portable solar panels

Hi Mick,

Take a look at Home of 12 Volt for some comparative costs and information.

I bought an 80watt bi-fold panel from them a few years ago and would recommend Gary and his team.

I have bypassed the cheaper on board regulator (although it's still usable) and connect to an MPPT controller in the camper.

Got my 2 x 50W folding panels with heavy duty, padded canvas carry bag from Kulkyne campers. They do the job of powering my 50L Waeco via my dual battery setup very well. Pretty sure they do bigger than 2 x 50W as well. They also give you the option of alligator clips or Anderson plug with 10m lead. Had great service from them. No affiliation etc etc
Cheers
TG

The first question should be..what are your expectations.

do you expect to run your set up for an extended period or just getting some extended run time from you battery.

cheers

Plenty of suppliers on Ebay...most with good feedback, just pick which panel you want and at the price that you are prepared to pay and buy one...I bought an 80w folding panel some time ago from one of the dealers for the lowest price that I could find(not sure which one) and it has worked perfectly without any dramas...cheers

If I was in the market for s o l a r panels,
This is where I'd be buying them >>>

bit_deals

(Australian distributor for Rich S o l a r)

wish they were that price when I was buying ;-))

Be very very wary of any ebay seller who does not show physical dimensions in Item Description.... ;-)

:)

Mick,

I'm with rooster.
Solar cells don't wear out as quickly as mechanical or chemical things (batteries).
Think decades rather than months or years.

The only thing which wears out on a panel is the hardware, which is easily fixed if you can hold a screwdriver.

Buy the cheapest panel, and trash the solar regulator which comes with it, if battery health is high on the priority list (only keep it if you don't use the panels regularly).

If the panel's hardware needs fixing, fix it, but if the solar regulator is crap and you're going to use the combo for extended periods of time, you're in for new batteries every couple of years.

A great majority of solar panels are made in China to well established industrial specifications - they run part of their own infrustructure on solar which means something in terms of quality and longevity.

cheers, Peter

The reality is that ya can not expect to run a fridge indefinitely in all weather on 80 to 120 watts worth of pannels, what you will do is considerably extend your run time.

In time when the sun is hot and the weather is relativly cool AND the fridge is already down to temp the panels may actually keep up with the demands of the fridge, but in hot overcast weather like in the tropical summers not a hope.

remember the pannels will only produce rated output on a clear day, in the highest radiation parts of the country and only then in summer and only for 4 to 6 hours a day tops.

The first thing you need to do is actually work out your run time on the existing battery.

OH BTW you are talking about running this fridge as a fridge and not a freezer right?

As far as quality......hard to know unless someoen you know has, poked the product in question with a stick.

cheers

G'day Mick!
Just make sure you get "Monochrystalline" panels (ensure it has a built in regulator too) they (Mono) are the most efficient, and this could be the reason that you see price differences as the others are old technology. Google them.

Got mine from eBay 3 panels (180W total) Mono's, I think they cost me about $650 delivered - no problems with them.
I Have dismantled them now and stuck them on the roof of my 5th wheeler as they are a pain to lug in and out, and always thinking someone is going to nick 'em does not help the portable cause.

Cheers Nigel

Mick, I went through this exercise with probably the same frustrations and confusion that you found.
Eventually I set up a 160w array on the lid of my camping trailer instead of going for the portable fold up things that are to be candid) way, way over priced.
By shopping around and doing some serious bargaining I was able to get good quality panels (I went for 4 x 40w monocrystaline panels rather than one 160w panel as I thought if one or two panels suffered damage for some reason I would still have some solar) - for $250 (yep about 1/4 of what the things were advertised at) and a good quality charge control for $70 - I installed using 4G cable and run 2 x 120ah AGM batteries.
This set up has been running my 70lt Evakool FM70 along with a 300w pure sine wave inverter and a lot of LED camp lighting with no problems, I also run my HF radio PLUS the 55lb thrust MinnKota electric outboard by rotating the battery in the solar charge line up. The batteries were the crippling expense as even very serious haggling could not get them down below $250 each and I actually bought 4 of them to get that price. But they have proven to be well worth the cost.
My advice is to shop around mate - massive profits are being made on solar setups in Australia.
When I am not camped out in the gemfields or fishing inland waterways the rig runs outdoor lighting using the build in sunset switch PLUS workshop lighting
as well as being used to charge our laptops and various other chargers for various power tools, so the versatility for home and away is there. BTW my FM70 is never switched off even at the home base - it is used to keep the liquid refreshments cold.

Thank you all for your input.After speaking with a mate who has some experience in the solar panel thing,he suggested to buy the cheapest solar panels in MONO and a good controller.He said that the vast majority are made in China,so....suck it up princess :) So with that I have ordered 120watts of panels and a decent MPPT regulator.
I figure I can have the panels folding at this stage, and am able to mount them on the roof racks easily for security when away from camp.The idea of having them for the minn-kota when needed is something I did not think about....haven't done enough fishing this season obviously!
I think this setup will cover all bases,with the option to add another panel if the need arises down the track. We will give it a whirl and see what happens.
Thanks again to all concerned,and maybe this thread will help the next guy with his head in a spin.
Best Regards,MICK

We need to understand that the output of solar pannels varies a great deal with season and location.

Central Australia is the highest radiation area in the country and summer to winter only varies a little, but in parts of southern victoria and tasmania in winter the output of a given panel may be as low as 20% of rated, in full sun.

remember too that if a solar system is not quite keeping up with demand it may take several days, a week or even more for it to become a problem.

designing a system arround short periods on solar is a very different situation to running reliably for an indefinite period.

It is entirey reasonable to pack a couple of small pannels to extend the run time on battery from the 2 or 3 days we can expect off a single charge to 5 to 7 days or even a fortnight...hell if the stars align, the system may run indefinitely....

but it is important to understand the limitations.

cheers