Sage Rat
Oregon
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Joined: 08/23/2023
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With regard to the need for a controller, years ago I remember West Marine opined a 1/60 ratio. If the amp output of your solar was less than 1/60th of your battery amp hour rating, a controller wasn’t needed. This was way back when lead-acid was just about the only show in town, and panels were modest in their output. Probably no longer applies. Not applicable to lifepo4!
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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Joined: 07/04/2006
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Solar panels are not voltage regulated in another forum someone is comlaining his batteries were overcharged to the point of failure. Turns out his charge controller is shorted or miswired and the panels are kicking out 17+ volts.
I have 5volt panel or so it says. Hits 12 in partial shade.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times
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Vintage465
Prunedale CA.
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Joined: 05/02/2015
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The most important thing about solar is to be flexible with your listening.....There are those that say, "you're wasting time not having tilting panels".......Or, here's an old favorite"PWM controllers vs MPPT controllers, PWM's are useless".........If you're buying new, I fully recommend a MPPT. If you want to and have the coin, tilting panels will aways give you the most harvest. But I've had panels screwed to the roof and a PWM charging four six volt batteries for 6 years and never want for power and never need the emergency genny I have on board. I think the most important thing is to have the controller as close to the batteries as possible to minimize charge voltage loss.
V-465
2013 GMC 2500HD Duramax Denali. 2015 CreekSide 20fq w/450 watts solar and 465 amp/hour of batteries. Retired and living the dream!
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Dusty R
Charlotte Michigan 48813
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Joined: 04/05/2003
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I've read that Michigan ranks 47th in the 48 continental states for available sunshine. With this in mind, how well do solar panels pay?
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Dusty R,
My panels are from 2005. They still work well. They have paid for themselves several times over.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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profdant139
Southern California
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Joined: 11/14/2005
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For whatever it's worth, we boondock a lot and have a 120 watt folding portable panel. It has a built in controller -- the panel puts out almost 14 volts in bright sun. We hook it right to the battery (group 31) with alligator clips.
The panel supplies all of our power almost all the time. We've been using it this way for many years with great results.
We have a portable panel (not rooftop) because we usually park the trailer in the shade. We use a long ten gauge cable so we can park the panel in the sun without a lot of voltage drop due to the long cable run.
The twelve gauge cord that came with the unit did cause a measurable voltage drop because of the resistance in the thinner wire. So we replaced it with ten gauge.
The panel is a "no name" Chinese imitation of a Renogy briefcase unit.
2012 Fun Finder X-139 "Boondock Style" (axle-flipped and extra insulation)
2013 Toyota Tacoma Off-Road (semi-beefy tires and components)
Our trips -- pix and text
About our trailer
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single list."
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