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volcomig Sun Mar 19, 2017 6:27 am

Hi guys,

I own a 1974 bay window and would like to install solar panels.

The appliances I want to run are the following:

-Fridge (truck fridge 49)
-Laptop charger
-Booster pack charger
-Led light
-Blutooth speaker charger
-miniature fan


My main goal here would be to always keep my fridge running no matter what!


I plan on doing the installation myself. What would I need? Including inverter, solar panels, batteries etc.

Thanks in advance :D

alman72 Sun Mar 19, 2017 6:33 am

blaze-cut fire suppression.

foxmon Sun Mar 19, 2017 7:45 am

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search_keywords=solar&search_forum=5
Search found 502 matches
and that is just in the Bay Window Bus forum

And solar panels don't cause gas leaks...

busdaddy Sun Mar 19, 2017 9:17 am

foxmon wrote: And solar panels don't cause gas leaks...
But half assed wiring and cheapo charge controllers have been know to burn down more than one bus, plan it carefully and do it right.

foxmon Sun Mar 19, 2017 1:22 pm

Thank you busdaddy, that is helpful info for the OP. But not unique to solar in bay windows or something a blazecut in the engine bay might stop.

Personally, unless I'm living in my bus I'm reluctant to install solar. I have a portable system I bring along. That also allows me to park in the shade and still make hay.

911GT2 Mon Mar 20, 2017 11:52 am

foxmon wrote: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search_keywords=solar&search_forum=5
Search found 502 matches
and that is just in the Bay Window Bus forum

And solar panels don't cause gas leaks...
502 that's right, but none of them seems to cover the basic setup... at least not on the top 5 pages.

Anyway, I'm interested is his question too. Mostly in how people put the wiring trough.

I've got an early bay so I'm planning to run the wiring in such a way I don't need to drill holes.

foxmon Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:10 pm

911GT2 wrote: 502 that's right, but none of them seems to cover the basic setup... You are correct. I have searched and searched as well and there does not seem to be a "basic setup". I have a pop-top so if I were to do an install I would employ the luggage rack and the existing drain holes.

It would be really nice to see someone take on a resource thread for solar, but I think it is frowned upon here even more than conversions.

911GT2 Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:19 pm

For now I think I'm going with this setup.

Looks like cheap chineese stuff, but at closer look it's identical to the setups you can buy for twice the money.

I've got an 100ah leisure battery where I will hook it up to.
I just want to charge some phones, iPad, gopro, drone, macbook etc. And I wan't to run a small cooler off of it, but I don't need the battery topped off all the time. Cause I'll drive and hookup to outlets too. So it just helps slow down draining the leiseure battery too fast.

jtauxe Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:27 pm

You will never be able to provide enough solar to keep your fridge running no matter what.

There is not enough rooftop space on a bus to make solar be useful, but you might be able to set up an array on the ground. Of course, you'd have to stage it, pack it, and tote it everywhere.

Definitely not worth the trouble, IMO. On the other hand, I will be installing solar PV on the house tis year.

911GT2 Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:51 pm

jtauxe wrote: You will never be able to provide enough solar to keep your fridge running no matter what.

There is not enough rooftop space on a bus to make solar be useful, but you might be able to set up an array on the ground. Of course, you'd have to stage it, pack it, and tote it everywhere.

Definitely not worth the trouble, IMO. On the other hand, I will be installing solar PV on the house tis year.
That's simply not true.

I recon you can get up to 4 panels op the roof, that's 400 watts that's more than enough to power a small fridge, thing is though... where to store all that power.

A small fridge uses between 50 and 65 wats. You can calculate here what you need for that. Even when you power the fridge for 24hours straight (off course you won't run in 24h straight cause it only runs when it needs to cool) you'll still only need 330 watts when there's 5 hours of sunlight a day.

Thing is, you need 260ah to store it all. That's two very big batteries.

JaimeH Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:06 pm

That fridge will use at least 500 Wh a day. Everything you listed can be run on 12V. An inveter will just waste energy. Don't know how much roof space you have to work with, but you might want to look here.

www.wholesalesolar.com/rv-marine

Abscate Mon Mar 20, 2017 3:08 pm

911GT2 wrote: jtauxe wrote: You will never be able to provide enough solar to keep your fridge running no matter what.

There is not enough rooftop space on a bus to make solar be useful, but you might be able to set up an array on the ground. Of course, you'd have to stage it, pack it, and tote it everywhere.

Definitely not worth the trouble, IMO. On the other hand, I will be installing solar PV on the house tis year.
That's simply not true.

I recon you can get up to 4 panels op the roof, that's 400 watts that's more than enough to power a small fridge, thing is though... where to store all that power.

A small fridge uses between 50 and 65 wats. You can calculate here what you need for that. Even when you power the fridge for 24hours straight (off course you won't run in 24h straight cause it only runs when it needs to cool) you'll still only need 330 watts when there's 5 hours of sunlight a day.

Thing is, you need 260ah to store it all. That's two very big batteries.

Usable power of 400 watts of panels is 100 watts

This install is beyond the scope of a beginner.

WhirledTraveller Mon Mar 20, 2017 3:45 pm

JimmieH wrote: That fridge will use at least 500 Wh a day. Everything you listed can be run on 12V. An inveter will just waste energy. Don't know how much roof space you have to work with, but you might want to look here.

www.wholesalesolar.com/rv-marine

No it will not use that much. About half that. Source: Me, having done the tests on a similar fridge, and reliable internet sources such as Westy Ventures who have also done the tests and sold and installed many of these same fridges.

I have a 60 watt solar setup and my input is this:

In my experience, a decent auxiliary battery will run normal camping loads such as an efficient fridge and a few lights and radios for a couple days without problems.

In my experience, the camping I *actually do*, it is unlikely that I will stay parked in the same place for multiple days without driving anywhere.

It is also my experience that I rarely park the bus in direct sunlight. Shade is much better.

Add those things together, if I had to do it over again, I never would have bothered with the solar. I don't think it has added anything to my camping experience and I'd rather have the space on the roof to lash things down.

Abscate Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:14 pm

Manufacturers specs are average draw is 24 watts per hour. That's a 500 watt per day load. You need real numbers to work these problems, not anecdotes

pittwagen Mon Mar 20, 2017 7:01 pm

I'm surprised you did not go over to the Vanagon forum and find their solar section. Everything you need should be there in one easy to find, well organized place. Start here:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

Scroll down to the solar section and here are the topics covered.

Solar
Panels:
Portable vs. Roof-mount
GoWesty portable solar system
Solar panel size?
Thin panels
Thin, flexible panels ~v.1
Thin, flexible panels ~v.2
Solar panels for Westy luggage rack
Solar hardware recommendations
Solar wiring connectors
How did you run wires?
Effects of long cable runs to controller
Solar with no permanent modifications
Additional solar topics

Charge controllers:
PWM vs. MPPT

911GT2 Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:25 am

pittwagen wrote: I'm surprised you did not go over to the Vanagon forum and find their solar section. Everything you need should be there in one easy to find, well organized place. Start here:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

Scroll down to the solar section and here are the topics covered.

Solar
Panels:
Portable vs. Roof-mount
GoWesty portable solar system
Solar panel size?
Thin panels
Thin, flexible panels ~v.1
Thin, flexible panels ~v.2
Solar panels for Westy luggage rack
Solar hardware recommendations
Solar wiring connectors
How did you run wires?
Effects of long cable runs to controller
Solar with no permanent modifications
Additional solar topics

Charge controllers:
PWM vs. MPPT
You sir, just made my day...

So to all the naysayers it's easily possible on a pop-top westy (As I suspected). Just find the right setup.

OT: credits to their FAQ by the way.

pittwagen Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:52 am

Here is another source of information from a manufacturer.

https://www.renogy.com/

Go to the Learn section for wiring diagrams and how to's.

Here is one example.


Gruppe B Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:56 am

Abscate wrote:
Usable power of 400 watts of panels is 100 watts

This install is beyond the scope of a beginner.

Hi Abscate
Why do you say the usable power of 400 watts of panels only 100 watts and why do you feel that beginners cant do solar?

interested in your opinion, but not understanding your statements..

alman72 Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:26 pm

just do anything you need to avoid this. SAD.

911GT2 Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:35 pm

That goes for every mod on your bus...

...I'd rather have solar setup than dodgy fuel lines.

If you're going to do it, do it right or let an expert do it.
Still 400w is hardley exper territory. There is loads of info on the web, youtube and apperently even this forum.



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