Solar sizing.

[Richard n Ann]

OK so if I go down the solar route i need an inverter (only for my hairdryer?), a new and more powerful battery ( >200ah, any brand?) or can I have 2?
Sorry I know so very little about this

Look at the "babyliss big hair" if I recall correctly it has lower power settings of 750w and 350w, the end twirls round too, Ann loved hers.
You'll be ok with 2 batteries then, the Varta LFD 90 is a popular choice.. ie 90ah x 2

 

[RedFrame]

Oh very far from what I will do per day!!!

Sorry to question your statement Lenny HB , but to recharge a 100Ah Lithium battery that is 50% discharged using a 60a B2B would take approx 1hrs driving, surely?

I understand you said "typical", but I was suggesting using Lithium in my post.

Cheers
Red.

 

[Lenny HB]

Sorry to question your statement Lenny HB , but to recharge a 100Ah Lithium battery that is 50% discharged using a 60a B2B would take approx 1hrs driving, surely?

I understand you said "typical", but I was suggesting using Lithium in my post.

Cheers
Red.

In that case slightly less than an hour from 50% SOC.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

OK so if I go down the solar route i need an inverter (only for my hairdryer?), a new and more powerful battery ( >200ah, any brand?) or can I have 2?
Sorry I know so very little about this

You can add a second battery quite easily assuming you have the space and it's something you can do yourself. You don't advise which van you are buying? Lots of vans have been fitted with extra batteries as usually it's the cheapest and easiest route to gain extra power. Approx £110 for decent battery and £20 for cables and connections.
Best to speak to your dealer if he is feeling generous.

 

[RedFrame]

You can add a second battery quite easily assuming you have the space and it's something you can do yourself. You don't advise which van you are buying? Lots of vans have been fitted with extra batteries as usually it's the cheapest and easiest route to gain extra power. Approx £110 for decent battery and £20 for cables and connections.
Best to speak to your dealer if he is feeling generous.

It's a self build, so blank canvas, Post #1.

Cheers
Red.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

It's a self build, so blank canvas, Post #1.

Cheers
Red.

I was responding to FanHope ( hence the included quote) who doesn't advise van type.

 

[autorouter]

He priced it at £400. And apparently they don't fit an inverter which as far as I am aware is essential when you have a solar panel right!?

No, you're confusing it with a solar installation on the roof of a house, which does require an inverter to change the solar power to mains voltage AC. A motorhome installation uses a 'solar controller' to change the solar power to DC battery power to charge the leisure battery.

The solar controller can be PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) or MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking). PWM are a bit cheaper, but MPPT are a bit better, especially in overcast conditions and early morning/late/evening. In full Spanish sunshine they are about the same. For bigger panels (200W or more) MPPT is essential.

You can add an inverter to run mains voltage AC appliances from the leisure battery DC power, but that's an entirely different question, and a whole new can of worms.

 

[FanHope]

No, you're confusing it with a solar installation on the roof of a house, which does require an inverter to change the solar power to mains voltage AC. A motorhome installation uses a 'solar controller' to change the solar power to DC battery power to charge the leisure battery.

The solar controller can be PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) or MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking). PWM are a bit cheaper, but MPPT are a bit better, especially in overcast conditions and early morning/late/evening. In full Spanish sunshine they are about the same. For bigger panels (200W or more) MPPT is essential.

You can add an inverter to run mains voltage AC appliances from the leisure battery DC power, but that's an entirely different question, and a whole new can of worms.

Thank you this is really helpful! . So will I be able to run all of the things listed below with dual battery system and a 140w solar panel? (Ideally 4-5 days off grid/not much travelling/day)

Expected power out:
1x 3 way fridge
6x spotlights (change to LED (4hours/day)
Water pump (30min-1.5hours)
Oven/hob ignitor (15min)
Water level gauge 15min
hairdryer 15 min twice/week
TV (optional) 2-3 hour/day
Blender 5 min/day
Charge : laptop, phone, Bluetooth speaker. 2 hours/day.

 

[FanHope]

You can add a second battery quite easily assuming you have the space and it's something you can do yourself. You don't advise which van you are buying? Lots of vans have been fitted with extra batteries as usually it's the cheapest and easiest route to gain extra power. Approx £110 for decent battery and £20 for cables and connections.
Best to speak to your dealer if he is feeling generous.

I bought a elddis autoquest 100 (2009)

 

[Lenny HB]

Thank you this is really helpful! . So will I be able to run all of the things listed below with dual battery system and a 140w solar panel? (Ideally 4-5 days off grid/not much travelling/day)

Expected power out:
1x 3 way fridge
6x spotlights (change to LED (4hours/day)
Water pump (30min-1.5hours)
Oven/hob ignitor (15min)
Water level gauge 15min
hairdryer 15 min twice/week
TV (optional) 2-3 hour/day
Blender 5 min/day
Charge : laptop, phone, Bluetooth speaker. 2 hours/day.

with only 140 Watts of solar you will probably be ok from May until mid September. For a longer season you will need a lot more solar. With solar best to fit as much as solar as you can get on the roof.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

I bought a elddis autoquest 100 (2009)

Very nice ,is it this one?
Broken Link Removed
There should be space for an additional battery and considering the van is a 2009, I am surprised there is no solar already on it. Best to check that.
Your fridge will only run on 12 v when the engine is running and 240v when on hook up otherwise you will need to run it on gas.(lpg).
Just make sure your dealer supplies you with a gas bottle .During the colder months ,like now you will need to use the heater which will also consume some battery power as well as the lpg. The latter you need to consider because if you only have one bottle you can run out and then have to travel or search for a refill/ exchange, you need to consider 2 bottles.The bigger the better.

 

[cyberyacht]

If getting 'new' gas bottles, consider refillables. They will saver you a fair bit over time on the cost of gas.

 

[Dazzola]

Holy thread hijack batman!
After a few messages from Mr RedFrame we have pretty much sorted my needs for the solar and battery setup.
If it helps I've gone for a double up of batteries, so 260ah of flooded.
A renogy dcc30s with mttp and a battery monitor.
Probably 200w of solar, whatever I can get with a single panel so maybe a bit more.
Should be fine for 2 or 3 days off hook up, driving between places will top things up enough, we won't be doing a month away so should be fine.
Thanks for all the input.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

Really, wow, I didn't think we would need that much, but you know more than me!
I can get an identical battery no problem, not sure I have enough roof for 300 Watts of panel though.

Million dollar question is, how long do you want to be able to run this kit off grid?
Also where will you be?
That affects the panels and the battery massively.



Edit..sorry overlapped with your last answer!

 

[Marauder]

Sorry I know so very little about this

.
Using the search facility at top right of your screen will yield a lot of useful info and previous threads,
especially when starting from a very basic level (like I did last year)
_

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[Boldly]

If using a split charge relay will take 8 hours to recharge batteries but b2b will do it in one hour will this not put too much strain on the alternator leading to other problems?

 

[bigtwin]

but b2b will do it in one hour will this not put too much strain on the alternator leading to other problems?

Doubtful, if you imagine how much current it needs to supply dip/main beam operation, heated windscreen, wiper motor, battery charge, etc simultaneously, it should manage ok.

The alternators provided these days are fairly substantial and provided you’re only demanding a proportion of its rated output it should be fine.

If there are concerns, the alternator output current/temperature could be monitored to confirm that all is ok.

Ian

 

[FanHope]

Very nice ,is it this one?
Broken Link Removed
There should be space for an additional battery and considering the van is a 2009, I am surprised there is no solar already on it. Best to check that.
Your fridge will only run on 12 v when the engine is running and 240v when on hook up otherwise you will need to run it on gas.(lpg).
Just make sure your dealer supplies you with a gas bottle .During the colder months ,like now you will need to use the heater which will also consume some battery power as well as the lpg. The latter you need to consider because if you only have one bottle you can run out and then have to travel or search for a refill/ exchange, you need to consider 2 bottles.The bigger the better.

Thank you, so I have asked for the dealer to change for a refillable lpg system with 2 bottles, change the 140w solar he wanted to install for a 160w and add a battery . I hope with all that I will be be ok

 

[FanHope]

with only 140 Watts of solar you will probably be ok from May until mid September. For a longer season you will need a lot more solar. With solar best to fit as much as solar as you can get on the roof.

Yes so he is looking at increasing to 160watts of solar as he does not think he can get more on the roof (the roof is 'curved' due to the design accommodating the bed over the cab).

 

[Dazzola]

I'm looking at buying the actual panel/s now I have the charge controller fitted so looked at the renogy stuff seeing as I have their dcc30s controller, but bizarrely they have a 200w panel, but it states its not compatible with their own product ie the dcc30s!!
Does anyone have any idea why this would be?

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[Emmit]

I only post this because the number screams out at me.
12volt? Every solar panel that I've ever seen for fitting to a van roof has a voltage of 20volts ballpark. Is that the reason.?

 

[Lenny HB]

I only post this because the number screams out at me.
12volt? Every solar panel that I've ever seen for fitting to a van roof has a voltage of 20volts ballpark. Is that the reason.?

You can't charge a 12v battery with 12v it needs between 14.2 to 14.7v depending on type.
A solar regulator/controller needs approx 3v overhead to work so to charge a battery at 14.7v you need an input into the regulator of at least 17.7v.
The output of a 12v solar panel under full sun is normally 21 to 22v, under full load that will drop a few volts also the voltage will reduce when you have anything less than full sunshine.

 

[autorouter]

I only post this because the number screams out at me.
12volt? Every solar panel that I've ever seen for fitting to a van roof has a voltage of 20volts ballpark. Is that the reason.?

As Lenny HB says, if you want to charge a 12V battery you need an overhead of several volts above the charging voltage of about 14.5V. So a 20V or 22V panel is fine for charging a 12V battery. The solar charge controller's purpose is to take that voltage and make sure the battery doesn't get overcharged.

Panels are usually described as '12 Volt' (suitable for charging 12V batteries) or 24V (for 24V batteries). A 24V battery needs over 30V into the controller, so a 22V panel won't be enough. So that's why they call the 22V panel a '12 Volt' panel

 

[AgeingAndrew]

Panels are usually described as '12 Volt' (suitable for charging 12V batteries) or 24V (for 24V batteries). A 24V battery needs over 30V into the controller, so a 22V panel won't be enough. So that's why they call the 22V panel a '12 Volt' panel

Yup, a brief look at the specification sheet shows the panel operates at around 22V.

 

[Reallyretired]

OK so if I go down the solar route i need an inverter (only for my hairdryer?), a new and more powerful battery ( >200ah, any brand?) or can I have 2?
Sorry I know so very little about this

Possibly I am misunderstanding you but having an inverter is nothing to do with having solar, the inverter is solely required to run mains equipment from 12v, ie your hairdryer. If you have room for two batteries then just wire them in parallel , your solar and inverter will just see one big battery.

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