Solar???

Hi Johno,
What size battery do you have (amps)?

Hi John,

possible charging methods are:
alternator, mains powered charger, solar panel/regulator

You can use any combination of the above, but one charging source should be 'precise'.

Let me give you an example:
your alternator voltage is set to 13.8v.
This voltage is good enough to re-charge your battery to about 80% within a short period of time, but won't get you to 100% anytime soon.
But to keep your battery healthy you need to fully charge it at least once a week.
For this, you can use a quality mains powered charger, or a quality solar regulator.

Now to your question:
there are two options for the size of solar panel, depending on whether or not you want to rely solely on solar, or use the alternator as a supplementary charging source.
E.g. a 40 Watt rated panel makes about 10Ah which would run your TV for about 3 hours on a sunny day. For the other loads you probably need the same panel wattage again, so 80 Watts all up.
But you could still just use a 40W panel for all your loads, if you're prepared to run the motor for about 15~20 minutes in the morning.
A good solar regulator will then precisely charge the battery to 100% during the day.
It's also important that the battery can absorb charge at a sufficiently high rate of about 60A.

If you need help with sourcing any of the required components just get in touch with us.

cheers, Peter

Have you tried the 12 v hair dryer? From all reports they are pretty useless.

Motherhen