armstrongpiper Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Oops - hit wrong key!! What I was going say was that I'm shortly going to have to leave the 'van in a secure compound without the facility to leave it plugged into mains electric, as at home. I don't want to secure a solar panel to the roof, but wondered if it were feasable to mount it as a temporary fitment, inside the Heki roof-light and trickle charge the batteries from there. Do solar panels come with any necessary regulator, or is this a separate puchase? Much obliged for any guidance, please. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 We have one of those suitcase solar panels that we clip to the vehicle battery and it keeps the battery at a decent level. It is possible to stand these panels on the inside of the windscreen as long as you are facing the right way. We have a 110w fixed panel on the roof which charges the leisure battery but doesn't put any charge into the vehicle battery. We are seriously thinking of having a Battery to Battery Master fitted, it seems reasonable at £100 fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Hi, I just lay my 40 watt folding panel on the roof through the heiki and run the cable down via the rooflight to the battery. You cant see the panel from ground level, and the lead is inside the van so nobody should know it is there. I dont have a ladder rack so nobody can climb up and help themselves easily, and it works. The panel was supplied with a regulator, which is a must,. the only thing is to remember it is there and remove it before moving off. tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 If you are using a small solar panel of about 12 watts, you do not need a regulator. If my memory serves me well, I believe you can go up to 30 watts without a regulator. Remember that your panel will only perform at a small amount of its capacity in Winter. I would go along with the idea of laying it loosely on the roof. BTW, how many batteries are we talking about? If you connect the leisure battery + to the vehicle battery + with a 1.5 mm wire and put a 10 amp fuse in the line, you just need to connect the panel to one battery and both/all of them will get the input from the panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted October 8, 2010 Author Share Posted October 8, 2010 My initial idea was just to keep the vehicle battery topped up, as this has a constant small drain powering the alarm/immobilser system, and I don't want to find I can't start the engine . As the leisure batteryhas no drain while the 'van is asleep, and I intend to use the vehicle at least once a month during the winter months, I assumed that the leisure battery would be OK for its occasional charge from the engine running. If this is over-optimistic, a simple connection between the batteries, as described above, would be easy enough to achieve. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Forgot to say that these suitcase panels come with a regulator and the other thing is that you can't leave them outside in the rain, probably better to put in the windscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Randonneur - 2010-10-08 5:27 PM Forgot to say that these suitcase panels come with a regulator and the other thing is that you can't leave them outside in the rain, probably better to put in the windscreen. Remember to point the van South. If the windscreen ends up covered in moss, you are facing North. :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Many modern vans consume about 100 - 200 milliamps just by being connected to both the engine and the leisure batteries and that equates to around 3.6 amp hours in every 24 hours for each, which means that in say 8 hours daylight you will need to charge input 43.2 watts or 5.4 watts per hour of daylight for each. Given that solar panel outputs are quoted optimistically in perfect bright sunshine conditions you might find that one or two 12watt panels will not keep the batteries fully charged over a long period and you will need to run the engine for a few minutes every few weeks. In fact that is a good idea anyway as it keeps the oily bits oily and even better if you can drive it a short way each time so that the tyres stop at different points on their circumference. Also bear in mind that a highly visible solar panel or two and dangly cables might prove too much of a temptation for some oik? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted October 8, 2010 Author Share Posted October 8, 2010 Thanks all. Just one other query, then - please a little more detail about 'suitcase panels' - where do you buy them, how much and what power? (three queries I suppose!). Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizken Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 Usually a good deal at Maplins Shop or online Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted October 10, 2010 Author Share Posted October 10, 2010 It seems that the 13W Briefcase units on sale from Maplin just now (£50 until November 2) would do what I want, so I think I'll get one of these. Many thanks for your help. Neil B - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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