Kickass solar panel

Submitted: Thursday, Nov 05, 2020 at 14:32

ThreadID: 140719 Views:9377 Replies:6 FollowUps:3

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The Rambler( W.A.)

I am thinking of buying the kickass 300 w solar panel to charge two 120a. AGM batteries in my camper trailer.I am running a 30l engel as freezer and 40l Engel as fridge.I previously tried a 200w panel which could not keep up.Anyone with experience with the kickass 300 as it is quite expensive($900) but apparently very efficient and will this run my two Engels?
I don’t trust the cheap panels.

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Reply By: Member - wicket - Thursday, Nov 05, 2020 at 18:14

Thursday, Nov 05, 2020 at 18:14

I have an older kickass 250w folding panel, the quality is good no issues.

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AnswerID: 634000

Reply By: swampy - Thursday, Nov 05, 2020 at 18:32

Thursday, Nov 05, 2020 at 18:32

Hi
borderline acceptable 160watt per for 1x 100-120ahr battery
Ideal 200watts per 100--120ah battery

Why,, its all about recharge time and how well a system copes with semi cloudy days

200watts generates about 14amps with Mppt , good medium charge rate
160watts generates around 11 amps with Mppt , little slow and low
A fast charge for 100-120ah is around 25 amps

Many have 1x panel as portable and 1x fixed to roof

On a hot weather day 24hr period a 40ltr compressor frezzer can use 40ah //fridge 30ah
200 watts recharges 48ah in 24hr [not including mppt = +20%avg. ]
eg 4oo watt 96ah in 24hr [+mppt ]
-----Based on 5.5 hrs peak solar per day avg for mainland Aust summer spring and autumn
-----peak sun is sun at 100% effectiveness

discharging below 50% bat capacity seriously shortens cycle life of battery

AnswerID: 634002

Reply By: Swaggie - Thursday, Nov 05, 2020 at 23:34

Thursday, Nov 05, 2020 at 23:34

I highly reconvened the Victron Bluetooth MPPT controller...

Goodluck...

AnswerID: 634010

Reply By: 2517. - Friday, Nov 06, 2020 at 09:36

Friday, Nov 06, 2020 at 09:36

300 watts divided by 17 would give you about 17 amp by 5 hr,I think it a big ask from my experience running a 100 litres caravan frig with 400 watts of solars and 2 90 amp batteries.I went to Tamworth in January for 3 weeks three years in a row and I was surprised how it kept up no worries at all ,why not just buy another 200 panel. Low Energy in Melb have budget panels I have used heaps of them they seem to be good value for money,you would get a 200 watts for under
$200.

AnswerID: 634015

Reply By: Croc099 - Friday, Nov 13, 2020 at 11:17

Friday, Nov 13, 2020 at 11:17

What sort of controller are you using with the existing panel. I changed the pwm unit that came with my panel for an mppt device and it made a big difference.

I'm running an 80L fridge / freezer, lights, chargers and small 150W inverter ( not used much ) from a single 150Ah agm and 160W of solar with mppt. Average consumption is between 25 and 35 Ah per day depending on how often I get beer. If I happen to get rained in and solar is unavailable at least I can run for 4 days before I need to recharge from the car.

I don't know the consumption of your Engels but from my situation then intuitively something else might be going on. Might pay to check everything else first before lashing out and spending $900.

AnswerID: 634095

Follow Up By: The Rambler( W.A.) - Friday, Nov 13, 2020 at 13:05

Friday, Nov 13, 2020 at 13:05

I had bypassed the controller as the panel was plugged directly into the Ctek dcdc charger in my camper.The two Engels would probably draw 5ah if used continuously but I turned off fridge at night.From the previous comments it didn't seem that a 200w panel would be enough.

FollowupID: 911211

Follow Up By: Croc099 - Friday, Nov 13, 2020 at 13:23

Friday, Nov 13, 2020 at 13:23

My 80L draws around 5A when the compressor is running. It doesn't run all the time and shuts off at 2 deg below setting then comes on again 2 deg above setting. So if I have my fridge set to 2 deg the compressor runs 'til 0 deg and restarts at 4 deg. On average it spends between 1/5th and 1/4 of the time actually running. I find it unusual that a compressor would run a continuous duty cycle.

Naturally, it runs for about 20 minutes when first turned on and then cycles once the temperature setting is reached.

FollowupID: 911212