Solar set-up "set"...

[Franswa]

after using the solar panel a couple of times on outings and considering many options I have arrived at what I think will be the permanent set-up for me....

first storage....the all important storage because I chose to not hard mount the panel...this is on a B 17 CB

click on the pics...

[Franswa]

again...click on the pics

cheers.

[deryk]

Nice Francois! I like that swing up counter extender...I need to do something like that.

[Jim Bennett]

I use a very similar setup, François. That is, when I do use it. I have a counter extension in the same place, and am going to check to see if that would work for storage of my panel.

[Mikmay]

Is that the 40 watt panel from can tire that was on sale a few weeks back I bought one myself and should of got a few more hope they go on sale again soon

[Jim Bennett]

I just checked, and it won't fit due to the brackets. Back into the closet it goes.

Mine is the 40W Coleman picked up at Crappy Tire 1 1/2 years ago.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Mikmay

Is that the 40 watt panel from can tire that was on sale a few weeks back I bought one myself and should of got a few more hope they go on sale again soon

Just go to Canadian Tire site and you can "Join" and then set up "Sales Alerts" for anything in the store. When it goes on sale, you get an email.

[Franswa]

was walking through there last November of all times and these Coleman panels were on sale for 50% off !!! sort of an impulse buy...good thing too because I went back two days later and they were full price again......I'm thinking Coleman maybe sizes things up and calls the retailer and tells 'em to clear 'em out....and credits CT the difference.....I just found it strange that the sale was only three days

I've had the reverse happen to me as well....that's a bummer....buy at full price and go back a month later and the item is 40% off

go ahead, click the pic.....I dare ya....

[Franswa]

I got "lucky"... the stock counter support was a wood swing out deal that when closed was the same width as the panel....the extension still hangs straight down like before

[Nut501]

Franswa,
Thank you for the posting! Do your solar panels work and what are you using thing to power?
Carll

[Franswa]

Heck no, they just sit there....

I have no idea how much / what the panel would power on it's own....I have it to keep the batteries topped up. I know it "works" because my battery voltage increases measurably after an hour or two sitting in the sun. (open circuit test)

I know it's not much...because with the panel plugged in (exposed to sun) and only one interior, non-LED, light (there's also a little draw from the fridge controller that is ALWAYS on) the voltage is steady....as soon as I turn on one or two more lights the voltage starts to drop......(I'm certainly no expert but that's telling me I am now in a deficit situation power wise)

The reason I have/use it is to keep the batteries (paid big $s for two GC batts.) as topped up as I can because drawing them down below 50% (12.1V) shortens their life span.....(at least that's what I've read)

It might not be much power minute by minute....but imagine being away from the trailer (zero power usage) for six hours and having the panel "working" the whole time in the sun....

[Tim Wood]

Franswa, That pic looks like a provincial park in B.C. that I have been to. Very nice.

[Franswa]

it's Brewster Lake...in the middle of logging country....no houses, buildings or development...

[Evergreengirl]

Nice mods, Francois. We've been storing our solar panel in our tow vehicle, a Ford van. I think ours might be too large to mount like this, but that's a slick arrangement you came up with. We've also been thinking about adding a center brace for the rock guard when it's open. Even if there's nothing added up there on top, the rock guard really flexes a lot in even moderate winds and we often end up closing it for fear it will get damaged. How did you attach the brace? What is the bottom of the brace resting against and how did you mount that to the trailer?

[Carol H]

Nice work Francois, I did a similar project for my solar panel - store it on the front of the bathroom wall in the Scamp - if that did work I could have used the inside bathroom wall.

I picked up the hardware from a marine supply shop used cord with a clip on one end to secure. Put stainless steel acorn nuts on the hardware on the inside of the bathroom wall where the screws went through.

[Franswa]

it's just a piece of fir molding (3/8" x 1.5")....same stuff I used for the counter extension brace

it rests on a leveling bubble thing that was on the front of the trailer and rests under the lip of the RG at the top end...cut just long enough to put a little bend/tension on the RG....so it stays there with nothing more....and make the RG "stiff" enough that I can use it for a handhold when I'm stepping up on the hitch to put the panel up there

To store it I rest it on the window and close the RG.

I'm going to use it like that for a while and see how it works....I might come up with something more permanent later....but as often happens, this might just be the way it is forever

[Carol H]

BTW for those in BC looking for Solar panels that are not from Crappy Tire and a more power for less should take a look at the offerings from Windturbine.ca They deliver to the lower mainland. Current sale is 80W for $103 or 100W for $129.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Franswa

I know it's not much...because with the panel plugged in (exposed to sun) and only one interior, non-LED, light (there's also a little draw from the fridge controller that is ALWAYS on) the voltage is steady....as soon as I turn on one or two more lights the voltage starts to drop......(I'm certainly no expert but that's telling me I am now in a deficit situation power wise)

So when are you swapping out some bulbs/fixtures for LEDs?Seriously, I just the other night took out a stock light fixture above the rear dinette in my Scamp and replaced it with a LED reading light. I also had a 12V fan plugged into the same circuit in the "TV" power port. When I would turn on the stock (incandescent) light the fan would noticeably slow down. Turn the light off and it would speed back up. I was so amused at the phenomenon that I repeated it several times. With the new (brighter and more usable) LED light there is no noticeable difference in the fan whether the light is on or off. I probably could have taken some measurements, and may still as there is one more of the stock fixtures left in the trailer. It is in the bathroom and I will probably not mess with changing it out as we don’t use that light much.

[Franswa]

You said: "there is one more of the stock fixtures left in the trailer. It is in the bathroom and I will probably not mess with changing it out as we don’t use that light much."

Really? the bathroom in the dark?..I dunno... seems to me that might create way more work, multiple times, than a one time light replacement job



I just finished installing seven....and one of those is in the bathroom....

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Franswa

You said: "there is one more of the stock fixtures left in the trailer. It is in the bathroom and I will probably not mess with changing it out as we don’t use that light much."

Really? the bathroom in the dark?..I dunno... seems to me that might create way more work, multiple times, than a one time light replacement job



I just finished installing seven....and one of those is in the bathroom....

Oh the one in the bathroom still works. It is just that is used to seldom and for short durations so it is not really worth swapping it out. If I do anything I suppose I could at least put a LED bulb in the old fixture. So many Scamp projects, so little time.