Spolar Panel Enquiry

I agree with Desert's words of wisdom ...
buy one large panel, get a good quality one, if it is not enough get another one, I use one 80 wt Solarex panel, charging direct into 2 Delkor 80 Amp/Hr batteries wired in parallel, running a 50Lt Liemack fridge/freezer set at (0) zero degrees and also recharge lights and radio etc...
simply stated you have to put in MORE than you take out, is that simple.

Thanks Guys.. What I had in mind was to hook up the solar panel (s?) as soon as I arrived at the camp and start charging the batteries as the fridge would be running off them. In theory I wanted to put back into the batteries what was being sucked out by the fridge/ lights etc. I would never let the batteries get below 60% as I also have a Christie Gen set. No I have not got an endless supply of $, and I was probably conned into the gen set, but I've got it and it will come in handy at some stage. The bride has gone green ( and I'm all for that) and wants to keep the batteries charged "quitely", hence the solar panels. What would be the approx. price of say 1 x 80/, 2 x 40 in the box affair with stand and reg? Are we talking mega dollars?

If you are only buying enough to top up etc (say an 80w panel) then I wouldn't waste my money on a regulator.... with two 105Amp batteries and using your frig and lites you are unlikely to ever have a problem overcharging your batteries- unless you stop using power and leave the panels hooked up for days. Look at the tasmanenergy site for lots of good info:
http://www.tasmanenergy.com.au/
also you could talk to Solar panel express or visit their site. (They have a 1800 number. (1800 800 846)
http://www.qldwide.net.au/~solarpxp/index.html

"Top up" means just that. It will extend how long you can run your battery before recharging it via the vehicle or external charger. I too don't advocate running the batteries down below 50%.
Even with one panel and a 200AH battery, I wouldn't consider running the panel without a regulator. If the battery is fully charged, and there is no load, the panel can still drive the battery voltage over 15v.

I currently run 3 x 43 watt BP panels into a 115AH Trojan battery and a 39l Autofridge, which quotes a consumption of 24 AH per day for up to 32deg ambient (similar to the Evakool). I use 1-2 flouros (0.8A each) each night. In summer, the system copes fine with up to 40deg days provided I don't get more than about 2 days continuous overcast sky.
In winter/spring, the fridge hardly runs, and on a sunny day, the batteries are floating at 14.2v by late morning.

Cost: work on about $1 per watt for panels plus regulator $60 upwards.
Gerry

Whoops! I meant max cost of $10 per watt for panels. Small ones around that price, bigger ones less per watt - pays to shop around.

Also, meant to add, friends we often travel with use 2 x 64 watt Unisolar panels, a 70AH battery and a 40 L Engel. Works fine summer/winter, including running a flouro or two at night. This included a recent spell at Ningaloo when it was 42deg, followed by a couple of hot overcast days.
gerry