DerekG Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I want to get a solar panel to keep my Autosleeper Nuevo's leisure battery topped up, likewise the vehcile battery, and don't have a clue about how to go about it, what to buy or how to install it! Being as clueless as I am, I hope someone can help me, please. My idea is to sit such a panel on the spacious dashboard and connect to the battery under the driver's seat. However, I see that such panels can be connected more neatly via the cigar lighter. Our vehicle has a cigar lighter and also another similar plug for other appliances: I have no idea which, if either of them, would send solar power to the leisure battery or if either of them would send juice to top up the vehicle battery. I would greatly appreciate your advice and guidance before I go to the shops and make myself seem even dimmer than I am. Thank you. Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chudders Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I have a friend who has today had the same problem with his motorhome not having been used for a while the battery was nearly flat. If you have a Fiat Ducato based vehicle I think you will find that the cigar lighter socket is only live when the ignition is on,. There fore will not be of any use to send power the other way to the battery when ignition is off. I think you will have to connect a solar panel to the battery direct. I have just ordered from Amazon the following which is designed for this purpose, Powerbee ES 300. About £23 plus delivery I think. It has both a cigar light plug and crocodile clips. The former may be of no use to you as mentioned above. The Powerbee web site itself gives lots more info than on Amazon. Hope this helps, Dave Edit, These units will only send a very small charge to your batteries but hopefully enough to off set the drain by the alarm and radio memory and a few minor electronics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekka Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Sorry to say my experience with two purchased from Maplins ( £20 each) were that they were about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike, one managed to flatten the battery in a couple of days ( God knows how) and the other one never worked from day one. Maybe we need to spend a couple of extra bob. As the other posters have said the only way to connect them if you find one up to the job is directly to the battery in the engine bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 ekka - 2011-02-14 7:30 PM ......purchased from Maplins ...... Big mistake. Generally very poor kit and even poorer customer service. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekka Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Tell me about it, anyone got first hand knowledge of something that they have found up to the job apart from the one above available on Amazon, looks the same as the Maplins junk that I bought unless you know better, and from where please, cheers :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 You realy need at least 10w, I wonder if the panel that flattened batery didn't have diode? My van has a 30w panel on roof and this is more than enough to keep batteries charged when not in use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 The usual rate of drain in modern vehicles is something like 200 milliamps which equates to 4.8 amp hours per 24 hours - and that is 4.8 x 12 = 57.6 watts per day. Most solar panels will only generate on average throughout the year to half their stated capacity in these northern climes. So you will need to generate about 60 watts per day in about 8 hours in winter - or 7.5 watts per daylight hour. To do this you will need at least a 15 watt panel for the vehicle battery - and another for the leisure battery. As far as these 3w dash top panels go - spraying water into a headwind comes to mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekka Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Sounds like a good idea to use the van more often then :-) :-) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 The best idea is to fit a minimum of an 80 watt panel and a regulator plus either a Battery Master or a bridging fuse. Then you will know that during the summer you can (with a little care) be self sufficient and that all year round the panel will maintain your batteries in tip top charge condition. Its not cheap but if the jobs worth doing then at least do it properly. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelling Tyke Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hello, It would be much better and cheaper to keep your van on mains if pos then your charger will keep the batteries topped up. Solar panels, unless they are huge do not give much o/p in our winter and IMO are generally not needed in the summer if you have decent habitation batteries that are charged when you are travelling. If you are static for a long time in summer or only take short journeys then they may be worth while but I personally feel a suitcase generator is a better buy. It can also be used at home and in the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Was dash top panel - it might have made a difference but rubbish soldering killed it fairly quickly. The sub £30-300w inverter we bought from Maplins about 4 years ago has been great. Runs the laptop,Vals hair kit and charges small batteries. Was I lucky ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Travelling Tyke - 2011-02-14 9:24 PM Hello, It would be much better and cheaper to keep your van on mains if pos then your charger will keep the batteries topped up. Solar panels, unless they are huge do not give much o/p in our winter and IMO are generally not needed in the summer if you have decent habitation batteries that are charged when you are travelling. If you are static for a long time in summer or only take short journeys then they may be worth while but I personally feel a suitcase generator is a better buy. It can also be used at home and in the garden. My 30w panel keeps both batteries topped up in winter. No leads from the mains, no generators to be carried on board, just park up and walk away for the leisure battery, or turn one switch to do both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I must have been lucky as well. :-S I have a 10 watt (I think) dash solar panel from Maplin that I use now and again for the vehicle battery. The van battery is not new, unlike the leisure batteries and I find it works well. Had it for a couple of years now. They were on offer at the time and it has been money well spent. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekG Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Many thanks to you all for your most illuminating (get it?) advice and information!!! Having considered everything very carefully and weighed up all the pros and cons, I find I still don't have a clue what to do for the best. Perhaps dashboard panels aren't man enough to make any difference to the state of the batteries? Perhaps I wouldn't be able to connect via the cigar lighter type plugs, anyway? (The vehicle is a Peugeot Boxer) Strikes me that the best option is, strangely, the most expensive - a mighty meaty panel on the roof. That being a really very good idea, I fully expect the brightest manufacturers of motor homes to begin installing them as standard in about 50 years from today's date. Can't wait. thanks again, everyone! Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dikyenfo Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Clives right and dont forget to check whether there is a blocking diode in working order or at night your battery will reverse flow to the panelThis can be checked with a meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 DerekG..I think you'll find that both of the cigar lighter outlets on the dash are ignition fed from the vehicle battery,so aren't live with key off and don't feed the leisure battery(not normally anyway!?).So you'll need to either alter a feed to one or fit an extra fused socket direct from the battery(..we've done the latter and fitted it under the dash). We've got a couple of the small solar generators(a small brief case type and an even smaller plain panel)..as I've said in the past,they may be abit of "kidology" but they *seem* to help keep things "topped up" ok(..they certainly have an effect on the voltages shown on the habitation control panel...)and at the very least they help towards the alarm,if nothing else.. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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