Thread: how to charge the caravan batteries

Be aware that many solar panels are also not meant for charging van or car batterys, house panels are normally 32 cells and they don't provide enough voltage to get the batterys up to float even if they are huge in size.

If your going to buy a panel no matter how many watts it is make sure it has 36 cells and get a decent regulator like a ProStar etc.

I was thinking about 200 watts would do me so I'm happy to go with that.

Originally Posted by TerryO

Be aware that many solar panels are also not meant for charging van or car batterys, house panels are normally 32 cells and they don't provide enough voltage to get the batterys up to float even if they are huge in size.

Now I'm really confused. I thought volts were volts? Most panels say they are 12-24 volt panels.

How many volts do I need to charge a 12 volt battery?

Our caravan has 2 x 135w quality solar panels fitted along with 2 x 100 amp AGM battery's and that is more than I need even though we use lots and lots of power through on average 4 LED lights, fans, water pumps, stereo and TV and we have our 60 litre chest fridge plugged in day and night and most days the solar regulator shows the battery's are full and the regulator is on float by between 8:00 am and 10:00 am even on cloudy days.

A well set up solar system makes camping really easy, from what I understand a good quality 36 cell solar panel when charging can run up at around 17 volts or so. When a battery is charged and the regulator is at float level then it shows around 13.4 volts from memory.

Our van only gets power from the solar panels, it is far better if your panels are permanently fitted to have them as the only power in even when driving.

I freely admit I am no expert on this but from the little I know and the system I have now had fitted once I found out what was needed to the van I am a total convert to solar for camping and vanning.

What make and where did you get your solar panels from?

There is such a large variation in price I do not know where to start.

I bought Kyocera 135w panels, three years ago they were about $1,400 each, now they are about $400 or so if you shop around.

Why not drive up to Goulburn and have a look at our set up? More than happy to show you it and how it works.

I got Kyocera panels ( 280watts) , they are worth every cent!!! You get what you pay for

Hi Gullible, for what you are planning to do with your Jayco, solar would be, by far, the best way to go.

BUT, you do not need to get 200w of solar right from the start, you would probably be better to get just an 80w panel first and see if it meets your needs.

Remember, when you go on a trip, if you have been maintaining house battery properly, between trips, it will be in a fully charged state when you leave home.

So your solar panel is only needed to replace what you use each day plus a little extra, to cover you when the suns not shining.

It is not there to fully charge a low battery every day.

So if you start with something like an 80w solar panel, you may find it meets your needs.

If it doesn't, or if your usage changes, it is a simple matter of just adding another panel ( or another battery, or both ).

One thing I would recommend, make sure you connect the solar panel, via the regulator, to the battery with decent size cabling, and this is one of those areas where oversized is a good thing.

One question no one has asked yet is what size 2-way fridge are you thinking of fitting to your van? And is it a chest or a upright? Depending on that will make a big difference on what size system you will need.

The trick is to do your research and spend the money once, its common to hear story's about people who try and cut corners to save bucks and end up with a system that doesn't work and a whole lot of wasted time and money and horror story's about wasted trips because the food went off and worse still the beer was warm. ...