Flexible Solar Panels?

[prado2004 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close prado2004]

I don't suppose you have a link where I could buy mono crystalline folding panels? Once again I have looked a lot but it's hard to know which way to jump.

yeah pretty similar to mine, this is the kit i bought however craigs looks like a better regulator although im not using this anymore

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Solar-Pan...1e647b9&_uhb=1

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

Weakest point on mine are the support legs. Yours look more stable. Nothing a little modification wont fix though.

[prado2004 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close prado2004]

Measurements are right Craig. Here's a pic of mine inside the toolbox on the front of my trailer

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

Measurements are right Craig. Here's a pic of mine inside the toolbox on the front of my trailer

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Are you using this in place of the one that came with the fold up panels?

I reckon I will buy these:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....ht_3423wt_1951

[sunchaser Member Find all posts View Profile Close sunchaser]

Hi again Beach,
Geez there's the quick and the dead around here! Blink and there's a new page of replies.... Prado2004's regulator looks good. The panels your looking at are a great price too. Check out aussiesolarbatteries though as they have good quality mono folding kits that are German Bosch made with 25 yr warranty on whole panel, they have solid alum hard cases for 150w tri fold kits for $85 and have good regulators. you can take off the price of the supplied cheap reg and add their good one which by memory is IP rated

http://www.aussiebatteriessolar.com....-german-cells/ A bit dearer but probably better quality and longer lasting?

[Whitey1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey1]

Red arc sell fold up flexible panels. Again very pricey and low wattage.
http://www.redarc.com.au/products/ca...-solar-panels/

[prado2004 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close prado2004]

HI beach,

yes thats right mate I used this regulator in replace of the one that came with the panels. This wasnt the original plan and I used the original regulator on many trips. The only reason I changed is because my panels are now permanently mounted to my camper and are no longer portable. Ive also got the regulator hooked up to three 90 amp hour batteries so this regulator suits my needs a lot more in showing me exactly what is happening with my batteries.

The beauty of this one is it has bulk float and absorption charging so basically when the batteries are full it will automatically drop solar and only trickle feed, the regulators on the portable kits (ebay ones) do not do this, they will keep pumping voltage in resulting in over charging of the battery constantly.

They are fine to use for the odd camping trip to keep charge I just wanted something a little better as its a permanent setup on the camper.

[Rainman Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rainman]

What about this mob, their prices seem pretty good and they based in Perth? http://www.portable-solar-panels.com...-solar-panels/

I know bugger all about solar, but a foldable canvas panel appeals to me as it would be easier to cart around than the regular rigid folding panels

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

What about this mob, their prices seem pretty good and they based in Perth? http://www.portable-solar-panels.com...-solar-panels/

I know bugger all about solar, but a foldable canvas panel appeals to me as it would be easier to cart around than the regular rigid folding panels

Thanks for the link. Well worth keeping an eye on. As mentioned earlier, the folding ones are very expensive. Theres better bang for your buck to be had, but I reckon it won't be long before they come down in price and the capacity goes up.

Right now I'm experimenting with batteries, so the ebay panels and reg suit my needs.

[Hughda Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Hughda]

I have a set of flexible solar panels that pack up in a very compact package - they work well and include an MPPT controller, but they weren't cheap

https://www.eco-camper.com/e-shop/so...E80WSSP-detail

[Pocket71 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pocket71]

I'm not very electrical minded, and have only just started looking into it but what about these:

http://www.projecta.com.au/Products/...SolarPanelKits

Anyone got one of these, or any info?

Cheers

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

I don't suppose you have a link where I could buy mono crystalline folding panels? Once again I have looked a lot but it's hard to know which way to jump.

Beach

I've been looking also at folding panel kits, after buying a Cub CT recently - been looking at these bosh 170 kits, here the link

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BOSCH-12V...item3f229cd737

Comes with the waterproof MPPT controller - an option for you?

Also think the foldable kits too expensive at the moment - wait a couple of years

[sunchaser Member Find all posts View Profile Close sunchaser]

Beach

I've been looking also at folding panel kits, after buying a Cub CT recently - been looking at these bosh 170 kits, here the link

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BOSCH-12V...item3f229cd737

Comes with the waterproof MPPT controller - an option for you?

Also think the foldable kits too expensive at the moment - wait a couple of years

Yep this is the go! A 170watt 8.34 amp bi fold Bosch mono crystalline kit with 20A controller 10m of cable bag and adjustable legs. The folded size is 76cmx67cmx6cm which will even fit in the back of a prado!

For $332 plus $30 delivery can't get any better than that!!!!!

I've been looking for a while and the best I could find was Korr lighting 165watt bifold bosch mono kit (controller lead bagetc) for $599, and Aussie batteries & solar 150watt trifold bosch mono kit (controller lead bagetc) for $519
The controller's pretty average but you can get a decent one for $100 and still be in front

Cheers Sunchaser

[kakadoodledoo Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close kakadoodledoo]

I'm the owner of a solar company and also accredited as an off grid designer and installer. Hopefully this qualifies me to make some observations. Like many on this post, I've looked at various solar options.

My comments:
1/ mono vs multi/poly is a solar holy war with no basis in fact. Some have claimed mono is better in shade. Sorry that's complete baloney. They are called solar panels for a reason and a leaf or bird poo sized shade on any panel will cut output by 25%. In reality, there is no real difference between the two. A 120 watt panel is a 120 watt panel no matter whether made from mono, poly, lama wool or geranium petals. When comparing, look at the dimensions, weight, quality of the hinges and support legs. Here's a white paper on the topic of mono vs poly: http://rfisolar.com.au/media//The_Gr...y_Nov_2010.pdf

2/ If you want to run a fridge, you'll need a 120 watt panel

3/ Most have the regulator on the back of the panel. That's not good because the regulator will see a higher voltage than the battery will get. At 12V, the voltage drop is high. Ideally you need the regulator as close as possible to the battery so it's seeing true battery voltage.

4/ In terms of batteries, you want AGM rather than gel. AGM is far more vibration resistant and also tends to lose less electrolyte through evaporation in high temperatures. I personally use Concorde from the US. They were made for the aircraft of the same name. Good enough for me.

5/ I'm conservative therefore when Boeing with all their resources manage to get lithium batteries to work and stop catching fire due to thermal run away on charging, then I'll look at them. My Prado cost too much to have a self primed incendiary device on board.... For pro lithium sceptics, Boeing don't buy cheap whoflungdung batteries on eBay.

6/ Batteries are expensive and mistreating them is not a good idea. Mistreating means poor management of charging, low voltage disconnect and monitoring. For that reason I reject cheap regulators. IMHO its false economy to link a $50 regulator to a $400 battery and mismanage charging. MPPT will give you a better result than PWM or conventional regulators - the maths says up to 30% but the reality is lower. I personally use a Steca MPPT (German) but have also use Morningstar PWM (American).

7/ As above, when choosing a folding solar panel, ignore the cell material. Compare and select based on leg quality (and angle adjustment), length of cables (mine has 10 metres by 10mm), provision for the regulator to be located at the battery, weight and size. Also look at the quality of the bag - does it offer adequate protection? The number one cause of solar panel breakage is impact from a semi sharp object. I reckon Solarwatt are very good and have a high quality standard regulator. A 120 watt should cost around $549. This brochure includes a sizing guide: http://www.rfiwireless.com.au/media/...s_2013_web.pdf

8/ I've learnt the hard way that you get what you pay for. It's why most of us drive what we drive when we could have had a Great Wall for a lot less. In my business, I only sell tried and tested, proven products. That way 99% of customers who call me, call me to tell me how happy they are or to refer a friend, rather than calling because it's not working.

My own company is launching a new website with an online store in the next few weeks (not rfisolar). I'm not here to peddle my commercial interests, but if anyone wants more info, please post a reply or send me an email.

Some links:

http://rfisolar.com.au/media/downloa..._datasheet.pdf

http://rfisolar.com.au/browse-produc.../#.UkdsN8saySM

http://rfisolar.com.au/browse-produc.../#.UkdsbssaySM

[gumboot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close gumboot]

FWIW, this is the seller I purchased my 120W folding panel with mppt from (was $170 free shipping when I bought mine) . http://stores.ebay.com.au/Bit-Deals/...=p4634.c0.m322

For the money it would be pretty hard to go past this but I agree the regulator is only average for that price.
There are a heap of other good regs out there like
PWM- Steca 15 amp Germa Steca PR1515. ( just wish they had a MPPT version with the LCD display ) or
MPPT Juta or MP Solar PCM20-12
Mandrakes solar which has closed down has some info on them, See http://www.mandrakessolar.com.au

If you wanted a bit more capacity I think the 170 watt foldable Bosch kit above is also very good value.
Cheers
Robert