Dick0 wrote:

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Product reviews and many opinions are a minefield.

In the end use manufacturers claimed specs and balance cost to decide.

I haven't come across anyone, who bought theirs from an Australian seller, to be disappointed.

If unsure, buy one panel and test it, and if pleased with results get more. If unhappy, return it and get your money back. Easy.

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 By Australian seller I assume you mean a reputable Australian store, and not an ebay seller.

While this is a fixed panel, here is an example of an atrocious overstatement of specifications on ebay.

ebay solar panel - 160 watts?

The listed solar panel is supposedly 160 watts, but at the rule of thumb for fixed panels of 170 watts per metre (less for cheap quality panels), the most this will produce is 68 watts. Other panels from this seller are similarly over-specced. Many other sellers doing the same. Sadly many people believe these figures and it's taking business from the reputable places.

 

I bought 2x ebay 380w solar blankets because i wanted 2x 200w blankets. I regularly see 200w from them and they have survived many camping and touring trips. I have 12 months out of them so far and can reasonably expect another 3-4 years, 5 yrs max. They were VERY inexpensive but perform as expected. I don't use the included PVM controller as i have a Victron MPPT setup. Compared to premium blankets like redarc etc, i can buy cheap ebay blankets every 5 yrs for 20+ years before i get to the price of 2x 200w premium ones now. I also get updated technology every 5yrs and a warranty. Will the redarc last 20 yrs in the dirt? The biggest benefit i was looking for was the ability to park in the shade and set up the van in the shade, something i couldn't do before with fixed panels mounted on the roof of each. Much cooler. Much better. I dont mind moving the blankets around during the day in the sun at all. I like tinkering with my tech. Horses for courses i guess.

I have a 2 year old 200 watt kings blanket which is easy to carry and move around as required. I get 7.34 amps charging my 80ah aux battery in tge tug. Cheers Stewart ( ill try to add picture)

Weve just bought a 200w XTM solar blanket from BCF for about $300 on special. It appears to be well built and has so far been very good.

Stewart wrote:

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I have a 2 year old 200 watt kings blanket which is easy to carry and move around as required. I get 7.34 amps charging my 80ah aux battery in tge tug. Cheers Stewart ( ill try to add picture)

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Where are you measuring the current?

If that's the charging current into the battery, then the wattage is about 100W (= 14V x 7A).

If it's the panel current, then the output wattage is about 130W (= 18V x 7A).

What is the size of the blanket? It should be at least 1.2 square metres.

 

Are We Lost wrote:

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If you're serious about idling for long periods, I hope you park in isolated places.

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And have a budget for a new engine.

When the ignition key is turned to the first position in my Holden Trailblazer the main display shows the odometer, total engine run hours and total engine idle hours. I've never bothered to check why they log and display idle hours but I suspect one of the warranty clauses states the vehicle must not be subject to excessive idle time.

Charging a battery from a vehicle is OK in emergencies but no way would I do it regularly - 800W generators are available from E-bay for $320:

E-bay gen

The solar panel

The issue is when a blanket says it will produce X number of watts & due to the cells actual surface area, it is clearly impossible.

Not enough solar cell real estate.

C grade cells.

 

Also:

No frame to angle to the sun.

Or to help cool cells.

Thin wiring.

Rubbish controller.

Controller not at battery end of wire.

 

At the very least if buying a blanket calculate the actual area of the cells only. Not the overall blanket. Use a baseline 150 watts per square metre. Then you will have a realistic output.

Hi Dmaxer

I decided I just could not trust the solar blankets in regard to their claimed output, additionally they seem a bit fiddly to use in regard to positioning them in a flat plane at a particular angle - it almost requires a frame to do this which largely defeats the point of a blanket design.

Instead I bought 4 x 200W ex. house panels for $30 each. They are large, about 1580mm x 780mm and weigh about 15kg each but they do the job well. If I've stopped for only a couple of days or so them I may put up two of them whereas in longer camps I employ all four. I also run a (top quality) Victron 100V/30A MPPT controller which handles them well returning a claimed (and I would not argue) 98% efficiency.

Be very cautious of the controller supplied with your panels, in my experience and from what I hear they are usually rubbish. Buying one of the quality stand-alone MPPT controllers is a good investment.

Mike Harding wrote:

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I decided I just could not trust the solar blankets in regard to their claimed output...

Instead I bought 4 x 200W ex. house panels for $30 each. They are large, about 1580mm x 780mm

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 1580mm x 780mm = 1.232 square metres (Gross surface area of panel, not actual cell area)

200 watts / 1.232 = 162 watts per square metre.

 

One will not get this output from a solar blanket unless you are wearing a blindfold & a brown paper bag was involved!

DMaxer wrote:

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Just a personal question Mike. What do you run off electrics and what do you run off gas. I run HWS and fridge on gas when off grid with only electrics needed for water pump, LED lights and a 150 watt inverter for the lap top when the battery needs a charge and probably a couple of other things that I don't know about. So far I have not needed more but then I have not had weeks at a time off grid, just a few days each time.

He also gave the same advice regarding the controller, not the brand, but just "get a good one."

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That's not personal Dmaxer, however asking about the goat most certainly would be! :)

Hot water is generally heated over the campfire, main HW use is shower and dishes. If I treat myself to an indoor shower (which uses potable water) then it's heated by gas.

The fridge/freezer is a three-way running from gas. I, probably, intend to change to a 240V only domestic fridge/freezer in the future but am currently doing some experiments with my old(ish) 4WDing 60L fridge/freezer in order to determine how the solar copes - despite what you often read on here running a fridge/freezer in Victoria and especially in shade is no trivial matter.

I'm currently running a 500W Victron inverter which powers everything except the microwave and AC, I use it to supply 240V to the whole caravan and then run 240V chargers and such as required. I have 200Ah of AGM battery which may be changed when I decide what I'm doing about the fridge.

In addition I have a Honda 2kW generator to power the microwave and AC (hardly use the AC) and provide battery charging (via a 48V PSU into the MPPT) if solar is lacking. This will be my first winter with the 800W panels and Victrons and I'm very interested to see how it goes, I suspect the generator will be needed from time-to-time.

Edit:

Another issue you will find Dmaxer is potable water. I always try to camp by water (damn, river, stream etc) and use that water with a little Milton added (1 part in 2000) for everything except drinking and cooking, this way the 200L in the van tanks lasts for some time and when I need to refill them I visit the local town and fill 110L of plastic containers with fresh water and use a small 12V submersible pump to transfer the water to the van - containers = 4 x 15L and 2 x 25L all from Bunnings. Pump about $15 from e-bay.

-- Edited by Mike Harding on Monday 18th of April 2022 01:41:37 PM

Don't know what all the ''who ha'' is about regarding solar blankets.

We've been using expensive Projecta 120W folding solar panels for a decade on around 120.000kms of travel.

They are very heavy to lug around but work well.

We bought a 200W solar blanket from Kings 4WD Centre three years ago.

Its light to use, simply unfold it on the ground, plug it in & walk away.

It charges the 110ah battery in our caravan in half the time it took the panels.

It also has two handy USB ports to charge phones & camera batteries in minutes.

Finally it charges way faster in low light situations.

An absolute revelation we think, one of the best bits of camping gear that we've bought in 50 years of outdoor travel.

Basically it ''kicks ar#se'' compared to solar panels.

 

-- Edited by 86GTS on Tuesday 19th of April 2022 05:37:10 AM

Whenarewethere wrote:

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What is the output of the blanket?

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 I'm not the type to delve into technical data much at all.

I've noticed that when they are laid out charging, the regulator has a digital figure of between 13 & 14 depending on lighting conditions.

We also have a small 15ah battery that the blanket charges up incredibly fast. We use it for our laptop without relying on our 110ah battery in the van.

If the majority of hard core 4WD enthusiasts use solar blankets there can't be much wrong with them.

We agree with them.