Solar Power

iana · iana

Okay, have got two panels up and running, with the new regulator ticking away just fine. In at Altronics yesterday, and when I asked the sales person what I wanted, he did a few calculations, and advised that the diodes (2x) for the two 160w panels (4 diodes all up) should be put into a metal enclosure, th...

iana · iana

Quick question, is there a colour code for the Anderson plug (mounted on the RV) that a portable panel will plug into.

mr glassies · mr glassies

hi guys found a 120 watt folding panel the other week . 1 panel was shattered . So me being dragged it back to camp wired it up and bingo works a treat . Makes what the tag says . Moral to the story dont throw away shattered panels . dibs

Tony Bev · Tony Bev

Hello everyone A technical question from a layman, which hopefully may help others in the future Can someone give me a link to blocking diodes, for a 160 watt lightweight portable solar panel I am thinking of either connecting directly to the leisure/house batteries, through the portable solar pan...

iana · iana

OK I have 2x 120 AH house batteries in the caravan being charged - only by 450 watts of panels, flat mounted. When running short of power, and I should say here, we have a few electronic devices including TV and vast, as well as a 12v compressor fridge. I have the ute set up with a DC-DC charger from the motor...

Grandad5 · Grandad5

Title of the thread says it all with the possible exception of saying they'll be supplying a lithium setup. I've always considered Solar4RV to be the recommended supplier but i'm seeing numerous options on evilBay for 'around' the $1 per watt (roughly) price tag. I don't want attached controllers i...

iana · iana

Its my understanding that the regulator for solar panels to battery is placed as close to the battery as possible to avoid voltage drop, thus allowing the batteries to reach full charge. The problem I have is, I have noticed that all portable panels on sale have the charger fastened to the back of the pa...

shaft · shaft

Gday Just hoping someone has replaced the little rectangle red lite that indicates gas hot water heating up. $50 or so to buy the whole thing. Has anyone been able to buy just the little light separately? Thanks (havent done this before)

Warren-Pat_01 · Warren-Pat_01

Hello members, I did a bit of searching earlier this evening after testing today on the subject of solar panels mounted on an angle or flat on the roof. TI Terry took macca17 to task nearly two years ago with this comment - "Fairly obvious this opinion is not base on actual testing. Fact is the input is app...

denmonkey · denmonkey

Hi all, I'm about to install some permanent panels on the roof of the van and have now come up with a mounting plan based on research. The pop up roof offers its own challenges. The panels have an open circuit voltage of around 40v and are rated 235w. Of course I'll be using a suitably rated mtttp contr...

Gus1949 · Gus1949

I recently purchased a 120watt portable solar panel for use with my caravan.Today I used a multimeter to measure the voltage output and found while I was getting 20V on the input to the controller I was only getting about 2.5V on the out put side. Does the panel have to be connected to a load (e.g. a batter...

stricko · stricko

ive just bought a motorhome for the first time. Being a complete novice, I was hoping for a little advice about solar/ 240v power/ inverters/batteries. My Ford Transit h a 120w solar panel, 2 house batteries and controller. No inverter. Therefore the only way to utilise 240v power points is to connec...

Just wingin it · Just wingin it

Hi everyone My hubby and I are going travelling soon and we need a bit of advice on solar. We have a camper trailer and want to buy a solar set up, but we have absolutely no idea about it....total solar virgins!!! Can anyone help with what we should get??? Thanks heaps Wendy

Cyclops · Cyclops

Apologys in advance if this has already been covered and my lack of knowledge re solar. I have a tri star 60a pwm controller which hasnt got the the monitor module. I have installed a victron bmv 700 and I am very pleased with it. Do I need to install the add on monitor to the Tristar side of the system to pro...

Farmhat · Farmhat

G'day. Looking for recommendations for a quality 40 or 50 amp PWM Solar Controller please. Joe

Peter and Jian · Peter and Jian

I'm connecting 2 x 120 AH AGM 12v batteries in parallel, I'm worried about voltage leveling in case one of the batteries goes bad and I don't realise it. I have heard about Zener Diodes. has anyone installed them if so ..what size, how to, where to get. etc etc..Thanks -- Edited by Peter and Jian on Su...

Baz421 · Baz421

Hi all Just a hint to others about a problem we had recently. Batteries were either not charging fully on solar or not giving up full power (aH) ,,, ie "something" was wrong. The 11 year old solar controller started to charge batteries about 2 amps ABOVE THE VARIABLE LOAD rather than say 7-10amps abov...

Trew · Trew

Could someone please advise if 130 watt solar panel is adequate to keep second battery charged? Just intend to run lights and small items off it. Maybe 1000watt inverter. Thanks.

laurieoz · laurieoz

Can a member recommend a good quality folding 200 watt solar panel I want it for my daughters new caravan The ones I have looked at have a smaller surface area than a fixed 200 watt panel so I guess the quality is not realy 200 watt Laurie

Bas + Eve · Bas + Eve

we are adding a 200w panel to supplement the 2x80w panels insitu at the moment. I have to lift one 80 to connect the 200 so am I better off lifting both 80s and replacing them with 1x160 or keep the 2x80s. one way I have 3 panels connected and the other way 2 panels connected. thanks for your help Bas

Topic		Started By	Replies	Views	Last Post
	I need to know ----Diode heat (Preview) Okay, have got two panels up and running, with the new regulator ticking away just fine. In at Altronics yesterday, and when I asked the sales person what I wanted, he did a few calculations, and advised that the diodes (2x) for the two 160w panels (4 diodes all up) should be put into a metal enclosure, th...	iana	9	288	06:48 PM Oct 23, 2018 by dorian
	Anderson plug for portable solar. (Preview) Quick question, is there a colour code for the Anderson plug (mounted on the RV) that a portable panel will plug into.	iana	4	217	04:05 PM Oct 14, 2018 by T1 Terry
	Broken panel (Preview) hi guys found a 120 watt folding panel the other week . 1 panel was shattered . So me being dragged it back to camp wired it up and bingo works a treat . Makes what the tag says . Moral to the story dont throw away shattered panels . dibs	mr glassies	2	198	09:20 AM Oct 8, 2018 by mr glassies
	Blocking diodes between solar panels (Preview) Hello everyone A technical question from a layman, which hopefully may help others in the future Can someone give me a link to blocking diodes, for a 160 watt lightweight portable solar panel I am thinking of either connecting directly to the leisure/house batteries, through the portable solar pan...	Tony Bev	29	694	07:07 PM Oct 12, 2018 by DeBe
	Charging Caravan house batteries from an outside source of solar and aux battery. (Preview) OK I have 2x 120 AH house batteries in the caravan being charged - only by 450 watts of panels, flat mounted. When running short of power, and I should say here, we have a few electronic devices including TV and vast, as well as a 12v compressor fridge. I have the ute set up with a DC-DC charger from the motor...	iana	6	360	09:31 AM Sep 28, 2018 by iana
	Recommended supplier for Flexible Solar panels please (Preview) Title of the thread says it all with the possible exception of saying they'll be supplying a lithium setup. I've always considered Solar4RV to be the recommended supplier but i'm seeing numerous options on evilBay for 'around' the $1 per watt (roughly) price tag. I don't want attached controllers i...	Grandad5	19	496	01:35 PM Sep 26, 2018 by T1 Terry
	Solar regulator position. ( 1 2 ) (Preview) Its my understanding that the regulator for solar panels to battery is placed as close to the battery as possible to avoid voltage drop, thus allowing the batteries to reach full charge. The problem I have is, I have noticed that all portable panels on sale have the charger fastened to the back of the pa...	iana	34	841	01:17 PM Oct 24, 2018 by T1 Terry
	Hot water indicator light (Preview) Gday Just hoping someone has replaced the little rectangle red lite that indicates gas hot water heating up. $50 or so to buy the whole thing. Has anyone been able to buy just the little light separately? Thanks (havent done this before)	shaft	2	389	04:00 AM Sep 15, 2018 by greyhoundtom
	A cat among the pigeons, a can of worms? Interesting discussion? (Preview) Hello members, I did a bit of searching earlier this evening after testing today on the subject of solar panels mounted on an angle or flat on the roof. TI Terry took macca17 to task nearly two years ago with this comment - "Fairly obvious this opinion is not base on actual testing. Fact is the input is app...	Warren-Pat_01	23	1075	02:02 AM Sep 21, 2018 by Reed
	Panels series vs parallel 80v vs 40v benefits ? (Preview) Hi all, I'm about to install some permanent panels on the roof of the van and have now come up with a mounting plan based on research. The pop up roof offers its own challenges. The panels have an open circuit voltage of around 40v and are rated 235w. Of course I'll be using a suitably rated mtttp contr...	denmonkey	17	649	01:43 PM Sep 5, 2018 by T1 Terry
	Solar controller voltage output (Preview) I recently purchased a 120watt portable solar panel for use with my caravan.Today I used a multimeter to measure the voltage output and found while I was getting 20V on the input to the controller I was only getting about 2.5V on the out put side. Does the panel have to be connected to a load (e.g. a batter...	Gus1949	4	388	04:41 PM Aug 22, 2018 by Gus1949
	solar power (Preview) ive just bought a motorhome for the first time. Being a complete novice, I was hoping for a little advice about solar/ 240v power/ inverters/batteries. My Ford Transit h a 120w solar panel, 2 house batteries and controller. No inverter. Therefore the only way to utilise 240v power points is to connec...	stricko	24	701	01:10 PM Sep 22, 2018 by T1 Terry
	Need advice - first time buying solar (Preview) Hi everyone My hubby and I are going travelling soon and we need a bit of advice on solar. We have a camper trailer and want to buy a solar set up, but we have absolutely no idea about it....total solar virgins!!! Can anyone help with what we should get??? Thanks heaps Wendy	Just wingin it	7	678	09:49 PM Aug 21, 2018 by Jaahn
	Tristar 60 (Preview) Apologys in advance if this has already been covered and my lack of knowledge re solar. I have a tri star 60a pwm controller which hasnt got the the monitor module. I have installed a victron bmv 700 and I am very pleased with it. Do I need to install the add on monitor to the Tristar side of the system to pro...	Cyclops	1	419	01:13 PM Aug 10, 2018 by T1 Terry
	Recommendations for quality 40 or 50 amp PWM Solar Controller (Preview) G'day. Looking for recommendations for a quality 40 or 50 amp PWM Solar Controller please. Joe	Farmhat	24	732	05:18 PM Aug 7, 2018 by T1 Terry
	zener diodes (Preview) I'm connecting 2 x 120 AH AGM 12v batteries in parallel, I'm worried about voltage leveling in case one of the batteries goes bad and I don't realise it. I have heard about Zener Diodes. has anyone installed them if so ..what size, how to, where to get. etc etc..Thanks -- Edited by Peter and Jian on Su...	Peter and Jian	7	530	02:15 PM Jul 30, 2018 by dorian
	SOLAR CONTROLLER PROBLEM - COOKED A BATTERY (Preview) Hi all Just a hint to others about a problem we had recently. Batteries were either not charging fully on solar or not giving up full power (aH) ,,, ie "something" was wrong. The 11 year old solar controller started to charge batteries about 2 amps ABOVE THE VARIABLE LOAD rather than say 7-10amps abov...	Baz421	7	706	01:22 AM Jul 28, 2018 by Tony Bev
	Size of solar panel (Preview) Could someone please advise if 130 watt solar panel is adequate to keep second battery charged? Just intend to run lights and small items off it. Maybe 1000watt inverter. Thanks.	Trew	9	963	05:32 PM Jul 10, 2018 by laurieoz
	Folding Solar panels (Preview) Can a member recommend a good quality folding 200 watt solar panel I want it for my daughters new caravan The ones I have looked at have a smaller surface area than a fixed 200 watt panel so I guess the quality is not realy 200 watt Laurie	laurieoz	3	767	09:45 AM Jul 10, 2018 by swamp
	Panels (Preview) we are adding a 200w panel to supplement the 2x80w panels insitu at the moment. I have to lift one 80 to connect the 200 so am I better off lifting both 80s and replacing them with 1x160 or keep the 2x80s. one way I have 3 panels connected and the other way 2 panels connected. thanks for your help Bas	Bas + Eve	4	824	04:21 PM Jul 11, 2018 by oldtrack123
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