Comment: Electricity for Camping

Submitted: Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 at 20:41

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Electricity for Camping

Revised March 2013 On an extended trip it's good to have some of the comforts of home. Electricity is obviously one of them and a good system can make all the difference to how comfortably

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hi just lookin at bying solar panels so saying having 2x80 watt panels is a over kill is it bigger the better for plenty of power i am running 2x 120 amp deep cycle batterys for lights, 2 frigdes,etc thanks mick

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Reply By: Member - John and Val - Wednesday, Mar 04, 2015 at 00:52

Wednesday, Mar 04, 2015 at 00:52

G'day Mick,

The fridge is the big consumer. We have one fridge and find 145 watts of solar panels is good, maybe a bit more than we need. If you are running 2 fridges you'll need more panel than we have. Two x 120 Ah batteries is good but I think you will need more than 2 x 80 W panels to keep them charged if they have to power 2 fridges (especially if you run one as a freezer).

Depends a lot on your usage patterns. If you are travelling most days and can charge from the alternator, 2 x 80 W may be enough. If you like to stop for more than 2 or 3 days though, I think 2 x 100W panels, or better, 2 x 120W might be better.

Another option worth considering is a good dc-dc charger (also called a battery to battery charger). With one of these connected close to the batteries, you will get a good charge into them from the alternator. If you stop for a week in one place you could run the engine for an hour a day much more cheaply than buying bigger solar panels. I'd still go solar, but for the odd occasion when you stop for more than a few days, or when the sun doesn't shine, using the generator that's already under the bonnet is a good way to go. A dc-dc charger will put a good charge into your batteries any time the engine is running at more than a slow idle.

HTH

John