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Thread: Camper trailer solar set up

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
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    Camper trailer solar set up

    Hi all,
    I need some advice from the solar gurus. I've decided to get some panels for the camper. But now I'm just confused. I have 2x 105 amp deep cycle batteries on the camper. We run 2x LED strip lights and an 80 litre Weaco fridge. I also have 2x small LED lights and USB chargers by the bed. Other than that we don't power to much.
    So my questions are, 1. Is a 140w folding mono panel enough for my needs and 2. Will I need a CTEK D250s or similar. The camper has a Projector DC-DC charger but I'm not sure if I can connect a solar panel to it.

    Thanks

    Nino

  2. #2
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    I would be very surprised if 140w didn't cover it if you had "nice sunny days".
    I would buy a good quality MPPT regulator (NOT a cheap one) like This one. (I have the same unit and a 120w folding panel, we have 150Ah storage, charge laptops(2) ipads(3) ipods (?) run led lights, and usually power several other family campers too. the big difference is we have a gas fridge, but our batteries are usually fully charged by 11am. this is Victorian summer conditions.
    The good thing about that reg (in your case) is it can take up to 260w, so you could add more panels later. If you do go for a "proper" MPPT regulator, make sure you get your panels to run at 24v if you can as this helps heaps with the voltage drop over the cables from the panels and allows you to place them further away in the sun.

    Cheers,

    Fraser

  3. #3
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    What is your typical use?

    Do you want to be able to run off solar indefinitely? Or just hoping to add an extra day or two to your battery life before needing a recharge from driving/home?

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Hi Nino,
    As already noted, it depends on your intended use.

    I regularly camp up for 2 weeks in Victorian winter. I power a 20+ year old 39L Engel fridge (read - not very efficient anymore), LED lights, and recharge laptop, pad, satphone, and sundry other batteries.
    My setup is 3 x 100Ah deep cycle batteries charged with 2 x 110W mono-crystalline solar panels, and a Redarc MPPT/DC-DC charger. Battery state of charge is monitored with a Xantrex Link Pro monitor.

    My worst case situation was after 5 days of heavy overcast/rain, there was still enough solar input to prevent the battery state of charge (SOC) dropping below 70%. One day of sunshine following this had the batteries back to 100% SOC. Since it is advisable to not let the battery to go below 50%SOC, and since I'm unlikely to stay put for more than 5 days under similar conditions, what this means is that I have a little too much battery/solar for my requirements. Still - it's nice to have some reserve.

    So what are your requirements from your solar setup? If you're not planning to camp up for longish periods of time in southern winters, then I would imagine that your 140W solar with a good MPPT controller and 210Ah battery should be more than adequate.

    The Ctek D250S will give you automatic change over between solar/car charging, but is really only an advantage if your solar panels are permanently connected. If your solar panels are stored away while traveling, and setup after setting up camp, then there is no real advantage.

    Good luck with your decisions
    Ian
    Ian
    D3 with extras

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    Burpengary, QLD
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    G'day Fraser!

    Sorry to sidetrack the thread a little, but...

    I recently purchased and installed a Tracer 2210RN solar charge controller, with the MT5 remote unit.

    I haven't had any problems with it using it, though I seem to have a slight inconsistency with what it reports as the battery's state of charge.

    It's connected to our auxiliary battery, which charges from the car after a Redarc isolator.

    After a drive long enough to top up both batteries, I get a voltage reading - after it settles - of 12.7V on the battery. I understand this is pretty much a 100% reading, however when you cycle through the display on the MT5 unit, and the bar gauge correlates this - it's only reporting the battery at 60% charge.

    My concern is that when I connect the solar panels, the controller will think the battery is not fully charged, and try to overcharge the battery.

    I've only had the panels running for a short amount of time since installing the controller. The only thing I can think of is that I need to have it charging for a while for the controller to properly ascertain the state of charge of the battery.

    I've been through the manual for both the controller and the MT5 remote unit, and can't find anything that helps...

    Thanks!



    Quote Originally Posted by fraser130 View Post
    I would be very surprised if 140w didn't cover it if you had "nice sunny days".
    I would buy a good quality MPPT regulator (NOT a cheap one) like This one. (I have the same unit and a 120w folding panel, we have 150Ah storage, charge laptops(2) ipads(3) ipods (?) run led lights, and usually power several other family campers too. the big difference is we have a gas fridge, but our batteries are usually fully charged by 11am. this is Victorian summer conditions.
    The good thing about that reg (in your case) is it can take up to 260w, so you could add more panels later. If you do go for a "proper" MPPT regulator, make sure you get your panels to run at 24v if you can as this helps heaps with the voltage drop over the cables from the panels and allows you to place them further away in the sun.

    Cheers,

    Fraser

  6. #6
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    A lot depends upon the conditions you are camping in. Camping in 40 degree heat, for example, will cause your fridge duty-cycle to be much greater than if you were camping in a southern winter, so your amp-hour requirement to run the fridge over a 24-hour period might be tripled. Running LED lights for a couple of hours in the evening won't draw much at all, but older, less efficient lights can draw more than your fridge.
    In the Kimberley this year, I had similar power requirements to what you describe; Engel fridge, LED strip lights, plus occasional brief use of the HF radio. In places where I could keep my 120watt panel in the sun, it produced enough power to camp indefinitely. One spot where we camped with a lot of shade, I could only keep it in the sun for about 4 to 5 hours a day, and ended up having to run the car for an hour every second day to top up the battery.
    Having at least 10 meters of heavy cable will help, the 5 meter length that most panel sets are provided with is nowhere near enough to keep the camp in the shade and the panel in the sun.

  7. #7
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    Another thing that I found helped quite a lot was to have the voltage regulator at the battery end of the cables; the folding panel set that I bought had a regulator attached to the panels, this means that you get the regulated 14-point-whatever volts, MINUS the voltage drop over the length of the cables. Moving it to the battery end means that the voltage is regulated AFTER the voltage drop of the cables, this can make a significant difference to the power getting to the battery. A tip I picked up somehwere on this forum.

  8. #8
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    Hello!
    I find the SOC indicator is only an approx. indication, and it also assumes no other source of power, and it needs all the load to be shunted through the reg, as well as the type of battery and the capacity of the battery to be programed in. To try and get an accurate SOC the batt also has to sit for about an hour with no load!
    It also is highly dependent on the condition of the battery too.
    if the battery type is set correctly, don't worry, it will not overcharge it, you will see the charge current drop very quickly , then it gives small boosts every now and then. as long as the battery type is set correctly, you have nothing to worry about.


    Cheers,
    Fraser

    PS - the SOC reading is independent of the actual charging process too

    Quote Originally Posted by TeamFA View Post
    G'day Fraser!

    Sorry to sidetrack the thread a little, but...

    I recently purchased and installed a Tracer 2210RN solar charge controller, with the MT5 remote unit.

    I haven't had any problems with it using it, though I seem to have a slight inconsistency with what it reports as the battery's state of charge.

    It's connected to our auxiliary battery, which charges from the car after a Redarc isolator.

    After a drive long enough to top up both batteries, I get a voltage reading - after it settles - of 12.7V on the battery. I understand this is pretty much a 100% reading, however when you cycle through the display on the MT5 unit, and the bar gauge correlates this - it's only reporting the battery at 60% charge.

    My concern is that when I connect the solar panels, the controller will think the battery is not fully charged, and try to overcharge the battery.

    I've only had the panels running for a short amount of time since installing the controller. The only thing I can think of is that I need to have it charging for a while for the controller to properly ascertain the state of charge of the battery.

    I've been through the manual for both the controller and the MT5 remote unit, and can't find anything that helps...

    Thanks!

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by fraser130 View Post
    If you do go for a "proper" MPPT regulator, make sure you get your panels to run at 24v if you can as this helps heaps with the voltage drop over the cables from the panels and allows you to place them further away in the sun.

    Cheers,

    Fraser
    I don't know much about the 24v option but what I do know is this.

    If you have your regulator near the battery and not at the panel/s (like the plug and play kits have) voltage drop with reasonable size cable will not be a problem, as the panels are out putting around 21 volts, so a small loss does not matter.

    With 160 watts I use 6mm auto cable which is really only about 4.5mm. I have run up to 40 metres of this and it works fine.
    Dave.

    I was asked " Is it ignorance or apathy?" I replied "I don't know and I don't care."


    1983 RR gone (wish I kept it)
    1996 TDI ES.
    2003 TD5 HSE
    1987 Isuzu County

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by d2dave View Post
    I don't know much about the 24v option but what I do know is this.

    If you have your regulator near the battery and not at the panel/s (like the plug and play kits have) voltage drop with reasonable size cable will not be a problem, as the panels are out putting around 21 volts, so a small loss does not matter.

    With 160 watts I use 6mm auto cable which is really only about 4.5mm. I have run up to 40 metres of this and it works fine.
    Dave, I agree 100% that the reg should be next to the batteries, I was just meaning that if you put the panels in series, you will halve the loss for the same power. Or you can double the length of the cable or use cable half the size and have the same loss.

    Fraser

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