Solar Panel Charging the 120 D4D

[Steve & Sandra Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve & Sandra]

Re: Solar Panel Charging the 120 D4D

Did you read the box, They charge in milliamps which to be honest are good for you know what. And unless your cigarette lighter socket is powered all the time they wont work.
Cheers
Steve

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

Re: Solar Panel Charging the 120 D4D

JGD,

Have a look at here:

http://www.aussiervproducts.com.au/category2_1.htm

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Re: Solar Panel Charging the 120 D4D

I was going to do a post on this but have yet to get there. I bought folding solar panels so they could be easily packed in the car when travelling to and from and then bolted onto the empty roofrack. The Suncharga 100 watt KC. These are more expensive than a single panel but easier to look after with a car and trailer and roofrack full of camping gear and stuff.

http://www.solazone.com.au/PVpanels.htm

Worked really well. The aux never dropped below about 70% charge and I only ran the car every second day or so at most. Added bonus was the panel kept the interior of the car way cooler by reflecting the sun away from the roof.

The panels were raised above the roofrack floor because the junction box under the panel is deeper than the panel frame. This is quite common. My next installation will be onto aluminium unistrut with proprietary clips to hold the panel in place just for ease of use; the angle used here was an interim measure because I ran out of time and couldn't get my hands on some reasonably priced unistrut. The angles and bolts I used were tedious to install and then undo a couple of weeks later. I will also fit Anderson Power Poles to make the electrical connection.

Make sure you have an air gap below the panel because performance will fall markedly if the panels get too hot. And yes solar panels definately need a regulator, make sure that the output of the regulator goes directly to the battery +ve and -ve terminals. I ran the cable (6mm2 twin) under the roof trim, cable tied to the snorkel and under the bonnet through the air vents. No problems, no noise just "free" electons.

A few shots of the installation:











The installation is easy and not too obvious to prying eyes and once packing starts you can still hook it up until it's time to pack the panel.

Michael

[JGD Member Find all posts View Profile Close JGD]

Re: Solar Panel Charging - setup assistance

Thanks again for the links and info, I see it's a damn expensive exercise to get a decent solar power setup!

mjrandom, your setup seems to be the ducks guts, but I can't justify spending the money required.

I think I'll get one of theose CTEK chargers - for $200 bucks it seems like a good way to ensure a battery is always fully charged before going bush.

[4xx4 Driver Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 4xx4 Driver]

Re: Solar Panel Charging the 120 D4D

Big Fella, did we answer ya question?

I had the same problem as yourself. Fitted a RanOx under the pax seat to charge the second battery while on the move.

While camping I use two 120 watt fold-up solar panels, total 240 watts, from Kulkyne Kampers http://www.kampers.com.au/sale.php?p=120_Watt_Kit to run my Kimberley Karavan fridge and also my car fridge AND, if there's enough sun, tickle up the second battery in the car.

Each pair of panels was supplied with a MP3129 programmable Solar regulator (also available from Jaycar), and each regulator can handle all four panels, so one is programmed for the Karavan battery and the other for the Prado's second battery. I just unplug the panels from one regulator and plug them into the other as necessary.

Or, with some adapters I've made up, run the car fridge off the Karavan battery and have all the solar input going to the Karavan. When there's not enough sun, I run the genny, but only as a last resort. We like the silence of the bush.

There are many ways to skin the cat ...

Cheers