400w Solar And Ctek D250se

[Dellmassive]

Have you looked at the Renogy Dc-dc unit?

It will do 50A each or 25A split solar/engine. (You can fit an isolator switch)

660w solar in parallel..


And will reverse charge the starter.

Dc-dc Charger (for Leisure Battery) -- How I Done It --


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[Salty Spuds]

Well I sort of agree with you and sort of not... Yes on a day like today where it’s grey and overcast you’re going to get sod all regardless of how big a panel(s) you have on yourmroof. But on a day where there are periods of sunshine in between longer periods of cloud, then a bigger array will undoubtedly be able to grab more of the solar energy while it’s available. It’s also worth sizing up a bit on what you need to allow for efficiency losses in panel, wiring and solar controller. I’ve seen people on here who say they’ve calculated they need 100W so have gone out and bought a 100W panel - well they’’ll definitely never see 100W from that. I have a 250W panel and the best I’ve seen (not in the UK) is 221W. This works out at 90% efficiency, which I’m very happy with, I’ve read that often 80% is about all you’ll get and I put this down to the high quality of the panel.
The best I’ve had in the UK, in near perfect conditions, is 212W which still works out at 85% so still very good, but it shows you that that 100W panel is likely to never see 85W in this country. Couple that with the sun frequently being blocked by cloud and it may then not give enough to cover your requirements. My 250W has been perfect for me, giving me enough power to run lights, diesel heater, fridge, recharging phones, tablets, cameras etc, recharging my emtb with an inverter and even running my electric water heater for showers - all without running out ever. I don’t even take a hookup cable with me any more. I’m certainly glad I didn’t opt for a smaller panel as I know that would have been a different story.

I sort of agree with me too. Up until earlier this year, we had a 130W panel & a single 110Ah lead acid battery. We never actually ran out of juice, but came close a few times. The panel gave up the ghost & I ripped out the whole lot. We now have a 170W panel, single lithium battery & associated chargers. We can quite happily survive without EHU for any length of time given “average” UK summer sunshine. We run 2 compressor fridges + phone charging, Bose, lights, occasional Webasto use on chilly nights. There’s no need to go mad with panels & storage for normal user. The Zombie apocalypse is probably still some way off

 

[Bryn23]

I like the idea of as much watts as possible on the roof, but i found on our trip, we tended to seek shade then setting up due to heat.

So extra solar was going to be a waste on top of the perfectly good lightweight 180 watt solar i've got.

For us, a faster DC-DC charger between camps, was more worthwhile, as the Lithium battery can take it all in, so i'll be changing it over once it arrives.

Having said that, if you already have it. fit it along with the extra Ctek smart charge booster.

 

[Pete C]

The price of truly portable solar panels is coming down fast now. You could always have (say) 150W fixed panels, plus another 150W portable (with wiring already installed on van) for when you know you need it.

Pete

 

[Dellmassive]

I like the idea of as much watts as possible on the roof, but i found on our trip, we tended to seek shade then setting up due to heat.

So extra solar was going to be a waste on top of the perfectly good lightweight 180 watt solar i've got.

For us, a faster DC-DC charger between camps, was more worthwhile, as the Lithium battery can take it all in, so i'll be changing it over once it arrives.

Having said that, if you already have it. fit it along with the extra Ctek smart charge booster.

You gotta love mobile panels for that situation . . . . .

100-200W mobile panel with a 10mtr MC4 lead plugged into your solar charger . . . . ?

@Loz has a fancy Neutrik Power quick connector on his seat base for mobile panel - something like this? https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/main...FETb-TvIezSCi5inB9hoC8XsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds




I just use MC4 leads/connector for the Solar panel in/out sides . . . .



And 50A anderson connectors for power/battery/in/out sides . . . .