Solar on a tintop

[Walrus]

What about putting one behind the rear window? I know it wouldn't be as effecient but it would save drilling holes in an otherwise watertight roof.

[Mocki]

What about putting one behind the rear window? I know it wouldn't be as effecient but it would save drilling holes in an otherwise watertight roof.

if you dont care how untidy it looks you can get aw3ay with no holes at all with a semi flexible, as tyou could route the feed cables in the rear air intake ducts , but it will look like someone couldnt be bother to fit it !

Ralph, consider a 150w , there is hardly any difference in price, but a big difference in output .
a 100w will supply never more than 5.5amp out , but a 150w 8.5amp

[nordberg]

Still got to wire mine in yet but they have fitted quite well in between my roof rack bars. 200w should do the trick . Not any help for Covikid as I know he doesn't want a roof bar option

[CJH]

Ralph - what about making your own array up to fit the space - seems right up your street.

Some bits and pieces for DIY construction here. For instance, 80 pieces @ 6" square gives you 150W.



They mention an encapsulation kit though, as the raw cells need protection, and I can't see that on their website.

Go on you know you want to. Make this the nerdiest of the nerdy solar threads!

[CJH]

Encapsulation materials and another source of DIY materials here. Uh oh, I feel a project coming on.

[CovKid]

Will need to check on Thursday when it arrives, but several sites say you can trim edges slightly on flexible panels, in which case it would fit between roof strengtheners. Be good if thats the case. Could cover the roof that way

[CJH]

I'm sure you will be able to trim it. At the edges where there are no cells there'll just be the flexible plastic substrate with a layer of encapsulation over it.

I'm looking for a good excuse to build my own now, having jokingly suggested it to you. The best I can come up with, if I can find a suitable source of flexible substrate, is to make one that exactly fits inside the front screen, on suckers, to use as a combined blackout blind/sunshade/solar panel. I reckon it would probably be big enough for 150W, and would fit inside my pop top when I'm not camping. I haven't costed it yet, but that's not the point.

With that and the 100W panel on my pop top there's a good chance that one of them would be facing the right way when I'm parked up camping.

[lloydy]

any reason not to take the cable in where the heated screen/cl wires exit?

[CovKid]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqIVaJuB6oM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting.....

[CJH]

Yep - saw another clip from that fella. Looks quite doable doesn't it.

[kevtherev]

What about putting one behind the rear window? I know it wouldn't be as effecient but it would save drilling holes in an otherwise watertight roof.

if you dont care how untidy it looks you can get aw3ay with no holes at all with a semi flexible, as tyou could route the feed cables in the rear air intake ducts , but it will look like someone couldnt be bother to fit it !

Ralph, consider a 150w , there is hardly any difference in price, but a big difference in output .
a 100w will supply never more than 5.5amp out , but a 150w 8.5amp

really?

[CovKid]

I think it will depend on the accuracy of the meter Kev and as most are made in China, they are dubious at best. If a 100w solar panel is rated at say 5.7 amps max (and the flexible ones seem to be about that), thats all it will produce on a really bright day. Some German made ones apparently can deliver more although they cost twice as much and its arguable whether the extra cost for a couple of amps is as cost effective as say two cheaper ones.

[kevtherev]

I think it will depend on the accuracy of the meter Kev and as most are made in China, they are dubious at best. If a 100w solar panel is rated at say 5.7 amps max (and the flexible ones seem to be about that), thats all it will produce. Some German made ones apparently can deliver more.

Erm.. I think you need to look at Ohm's law Ralph, it is possible and I can assure you the meter is accurate.
That picture shows I was using 88 watts of my 99.4 available

[CovKid]

I know ohms law very well but I can't see how a panel is going to produce more than its quoted maximum rated power, otherwise whats the point in quoting the figure in the first place. For my part I'll be testing with something more accurate but I'm not going to get obsessive about amps. As long as its trickle-charging I'll be more than happy.

Clearly though, some panels are more efficient than others.

Biggest hurdle is going to be the gap between those roof strengtheners.

[CJH]

Erm.. I think you need to look at Ohm's law Ralph, it is possible and I can assure you the meter is accurate.
That picture shows I was using 88 watts of my 99.4 available

Indeed - volts x amps. That sticker says it makes 5.7A at 17.7V - that's 100W. The job of the controller is to convert 17.7V to a useful charging voltage. Divide those 100W by a smaller voltage and you get more amps.