dogre Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Howdy All, I'm about to head to either Arizona, or if things are working well perhaps to Baja. First of all, I have Scottish blood in my veins. I'm always tempted by cheap. Next to know is that I believe in quality. I still have three 25 year old Pendleton shirts. Enough rambling. I'm looking for a solar collection/storage system to do some boon docking. My spouse and I are not major power users. No TV, no air conditioning. We have LED lights in the coach. We would like to have the option for a few minutes to use the microwave. A trusted local vendor has given me a price of $1350 to install a 130W Kyceorga (sp) panel with an installed controller on my roof. I'm not sure about putting holes in my roof. Is flat mounted OK or do I need to crawl up and tilt it up? Have any of you had experience with a "portable" brief case type of system. It is supposed to be two 65w panels that hinge and then fold down to an easily transported parcel. It also has a controller. This is on eBay. I like the idea of being able to park in the shade and put my panels in the sun. I'm also concerned about the loss of energy in the cables, but that is easily taken care of (just get larger conducting wires). Your thoughts are eagerly desired. Dave Oglevie Chelan, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Frankly if you want max power the portable ones and a voltmeter are the way to go. You can aim them with a voltmeter both elevation and direction just aim for max voltage. If you can easily remove your battery put it next to the panels to reduce the loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogre Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Frankly if you want max power the portable ones and a voltmeter are the way to go. You can aim them with a voltmeter both elevation and direction just aim for max voltage. If you can easily remove your battery put it next to the panels to reduce the loss. Maineh, How does the voltmeter figure in? I know how to aim at the sun and where it is going. Check out the system at www.rvsolarnow.com and look at the 120 A portable system. Now I have another couple of new questions. This is a portable system. That means that it is is easily stolen. Hmmm. How to deal with that? Chains thru the legs (aluminum cuts very easily). Anti-tamper sound device? Pitbull? What are your thoughts? Dave Oglevie Chelan, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 A 120w is overkill for your needs. SOoo you can hard mount them on the roof. Even though you lose some power you would still have enough for your needs If your parking in the shade all day then portable is the only way, you would have to put them away at night or if you went for a walk. Or have nice neighbors.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84TOYRV Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Can you get by with just your one house battery if your elec usage is minimal? I'm thinking of the 80 watt portable. Looks like About 2x2 ft folded up. Thanx. Tudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktasoohs Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 A 120w is overkill for your needs. SOoo you can hard mount them on the roof. Even though you lose some power you would still have enough for your needs If your parking in the shade all day then portable is the only way, you would have to put them away at night or if you went for a walk. Or have nice neighbors.... A 120w panel laying flat on the roof most likely will not be enough to run a microwave for very long. why not just use the oven or stove to make dinner? even better get a solar oven and use that. The quote for 1300 and some change was on the low side I bet you dont even get a pwm or mppt controller for that money AND I bet the battery bank is undersized. To truly use your microwave for say 10 minutes a day with panels flat on the roof prepare to spend at least 2k. I would reccomend 200 watts of polycrystalline panels laying flat on the roof, an mppt charge controller and at least 4 trojan T105-RE 6 Volt, 225 AH Deep Cycle Batteries minimum to run 10-15 min a day, yes this system is a little larger than you need but the difference is you will buy batteries every 10 years not every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktasoohs Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 OBTW IMHO those briefcase portable solar arrays are pieces of chinese crap and are also the cheap kind of panels, not polycrystalline but mono so they will work only if pointed at the sun unlike poly which can lay flat on the roof and still work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Maineh, How does the voltmeter figure in? I know how to aim at the sun and where it is going. Check out the system at www.rvsolarnow.com and look at the 120 A portable system. Now I have another couple of new questions. This is a portable system. That means that it is is easily stolen. Hmmm. How to deal with that? Chains thru the legs (aluminum cuts very easily). Anti-tamper sound device? Pitbull? What are your thoughts? Dave Oglevie Chelan, WA If you hook up a voltmeter to measure your voltage output you can turn the panels to get max voltage and change the elevation for max. At the highest voltage the closer you will get to the rated output. You would be surprised how slight amount of movement will make in the voltage output. Theft is a problem they are not cheap if you are in a camping area your neighbor might keep an eye on them for you if you go off for a bit or just put them on the roof and turn them to max. 120 watts is a fair amount of power what are you going to use for a battery/batteries? There is simplicity in putting them on the roof but again if you want max output you need to aim them. I guess the question is how much power do you really need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84TOYRV Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Again, How many batteries do you need for modest usage. Would your one house battery be enough for, say, an 80 watt portable? What kind of battery set up is ideal? Where do you store them? Space is limited on a Toy. Would I be wise to get a solar system down @ Quartzite or The Slabs instead of the internet? Thanx! Tudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Again, How many batteries do you need for modest usage. Would your one house battery be enough for, say, an 80 watt portable? What kind of battery set up is ideal? Where do you store them? Space is limited on a Toy. Would I be wise to get a solar system down @ Quartzite or The Slabs instead of the internet? Thanx! Tudy Well I can run mine for a week with a 120 ah battery. I do not try to run a microwave just lights, water pump and heat once in awhile and maybe the computer to watch a DVD. A micro wave sucks up tons of electricity from a battery and you would need a big inverter just to run it. If you think you would use a lot of power maybe you need a solar panel, 120 watts is 10 amps that's a lot you could power quite a few 12 volt things with just the panels! 80 watts should be more then enough for your needs. You might consider a 1500 or so watt nice quiet generator you could charge you batteries and run the micro wave at the same time for about the same cost as the panels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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