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Old 01-15-2014, 05:50 PM   #11
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

Seems like a really great price for the link you provided.

I have a question…..Would you simply clip the solar panel cable to one of the batteries?

Do you have to do anything to the circuit box in the Van or let the house system know you are
plugging in a solar panel to the SMB provided house system?

Is anything else needed besides just what is provided ?

Lastly, I did not see the length of the cable provided to go from the solar panel to the battery. Will be long enough or can you add to the length?

Great find

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Old 01-15-2014, 08:14 PM   #12
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

86scotty,
I myself do not really see any difference in either of the units.

They both put out the same max voltage and max current.
The solar Blvd one says it has a PWM controller, the geoking does not say but I expect it to be the same. They both have about 5 meter cables from the controller to hook up to your battery,

In most cases if you have a choice you would prefer a MPPT controller, as it will get more current out of the panel then a PWM controller when the output voltage of the panel is higher.

If I had a choice I would toss the controller, and get a MMPT that you could wire up close to the battery. This would allow you to extend the cables and not worry about the voltage loss across the cables as they would be before the controller. The problem is that a good MPPT controller will cost as much as these whole units, Neither one has much information about charging algorithms and such. That said for the price of the solar blvd unit, you could always start with them and move to a better controller later, it should not be to hard to remove the connected controller, and go direct to your new controller.

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Old 01-15-2014, 09:28 PM   #13
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

I know a little bit about solar, I originally had a 120 watt kycora panel on the roof of my astro van and use that to run my edgestar 430 fridge, it ran it non-stop for months on end as long as I kept the fridge set at 40 degrees. On sunny days I get about a max of 6 amps but on cloudy days I never got more than 2 amps. Many of times my 75 amp hour agm battery would run out of juice to power the fridge when I had multiple days of cloudy weather.
I tried using a 110.00 dollar mppt controller but that doesnt work on low wattage/low voltage panels. I actually got better performance with the 23 dollar pwm charger.
I upgraded to a 240 watt sharp panel (bought on craiglist for 200 dollars). I also got a larger 145 amp agm battery. With this setup the saying "now I'm cooking with fire is appropriate". I've seen it go as high as 13 amps on sunny days, in cloudy days I can get about 4 to 5 amps minimum. This is with the panel just lying flat on the roof.
I rely on solar to run my swamp cooler, all my lights, charge my laptops etc. never run my engine to charge the agm battery. Once you use such a large solar panel and high amperage you wont go back to the little panels. Once I left the headlights on all night, in the morning the battery was under 10 volts and engine wouldnt start. I was able to hookup the solar panel to the engine battery. This was in the morning with the sun just rising, by 11 am I was able to crank over the engine. That to me was impressive.
The astrovan I have is the smallest model they made but I had no problem installing the panel on the roof, it seems like a hard job but drill 4 holes for the "L" brackets from home depot (8 dollars) and drill a hole for a conduit to run the wires and your good to go. Make sure you use rv putty sealant and you wont have no leaks.
I havent ran out of power in months, the setup produces more power than I use, but I rather have excess power than run out of power when I need it. Having the panel permanently installed is very convenient, they are fragile to be moving around on a day to day basis.
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Old 01-15-2014, 09:37 PM   #14
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

Quote:
Originally Posted by copescobra
Seems like a really great price for the link you provided.

I have a question…..Would you simply clip the solar panel cable to one of the batteries?
Yeah you can or with small panels that only produce you can plug into a 12vDC power outlet. One of the problems with cheap quality panels is if you lose a string of cells. Output can be hindered quite a bit. Not that you would leave it out at night but some setups can discharge your batteries if left connected.

I also agree with Greg on the controller but even a great controller doesn't help if the panel is compromised due to poor construction. Basically you get what you pay for but that's not always the case. Kinda like working with cheap tools; they work but can have issues. At least if you have a good separate controller and loose a poorly made panel the whole system isn't trashed but like Greg said a good controller isn't cheap in cost either. The problem is you are pretty much rolling the dice unless they've been proven. Maybe you can find a review on that setup.
I know they are expensive but take a look at PowerFilm.
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Old 01-15-2014, 10:24 PM   #15
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

As far as plugging it in, I would mount the plug somewhere underneath the van so that it can quickly be connected/disconnected. I even thought about using one of the original battery vents since they aren't really functional anymore.
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Old 01-16-2014, 07:57 AM   #16
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

Thanks for the answers everyone! This wasn't even my post but I certainly learned a lot as I haven't really paid much attention to solar before. Hopefully OP got some good info too.

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Old 01-16-2014, 08:27 AM   #17
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

Great price, MUCH cheaper than my Goal Zero Set up!
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Old 01-16-2014, 11:14 AM   #18
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

Def some good info on this thread. The cost of some other kits was a huge factor in me not getting one. With the price of this kit, its much more affordable. The 160w kit is listed for $239, which is still a good deal.
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Old 01-16-2014, 12:56 PM   #19
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

mikracer I've been using a 100W panel with basically the same specs; I mounted it on aluminum rails so it's kind portable, not too different from the one you're looking at.

I also have about 180AH batteries, AGM, and pretty much the same needs, just lights and refer. So far I've been very pleased with the setup. If I'm moving a lot I don't bother with it as the van provides enough recharge for the batteries (I do a lot of camping in the west, esp. the desert, and so driving between spots might be 3+ hours; if you only moved a few miles, such as in a cruise of the coast, you might need to use the panel more).

I had to wire my controller in the van; this one comes with one. It may depend, but generally you want your controller to not just limit the input into the batteries, but to so smartly, like your regular AC charger. Just applying watts isn't as efficient. So you need to check the quality of the controller; at that price it might be fine but ya never know. A poor controller can waste a lot of the energy.

Also, there's the wiring. I love an external panel cuz I can aim it, and in summer months I want the van to be in as much shade as possible, so having a panel I can put in the sun with the van in the shade is great. But the further you move it the more power you can loose in transmitting to the van's batteries. I'm no electrician but I would think that a long wire run from panel to controller and then a short run to batteries is preferable to a short run from panel to controller and then a long run to battery. In any case you need some beefy cable to help make that as efficient as possible. I use my shore power cable, which is pretty big. Getting the connections is a bit of a hassle, but I ended up wiring through the van wall near the gas filler and have a connection there I use (basically female AC plug, but a dedicated DC would be better).

Looks like a good deal. BTW, Henry Cowell campground is pretty shady, sun-wise. You can preview your site at campsitephotos.com, so it might be an ideal place to make use of a portable panel.
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Old 01-16-2014, 01:46 PM   #20
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Re: Solar Blvd portable kits

Quote:
Originally Posted by rob_gendreau
mikracer I've been using a 100W panel with basically the same specs; I mounted it on aluminum rails so it's kind portable, not too different from the one you're looking at.

I also have about 180AH batteries, AGM, and pretty much the same needs, just lights and refer. So far I've been very pleased with the setup. If I'm moving a lot I don't bother with it as the van provides enough recharge for the batteries (I do a lot of camping in the west, esp. the desert, and so driving between spots might be 3+ hours; if you only moved a few miles, such as in a cruise of the coast, you might need to use the panel more).

I had to wire my controller in the van; this one comes with one. It may depend, but generally you want your controller to not just limit the input into the batteries, but to so smartly, like your regular AC charger. Just applying watts isn't as efficient. So you need to check the quality of the controller; at that price it might be fine but ya never know. A poor controller can waste a lot of the energy.

Also, there's the wiring. I love an external panel cuz I can aim it, and in summer months I want the van to be in as much shade as possible, so having a panel I can put in the sun with the van in the shade is great. But the further you move it the more power you can loose in transmitting to the van's batteries. I'm no electrician but I would think that a long wire run from panel to controller and then a short run to batteries is preferable to a short run from panel to controller and then a long run to battery. In any case you need some beefy cable to help make that as efficient as possible. I use my shore power cable, which is pretty big. Getting the connections is a bit of a hassle, but I ended up wiring through the van wall near the gas filler and have a connection there I use (basically female AC plug, but a dedicated DC would be better).

Looks like a good deal. BTW, Henry Cowell campground is pretty shady, sun-wise. You can preview your site at campsitephotos.com, so it might be an ideal place to make use of a portable panel.
Thanks for the post! I think someone mentioned that it is better to have a shorter run from the controller to the battery but I imagine that a 15ft run wont be the death of the juice coming through...at least I hope! I originally wanted to hard mount a good panel to the roof, but when I saw there were portable kits available, I changed my mind.

I'm hoping these cheaper kits will do what I need, which is replenish power used (even if not fully). The Henry Cowell trip will be our longest to date and most of our trips will be 3 nights or less over weekends. So the peace of mind factor is really what I'm wanting. I know my dual battery setup can last 2 nights, but I'm constantly checking the voltage. With this kit, I can basically "set it and forget it!" (like Ron Popeil).

...and I literally spend hours on campsitephotos to check campsites before I book them. Its kind of a disease...
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