Portable Solar Panels Question.

Does anyone have any experience of these?

 
 
 
 
 
 
Pablo
Love's the Craic
Avatar
Gender:
Age: 54
Posts: 126
Registered: 02 / 2014
Subject:

Portable Solar Panels Question.

 · 
Posted: 01.11.2016  ·  #1
Am considering getting a portable solar panel for my small caravan which has a tiny battery bay, with only space for one small leisure battery (currently 85Ah). I expect to be up to 4 days off grid at times.

I won't be using an inverter at all but may get a small 12volt TV. I have done some calculations (based on this helpful page) and I reckon I need an 80W solar panel to keep me topped up.

So I see this portable one on Amazon which seems to have decent reviews.

I also see plenty of similar ones a lot cheaper on eBay...

Are these portable ones any use?
Or am I better off going with the permanent installation?


StrandCampingDoonbeg
Eat's Sleep's craic
Avatar
Gender: n/a
Location: Doonbeg, Co Clare
Age: 58
Posts: 1960
Registered: 05 / 2014
My Motorhome: mobilvetta mh 85
Base Vehicle: Fiat
Subject:

Re: Portable Solar Panels Question.

 · 
Posted: 01.11.2016  ·  #2
I have no first hand experience but I have seen them in use and in several ways I think they are better than a fixed panel. You can angle and move it for the most sun.
Hopefully someone with more knowledge and experience will be more informative.


Pablo
Love's the Craic
Avatar
Gender:
Age: 54
Posts: 126
Registered: 02 / 2014
Subject:

Re: Portable Solar Panels Question.

 · 
Posted: 01.11.2016  ·  #3
Quote by StrandcampingDoonbeg

I have no first hand experience but I have seen them in use and in several ways I think they are better than a fixed panel. You can angle and move it for the most sun.
Hopefully someone with more knowledge and experience will be more informative.


This is what I was thinking. It seems that the initial set up is about 3 minutes, with the occasional shift throughout the day. It seems a small price for peace of mind.


Ally
Founder
Avatar
Gender:
Location: Muckamore, Antrim
Age: 55
Homepage: motorhomecraic.com
Posts: 32599
Registered: 08 / 2011
My Motorhome: Lunar Roadstar 780
Base Vehicle: Fiat 2.8 JTD
Subject:

Re: Portable Solar Panels Question.

 · 
Posted: 01.11.2016  ·  #4
Pablo
Love's the Craic
Avatar
Gender:
Age: 54
Posts: 126
Registered: 02 / 2014
Subject:

Re: Portable Solar Panels Question.

 · 
Posted: 01.11.2016  ·  #5
Quote by Douzeper

Moveable dish would be great.

I love this one but not the price!

http://www.nottscountycampers….matic.html


Thats very nice ally. A bit over my budget sadly.

It's pretty straightforward to build your own solar tracker. Some Belgian guy has an Instructable with the basics done using an Arduino, some LDRs and a couple of small servos. In theory, you would just need some bigger servos to have your panel track the sun automatically. Would be a cool project to take on if you were handy with the metal work (which I'm not).


killiand
Eat's Sleep's craic
Avatar
Gender: n/a
Location: Meath
Age: 33
Posts: 870
Registered: 09 / 2015
My Motorhome: Knaus Traveller S520
Base Vehicle: Fiat Ducato (1993)
Subject:

Re: Portable Solar Panels Question.

 · 
Posted: 29.12.2016  ·  #6
Hi Pablo,

Did you go ahead with these? Would be interested to see how you got on!


Selected quotes for multi-quoting:   0

Registered users in this topic

Currently no registered users in this section

The statistic shows who was online during the last 5 minutes. Updated every 90 seconds.