Solar panels.

Lord Mfwic

Lord Mfwic

I'm Batman.
T6 Legend
Hi everyone.
I've just bought a 12 volt fridge to go in the van for Busfest, got to keep the beer cold.
I don't have a leisure battery as the van is a standard Kombi.
The draw on the battery is Wattage is 42W. Draw in amps is approximately 3.5A from a 12V supply.

My question is. Can anyone recommend a relatively cheap mobile solar panel that will keep the battery topped up whilst I'm running the fridge at Busfest ? And do they just connect straight to the battery terminals ?

Mfwic.
 
Direct connection depends on what solar panel you buy, some of them come with an integral (stuck on the back) controller that outputs the correct voltage to feed the battery but if you get a plain solar panel you will need some form of controller to correct/optimise the voltage ready to go to the battery
Solar panels generally put out a higher voltage and the controller brings that down to the correct charging voltage so directly connecting to a battery without one probably wouldnt end well
 
Its up to you but all i would say is plan ahead as if you are ever planning to get a split charge system there are several B2B or DC/DC chargers that have dual inputs to include a solar panel supply
If you are not then a built in one is probably the cheaper way to go
 
I'm still hung on getting a split charge system but its not top of the list of jobs so I think a solar panel with a built in controller might be the best way to go initially. Just googled them and they seem quite big and not cheap for a decent one. Other option is to get a battery booster and use that to start the van if the battery does run flat.
 
The battery will go flat, not sure you could even get a day out of it from the figures above
3.5A x 24hrs = 84AH
Vans ship with 85 AH batteries fitted and you will never get the full capacity to use but then factor in how often it is running as it will stop start throughout the day/night but however it goes it wont last long
 
Thanks @Pauly I'll look into the best option either solar power or battery booster. I may also run the van for a short time during the day to top up the battery.
This will be our first camping trip in the van so I think we have a big learning curve ahead.
 
We have safety in numbers, our meet at Bala in May was out first trip in the van and we turned up without loads of stuff (pots/pans/hookup lead etc) and everybody mucked in to help us and we all shared stuff
 
Hey lads, from my experience, depending of your fridge and ambient temps of course, the 3.5A won't be continuous for the 24 hour period. For example the compressor on my fridge will run for say 6-12min out of every hour thus 3.5A power draw will really only use 8.4-16.Ah for a 24 hour period. I had an 80ah leisure battery in my last van and I could get 3 days out of my fridge averaging 25-35 degree Celsius here in Australia through summer.
 
You'd be better off buying another battery, it would work out cheaper than a solar set up and you would be sure to be able to start your van when you come to leave. Plus, to connect a compressor fridge to your van battery is going to be quite a long run of cable and you will be looking at something like 6 mm cable minimum to operate the fridge properly (unless you have one with a fag lighter plug). It is a compressor fridge isn't it? You could always top it a bit by running the engine and having it connected via jump leads.
Just be aware that you may only get around 12 minutes charge each time you do that though.
At least this way, if you choose your battery correctly it can be used in future installation.
 
Hi @travelvolts . Its an electric cool box from Halfords so nothing very special. It runs on 240 or a fag lighter plug so my plan is to run it in the house to get in cold then fill it with frozen stuff, food and ice packs. Wont matter if the frozen food defrosts as we will be eating it over the weekend. Run it on 12v on the way to the show then just plug it in a few hours during the day to top it up. I'll run the engine periodically to keep the battery topped up and I was going to buy a battery jump pack just in case the battery does run flat. I think the jump pack is a handy thing to have around anyway.
I'm thinking thats the simplest solution but welcome your thoughts.
 
I'm wondering about a solar panel for the California; we usually get four days use (fridge on all the time, tap pump, lights, charging phones) but it's pretty variable and can be just over two days; going to get the main leisure battery looked at when we get back but it would be useful to have the option of stopping for more than a few days.
 
Polzeylad said:
I'm wondering about a solar panel for the California; we usually get four days use (fridge on all the time, tap pump, lights, charging phones) but it's pretty variable and can be just over two days; going to get the main leisure battery looked at when we get back but it would be useful to have the option of stopping for more than a few days.
Click to expand...
I would think that with the sort of places you are camping (i.e usually plenty of sunshine) a decent solar panel will keep your batteries nicely topped up for as long as you want.
 
Hi all, what's the best way of getting the cables from = a solar panel into the van?
The thought of drilling a hole fills me with dread.
 
A similar question was asked a couple of weeks ago see:- Solar panel wiring

With my panel there is a hole drilled in the pop top roof but this is outside of the tented living space and as the cable entry on my panel is on the bottom side there is nothing visible and the hole is well protected.
 
Yes I'll have a go at most things but this is the job I'm most dubious about attempting myself. If you have a rear hinged roof I've seen a way on here recently of using existing entry points in the tailgate area to avoid drilling, I'll see if I can find it. Unfortunately my roof is front hinged so I can't use that method.

Edit: The perils of taking 10 mins to post while a 3yr old is demanding your attention, I obviously hadn't seen the above 2 posts
 
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