Pensioner Newbie.

[Heybob]

I live in Queensland, Australia and know nothing about Solar. I hope to learn from you guys as best I can. Heybob.

[SunEagle]

Hello Heybob and welcome to Solar Panel Talk

I suggest you read some of the posts in areas of your interest as well as get the book Solar for Dummies. It can be very enlightening concerning solar technology and what home owner needs to know.

[Heybob]

Hi Suneagle, thank you for your welcome. I will purchase a copy of "Solar for Dummies". Thank you for the heads up. Heybob.

[Mike90250]

Welcome. And beware, there are many slick talking sales men trying to get your money into their bank account, they will promise the world and deliver you a photograph of a library Globe.

Dont spend any $$ on things, till you run the design plan through us.

[Heybob]

Hi Mike90250,
do I run my idea of what I want here, or post it somewhere else under another title. Heybob.

[Heybob]

Hi everyone,
I am a newbie pensioner who knows very little about solar. I would like to fit a solar panel on top of my camper. This is what I have in mind:-
250w Solar Panel ( Kyocera Cells ).
Epever Solar Tracer-A-Series 20amp.
1 x 100-110ah AGM Battery.
Plastic/PVC Mounting Brackets and wire gland.
Sikaflex adhesive 292 or 521uv ? Plastic/PVC to plywood roof.
4-6mm copper wire ( 7 metres ).

[Heybob]

Would like to add to the above. The size of the panel and 20amp controller I chose was I can update to an extra battery and accessories at a later date. At the moment I want to run a Fridge/Freezer 75Ltr, Small TV and a fan, total output 6ah. I would like to know if the system I propose is adequate for my present needs and also for up grading. Also which Sikaflex code No. should I use so that the panel will nor blow of the roof while I am travelling on the highway. Any advise from the members would be welcome. Heybob.

[Mike90250]

Yikes !! Gluing a panel to a roof, is a risky business. Generally, brackets or a frame is used for a solid attachment.

A system depends on the load. The fridge is the biggest load, and will be the driver for the rest of the system. Did it come with any sort of Energy Consumption label or sticker, which gives an annual power usage ?

250W and a single battery is not likely to succeed.

[Heybob]

The usage is from the manufacturers specifications per hr. I do not think many people would like to drill a minimum of 7 holes in there camper roof / caravan to secure the panel to the roof. I have read on the web ( Camping / Boondocking ) that most use "Sikaflex" hence the question asked. Would be interested in how other people secure their panels to a roof. 250w to a single battery is a starting point so at a later stage I can connect another 100-110ah battery. Given that on all web sites, all say that you could lose more than 20% through wiring solar panel to battery etc: I was working on a safe margin for lose. Heybob.

[Bala]

What is the make model of the fridge?

You cant necessarily just add more battery, you will not likely have enough panel to charge a bigger battery bank.

Are you planning on driving daily?

You would be better off not fixing your panel so you can move it to chase the sun, you van park in the shade and put the panel in the sun. if you fix it to the roof you then you will need to park where you get the best sun on the panel rather than where you would like to park.

[Heybob]

Hi Bala, the fridge is a Waeco CFX75. No I won`t be driving daily. I live bush in Australia, plenty of open space so not many trees above van height. Have no intention of going to any caravan parks.

[Bala]

I did some homework for you but as Mike suggested a 100ah battery and one panel is not likely to do it for you.

The fridge rated current @12V 7.9A, Energy consumption 105kwh year.

I have trevelled in Far North Qld with 2 different fridges. One was a 3 way, the gas was great at camp as I didnt need to worry about battery power. But used a lot of gas.

The one I have now is a 60L Engel, they are about 3 amp current draw, and I believe about a good match for a 100Ah battery to achieve good battery life.

Your fridge, TV, fan are going to need a bigger system. This will depend a lot on your fridge usage.

If you rarely open the fridge or want to cool 12 cans of beer a day, if you want to have the panel mounted on the roof then you will need to park the van in the sun so the fridge will work harder to keep cool.

So what sort of usage will the fridge have and also what type of TV and fan.

You can either really work out what your power usage will be and design a system to suit,

or just use one panel and one battery, it will work, sort of, but be prepared to run the Van to charge it at times and replace the battery often.

[Heybob]

The fridge is a waeco cfx75 which I would run if possible 24/7. The TV "Vivo LTV13 HD Power supply DC12-3amp, Power <36w and the fan I don`t know as there was no manual with it.
So really from what I am told i`m really out of my depth. Checked out some retailers and they have kits ready to go with smaller panels, 10amp controllers and no mounts. Now I don`t no what to do. The controller I was going to get:- 20amp Epever Tracer-A-Series MPPT. Like I said I know nothing about solar and really relied on retailers telling me what I need, or what I have read on a website. Heybob.

[Bala]

You will find retailers selling kits with a couple of folding panels will generally have no real idea about off grid systems.

It is even more difficult with a mobile unit as the panel input will vary so much.

If you want good battery life I think you will be looking at 2 x 250w? panels and 2 x 6V batteries in series.

You will also need a system in you Van to charge the battery bank, this can be a VSR ( Voltage sensing relay) or a DC/DC Charger.

Basically it wont be cheap, rough guessing you could be up for $1500Aud for parts plus labour to fit it all up if you cant do it yourself, and it needs to be done properly or it will fail and be a fire hazard.

Try and find a business that fits systems to RVs and have a talk to them. What area are you in?

[Heybob]

Hi Bala, I looked at retailers and presented my plan to them, all said it looked good, then added they have kits that would do the same job and gave me the sales talk. Can I ask why 2 x 6v in series rather than 1 x 12v battery ? The VSR, I thought a MPPT controller took care of that side of it. This should show you how much I know. I thought I would throw this in, I will be out in my camper for 3 days and a max: 5 days. I live on the Fraser Coast.