Thin solar panels

[bosruten]

[jackbombay]

[bosruten]

I could always order stronger poptop shocks except, I can't remember where on earth I bought them!
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'87 Syncro Weekender

[jackbombay]

[ryecatcher]

I received my Thin Solar Panels from Renogy

These are way thinner and lighter than I thought they would be. The black part in the side-view picture is the wire, which is almost thicker than the panel itself. I was told by Renogy that most people are mounting this with velcro, so my plan is to get some industrial-strength velcro and mount it on the roof, right in the middle of the pop-top (no skylight to worry about).

Next step: wire them up and mount them. Endless cold beer, here I come!

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1982 Westfalia Camper, Air Cooled
"Wendeline"

[yycwesty]

Ryecatcher

What is the watts and where did you purchase the panel..Was it a kit

Cheers
Al

[Steelhead]

any thoughts on these Evergreen panels? Seems like an excellent value (watts per dollar) and a fairly thin profile case... though I wasn't seeing efficiency rating.

http://www.solarblvd.com/Solar-Panels-&-System..._info.html

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'77 Bay Window / '89 Caratsburg (aka. the Stormtrooper)

[moremorevan]

It seems like the renogy panel ($200)
http://www.renogy-store.com/100watts-bendable-panel-p/rng-100db.htm

the SAW panel ($300)
http://www.sawtechnology.com/100w%20SemiFlexSlrpnl.html

and the Solbian panel ($1199)
http://www.solbian.eu/index.php?option=com_k2&...mp;lang=en

are pretty similar. All seem to have around 20% efficiency. Is there something I'm missing that makes the pricier ones better?
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89 westfalia

[bosruten]

I found prices varied wildly, but little else. SAW Technology is located in Ontario, I'm in Canada so....
I still don't have my panel energized but will report back when I do.
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'87 Syncro Weekender

[DeadSetMonkey]

[bosruten]

[kybishop]

Those Renogy panels look awesome!

@ryecatcher any thoughts on how many one could squeeze on the roof without covering the hatch or trailing off the edges of the roof (at least not by more than a couple inches)?

[ryecatcher]

I did indeed buy them from Renogy, directly. My total order was $260; I got the panel, the charge controller, and some extra cabling. Free shipping.
I don't have my van back yet (she's getting worked on – more on that when I get her back), but as soon as I have her, I'll get on top and see about placement, etc. When I measured it out, it seemed like you could easily put two up there, maybe even four (not sure why you would want to, though; more batteries would be better). They are 100 watt panels, with about 20% efficiency. FWIW, it was making power at sunset inside my house, though I didn't measure output.
I can't wait to try it out – going for an extended ramble next week
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1982 Westfalia Camper, Air Cooled
"Wendeline"

[ryecatcher]

(Warning, long, with details and pics)

I finally got around to installing the Renogy Thin Solar Panel (100W) on the van, and wiring it up into the system. The whole process took a little under three hours, and that included cleaning out the van and re-wiring the house battery stuff.
Overall I'm very pleased with how it looks. My goal was stealthy (as much as can be, anyway), no holes drilled in the van, and decent power to charge the house battery / run a fridge and fan. I think it accomplished these goals.

Here's a step by step, to add to the collective knowledge here:

First, I decided where to install it:

Towards the back worked better, as I'm going to run the cabling through the back hatch. I didn't want to drill a hole in the fiberglass, so I just ran the wires out the back to the inside of the hatch, but outside of the seal:

Note I did not attach the panel yet (I saved this for the end).

There is a opening into the body where the defrost wire enters. A black rubber grommet protects the wires, but the metal was very smooth there without the rubber, at least on my van. I popped out the rubber and ran the wires from the solar panel through. Because of the size of the plugs, you'll have to disassemble them. Just unscrew the base, then pop the whole thing off. Now you can feed the wires into the defrost wire hole through the body, to a little hole in the upper left hand part of the cabinet, where the ground wire for the defrost exits:

Now, reassemble the connectors to the solar panel wires, taking care to keep the positive wire to the positive plug, and negative with negative. When you're done you'll have the connectors nice and readily accessible in that little compartment:

I cut some room in the grommet to make it bigger and shoved it back in there so nothing frays. Next, I ran the wires that came with the panel, which have their own respective connectors. I just pushed them through the back of the wardrobe, underneath the wardrobe to where the water tank is, caught them and fished them through the little hole where the water lines run, and they ended up in the right cabinet:

I decided to install the charge controller here, and run heavy-duty wire (don't know gauge, but it's what Renogy sells for longer runs), to the battery. I ran it out the battery case, through a little existing cut-out to the back of the "cupboard" cabinet under the sink:

Routed through the back:

and behind where the fridge would be (mine is out, which made life easy) and into the cabinet underneath the charge controller, up though the water-line cut-out, and to the charge controller. Here it is all installed and wired together:

Then it was just a matter of wiring it all. Do this all with the solar panel unplugged. From charge controller directly to the battery, from battery to the Blue Sea Systems Fuse Block, then the fuse block goes to whatever you want to power. I have a 2 12v 2 usb distribution box, and 12v lighting. I can always add more to this, too. Minimalist, but it does what I need:

Connected up the solar panel, and everything works, first time! The battery is getting charge, and can run the fan and fridge.
Now, back to the outside, to mount the panel. On Renogy's advice, I used industrial strength velcro. I haven't taken it out on the highway yet, so I'll update if it blows off! The panel is so low-profile that I can't imagine it catching wind.

From the top:

From the back:

A side view:

Looks good. The only thing I don't like are the two wires sticking out the back, but it was either that or drill holes. I'll keep you all updated as to its durability. For now, I just feel better knowing the battery is getting charged at all times.
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1982 Westfalia Camper, Air Cooled
"Wendeline"

[TommyBoyGomes]

Cool, how many amps are you putting into the battery (or into the charge controller) with this setup?
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1969 Squareback, 1776cc
1990 Vanagon Multivan

[bosruten]

Nice install Ryecatcher.
Here is mine. I chickened out and used nuts and bolts along with the velcro. Since I drilled holes for the panel, I figured drilling for the wires was inline. I used two Trojans under the seat, they are a tight fit! I've tried to make use of the space under the weekender seat by mounting the inverter/charger, charge controller, breaker, panel, auto charging relay and Propex. It still leaves room for my tool box and and other knick knacks. So far I'm happy.

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'87 Syncro Weekender

[morymob]

AS already asked, what is max amperage/12V setup of panel From factory specs?? Are they mono type cells?? I juust pulled up SAW site, both flex & nonflex R mono cells. Specs for non flex is 5.55 max amps, 17% eff, flex ones, same 100 W is 5.62 A & 22% eff, ?? Sure don't see $150 more(mine same specs/nonflex) 4 just this small amt.

[ryecatcher]

I don't have an amp meter, so I'm not sure how many amps the battery is getting. The website lists 5.62 max Amps for the 100W flex panel.

One of the problems I had with the house battery is that it would never get charged enough on short trips around town. Plus, the Go Westy kit seems really limiting as far as the charge it allows. I know I ran the battery down too much at least once when I napped with the fan on. Woke up and voltage was real low. I'm hoping I didn't kill the battery, and that it'll be able to hold a charge.
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1982 Westfalia Camper, Air Cooled
"Wendeline"

[yycwesty]

I contacted renogy yesterday and asked them to put a package together for me including a mppt charger/100watt thin solar panel and cable..Once I get a price back I'll post that for anyone who's interested.

One thing they asked was how much cabling would I need in the package. I said 25ft..Would that be accurate if I ran the cable off the rear of the van to a wall mounted charger and then into the two trojan 6volts under the passenger side of the rear bench (not near my van so unable to measure that length)

Cheers
Al

[advantageaction]

Maybe message Curt Long from Maple Valley. He just sourced a number of 125W flexible panels out of China. Made with USA cells. He has them taped to his roof as a temporary demo of the system but plans on having an aluminum base and stainless brackets made for mounting. Pretty cool setup.

I just got back from 42 days on the road and our 190W mono panel performed brilliantly. Lots more weight though.

Cheers!

Barry