcharging, just fit it and leave it to do its thing. it'll charge from panels and vehicle battery . Thats my understanding anyway.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/ring-rscdc30-30a-dc-dc-smart-battery-charger-14-8v/3962r#product_additional_details_container

Pricey i know but it does look like a fit and forget solution.

[Og]

Panels lose efficiency when warm.
 I use to run a domestic fridge freezer off half a kw, with wind power in the winter.
Battery health is critical.

[CleanClear]

Panels lose efficiency when warm.
 I use to run a domestic fridge freezer off half a kw, with wind power in the winter.
Battery health is critical.

Might be me mate but that just looks like Father Jack just woke up and shouted something ? Not trying to be funny, any context to what you just said ?

[Den68]

I done a good bit of reading around this as i hope to do a campervan shortly, so maybe it is not going to work out the same exactly but should be similar. Here's some panels, a bit pricey but they have a good reputation and can't be damaged in the same way a monochrystaline one can (glass etc.. )..... no idea whats best for us... 150  watt or 60 watt..........
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201148281543
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60W-Semi-Flexible-Solar-Panel-12V-Battery-Charging-/401326690766

Regarding controllers, thats a bit of a minefield. As suggested above Mppt controllers are better than PWM controllers, also i believe that split relay chargers arn't all they're cracked up to be. So...........this as far as i understand will take charge from your vehicle battery, and is a solar Mppt controller too, so no unplugging or overcharging, just fit it and leave it to do its thing. it'll charge from panels and vehicle battery . Thats my understanding anyway.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/ring-rscdc30-30a-dc-dc-smart-battery-charger-14-8v/3962r#product_additional_details_container

Pricey i know but it does look like a fit and forget solution.

That's looks a great bit of kit, two in one controller defo worth considering.

[Den68]

http://www.ringautomotive.com/files/mydocs/RSCDC30%20Instructions.pdf

Some more info on the ring b2b charger.

[Spruce]

http://www.ringautomotive.com/files/mydocs/RSCDC30%20Instructions.pdf

Some more info on the ring b2b charger.

Thanks Den for finding that.

This is interesting as it appears to cover the issues with regard to the new smart alternators and regenerative battery charging. What I like is that it includes provision for a solar panel charging system to run in tandem.

What does concern me is that the unit appears to draw power from the starter battery to charge the leisure battery. 

The Sterling unit doesn't have the provision to include a solar panel but also doesn't draw current from the starter battery to charge the leisure battery. It draws its charge from the alternator only. I think it has a jump lead setting that isolates the batteries when the engine is switched off

This would need further investigation for anyone fitting it.

I was looking at a motorhome forum today and one of the recent discussions was on solar panel charging. One of the avid wild campers says that his 120 watt panel through a MPPT controller will push out about 0.5 amps in winter in cloudy overcast conditions. That's not enough to charge our batteries.  Its just enough to keep the batteries fully charged during winter storage with no power draw.