Solar novice!

[John Mee]

Hi, my second post on rejoining, with many to follow, undoubtedly.

I have bought a 2010 Autocruise Stardream and am awaiting its final check and a bike rack to be fitted. It has a solar panel and a Truma controller? This is as much as I know at the moment, but believe this might have been fitted from new?
I have zero knowledge on the workings of solar so can be easily confused when reading articles on here and other sites.
Does anyone know what I have got and what I can expect from it? Cheers John.

 

[headlight]

Hi, my second post on rejoining, with many to follow, undoubtedly.

I have bought a 2010 Autocruise Stardream and am awaiting its final check and a bike rack to be fitted. It has a solar panel and a Truma controller? This is as much as I know at the moment, but believe this might have been fitted from new?
I have zero knowledge on the workings of solar so can be easily confused when reading articles on here and other sites.
Does anyone know what I have got and what I can expect from it? Cheers John.
View attachment 762399

All depends how many watts the panel is, probably 80-100 watts if fitted from new.
If its a 100 watt panel you should expect about 30 amps on a nice sunny British summers day.

 

[donkey]

As above, no idea how big your panel is. the controller is wired to charge both leisure and vehicle batteries. You can adjust what percentage of the charge goes to the vehicle battery. You should be able to find a user manual online which will explain this.

Geoff

 

[Vansflyer]

All depends how many watts the panel is, probably 80-100 watts if fitted from new.
If its a 100 watt panel you should expect about 30 amps on a nice sunny British summers day.

With respect I think your maths may be wrong, you won't get 30A from 100w solar.
For 30A to get to your battery you are looking at around 450-500W of good quality panels on the roof on a cool sunny day. That controller is splitting the solar charge, at a guess at best 4A between both batteries from a good day.
John Mee
Put a clamp meter (that can read dc current) on the negative lead that is going to the hab battery when it is 20% + discharged or so and it will tell you exactly what solar you are getting, on a sunny day obvs

 

[Stealaway]

All depends how many watts the panel is, probably 80-100 watts if fitted from new.
If its a 100 watt panel you should expect about 30 amps on a nice sunny British summers day.

That sounds a bit ambitious. I would be happy with 8 amps on a bright sunny day and a pretty flat battery

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[headlight]

With respect I think your maths may be wrong, you won't get 30A from 100w solar.
For 30A to get to your battery you are looking at around 450-500W of good quality panels on the roof on a cool sunny day. That controller is splitting the solar charge, at a guess at best 4A between both batteries from a good day.
John Mee
Put a clamp meter (that can read dc current) on the negative lead that is going to the hab battery when it is 20% + discharged or so and it will tell you exactly what solar you are getting, on a sunny day obvs

Obviously I meant 30 amps a day not 30 amps an hour.

 

[headlight]

That sounds a bit ambitious. I would be happy with 8 amps on a bright sunny day and a pretty flat battery

Obviously I meant 30 amps per day not per hour.

 

[headlight]

If you zoom in on the op's picture it looks to me like battery no 2 only has a posited wire, no negative.
If that is the case then only battery no 1 is being charged.
There are 8 connection points but only 7 wires unless my eyes are deceiving me ?

 

[headlight]

Obviously I meant 30 amps a day not 30 amps an hour.

 

[Vansflyer]

If you zoom in on the op's picture it looks to me like battery no 2 only has a posited wire, no negative.
If that is the case then only battery no 1 is being charged.
There are 8 connection points but only 7 wires unless my eyes are deceiving me ?

If common neg it may only need one connected.

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[Vansflyer]

Obviously I meant 30 amps a day not 30 amps an hour.

Ta for clarification.

 

[Carpmart]

With respect I think your maths may be wrong, you won't get 30A from 100w solar.
For 30A to get to your battery you are looking at around 450-500W of good quality panels on the roof on a cool sunny day. That controller is splitting the solar charge, at a guess at best 4A between both batteries from a good day.
John Mee
Put a clamp meter (that can read dc current) on the negative lead that is going to the hab battery when it is 20% + discharged or so and it will tell you exactly what solar you are getting, on a sunny day obvs

In my real world experience I think it’s more likely you’ll need nearer 600w to see 30A to the cells regularly. There is always that odd, bright, ‘cool panel’ day that surprises you though!

 

[Lenny HB]

If you zoom in on the op's picture it looks to me like battery no 2 only has a posited wire, no negative.
If that is the case then only battery no 1 is being charged.
There are 8 connection points but only 7 wires unless my eyes are deceiving me ?

It's wired correctly you only need the positive to the starter battery.

 

[Revolvor]

Obviously I meant 30 amps per day not per hour.

I think what you actually meant was 30Ah in a day.

 

[headlight]

I think what you actually meant was 30Ah in a day.

Yes that as well

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[John Mee]

With respect I think your maths may be wrong, you won't get 30A from 100w solar.
For 30A to get to your battery you are looking at around 450-500W of good quality panels on the roof on a cool sunny day. That controller is splitting the solar charge, at a guess at best 4A between both batteries from a good day.
John Mee
Put a clamp meter (that can read dc current) on the negative lead that is going to the hab battery when it is 20% + discharged or so and it will tell you exactly what solar you are getting, on a sunny day obvs

Thank you!

 

[John Mee]

As above, no idea how big your panel is. the controller is wired to charge both leisure and vehicle batteries. You can adjust what percentage of the charge goes to the vehicle battery. You should be able to find a user manual online which will explain this.

Geoff

Thank you,

 

[John Mee]

Thank you,

The dealer said they thought it was 120w. how can I check? Do I need to get on the roof?

 

[donkey]

The dealer said they thought it was 120w. how can I check? Do I need to get on the roof?

To find out approximately the output from your solar panel. Remove the wires from the controller that come from the solar panel. Connect an ammeter to the pair of wires. You will need to do this in the best sunlight available, no point on a dull overcast day.

Getting on the roof probably will not help you, as the data label is almost certainly on the underside of the panel.

Geoff

 

[John Mee]

I don't fancy taking the panel off. If I get round to it I'll try a meter. Thanks.

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[autorouter]

The dealer said they thought it was 120w. how can I check? Do I need to get on the roof?

Some have had success by taping a phone to a stick and getting a video picture of the label by sliding it under the panel.

Alternatively, solar panel watts depends mostly on area. If you measure the size and work out the area you can compare it to some online ads, you won't be far out. Also the voltage depends mostly on the number of cells. You can count the cells to give you an idea of the voltage. 9 x 4 = 36 and 10 x 6 = 60 are common layouts.

 

[Bessy765]

As for what size the panels is, if when you use the van off grid and the batteries last for the time you are away the panels big enough, if you find it isn’t the cheapest way to start would to fit a second battery which will extend your stay. If you find you still run out consider a second panel. A lot depends on your intended use. Ideally if you were to consider a second battery they would be of the same type capacity and age. If not careful a motorhome is a bit like a boat with a hole in it that swallows money. a good idea is when you have used it for a few times empty the van out and check what you have and haven’t used. weight is fuel fuel is money. Enjoy and there is no such thing as a silly question (possibly some of the answers)

 

[John Mee]

We go on our first outing next week to a site for 4 days with no hookup. We'll see how well it lasts.

 

[Ian Bosman]

All depends how many watts the panel is, probably 80-100 watts if fitted from new.
If its a 100 watt panel you should expect about 30 amps on a nice sunny British summers day.

You can gert a remote reader installed which means you can read off the amount of charge coming from the panel

 

[Platelet]

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[John Mee]

You can gert a remote reader installed which means you can read off the amount of charge coming from the panel

Can you send me a link to a decent example please? I pressume this fits between the panel and the battery? Cheers John.

 

[The Wino]

Can you send me a link to a decent example please? I pressume this fits between the panel and the battery? Cheers John.

I think as someone else said if you are off grid and the battery stays charged your panel is big enough if it doesn't you need either to get a better battery to store the charge more efficiently or add more solar. I don't see what knowing that panel is a certain size is going to do to provide any useful information!

 

[Platelet]

Hi, my second post on rejoining, with many to follow, undoubtedly.

I have bought a 2010 Autocruise Stardream and am awaiting its final check and a bike rack to be fitted. It has a solar panel and a Truma controller? This is as much as I know at the moment, but believe this might have been fitted from new?
I have zero knowledge on the workings of solar so can be easily confused when reading articles on here and other sites.
Does anyone know what I have got and what I can expect from it? Cheers John.
View attachment 762399

Please note, that charger is for lead acid, Gel and AGM batteries only and NOT Lithium.

 

[MisterB]

Please note, that charger is for lead acid, Gel and AGM batteries only and NOT Lithium.

But on the lead acid setting I understand it would be ok ?

 

[John Mee]

I can't afford Lithium!

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