Solar verses batteries

maxine and jo said:
One last thing on this i would like to say on the side of solar is it will reduce the the frequency you will need to change your batteries
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Probably the opposite a lot of solar regulators put out a constant 14.2-14.4 volts, Gels can handle this but could shorten the life of wet cells.
What it will do is mask a failing battery, as the battery is getting charged every day you may be unaware it's capacity is falling until you come to use it in the winter.
 
lennyhb said:
Probably the opposite a lot of solar regulators put out a constant 14.2-14.4 volts, Gels can handle this but could shorten the life of wet cells.
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I think this comment may be a little out of date. All decent modern regulators properly regulate and check battery. I have a Schaudt solar controller which works through the Electrobloc and so the charging regime is exactly the same as it would be on 240V charge, although obviously it may take longer because of the lower current.
 
colinw said:
Hi kglblue , how much battery power do you have ?
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1x110amp and a 100w solar panel on the roof, I'd like 2x 110amps but the battery box isn't big enough. Last September to the end of October, 6 weeks touring Europe we had very good sunny weather and the leisure battery was charged to full daily, of course, we've also had bad weather when a EHU has been necessary. Vanbitz fitted the panel and a victron battery master. At 66 yrs my days of clambering onto the roof are over. The best thing I did was swap all the interior lights to LED they use next to nothing battery power.
 
Hi kglblue , I have one 120w panel and one 120 amp battery . we managed last weekend with no hookup and with blown heating on a lot .
I too would like another battery and would welcome ideas of where I could mount another . my battery is located behind drivers seat under a seat .
 
peterc10 said:
I think this comment may be a little out of date. All decent modern regulators properly regulate and check battery. I have a Schaudt solar controller which works through the Electrobloc and so the charging regime is exactly the same as it would be on 240V charge, although obviously it may take longer because of the lower current.
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Sorry do disappoint it doesn't with the LR1218 regulator the voltage remains constant at 14.3 volts, the connection via the Elektroblock is a straight though connection to the batteries.
 
lennyhb said:
Sorry do disappoint it doesn't with the LR1218 regulator the voltage remains constant at 14.3 volts, the connection via the Elektroblock is a straight though connection to the batteries.
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That is not correct. My ELB226 regulates the voltage coming from the solar panels and LR1218 in the same way as it does with the power from the mains charger. When by batteries are full the voltage from the solar panels drops to a trickle charge of 13.7V.
 
maxine and jo said:
Solar needs heat as well as light an the UK is the best for aether sooooo it oranges and lemons but i do agree with TheCaller in all he has said a man of solar!
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Can't agree with that. The uk is not the best place for light, though not being too warm is an advantage, solar panels are at their most efficient when cold. This is why an air gap under them is useful, the amount of leccy produced will go down if they get too hot.
 
peterc10 said:
That is not correct. My ELB226 regulates the voltage coming from the solar panels and LR1218 in the same way as it does with the power from the mains charger. When by batteries are full the voltage from the solar panels drops to a trickle charge of 13.7V.
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No it does not I spoke to Udo Lang from Shaudt about it.

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lennyhb said:
Sorry do disappoint it doesn't with the LR1218 regulator the voltage remains constant at 14.3 volts, the connection via the Elektroblock is a straight though connection to the batteries.
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Our mppt has a digital setting which we can set our own highs and lows voltage and our batteries amps so there is always somebody that is right !!!!
 
We have on leisure battery, and no solar panels and have been to shows and parked for 4 days with no ehu and have not run out of power. Surely the first question to ask is how much power am I going to use? If it is only for lights, minimal heating (summer) and a little TV then one battery should be enough for 3 - 4 days?
Only is your usage is more than this is there need to consider extra batteries and solar panels.
 
We've just put our new panels and wiring online temporarily to test the wiring and connections.

The panels are 4 X 100W with two separate controllers and 2 sets of 12V 225AH AGM batteries.

The controllers float at about 13.80V which I would expect, but they also kick into the higher bulk charge rate for short periods, probably less than 30 seconds, then drop back to float again. This is the same for both controllers.

As they were new last October I'm assuming that this is a new programming as the earlier ones we have don't appear to do this.

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Broken Link Removed

I'll be checking them over the weekend, but all seems OK at present.

Peter
 
two 110 amp batteries and a 140 w solar panel fitted last year. We have camped off site and on site without ehu for over a week both in a British summer and winter and have found supply perfectly adequate. In winter use the blow heater was on almost all day and night and we still managed to charge phones, camera batteries and bike battery.
 
I have just upgraded from a120w panel to a total of 280w, blooming heck i cant believe it but it now charges when cloudy , it is a brilliant upgrade, i have two 125ah batteries , a 30amp mppt controller , and my 3 solar panels,
Last year my 120w set up was perfect on sunny days , but with cloud or rain i got very little from it, and with my fridge telly, lights and diesel heater, all drawing on it i would get two days before needing to run the engine and use the sterling b2b charger, now i will be testing my new set up next week to see what improvements there are, my next step might involve doubling up the battery power to 500ah but i really dont want the extra weight however i would like an inverter so i can have some 240v stuff if needed, so i will see how things go with my new set up before wedging out all that extra money
pete

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lennyhb said:
Probably the opposite a lot of solar regulators put out a constant 14.2-14.4 volts, Gels can handle this but could shorten the life of wet cells.
What it will do is mask a failing battery, as the battery is getting charged every day you may be unaware it's capacity is falling until you come to use it in the winter.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

By on January 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
The rig looks great. The customer service is great. I like the ability to tailor the charge rate on this controller to the AGM batteries I want to use. It needs a comm cable to do this though. I'll write more after it's been tested. My small system is 2x100W Grape panels, Xantrex inverter & 2x6V Amstron 210Ah AGMs. Also bought a small Noco Genius charger to correct AGMs gone astray.
 
lennyhb said:
No it does not I spoke to Udo Lang from Shaudt about it.
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Not all Electroblocks are the same. Did you ask him about an EBL226 or a different one? My LT500 control panel shows exactly the same charging regime with solar as it does with mains, once there is enough sun that is, and there is plenty of that in Portugal at the moment.
 
peterc10 said:
Not all Electroblocks are the same. Did you ask him about an EBL226 or a different one? My LT500 control panel shows exactly the same charging regime with solar as it does with mains, once there is enough sun that is, and there is plenty of that in Portugal at the moment.
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Interesting. My set-up is EBL99 and LR1218 and the resting voltage after charging (but with sunshine still on the panel) is 14.2V. Not sure how other EBLs might be different.
Also, the LR1218 manual clearly states that the final voltage is 14.2V as shown here:

upload_2015-4-4_9-7-45.png
 
The LR 1218 uses a different connection system and wiring to the EBL99 than it does to mine. Mine includes a seperate signal cable that allows use of the LT500 to shoe solar charge. Mine also has a combined cable set for the starter battery, rather than the separate one for the EBL99. If you ahev the installation instructions the EBL is at 5.3 and mine is at 5.2.

The final charge is what goes to the EBL. Depending upon which EBL you use that may or may not be the final charge to the batteries. And anyway that is only the maximum. At the moment (9:40 am) in Portugal mine is showing 3 amps charging at 13.4V to batteries that are 94% full.
 
peterc10 said:
Not all Electroblocks are the same. Did you ask him about an EBL226 or a different one? My LT500 control panel shows exactly the same charging regime with solar as it does with mains, once there is enough sun that is, and there is plenty of that in Portugal at the moment.
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I stand corrected then. I had the impression that the LR1218 worked the same with all Elektroblocks.

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With regards to solar. How do portable units compare with roof mounted.
I can buy a portable 100a unit for £120 on eBay or is it a waste of money.
 
You can point portable units at the sun to get the best from them, which you can't with a fixed roof mounted one, without going to the expense of a steerable unit.

Downsides include having to carry it somewhere it won't be damaged, unless of course someone folds it up and pinches it, which I fear is the real problem with portable units.
 
normanandsue said:
We have on leisure battery, and no solar panels and have been to shows and parked for 4 days with no ehu and have not run out of power. Surely the first question to ask is how much power am I going to use? If it is only for lights, minimal heating (summer) and a little TV then one battery should be enough for 3 - 4 days?
Only is your usage is more than this is there need to consider extra batteries and solar panels.
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Spot on Norman. It's a matter of balance.
Tombo said:
With regards to solar. How do portable units compare with roof mounted.
I can buy a portable 100a unit for £120 on eBay or is it a waste of money.
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We had a portable solar panel with our previous van and now have a fixed panel.

We hardly ever have EHU when away (usually only when we have no choice) and we are OK most of the year. I've just bought a (second hand) VAWT though for extra capacity in the winter months.
My notes on our experiences Here and Here.
 
Tombo said:
With regards to solar. How do portable units compare with roof mounted.
I can buy a portable 100a unit for £120 on eBay or is it a waste of money.
Click to expand...

Though a 100a panel would be nice it would be a bit big for a motorhome.
A 100w panel will produce a maximum of about 5a.
 

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