Basically I want to trickle charge my battery when in storage to keep it topped up between uses and can be as long as 6mths between trips.
I am going to buy a new battery after getting the panel as mine has finally had it.
I have been looking at some 10w panels, but have a few questions.
1. Will the panel be wired directly to the battery or through the Swift wiring.
2. What happens when towing/on site and have 12v car or mains power to charge the battery, will this cause issues or does the panel need disconnecting as it will be roof mounted.
3. Will I need a charge regulator as its only 10w with a max output of 0.57 amps
I would wire directly to the battery , use a fuse on the positive side, close to the battery . You should make sure the panel has a blocking diode, otherwise the battery will drain at night . You can leave the panel connected all the time and should not need a charge controller .
Excellent cheers wizard, do you think 10w would be enough, if I eventually end up getting an alarm system, as I do not know what they typically use per hr. And would you get any noticeable voltage drop using say 5m of cable to the battery.
If your going to fit an alarm system i would be going for at least a 20watt panel with a charge controller . I wouldn't think you'd get much voltage drop with 5 meters of cable , but i would try to have it as short as possible . Good charge controller i've got 3 of them Click_here very low current draw.
He put it resting on the roof, fed the cable through the skylight and plugged it into the 12v socket on our Swift. By the end of the week the battery was fully charged. Aware that the panel isn't fixed down (although it has fixings enabling it to be fixed down), he has now put it in the front window. We haven't been back to check the battery, but hopefully it will have retained the charge. The panel was £49.99 on offer at Maplins and had good reviews.
One other thing to be aware of is , on some caravan 12 volt systems when you turn off the master switch , it cuts power to all the 12 volt sockets . So there's a chance that plugging into a 12 volt socket won't work .
Well I ended up going for a 15w panel and charge controller for £48 delivered. I worked out 15w should be more than enough for what I need. Now just got to get the bits to mount it to the roof and wire it in. I presume just standard 2 core round 13a wire will do.
Well the panel and charge controller is now installed, just waiting for some 2 Amp fuses to come now as the wiring is 3amp rated as the panel gives out no more than 1 amp.
Dave + Maria. The setup looks good similar to mine. Funny story actually: my mate Bob used to boast about his solar keeping his batteries topped up. However his storage was inside (no sunlight) so his batteries were flat. Ha! There is some good advice here, I spoke to the lads at Marlec who sell these solar panels who answered all my wiring and voltage drop questions. I think they have a sale on at the moment: www.marlec.co.uk . Hope this helps :S
wizard9956.......i have found out that the panels you get from maplin etc, are not water proof and should be inside in the window otherwise they will fail. I have made a polythene envelope to put mine in when it is wet or damp, seems to work OK.(thats the 15w one)
Quote: Originally posted by phantomtrucker on 22/5/2012
wizard9956.......i have found out that the panels you get from maplin etc, are not water proof and should be inside in the window otherwise they will fail. I have made a polythene envelope to put mine in when it is wet or damp, seems to work OK.(thats the 15w one)
Don't know who told you they weren't water proof , maplins web site says they are suitable for inside and outside use see Here and Here . I've got both types in my back garden and they've been there in all weathers without problems .
Wizard9956. I e-mailed maplin and the solar company and maplin said they did not know. Tha company said they could not gaurantee they where water proof, thats why I made a cover. Just repeating what I was told.
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Topic: Solar Panel questions.
