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28/6/2014 at 10:08pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Bailey Olympus & Tiguan 4-Motion
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Solar can be a bit daunting - but a few basic guidelines are:
Your panel will hardly ever deliver its theoretical output - the amount of sunlight, length and type of wiring, type and position of controller, will combine to reduce the amount of amps actually going into the battery.
I'd go for a 100 watt panel - and hope to get an average of 2.5 amps per hour out of it the summer.
A lot of these panels are sold as kits. There are convenient, but not usually the best way to approach solar use.
For a start, they will probably include a cheap (and often nasty) solar controller (used to avoid overcharging the battery) supplied in connection with cheap unsuitable cable (they often crown their offering with some of the nastiest 'crocodile' clips you could ever hope to see)
In addition, they mount the cheap solar controller on the frame or (worse) the back of the panel itself.
if it's on the panel it will get too hot. If it's on the frame, that's a bit better - but both installations lose a lot of power due to resistance in the necessarily long cable needed to reach the caravan battery.
A solar controller should be site no more than a metre away from the battery its regulating - obviously impossible when its mounted on a panel some distance from the caravan.
The solution is to remove the controller from the panel and mount it inside the caravan adjacent to the battery (or, better still, throw the supplied controller away and replace it with a decent one)
You don't have to spend a fortune - the best type are MPPT (maximum power point tracking) models - but you'll pay big money for a genuine MPPT model, as opposed to the many ebay fake ones.
Best to buy a decent PWM (pulse width modulation) controller for a fraction of the price. These won't charge your battery as efficiently as MPPT, but in a leisure situation it's not as critical (and it is a lot cheaper)
'Steca' sell good pwm models - but they are also ridiculously expensive.
However, despite the hype, Steca do not make their controllers in Germany - they are, in fact, made by Fangpusun in (where else?) China.
Fangpusun put the Steca logo on them, and Steca charge accordingly.
Revcently, Fangpusun have been selling exactly the same models under their own name, and under other cheap brand names.
'Harbor Freight' (for the USA market) and 'Bluesolar', and others that I've forgotten - they are all the 'Steca 3030 30 amp LCD display model.
As a comparison, you will find the Steca 3030 on ebay for around £120. You will also find the 'Fangpusun' 3030 for £30 ;) - and they are the same. Not 'similar' - the same.
Those are UK sourced - if you want to buy from China, the same controller with a 'Bluesolar' badge can be your for £20 ;)
Same item, same internal components, same spec, same features, same factory...
Anyway, that's off the point.
In addition to your panel and a properly sited controller (no more than 1 metre from the battery) you will need some decent 4mm solar cable and some MC4 connectors.
The cable is important, proper cable will keep voltage loss through resistance down to a minimum (another reason not to choose the kits with their thin cheap cables)
MC4 connectors are ridiculously easy to crimp - but you DO need to use an MC4 crimping tool!
I've seen and tried the YouTube advice about fitting them with ordinary crimper's - but they just don't make a tight secure join, not even with ratchet crimper's.
MC4 crimper's are now down to around £25 for a cheap pair - and will make perfectly crimped joints that have low resistance. You can always re-sell the MC4 crimper's after you've used them, if you wish.
What you want is the long cables to run from the panel to the controller (not from the panel to the battery, as in the kits) and then a 1 metre (or less) lead from the controller down to the battery itself.
As you'll probably be removing the battery at various times, you need to put a plug and socket in the controller to battery line. I used Anderson plugs - go for the 6mm pin version (the larger pins are for very thick 'starter type' cables) and solder them in - again, very easy to do, just put the 4mm cable into the pins, heat with a blow torch (or one of those cheap butane pencils) and introduce the solder.
Very easy - if I can do it, anyone can ;)
You'll end up with a decent free standing solar installation (you'll need a stand for the panel, or buy a cheap kit with built in stand and replace the bits I've mentioned) with proper cables, a good controller, and decent connections.
You don't *need* a 30 amp controller for a 100 watt panel, of course - a 10 watt controller would do.
However, as the Fangpusun 'Steca' 30 amp units are available so cheaply at the moment it makes sense to stick one in - and gives you as much upgrade capability as you'll ever need ;)
Right - that's worn me out - I'm off to bed now ;)...........
Edit - forget to mention that you'll need an in-line fuse for the panel to controller cable (at least) and also for the controller to battery cable.
Not as easy to source as you might think - the only decent one I was able to find was an 'easy crimp' blade fuse holder that will just take the 4mm cable with the insulation stripped back. These (as the name suggests) crimp on and make a really secure low-resistance connection
Only available (to my knowledge) at Sunshine Solar.com and (oddly) at Homestead Caravans. they are grossly over priced at £6 - but I don't know of a cheaper stockist. I did order some from the USA at about 75 pence each - but they turned out to be a bit too small to take the 4mm cable.
Post last edited on 28/06/2014 22:20:49
Post last edited on 28/06/2014 22:27:08
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I glanced in the mirror, and it was love at first sight...
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29/6/2014 at 4:41pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: Bailey Olympus & Tiguan 4-Motion
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Hi - that one is similar, but it's not the Fangpuson/Steca model I was thinking of - extra button on the front, for a start (although the electronics are probably identical)
This is the one I meant - it *is* a 'Steca'. As I said, Fangpusun are the actual manufacturers, and this is the 'Steca' controller with the Fangfusun badge.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solar-charge-controller-high-quality-auto12-24v-30amp-rated-/171369590954?pt=UK_Gadgets&hash=item27e66c70aa
I fitted this one a few months ago and it's an excellent bit of kit.
The seller (at that time) took an offer of £27 plus postage.
EDit - 'Netmeter' is also the same model with a different name - Fangpusun obviously badge them up for whoever buys enough of them. Quite what Steca - with their massive profit mark-up - make of it is anyone's guess 
Edit Edit - no need to guess. I've just come across a German forum where someone opened up a Fangpusun and compared it to the Steca.
Initial observations were that it was the same (which was also the conclusion on an Ozzie forum, where the same test was conducted)
Then Steca GMbH entered the discussion and said that they were 'unauthorised copies' and that they violated EU trade agreements. They also stated that Steca products were made in Germany.
After that, all the German forum members began nodding wisely, and saying that they had been mistaken, and that, no, it wasn't the same
So, you pays your money and you makes your choice.....
All I know is that (1) it looks identical, and works identically, and (2) my VW has 'made in Germany' on it - but the engine (at the very least) was made in Hungary.
Post last edited on 29/06/2014 17:11:44
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I glanced in the mirror, and it was love at first sight...
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Topic: SOLAR PANELS
