Solar Panel/Chargers

[Chuckem12]

With technology advancing in this field, what is the best way to go when it comes to solar panels and or chargers? I live in south florida and would like to get something I can use out on the trails or camping but still have handy in the event of hurricanes.

 

[Prerunner1982]

I run a Renogy 100 watt panel and a Renogy Voyager controller. I have a 30' cable from the panel to the controller and a couple foot cable from the controller to the battery.
The 30' cable allows me to move the panel around a bit to keep it in the sun even if the vehicle is not. It has worked well the couple of times I have used it.
I need to figure a way to store/transport it but have not really come up with anything outside of the cardboard box it came in.

 

[RoarinRow]

This Goal Zero Solar Briefcase is cool. Do you want something you can attach to your rig and use it at home?

 

[Luis Merlo]

start off with a 100 watt panel, and at least a 20 or 30 amp controller...you can always add to it and minimum 100 amp agm or lithium battery...cheers

 

[Todd & Meg]

I have a Renogy suitcase 100 watt panel. I just got it this week and have been experimenting with it. I run a 120 AH AGM battery in my teardrop camper. And have a Ctek DC-DC charger also. The battery and Ctek were more than fine to supply the power we needed until we added a Snomaster fridge/freezer. Then we needed to add solar, mostly for when we spend more than one night in the same place.

I just started a test to day with the panel but probably wont get useful numbers because it is just to hot outside. I have the Snomaster in the garage and the lowest temps are over night at 90 degrees. Right now the garage is 104. I'll probably run some test in real camping situations because we don't camp when it's this hot.

The Ctek is also a solar controller to 20 amp so I can add another 100w panel if I need to.

You need to know what you power requirements are first. then you can figure what is needed for panels and batteries.

Todd

 

[shoredreamer]

I was able to visit Merlin Solar here in San Jose a while back. They make military and semi truck fleet solar panels. Flexible, rigid and portable panels. The COO was telling me they have been busy supplying much of Puerto Rico with residential solar after all the hurricane destruction. Check their website out. They are tested for hurricanes and also obviously military tested. I was very impressed with their operation. Wish I could have taken pictures, but all the solar panels are actually made at the facility in San Jose, California! Blew my mind. They are pricey, but very well made and steps ahead of most everything else. Check out the cell grid. 1000+ points of contact mean they are literally bulletproof and won’t fail. I took home a small 110 watt for my truck and have had great results. They can make any size panel. Residential And Commercial Solar Roofing | Residential Solar Panels

 

[1Louder]

I have a Renogy suitcase 100 watt panel. I just got it this week and have been experimenting with it. I run a 120 AH AGM battery in my teardrop camper. And have a Ctek DC-DC charger also. The battery and Ctek were more than fine to supply the power we needed until we added a Snomaster fridge/freezer. Then we needed to add solar, mostly for when we spend more than one night in the same place.

I just started a test to day with the panel but probably wont get useful numbers because it is just to hot outside. I have the Snomaster in the garage and the lowest temps are over night at 90 degrees. Right now the garage is 104. I'll probably run some test in real camping situations because we don't camp when it's this hot.

The Ctek is also a solar controller to 20 amp so I can add another 100w panel if I need to.

You need to know what you power requirements are first. then you can figure what is needed for panels and batteries.

Todd

Just precool your fridge and food in said fridge at least 24 hours before your trip if possible. When I am doing gear load in during these stupid temps I run the fridge off of 110 until I’m ready to roll out. My Renogy has worked great for years. It even survived flying off of my roof doing 60mph down a highway. Don’t put stuff on your roof that you will remember to take down... because you won’t remember to take it down. :)

I keep my fridge on a cheap furniture dolly from Harbor Freight. It makes it easy to wheel it around full and then break my back for a short stint getting it into my FJ.

For most folks 100 Watts should be fine. Especially in the Southwest.

 

[Roger Jeffery]

With technology advancing in this field, what is the best way to go when it comes to solar panels and or chargers? I live in south florida and would like to get something I can use out on the trails or camping but still have handy in the event of hurricanes.

I been off grid camping for about 6 months off and on. I got the Yeti Ground Zero 400 non lithium solar generator with the 100 watt Yeti boulder solar panels. Went with the non lithium version so I can charge off the car 12 volt system while driving. (If you have an AC outlet in your vehicle you can use it to charge your lithium unit) What I power up is a 50qt Dometic Refrig/Freezer, recharge batteries and a sleep apnea machine. If I do not get full sun after a full night use my battery will be drained by the end of the day. I plan on adding a second battery to see if that will get me a full 24 hours. You may want to consider a larger solar generator. The 400 is great if the sun is shinning but I had a three day trip that there was no sun and l was lucking I had some frozen water bottles at the bottom of the refrig and that kept it cold until we resumed our travel.

 

[Aaron Niemi]

I've got an AGM Battery and Renogy Rover MPPT controller all conveniently locked into an ammo can and mounted in the back with a 100W Renogy panel mounted on the roof rack. I've also got the house battery charging after the starting battery is full while traveling. So far it's worked great even when parking in a garage at night.

 

[Viking1204]

The Flexopower444 Lithium solar generator charges with A/C, automobile DC, or via solar. Comes with all the cables you need to charge with each of the technologies.

 

[bmwguru]

I went with this from Renogy. Currently using 2 105ah AGM batteries in parallel with a 1500w pure sine inverter. I was looking at the Ctek 20a dc/dc charger but am now leaning towards the Redarc 25a dc/dc charger because it will charge LiFePO batteries where the Ctek will not. My two batteries weigh about 130lbs. I would like to replace them with one 100ah LiFePO battery that weighs 29lbs. It will give me the same capacity as the 2 AGM's.

 

[slomatt]

I've been looking at solar panels for a while and after some consideration decided that a portable setup would be better for my use than a fixed mount panel. There are multiple portable options out there at various price points. My goals were to keep things as small and light as possible, while staying with a high quality monocrystalline silicon cell. Ultimately I went with the Rockpals 100W Foldable Solar Panel which uses Sunpower cells and various output options including a built in USB charger. To me the main benefit of this panel are the build quality and the fact that it has 4 panels so it folds down into a smaller package than the 2 and 3 panel options.

The panel can plug directly into my Flexopower Lithium444 power pack which has a built in MPPT charger. I also purchased a separate EPEVER 10a MPPT charge controller that I use to charge my truck battery in camp. The portable panel allows me to park the truck in the shade and put the panel in the sun, and then keep my battery charged while the fridge runs. At home I can charge the power pack and use it as a power source if the house electricity is out. I built an extension cable for the solar panel out of 12awg landscape wire and MC4 connectors. The connections to the fridge and battery are 30A Powerpoles.

 

[ArkansasDon]

Renogy on my square drop trailer, 100w monocrystalline portable suit case panel, 15ft of 10 awg cable, Renogy Adventurer 30amp Charge Controller w\ battery temperature scensor & 125ah VMax AGM battery. Personally I prefer monocrystalline solar panels have the highest efficiency, these solar panels yield the highest power outputs, they also require the least amount of space, they perform better in low levels of sunlight, making them ideal for cloudy to overcast conditions. With the 30 amp charge controller you can add up from 100w panel to 400w of panels 4 100w.

 

[Randy Gonzales]

I have the goal zero with the 100 watt panel bolted to my roof rack. Plenty of juice for the night and charges all day and ready again by EOD.

 

[Ironhide]

With technology advancing in this field, what is the best way to go when it comes to solar panels and or chargers? I live in south florida and would like to get something I can use out on the trails or camping but still have handy in the event of hurricanes.

I run a pair of 83 watt rigid panels thru an dc to dc charger. But I have come to realize that usually you want to park in the shade witch doesn't do you any good as far as keeping your batteries topped of. Now there are some highly rated fold up light weight solar panels available from several manufacturers. These units are very light compared to solid panels. From what I've seen the come with sufficient extension cable to allow you to place the panels out into the sun. I plan to remove the panels from my rig and go with the portable set up. That shoul save at least 40 to 50 lbs!