berti Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 we have seen a 13 watt portable solar panel in maplins price £49.99 has anybody got one & opinions on wether it is a good buy would be appreciated. thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 From what I've picked up about solar power, it would be next to useless for any serious motorhome use. 13 watts is hardly going to put any charge into your batteries before the sun goes in! There are several people more qualified than me to answer your query more fully, but I would be surprised if they tell you any different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tp002c784tp002c784tp Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 berti - 2008-12-20 5:37 PM we have seen a 13 watt portable solar panel in maplins price £49.99 has anybody got one & opinions on wether it is a good buy would be appreciated. thank you Hi Berti I think that you would be wasting your money with this unit, I think to be of any use you need at least a 80watt this is what I have had on my last three Motorhomes, and I find in summer this is more than adquete for keeping your leisure batteries toped up. At the Pickering show I went from Thursday to Monday without any other power source, I still think it pays to be as economic as possible don't use to many lights at once, I have converted most of my lights to LED and this saves. I also have a Battery Master fitted which tops up the vehicle battery with the surplus from the leisure battery. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 It's only value might be to just about keep your battery topped up in winter to offset alarm or memory very low wattage use - but even that is doubtful as the power output really is too low for much else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Hi Berti We have a solar briefcase type not from Maplins but sounds about the same though. It works well tops the Battery up OK it will even power the electric cool box on the days we need it when its sunny. A friend also bought one at the same one and he is very pleased with it. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Berti 13 watts represents 1 amp at peak output. You are unlikely to see much more than a half of this figure in the UK, even in June / July. Given a good clear sunny day and your panel in the sun the whole time, from sunrise to sunset, you are looking at a maximum of about 5 a/h into the battery (assuming 12 hours of useable sun and a normal battery charge efficiency of 75%). From a practical user point of view 85 watt is the minimum, 130 better. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crag Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I have 2 of these sat on my dashboard. Mainly use the van over weekends but when parked up when in use and not in use, the solar briefcases are plugged in. Admittedly I don't have lights on for long periods , but the water pump and toilet flush are working off the battery. 1 of these seemed to keep the batteries topped up. Due to the price I bought another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 I suppose a positive side is that you can easily aim the panel at the sun to get the max output from it. With a flat mounted panel on the roof, unless you are parked Very steeply 8-) or sun is overhead, the output will always be limited. Rgds (And Happy Christmas to all on the forum) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 I would not be without my solar briefcase panel, apart from as mentioned that you can angle it to follow the sun, you can also keep it when selling the van, it would grieve me to spend £400 on a 80 watt unit only to find that dealers dont allow in their trade in price any accessories. you cant take them with you when they are stuck hard fast to the roof. Happy Xmas everyone. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.