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| Moo Member Since: 01 Oct 2021 Location: UK Posts: 1371  
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I'm gathering information and ideas for fitting a split charge system to my car and have been looking at options for solar.
I came across this: - https://landroverforums.com/forum/2020-def...302/page2/  Click image to enlarge Whilst its only 85w it should be enough to charge the system, but what I like about is that it frees up space on a roof-rack and avoids carrying a separate panel around as well as providing continuous power. And no I'm not worried about sticking it to my bonnet. I'm not precious about cars. I use them as intended. Anyway, has anyone any experience of this? Eiger Grey MY23 D250 SE with bits. Known as Noddy. |
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22nd Jul 2023 10:13am |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4209  
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Sorry struggling to see what you are referring to on that thread on my phone. Is it flexible panel adhered to the bonnet or roof?
The one thing to know about solar is it is super sensitive to the angle to the sun and any shade. With a fixed panel you will rarely if ever have the ideal orientation so you need to compensate by having a much bigger panel. I don't know where you are but in the UK and Northern Europe, good light is not guaranteed which exacerbates the problem. If you are in Texas or the Northern Territory then it's less of a problem I would think. I have a Renogy portable 100w solar briefcase and it is just about adequate to keep up with the fridge and phone charging on a good sunny day if I point it south and leave it. If I constantly fiddle with it and ensure it is getting the best angle then it is much better and will give the battery a good boost on top of the usage. If it's heavily overrcast, raining, or there's any shade then output can drop to next to nothing. Keeping the panel clean makes a difference too. The one thing I don't have is an MPPT charger, mine is PWM so not as efficient as it could be there. That's a long way of saying I think 85w might be marginal for you if you are thinking of parking up for several days or more. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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22nd Jul 2023 11:08am |
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| Moo Member Since: 01 Oct 2021 Location: UK Posts: 1371
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I'm thinking of installing two 110ah LiFePO4 batteries to run my fridge, camp lights and recharge devices etc. I plan to link them to the car starter battery with a DC-DC charger to keep the starter battery topped up.
The bonnet solar panel is an add on that I thought would be good just to keep things topped off during the day. It's a bespoke size for the Defender bonnet and looks quite neat and uses an MPPT controller. I could splice in connectors to add a briefcase panel but I'm trying to free up carrying capacity. It's also the reason I'm not planning to take a portable power station. There's not a lot of room in a Defender's boot! Eiger Grey MY23 D250 SE with bits. Known as Noddy. |
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22nd Jul 2023 1:33pm |
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| Moo Member Since: 01 Oct 2021 Location: UK Posts: 1371
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Thanks. Its the bespoke fit I like and they look pretty robust. Eiger Grey MY23 D250 SE with bits. Known as Noddy. |
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22nd Jul 2023 1:34pm |
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| Lightwater Member Since: 28 Jun 2020 Location: Sydney NB Posts: 71 
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On caravan forums in Australia panels are discussed ad nauseam.
Basically flexible panels output is a lot less than advertised, in perfect conditions! I would suggest you would be better off with a solid 40 watt panel & save a bucket load of money. Spend it on a quality MPPT controller. Also put the solar controller near the battery. Don't use the one on the back of the panel if it has one. Cheap MPPT controllers are often not MPPT. My set up, although not fixed, but plenty of data: https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t652...with-mppt/ Visitor - Freelander owner |
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24th Jul 2023 8:54am |
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