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Old 06-15-2020, 09:49 AM   #1
crowbar
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Solar Panels

Most of my travels involve "dry" camping, so one day I saw on sale, a 40W solar panel for what I thought was a good price. Had it for one season and found it to be absolutely useless so I sold it. What would you folks say is the minimum size (wattage) for a solar panel to be affective for just keeping your batteries topped up? Any thoughts appreciated. - Roy
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Old 06-15-2020, 09:56 AM   #2
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Minimum 100, you can now buy 160 /180 watt single panels. I would target 160 to 200 ish. Got 100 on mine, usually get 5 amps, looking to add another 100 watts.
Enough power if you're a bit frugal with power and $$, but enough to keep a charge up.
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Old 06-15-2020, 10:03 AM   #3
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Thanks Brent. Do you know offhand what the physical size of your 100 is, roughly?
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Old 06-15-2020, 10:10 AM   #4
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I agree with Brent. 100w minimum. We have a 200w portable kit. It keeps our 2, 6vdc batteries topped off very nicely. We were fortunate enough to meet a fellow camper a few years back who had a 100w solar system. He schooled me one afternoon on solar and was the impetus for us going solar instead of running the generator. Been extremely pleased with our decision and set up.
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Old 06-15-2020, 10:21 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crowbar View Post
Most of my travels involve "dry" camping, so one day I saw on sale, a 40W solar panel for what I thought was a good price. Had it for one season and found it to be absolutely useless so I sold it. What would you folks say is the minimum size (wattage) for a solar panel to be affective for just keeping your batteries topped up? Any thoughts appreciated. - Roy
There are several factors that would/could greatly alter a recommendation.

What's the battery configuration? I.e. one battery, 2 12 volt batteries, 2 6 volt batteries?

What are expectations for using the batteries? Few LED lights, and water pump? Watching television for several hours/night? Running a coffee maker and a hair dryer?

How many days/nights do you intend to stay out before you plug in to shore power or a generator if at all?

Where do you camp? "Typical" weather (how many days a year does it rain or is cloudy vs full sun and at what latitude. A solar panel will be a lot more efficient in the desert SW that it will be in the Pacific NW.

Lastly do you want a permanent panel(s) on the roof or a portable unit that you set on the ground and plug in to use?
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Old 06-15-2020, 10:40 AM   #6
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I use 2 6v batteries. Usually have light application. No coffee makers or hair dryers. Usually at one place for one to two weeks at a time. We rarely stay at full tilt campgrounds and we do have a 2000W generator that we use when necessary, which is every 2 - 3 days. Most of our travel is around the Pacific North Wet Coast at Provincial and State Campgrounds in B.C. and Washington State. Typical weather is mix of sun and overcast. Not interested in mounting anything on my trailer. It would be strictly portable.
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Old 06-15-2020, 11:14 AM   #7
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I would take the previous advice on 200 watt unit.
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Old 06-15-2020, 02:46 PM   #8
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I would go with the suggested 200 watt panels. I had a couple rv batteries hooked up to a 100 watt panel and it worked out but to be safe I would double up and go 200 watts and then even on cloudy days you should be okay. I found a place here that sells 360 watt panels for approx $250 so I think I am going to give those a try as long as they are not to big and bulky as they have to be somewhat portable but 200 watts should cover you for needs. Happy camping
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Old 06-15-2020, 05:45 PM   #9
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Thanks Brent. Do you know offhand what the physical size of your 100 is, roughly?
26 x 58 inches
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Old 10-16-2020, 07:53 PM   #10
Philipclopez
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I bought Renogy 100-Watt to charge the deep cycle battery on my RV and to charge the Duracell Powerpack 600 (26ah AGM battery inside) when car camping, which runs an ARB portable fridge and some other smaller items. I tested it recently at sea level on a 65 degree no clouds day in TX and I was quite pleased to see peak outputs of 7 amps from the panel when I really loaded up the battery.
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Old 10-16-2020, 09:02 PM   #11
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I have had a 100 watt renogy panel for the last two seasons and I am very pleased. It will top off two 6v Duracell 230ah batteries daily with partly cloudy skies. We are very frugal with our electric usage, water pump, frig and lights. No Tv, coffee maker or hair dryer. Most of our dry camping is 5 to 6 nights in the Colorado rockies. This is a portable panel with the controller connected directly to the batteries.
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Old 10-26-2020, 12:04 PM   #12
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solar panels

We have a 100W Renogy mounted on the roof. With sun, far from certain in New England, it will keep us going for several days. We also have a 55w panel that can be plugged in and moved around to follow the sun. If I were to redo things I'd go for 200w.
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