more expense!! (1 Viewer)

[Coolbeanz]

The garage that is supplying our lovely Hymer is fitting it with an 1800W inverter that I had sent to them to solve the problem of drying my hair!! It already has a solar panel on the roof and 2 85ah leisure batteries which we are going to replace with our 2 new 110ah batteries after we pick it up Saturday. All sorted I thought........... no more expense I thought............ Famous last words oh: They didn't know what size the solar panel was but said they'd find out. They called me Monday and advised me it is a 60W panel :Sad: This is clearly not going to be enough for our plans to be off hook up at least 5 days a week with me using the hairdryer for 5 minutes a day is it So my next question is have any of you bought a panel from Bimble Solar? They advertise as being the cheapest supplier in UK and Europe and I must say their prices look very impressive. If I buy a bigger panel and charge controller am I right in thinking it should be fairly easy and straightforward for an electrician to fit it in place of what is currently there?

 

[tonka]

Remember you do not have to run the dryer on full heat, It's the heat setting that takes the power, The blower part does not use much..
Use it on lower setting as my wife does.. We only have an 80w panel and a 600w cheapo inverter (1000w peak max output). she manages as and when she has to use it....

You can get 2x 80w panels off ebay for under £160.

 

[Coolbeanz]

Remember you do not have to run the dryer on full heat, It's the heat setting that takes the power, The blower part does not use much..
Use it on lower setting as my wife does.. We only have an 80w panel and a 600w cheapo inverter (1000w peak max output). she manages as and when she has to use it....

You can get 2x 80w panels off ebay for under £160.

This one on Bimble is only £95 so wouldn't that work out better? 165W Solar Panels, Isofoton Monocrystaline - Made in Europe - Bargain Price - Anti-reflective glass for cloud cover

I will remember that with the heat setting as it is the blower bit I need more than the heat :thumb:

Not sure if that's an on grid one but they also do this package for £175 12v 165W solar panel package with MPPT charge controller

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[JeanLuc]

Panels look OK (monocrystaline) but I know nothing about Bimble or the panel make.
Which model Schaudt EBL and control panel does the Hymer have? If it's an EBL99 with the needle dials in the control panel, then other makes of regulator can be used, but if it's a later EBL (200 series) with LCD panel controller, my advice would be to go for the Schaudt LR1218 regulator. It is PWM not MPPT but works with all EBLs and comes complete with all connecting cables to link them together. It also charges the starter battery as well as the Leisure batteries. That is the system I have with an EBL99 and I would recommend it whichever EBL you have. Have a look at the link I PM'd you last week for more info on Schaudt EBLs and solar charging. I think they sell the LR1218 too, but it costs more than the Bimble offers.

 

[Taran_Las]

Before you buy the panel check if it will physically fit on the roof. Don't forget a panel which is slightly obscured by a roof fitting (even a small one cell shadow) will drastically reduce the panel's output.

 

[Coolbeanz]

Panels look OK (monocrystaline) but I know nothing about Bimble or the panel make.
Which model Schaudt EBL and control panel does the Hymer have? If it's an EBL99 with the needle dials in the control panel, then other makes of regulator can be used, but if it's a later EBL (200 series) with LCD panel controller, my advice would be to go for the Schaudt LR1218 regulator. It is PWM not MPPT but works with all EBLs and comes complete with all connecting cables to link them together. It also charges the starter battery as well as the Leisure batteries. That is the system I have with an EBL99 and I would recommend it whichever EBL you have. Have a look at the link I PM'd you last week for more info on Schaudt EBLs and solar charging. I think they sell the LR1218 too, but it costs more than the Bimble offers.

Thanks for that info, I will look at which type it has on Saturday. May need to come back to you for more help oh: :thumb:

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[Minxy]

We've got a 75w panel and very rarely go on a campsite, in act the last one we used being a CL about 2 years ago! Now we wild camp and although we don't run a hairdryer I don't think it would be a problem for a short 'burst' with our set-up if we needed it. We like to watch a DVD for an hour on an evening, as well as charging up mobile phones, laptop etc, and have never had a problem with running out of juice!

If I was you I'd see how I got on with the existing panel panel before splashing out on another. However if you do want another, seeing as there's already one panel up there, why not just put a second one up there too? You may find that the controller you've already got is sufficient to run both.

 

[Coolbeanz]

We've got a 75w panel and very rarely go on a campsite, in act the last one we used being a CL about 2 years ago! Now we wild camp and although we don't run a hairdryer I don't think it would be a problem for a short 'burst' with our set-up if we needed it. We like to watch a DVD for an hour on an evening, as well as charging up mobile phones, laptop etc, and have never had a problem with running out of juice!

If I was you I'd see how I got on with the existing panel panel before splashing out on another. However if you do want another, seeing as there's already one panel up there, why not just put a second one up there too? You may find that the controller you've already got is sufficient to run both.

That's reassuring to hear, we'll give it a try when we leave at the end of April and see how long we last without knocking the batteries too low and if needs be we can always get another one fitted when we pop back to the UK for a visit later in the year :thumb:

 

[Mousy]

We are connecting our 1800 inverter to our engine battery, we will run the engine for the short 5 mins it will take me to dry my hair with a 800 watt baby bliss style brush.

We currently have one 110 hab battery and 100 watt solar panel. When this hab battery needs replacing we will upgrade to 2 new 110 battery's and maybe a b2b and connect the inverter to the new battery's.

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[Reallyretired]

If theres room on the roof and you can take the weight, don't replace the small panel, add the new one wired in parallel. Just make sure the regulator is big enough for the combined output. You can't have too much solar.

 

[Armytwowheels]

Same as Mousy.

But we only have a 1000w inverter hard wired into the starter solenoid connection and earth to main chassis. This was done to avoid crowding the battery terminals.

Colin starts the van up when I want to use my hairdryer. If you are relying on solar panels to recharge after using your hair dryer it might not replenish the batteries on a cloudy day, no matter many solar panels you have. Even on a sunny day it would take several days of sunshine to replenish the batteries after a battering with your hair dryer.

Much cheaper to connect your inverter in this way, or a means of recharging the leisure batteries by your engine alternator.

Please do not think I am Miss Technical Motorhome 2014, Colin has said all this,

 

[ShiftZZ]

The garage that is supplying our lovely Hymer is fitting it with an 1800W inverter that I had sent to them to solve the problem of drying my hair!! It already has a solar panel on the roof and 2 85ah leisure batteries which we are going to replace with our 2 new 110ah batteries after we pick it up Saturday. All sorted I thought........... no more expense I thought............ Famous last words oh: They didn't know what size the solar panel was but said they'd find out. They called me Monday and advised me it is a 60W panel :Sad: This is clearly not going to be enough for our plans to be off hook up at least 5 days a week with me using the hairdryer for 5 minutes a day is it So my next question is have any of you bought a panel from [HI]Bimble Solar[/HI]? They advertise as being the cheapest supplier in UK and Europe and I must say their prices look very impressive. If I buy a bigger panel and charge controller am I right in thinking it should be fairly easy and straightforward for an electrician to fit it in place of what is currently there?

from their webpage..
Address:
Bimble Solar
Near Sherborne
Dorset

Telephone:
02081330076

Is that not a London number?

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[Moodybrook]

I have just finished installing Bimbles 165 W panel. I have found them easy to deal with, good delivery service, they actually reply to emails.

Do check the available space it is a big lump 1.590M x .790M x 40mm. I ordered it and found the only place it would fit was on top of the overcab.

I pulled the van out of its' cosy shed today as for a wee while the sun had come out to play. Still very low on the horizon so I was not expecting great results. I watched the accompanying Meter (better than TV !) that I got with it and I found that it peaked for some time at 4.7A @14.5V to the leisure batts. so I was relatively happy with that as it was sunshine thro some mist and tail ends of rain clouds, not radiant clear skies.

 

[Moodybrook]

For you lassies needing your hair dried, and if on other occasions it is a bit on the warm side, I got one instead of air con, they are good bits of kit :thumb: 12v no need for inverters :thumb:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V687TMdIoos"]Fan Tastic Vent Endless Breeze box fan - YouTube[/ame]


PS. It is not anything like as noisy as on that u tube video, must be a pretty sensitive microphone,

 

[Mastercamper]

I don`t believe it, Ive just wasted 10 valuable minutes of my life watching a moronic video of a noisy fan turning round. The first 5 minutes of which were obviously designed to be watched by an expert speed reader, with better glasses than mine.
Might be a good fan, but .......................:Sad:

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[Encantador]

I don`t believe it, Ive just wasted 10 valuable minutes of my life watching a moronic video of a noisy fan turning round. The first 5 minutes of which were obviously designed to be watched by an expert speed reader, with better glasses than mine.
Might be a good fan, but .......................:Sad:

They assumed viewers would use the `Pause` button to read the details......

 

[joner8888]

Get a grade x1 haircut , no need for a dryer , save a fortune :thumb: