[dazmond]

This is the piece of turd , am i right 

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/battery-chargers-jump-starters/halfords-automatic-battery-charger-vehicles-up-to-2-0l?_br_psugg_q=battery+charger

thats the one richy.its been really good value for money for me.id buy another one tomorrow if mine packed up.

[P @ F]

This is the piece of turd , am i right 

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/battery-chargers-jump-starters/halfords-automatic-battery-charger-vehicles-up-to-2-0l?_br_psugg_q=battery+charger

thats the one richy.its been really good value for money for me.id buy another one tomorrow if mine packed up.

I must have got a Friday afternoon one then 

[koopmaster]

I used a 100 thin film solar panel
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100W-12V-PV-Semi-flexible-Thin-Mono-Solar-Panel-Module-for-Yacht-Car-Motor-home-/172245880826?epid=1365717635&hash=item281aa78ffa:g:FOQAAOSwZJBYB4EY
and glued it to my van with caravan glue.

[P @ F]

I used a 100 thin film solar panel
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100W-12V-PV-Semi-flexible-Thin-Mono-Solar-Panel-Module-for-Yacht-Car-Motor-home-/172245880826?epid=1365717635&hash=item281aa78ffa:g:FOQAAOSwZJBYB4EY
and glued it to my van with caravan glue.

How are you getting on with yours , what bits and bobs do you have , what are your experiences with it ?

[koopmaster]

I did mine a few years ago... I actually changed the controller to a double charge controller so both batteries where charged.  I found I only need to charge them manually a few times a year.

[P @ F]

I did mine a few years ago... I actually changed the controller to a double charge controller so both batteries where charged.  I found I only need to charge them manually a few times a year.

Do you have a link to this double charge controller by any chance , i just want a read up on it , i must have missed these on my hunt for bits !

Rich

[Spruce]

I did mine a few years ago... I actually changed the controller to a double charge controller so both batteries where charged.  I found I only need to charge them manually a few times a year.

Do you have a link to this double charge controller by any chance , i just want a read up on it , i must have missed these on my hunt for bits !

Rich

Here's one

http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/prod/836/morningstar-sunsaver-duo-monitor

But its still a pwm controller.  It can just split the amps to charge 2 batteries. If you had a Durite VSR linking your starter and leisure battery together then an excess watts from your panels in summer would go the charging your starter battery.

Funnily enough, I read a comment on the canal boat forums that there is a question if an MPPT controller is better than a PWM controller for solar panels smaller than 200 watts.
Bit I haven'ty found any other 'expert' confirming that.

[P @ F]

I did mine a few years ago... I actually changed the controller to a double charge controller so both batteries where charged.  I found I only need to charge them manually a few times a year.

Do you have a link to this double charge controller by any chance , i just want a read up on it , i must have missed these on my hunt for bits !

Rich

Here's one

http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/prod/836/morningstar-sunsaver-duo-monitor

But its still a pwm controller.  It can just split the amps to charge 2 batteries. If you had a Durite VSR linking your starter and leisure battery together then an excess watts from your panels in summer would go the charging your starter battery.

Funnily enough, I read a comment on the canal boat forums that there is a question if an MPPT controller is better than a PWM controller for solar panels smaller than 200 watts.
Bit I haven'ty found any other 'expert' confirming that.

I think that MPPT comes into its own when you have over voltage , I have been watching the watt meters very closely lately , due to my wrongly named "Epic fail " , I just got a bit c*cksure of myself thinking i had it cracked !
This week i have worked every day and am nowhere near the low voltage that caught me out last week , I have been pulling in more or less whats been going out give or take 1 amp , this is replaced the next day before i get in the van for work .
The next move for me is to replace the single 80 watt panel with 2 x 60 watt panels , why , well the 80 watt has been giving me about 15 volts in cloudy conditions , this over feed of 3 volt has been converted to an extra half amp with the MPPT doing its thing , I will run the 60 watt panels in series giving me at least 30 volt , thus being over voltage of at least 15 volt , on paper this should give me a 2.5 amp boost per hour , which should come very close to my amp usage per hour , its all very much pie in the sky to be honest , but i dont see anybody else doing it for me !
It wont be a waste either way as i have the extra MPPT sat doing nothing at the mo , i will couple that up with the surplus 80 watt panel and whack it on the shed , the solar geeks man cave !   

[Spruce]

I did mine a few years ago... I actually changed the controller to a double charge controller so both batteries where charged.  I found I only need to charge them manually a few times a year.

Do you have a link to this double charge controller by any chance , i just want a read up on it , i must have missed these on my hunt for bits !

Rich

Here's one

http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/prod/836/morningstar-sunsaver-duo-monitor

But its still a pwm controller.  It can just split the amps to charge 2 batteries. If you had a Durite VSR linking your starter and leisure battery together then an excess watts from your panels in summer would go the charging your starter battery.

Funnily enough, I read a comment on the canal boat forums that there is a question if an MPPT controller is better than a PWM controller for solar panels smaller than 200 watts.
Bit I haven'ty found any other 'expert' confirming that.

I think that MPPT comes into its own when you have over voltage , I have been watching the watt meters very closely lately , due to my wrongly named "Epic fail " , I just got a bit c*cksure of myself thinking i had it cracked !
This week i have worked every day and am nowhere near the low voltage that caught me out last week , I have been pulling in more or less whats been going out give or take 1 amp , this is replaced the next day before i get in the van for work .
The next move for me is to replace the single 80 watt panel with 2 x 60 watt panels , why , well the 80 watt has been giving me about 15 volts in cloudy conditions , this over feed of 3 volt has been converted to an extra half amp with the MPPT doing its thing , I will run the 60 watt panels in series giving me at least 30 volt , thus being over voltage of at least 15 volt , on paper this should give me a 2.5 amp boost per hour , which should come very close to my amp usage per hour , its all very much pie in the sky to be honest , but i dont see anybody else doing it for me !
It wont be a waste either way as i have the extra MPPT sat doing nothing at the mo , i will couple that up with the surplus 80 watt panel and whack it on the shed , the solar geeks man cave !   

I’ve considered the pros and cons of solar on numerous occasions over the years Rich and decided against it.

My van is a 2 man system so it seems logical we will draw twice the power from the battery you do. I also would like to eventually put my diesel heater back in and that also draws a lot of power. Also a consideration shortly will be an electric hose reel as I’m battling reeling hose back in each time.

Our biggest ‘con’ was that we had 2 very large cherry trees bordering our front garden which meant that the drive and outside street parking was in full summer shade. This meant that solar would have been of little benefit with the van standing over the weekend. (We recently had the cherry trees removed.)

All the reviews I could find seemed to be sales driven hype. No one said anything about how their panels performed in the winter. The only one I saw was on a motorhome forum where someone said the all you could expect from a solar panel in the winter was to keep an already fully charged motor home battery bank  in a fully charged condition when in storage. It probably wouldn’t keep up with the drain of an activated vehicle alarm.

We have no other choice but to secure our panels flat on the van’s roof. Having those adjusting brackets to tilt the panels are fine for canal boats but aren’t secure enough for the wind loads travelling at speed would place on them.
We saw a number of canal boats with 3 fixed panels on the roof. The first was flat and the 2nd and 3rd were fitted in an upside down V shape to catch either the early morning or late evening rays. I thought that was a good idea for anyone considering solar on their van.

.

[Spruce]

Here's a video on an 80 watt flexible panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs7RIQYpOtM

[P @ F]

Here's a video on an 80 watt flexible panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs7RIQYpOtM

Nice to get it for free , then he went and broke it 

[P @ F]

Well this week was a lot better, it was a true reflection of my usual kind of work and break habits , battery was bench charged on Sunday 27th Aug , it went through without intervention until Thursday 31st Aug , it showed no sign of needing the bench but I had 8 x half million pound houses to do on Friday  so i wanted to be safe !
After those the battery was still at float charge !  (fairly good solar weather on Friday though)

So today was a mix of  sun and cloud , I thought it a good day to test  the £23  MPPT ebay controller against the £80 MPPT reputable outlet controller that i have been using until now.

I mounted them next to each other so  I could use the same wiring for both , I was rather shocked at the results that i got !

£23 ebay job converted the over voltage and gave me an increase of 5% yield .
£80 shop job converted the over voltage and gave me an increase of 20% yield .

So the proof is in the pudding , if you are going to do it , go for the quality controller chaps .

Rich   



   

 

 

[CleanClear]

So the proof is in the pudding , if you are going to do it , go for the quality controller chaps .

[P @ F]

That is from Bimble solar isnt it Cleanclear ?
I must have missed that bit , I will link in to see the test they did , cheers for that !

My next move was going to be upping the voltage via 2 panels , this should make the Victron 75/10 earn its £80 price , mind you , I have not read the little report yet so I may change my mind within minutes !

Rich 

[Spruce]

Well this week was a lot better, it was a true reflection of my usual kind of work and break habits , battery was bench charged on Sunday 27th Aug , it went through without intervention until Thursday 31st Aug , it showed no sign of needing the bench but I had 8 x half million pound houses to do on Friday  so i wanted to be safe !
After those the battery was still at float charge !  (fairly good solar weather on Friday though)

So today was a mix of  sun and cloud , I thought it a good day to test  the £23  MPPT ebay controller against the £80 MPPT reputable outlet controller that i have been using until now.

I mounted them next to each other so  I could use the same wiring for both , I was rather shocked at the results that i got !

£23 ebay job converted the over voltage and gave me an increase of 5% yield .
£80 shop job converted the over voltage and gave me an increase of 20% yield .

So the proof is in the pudding , if you are going to do it , go for the quality controller chaps .

Rich   



   

That is interesting.

[P @ F]

Well being as I am having great results from solar , I have not had to remove the battery since 31st August , not that long but the weather has been total pants , so  I thought it was time to tidy it up and hide all the wires and meters , I have also fitted an isolator switch as recomended by Spruce , 250 volt 20 amp .

Rich

[nathankaye]

Looking very good!!

Im in planning stages of redesigning n buying a 2nd solar panel to keep fixed on the van along with my existing one and go for a mppt controller.

[P @ F]

Thanks Nath , dont buy the cheap MPPT's off ebay mate , its worth spending the £80 i paid as i am getting 15% more yield than i got from the ebay jobbie .

[nathankaye]

Thanks Nath , dont buy the cheap MPPT's off ebay mate , its worth spending the £80 i paid as i am getting 15% more yield than i got from the ebay jobbie .

Yep i saw that on your post or your vid you did. Its been very impressive info houve done 👍
I know solar works well for me and ive been able to charge up my new trolley with the small panel i have. But ive not been able to give specific results like youve been able to. But i have the volt/amp meter from the link you put up a while ago and its impressive how youve hidden the wires so im gonna take my time sorting this next bit out on my van so im not redoing it several months down line.
(My wifes like,,,,,,,why dont you leave it alone now! 😂 but im hooked )