13 watt ebay solar panel (1 Viewer)

lou020

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Would this 13 watt solar panel be any good for keeping the mh starter battery topped up, we intend on staying on aires for a few nights this easter and don't fancy a flat battery.
I could also swap it the leisure batterys if need be.
I don't want to spend a fortune till we get our new MH next year,then i will get roof solars fited.
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Vlad The Impaler

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By the time you drive to where your going,your starter battery should be sufficiently charged to re-start the engine and get you home again!
Or am I missing something?



Vlad

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camcondor

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Don't bother with one of these they are a waste of time and money. Rather wait till you can have a decent installation done - I would say upwards of 80w.
 

pappajohn

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save your money......

13watts is a theoretical figure and will never be realised.....especialy from an amorphous panel, very inefficient except very bright sunlight.

13watts is a little over 1amp but in reality in the uk summertime you will get maybe 0.6amps (600milliamps) per sunshine hour.
A lot of that 600ma will be used by parasitic loads.......alarm, radio memory etc.

A usable figure may be as low as 300ma and with 10 hours of bright sunshine it will still only total 3amps....and your batteries natural discharge rate could take a chunk of that.

It may get as low 1amp per day actually going into your battery if you are lucky.....and the sun doesnt shine every day.

In my opinion the minimum panel size is around 50watts to maintain your battery taking into account sunless/rainy days


Ps: my engine battery will last upwards of 8 weeks in a winter layup and still start my 6.8 ltr 10 cylinder petrol engine.....and it only a large car battery

If you only expect 2 or 3 days before its too flat to start the engine you need a new battery, not a solar panel.
 
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lou020

lou020

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By the time you drive to where your going,your starter battery should be sufficiently charged to re-start the engine and get you home again!
Or am I missing something?


it's just in case we stay 2/3 nights and use cd player etc or the kids plug there ipods/iphones in to charge.
Or would it put a bit of charge back in to the leisure batterys during the day.
Or should i slap the kids:ROFLMAO:
Or (better option) leave the kids with grand parents:thumb:

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lou020

lou020

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Forget leaving the kids at home option, i'll need them and the wife to push & bumpstart the MH.
I'll wait till we change MH and get a proper solar panel fitted.
Thanks for the advice.:thumb:
 

Allanm

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That would be ok to keep a spare unconnected battery topped up while in storage, you wouldn't get any benefit from it doing anything else.
Allan
 
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lou020

lou020

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The battery is 2 1/2 years old, and will usually last in winter maybe 5 days before she wont start.
i have a ctek intel charger on it whilst it is parked up.
 
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lou020

lou020

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That is a fortune. For double that you get a full size 100/125W panel.

Don't you have 12V sockets on the leisure batteries ?
yes i'll have to educate the kids into using them

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pappajohn

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The battery is 2 1/2 years old, and will usually last in winter maybe 5 days before she wont start.
i have a ctek intel charger on it whilst it is parked up.

spend the £60 on a new battery or a decent set of jump leads until you get a new van...should last a lot longer than 5 days even in winter.

I have a new (18 months old but unused) car battery stood on my bench.....last fully charged beginning of november........still showing 12.5v now.....thats 10 weeks.
 
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pappajohn

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I've never seen a Maplin price where I said "that's cheap".

They do convenience, not cheap.

I ordered a 60 watt panel from maplin a couple of years ago for that price.....then i realised it was an amorphous panel and cancelled the order.

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lou020

lou020

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Ok,,, thats a big no for the ebay solar panel.
i'll unwatch it then.
Thanks for all the info,, i think i was getting watts mixed up with amps.
And i'll get the battery checked out and check for any power drain and also try and get a bigger AH battery.
 
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lou020

lou020

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For a while I thought you didn't believe me :roflmto:

I think you've enough solar power for all those caravans around you in your picture:roflmto:
you could bottle and sell it.
is that why we've had no sun,,, you have it all

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wivvy's dad

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If you want one of those suitcase solar panels, I have one that I no longer use, you can have it for £20.

I'm in Salford - the posh part..!!
 

Trikeman

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Hi all,
not that I'm up for getting embroiled in the pros and cons of the OP item request, but I have one of these (or at least its the same) and cost £16 when I got it.
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I don't (or haven't) used it on the MoHo, however I use it to recharge an old (though it was the best of a pair) leisure battery I have in the garage. It's in a window in the garage and has charged up this battery a few times (use the battery on a lead lamp) and is connected all the time when not in use.
I don't know what type it is but it seems to work well for the size of it.

Just my t'penneth.

Trikeman. :winky:
 

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