Portable solar panel voltage drop

Steve, Always best to have the regulator close to the battery. Many of the MPPT regulators will permit a higher PV voltage to the regulator to charge a 12 volt system. Therefore you could connect the 2 panels in series, I.E. 24 volt nominal, and run that to the regulator and minimise the effects of voltage drop.

Cheers
Jon

Hi Steve

Before you go and blow your hard learnt cash, please do your homework, as not all solar panel are what they claim as I recently found out.

I recently went through the exercise of getting a new solar panel a few weeks ago, and like most people, looked at ebay and think that you are going to get a great deal for just over $200.........how wrong can it be.

After some very good advise from a couple of members that know what they are talking about here on the forum, I ended up spending a lot more than I thought I would, on a quality 200w, high output solar panel from Kickass up in Queensland that offer first rate quality service, and you even get to speak to someone in person ( and it is even an Aussie and not an Asian Call Centre) , and not just waiting for return emails from ebay sellers. One great extra that I also purchased was their inline watt metre, that gives you a continual readout of the output of the solar panels, and the input to the battery you are charging, which will help you to maintain the highest output from my quality panel. Trust me this is just one case of you only get what you pay for. The quality is first rate and the type of cable used is about 3 times the quality and thickness as used on cheaper units on the market by the cheap ebay sellers.

A mate of mine recently purchased a 160w ebay panel from outbaxcamping, and trust me, it is the biggest heap, to think that companies can sell such cheap junk. Look at the image below of just how poor the quality was when it arrived at his place.....panel out of square, cheap hinges broken, and the regulator faulty. He is now going through the long winded saga of trying to get his money back.......well after a month of receiving it and countless emails to people that will not supply a contact phone number. Even after suppling then with a number of images of the poor quality of their product and a good number of email, he did get a reply saying they needed to inspect the unit first before they could swap it over, even though the images speak for themselves.



We have set up the panels together to see how they compare and it is like chalk and cheese.

Do not get caught out, to show you how good their products are, have a look at this link. I am in no way associated with Kickass, but one very happy customer that he is glad that I took the advise offered here on the forum.

Quality Solar panels from Kickass


Its you money, but if you want a panel that is well worth the extra money and with figures to show just how good they are, then DO NOT BUY CHEAP.


All the best in your selection.




Stephen

You only get what u pay for .
Checkout the thick cables with Anderson ends .
Morningstar keeper .
Stainless hardware .
A grade bp panels .
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Hi Steve. There are plenty of ebay sellers out there with good quality panels for sale. I have purchased panels from smart-flash , marsol , bitdeals, and solar steve who used to be on this site. The panels have all met the specs as advertised by the sellers. The biggest hurdle for me was getting the right size or biggest panel to fit the space availible hence buying off different sellers. As others have said with the folding panels the closer the regulator to the battery the better. However just replacing the cable with 8b@s might be ok. Dont pay more than neccessary for 8b@s cable, i was recently quoted $300 for 30 metres of this cable from electical suppliers in my area but was able to source 50 metres (twin core) of 8b@s tycab australian made cable from ronado-pty-ltd off ebay delivered for $215. At that price it was worth buying the 50 metres for wiring my next 4x4 some time in the future.You have to email him for length prices over 25 metres. And they wonder why people are turning to ebay . Same for anderson plugs , good quality from a number of sellers for around $3 or $4 .
cheers Graeme.

Hi Steve. Bit of free time so did a comparison on a bit deals 200watt folding with the kickass 200watt thats the topic of conversation here. The stats are nearly exactly the same , as is the cable although in both cases is only 6mm which in my view is to thin and should be at least 8b@s for that length , easy to rectify in both cases though. Frame and bag on a par and both have water proof regulators as most have anyway . Price of the bit deals $349 , the kickass $588. Lots of others out there as well just as good . The bit deals are rich solar panels.
Cheers graeme.