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Having just returned from a trip of seven nights I'm thinking of buying a portable solar panel. All seven nights were off grid with only two hours driving so not enough to top up my battery. I'm a light user of 12v power; I don't have a TV, all the lights are LED and I don't use the shower (no comments please). The only other overhead is charging mobile phones and the electric fans for the gas heater when it's cold, which with the Elddis Accordo's underfloor heater is unavoidable.

 

During my trip I took my 110Ah battery down to 12.2 volts, about half way, which is about as low as I want to take it. As a rough idea of daily power consumption I reckon I average say 10Ah a day.

 

Has anyone got any recommendations for a good portable system, preferably regulated, that would be physically small but provide enough power to meet my needs?

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We used a 40w panel for a couple of years. The battery was usually fully charged by lunchtime, used to make just over 2 amps in the sun. It even fitted in our accordo 105 external locker iirc. The advantage with the portables is you can tilt them south so in winter they are still very effective.

 

Regulator wise I'd look at a small victron mppt, or Votronic duo if you're ever going to upgrade to a roof panel because they have a connection for the starter battery.

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Thanks for the information Charles, that's particularly useful as My Accordo is also the 105 and storage was another consideration. It sounds as though the 40 watt will meet my needs as I'm not heavy on the 12 volts and I can't see that I'll ever want to upgrade to a larger fixed panel. I wonder, do you ever put the panel up in the cab window to avoid theft when you're away from the van, and if so does it still charge reasonably well?
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I would note that whilst a 40w panel will probably do, fitting a 80w plus panel will work better in early spring and late autumn.

The first time I fitted a fixed panel to one of our vans was some 25 years ago (30w at the time), since then I've never regretted having a fixed panel fitted on a van.

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Thanks for the info Colin. I keep my battery well maintained and under usual touring conditions I move on every two to three days, and over the years I've found I can survive a couple of weeks off grid in the summer without taking the battery down below 50%. It was on a recent trip where I did little driving for a week that I felt I could have done with a 12 volt top up. Because it's only on the odd occasion I really just wanted something small and portable.
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Accipiter Nisus - 2021-06-04 9:18 AM

 

Thanks for the information Charles, that's particularly useful as My Accordo is also the 105 and storage was another consideration. It sounds as though the 40 watt will meet my needs as I'm not heavy on the 12 volts and I can't see that I'll ever want to upgrade to a larger fixed panel. I wonder, do you ever put the panel up in the cab window to avoid theft when you're away from the van, and if so does it still charge reasonably well?

No it was a bit big to have on the dash. I sometimes had a mini padlock on it and a cable locking it to the van just to stop opportunists walking off with it.

 

Also the panel I had in the car windscreen during lockdown had a much reduced output behind the glass, as much as 50%

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