Solar panels

The best way to acquire portable panels is to purchase the controller separately. That way you don't get a rubbish controller. You will pay more but you will win every time.

Same here. Panel was good , controller was crap. Got controller replaced on warranty - still crap. Bought well known brand controller - all good. Doc

GUYS
Its getting a bit confusing It will cost about $500
to run a wire from the crank battery to 80 amp deep cell aux battery in the van with all the bit and pices
I was thinking may be a 200 w panel on top of the pop top And run it into the Anderson plug It may cheaper
I have 90 lt frige 2 lights and a small tv
would appreciate your thoughts
thanks Chris

Chris,

Just be careful of the weight on the pop-top. My 240 watts of conventional glass panels weigh about 22kg all up. Based on that 200 watts would come in at about 18 to 20kg unless you go for thin aluminium or plastic backed lightweight panels. They are expensive.

A mate of mine with a wind-up Goldstream camper had to add gas strut assistance because of the solar he put on the roof.

Just saying so you can think about it if it's relevant to your camper.

Pricewise...

You can't run 200 watts of solar to the trailer Anderson that normally plugs into the car. You must have a solar regulator of some sort.

Prices for 200 watts of solar on eBay average about $200. You can pay less or more. A decent MPPT regulator such as this one will cost about $170. Oh, you can get cheaper, but beware the crap.

And then you need some cabling and bits and pieces to run from your rooftop solar to the regulator and from the reg to the battery. Maybe another $50.

So for solar you're looking at maybe $420, probably a bit less if you do more research than I just did.

Cheers

Chris, you need the controller as the panel puts out a higher voltage than your battery can tolerate. A cheap controller clips the voltage but you lose energy. The MPPT controllers mentioned above are more efficient. I was advised by the low energy developments people who sell VictronConnect controllers that a 75/15 would be adequate for a 250W panel.
So minimum outlay is
Panel $150 Controller $130 Cable $35

Bob