Solar Advice

[Ant-t]

I have a solar panel that came with my van which I'd like to use to trickle charge my leisure battery when not on hookup. The panel is outputting a healthy charge when tested with my multimeter. There is a socket for the panel to plug into but this doesn't charge the battery, so I'm thinking that I'd like to fit some kind of basic power management unit as there doesn't appear to be one fitted at present. Any tips or advise on setting up a basic solar charging system for the leisure battery?

[kevtherev]

What wattage is the panel rated at?

[CovKid]

Please don't say its the 4w one

[Ant-t]

I'm a complete novice at solar power so please excuse my lack of knowledge. I'm not really sure what the panel rating is as there is nothing printed on the panel or casing, its outputting around 19.5v but the amp reading seem quite low at 0.3

[kevtherev]

I'm a complete novice at solar power so please excuse my lack of knowledge. I'm not really sure what the panel rating is as there is nothing printed on the panel or casing, its outputting around 19.5v but the amp reading seem quite low at 0.3

Is that in full sun on a load or battery
What are the dimensions, how many cells are there?

Point of the questions is a low energy panel does not need a controller.
Whereas a larger panel does.
I would connect directly to a used battery that's at less than 12 volts.
In full sun you'll get a good idea of amperage going in.

[Ant-t]

The readings are with panel in full sun, the panel measures 42 X 48cm with 36 cells in the array.

[kevtherev]

No controller necessary.
Just wire up to the battery.
Use a switch to turn it on and off, with a fuse (10 a)

[CovKid]

10 watt - possibly more.

[kevtherev]

Pretty useless really IMO
Good enough for a phone perhaps.

[Ant-t]

Thanks for the input, will give it a go

[ghost123uk]

How big is it?

[CovKid]

Catch up John. "42 X 48cm with 36 cells in the array." To be fair, it should 'trickle' charge (just).

[Ant-t]

I suspect it's quite an old panel so I'm not expecting much power output, but i will try it on a battery tomorrow

[California Dreamin]

Not so much a charger but 'exciter'! perhaps enough to stave off sulphation during the long winter months of inactivity, which is a good thing as long.... as you don't expect a fully charged battery between weekend camps, as this simply isn't powerful enough for that.

Martin

[Ant-t]

Thanks for the input, I appreciate that this panel is low powered as it came with the van and is quite old. I'm still keen to work out a solar solution to top up my leisure battery for when I'm not on hookup. Should I start by working out an estimated nightly power usage and how much I'd need to top it up?