Solar Panels

Hi Ron ,

I have a 80 watt BP panel and it runs the 40L engel fine , no probs .

Not sure if 40 watt would be big enough but it maybe OK.

I was advised at the time to go with the 80 watt .
Some Sparky will know if it's big enough I'm sure.

Cheers Scoof

Depends where you live and what your style of camping is.

If you only go away for 3 or 4 days at a time a 40W panel and an 85Ah battery will probably be OK.

For longer periods I have my doubts: if you live in Vic then the temperature is generally lower (although it's 40C as I type this! :) and you might last a week or ten days in spring/early summer/autumn. In Qld/NT etc I doubt you would make one week.

There are a lot of variables attached to your question: how much sun/cloud, how well you track the sun, ambient temperature etc. In my opinion you're pushing your luck with a 40W panel but you might get away with it. Buy a $25 (not the $10 one!) multimeter from Jaycar and monitor your battery to ensure it doesn't fall below 11V and _never_ below 10V5 - if the panel can maintain it above 11V then you're OK otherwise you'll need to upgrade.

Mike harding

Hi Ron

Hard to say without any related info like how long and where it would be used.

40w would be marginal I think.
It would take years of camping use to pay for the panel cost in fuel used to recharge your battery via car fitted with proper 2nd battery charger.

Robin Miller

G'day Ron. Don't know what prices you've been quoted.
Mate was quoted $900 for an 85w Kyocera.
Same item at a Tassie net site was$650 +$50 freight.
Someone on the forum had a similar experience with Tassie recently. Good luck.

Hi Ron,

We have a 40l Engel as well, but only a 55AH deep cycle battery to run it. When we're camping (stationary) and with the fridge setting at about 1.5, we get about 36 hours before the low-voltage cutout operates. You should get more than this with your 85AH battery.

I don't think a 40W panel will provide enough power to both re-charge your battery and run the fridge at the same time - but, if that's all you can afford at this time then go for it and see. The only recommendation I'd make is to buy a regulator that will handle 80Ws so that if the 40W panel is insufficient, then buy another 40W panel and use the two together.

I think as far as different brand panels are concerned, a watt is a watt etc. You can check the specs for the different brands, but I don't think you will find either a 38 or a 42 watt panel masquerading as a 40W, unlike your analogy with engines.

Cheers

Richard

What sort of price is the 50 watt Kyocera and where from ? I am interested in the size of the actual panels for storage, I was looking at the folding 80 watt (2x40) being sold by Fridge & Solar, as a kit for $950 with all the bits.

Thing is that the variables are many ,IE: how much power does your fridge use ?? in an average scenario your Engle would use 1.9 amps per hr ergo 45.6 amps per 24hr period , no way will you get that amount of power back with only a 40 or even a 50 panel , even a total solar scab[ catching sunrise and constant tracking thru to sunset] would still leave you with a power deficit , as others have said ,when you buy your solar regulator dont skimp on amp"size" ,better to just add more panels rather than a bigger reg every time.

Hi Ron,

I am going to put a spanner in the works here.

Solar is very expensive and best not to cut corners.

I sell 100's of panels and won't push them on people with a limited budget.

If you are on a budget it would be best to buy another 2x MRV70 105 a/h batteries and this would give you 295 amp hours and should cost around $300.00 for the MRV70's.

This would run the 40L ONLY for around 5 to 7 days. (Depending on temp)

If you don't stay longer than a week this is a cheaper option and you can always add a panel later.

I spent a few hours with an older gent a few months back and we worked out that this was a better option for people who are away for up to 5 days in one place and then move on. If you plan to stay for more then 7 days then solar power or a generator is a good option. In any case 85 a/h is a small battery bank to use solar on when running a fridge.

Regards

Derek.

Ron173, I reckon you've done well with your question. No one got s. faced, and your choice of the 50w won't be regretted.
Both 'knight44' (10a reg) and Alloy(tracking), were spot on.
I reckon you may not replace all charge over 24hrs, but even if you half charge each day,it's going to either extend your camping time OR vastly extend the life of your battery.
Plus you have a power source (paid for up front), for 20+ years.
Look forward to your performance reports.
Avoid debts, travel well. Jeff.H.

G'day all

Thanks for all replies, as usual ALL appreciated and very interesting.

Derek your battery theory is good but I dont wish nor have room for another 2 batteries.

Re power consumption etc, see my follow up to Alloy c/t's figures.

Also prhaps the way I run my engel may make difference too:-

I have 2 85a/hr deep cycle batts, one in vehicle as dual battery at any one time other on float charger with pulse.

Before I leave I swap batteries over, so I have as FULLY charged battery as poss to start. This does make a difference as float charger gets it up higher than vehicle can.

My engel is run as a freezer on position 3, I run it on 240v at least a day before to allow it to cool n soak into insulation. It also has the bag on it.

I have a Tropical ice box, only small 37ltr, which I use 1ltr flat block ice containers in, usually 8 of, these are pre frozen too, and a spare 4 in engel. This is my fridge, for soft drinks / beer / cool food. It is always very cold, and beer is superb from it. Frozen food in engel.

I run engel as full as possible, to provide ballast. during day it reaches -9degc, at night gets down to -18degc, which provides a buffer for the heat of day.

Every morning I swap 4 bottles frozen solid out of engel into esky, and 4 slightly defrosted back into engel. Then its not such a big ask to refreeze them.

Any food for that evening goes into esky to defrost and impart its cold to the esky.

This is my routine at present, I have a batt monitor, and run vehicle for 20mins at 2000rpm when it shows reqd, which can be 2-3 times a day if very hot.

This works. I'm doing it at present. So with a panel if I have to run vehicle on day 3 or 4, thats a huge advance on present.

I'll be going out in a fortnight or so, for a long weekend, so will do a report on my performance as I find it.

regards

Ron

Jimbo,

Why have you not made a comment as you have a 60w pannel and did extensive research into this subject?

Leroy

What site in Tassie were the panels available from