Recommend Me 200w Solar Panels? (1 Viewer)

Oct 1, 2013
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I have decided to add 200w of free leccy and want some advice as to what is a good buy.

Any recommendations ?


Should I buy 2 x 100 or just 1 x 200 ?

And I assume I need some sort of regulator as well ?


Thanks in advance :)



Will have 2 x 110 AH leisure batteries
 

DuxDeluxe

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Jul 10, 2008
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Depends on how much real estate you have on your roof and what dimension panel will fit... Two smaller ones might fit better. Best thing to do is to have a look - don't know what roof lights you have... If any
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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ideal way is get two 100wt panels off ebay . green giant is ok . and i use these regs .Broken Link Removed
some will say no dont use pwm regs . i find they work fine and arent expensive . better to use the extra cash on fuel to travel .

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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Depends on how much real estate you have on your roof and what dimension panel will fit... Two smaller ones might fit better. Best thing to do is to have a look - don't know what roof lights you have... If any
Plenty of roof space on a Tranny :)
 

DuxDeluxe

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Jul 10, 2008
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Ok, get up and spend some time top of your tranny and put whatever is cheapest on.... With two panels you are doubling the cost of feet unless it comes as a kit.

Best of luck and be careful when you climb back off her........
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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vwalan

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i use ally angle . ideally across the front and rear of the panel . dont want a gap at the front incase a low branch hooks underneath .
possibly two lengths one front one rear . simple pos to pos . neg to neg wiring then down to the reg . easily done . might even later on get another bank up there .
they were 79.99 only the other week.
 
Jul 5, 2013
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I bought and fitted a couple of Broken Link Removed. They seem to work very well. Better to have two fitted a bit apart. That way if the pitch is shady there is a chance that one will get some sun.
 

vwalan

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heres my first bank of panels . i now have another bank as well.

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vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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I bought and fitted a couple of Broken Link Removed. They seem to work very well. Better to have two fitted a bit apart. That way if the pitch is shady there is a chance that one will get some sun.
yes they are ok as well.
mates have them .
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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I bought and fitted a couple of Broken Link Removed. They seem to work very well. Better to have two fitted a bit apart. That way if the pitch is shady there is a chance that one will get some sun.
They are surprisingly affordable :)
 

DP+JAY

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Mar 17, 2010
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Ok, get up and spend some time top of your tranny and put whatever is cheapest on.... With two panels you are doubling the cost of feet unless it comes as a kit.

Best of luck and be careful when you climb back off her........
Don't you mean off him?

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trekkin

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Wherever you put them, make sure you can reach then to clean them regularly.

They don't like being dirty, don't work too well
 
Apr 18, 2009
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Not long enough!
I decided on two of these because the only place to fit them on my Hymer was right at the front and I decided low profile was better for me, only been on a week so time will tell if they are a good investment or not but working well at the mo, I am using one of these regulaters(y)

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Jul 5, 2013
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They are surprisingly affordable :)
Yes, and they have come down by a tenner from when I bought them. If you are buying two make an offer. I did and they accepted it
Wherever you put them, make sure you can reach then to clean them regularly.

They don't like being dirty, don't work too well
Good point. Mine are either side of a rooflight in the bedroom area. One of the reasons I chose that area is that I can stand on the bed area, reach through the rooflight and clean both.
I have ladders :)
Do you carry them in the motorhome though? Needed when you get some dirty rain in dusty parts of France and Spain
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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I now know what sort of panels I want. Thanks :)

Now how do I fit them to the roof ? Are there standard fittings?

Any drilling involved ?

And apart from a regulator, do I need anything else ?
 
Jul 5, 2013
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You can buy standard plastic fittings to support the panel(s). However, on the advice of Andy (Techno100), I used short lengths (165mm) of 50mm x 50mm aluminium angle which I "pop riveted" to the sides of the panel to make feet. Andy recommended using 4 (one at each corner), but I adopted a belt and braces approach and put another one in the middle of each long side. I then stuck the feet to the roof using Sikaflex 512, after properly preparing the surfaces with Sika 205 cleaner.

The only hole I drilled in the roof (with trembling hands!) was for the cable to go inside the motorhome. You can buy "stick on" fittings that look like this to waterproof the hole. However I thought Broken Link Removedooked like a better engineered product so used it instead, but still stuck it down and sealed it with the Sika. You will need to buy some additional glands for the cables to go through , but the same supplier sells them.

You will also need some solar cables, and maybe joiners if you are using more than one panel, and some trunking that you stick on the roof to hide the cables and keep them from flapping around.

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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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I wanted 200w but that would mean 2 panels and 2 of everything and double the trouble.

So instead decided to get a Biard 150w panel :)

Broken Link Removed
 

musson

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Dec 25, 2013
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There is a company at lowerstoft that are very good service and the prices are good 01502515532
 

Andy

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May 25, 2014
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I decided on two of these because the only place to fit them on my Hymer was right at the front and I decided low profile was better for me, only been on a week so time will tell if they are a good investment or not but working well at the mo, I am using one of these regulaters(y)


Hi Tim, how have you fitted them, .......I'm thinking of same on my Hymer, and wondering if bonding/glueing them down will be safe. (don't like the idea of drilling holes in the roof, :eek:)

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Apr 18, 2009
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Hi Tim, how have you fitted them, .......I'm thinking of same on my Hymer, and wondering if bonding/glueing them down will be safe. (don't like the idea of drilling holes in the roof, :eek:)


Hi Andy
I've stuck them down with Sikaflex, a blob on each corner, two down each side and a thin bead along the front so that the slipstream dosn't get under them, I figured that way lets a little bit of air get underneath to cool them and I can still get a thin bladed knife or cheese wire in there if they ever need to come off.

there is no need for any screws and as long as your prep work is good there is know way they will ever come off, I tried to remove some redundant alloy brackets stuck to the roof with Sikaflex and had to give up on two of them cos they were stuck so well.

It also pays to leave a couple of mm of Sikaflex rather than pushing them hard onto the roof that way they stick better and its easier to get something in there if they ever do need to come off(y)
 

Andy

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May 25, 2014
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Hi Andy
I've stuck them down with Sikaflex, a blob on each corner, two down each side and a thin bead along the front so that the slipstream dosn't get under them, I figured that way lets a little bit of air get underneath to cool them and I can still get a thin bladed knife or cheese wire in there if they ever need to come off.

there is no need for any screws and as long as your prep work is good there is know way they will ever come off, I tried to remove some redundant alloy brackets stuck to the roof with Sikaflex and had to give up on two of them cos they were stuck so well.

It also pays to leave a couple of mm of Sikaflex rather than pushing them hard onto the roof that way they stick better and its easier to get something in there if they ever do need to come off(y)


Thanks mate, that's what I thought..........(y)
 

voyagerstan

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two panels = one regulator . get higher amp reg than you need then you can add more panels if you want :p STAN
 

Moodybrook

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Jul 7, 2013
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3mm tile spacers(plastic + shape ) underneath to give you the correct depth of Sika.:) (y)

Make sure your regulator is MPPT type.

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Sep 23, 2013
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In a nutshell, a MPPT regulator will pass more usable power to the battery on a dull(ish) day.

In strong sunlight, there is less difference between the two types.
 

Moodybrook

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Jul 7, 2013
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still in nappies
This is my baby, sleeps under the seating next to my extra battery I added at the same time as panel, the black dollop with a red wire protruding is my trip switch fuse between regulator and battery bank (2 x 110Ah jobbies).(matched pair as advised here) The other red wire (comes off the pos. terminal on Batts) disappearing off to the left is my wire going to the vehicle battery with another trip switch near it, so that I can isolate that wire when I fire up the elastic band. This is for when no sunshine and or in her shed on EHU. My onboard charger doesn't do anything for my vehicle battery, however my alarm, radio and other unknowns munch away at my veh. battery. You could permanently install a Lidl/Aldi charger and plug it in when on EHU. Whatever floats your boat ? At the moment I don't do much winter cruising but during the Summer the panel zapped in all the amps I was able to use, and more ! 165W Panel
Do a search for solar, Trikeman did a good photographic expose on his installation. (y)

PS. Someone did the figures and the MPPT regulators were well worth the extra.



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