Foldable panel experience?

[rayra]

My understanding is that is totally dependent on the structure / arrangement of the cells in the panel. Think of it like old christmas lights. A bulb in the middle goes out and the strand quits. Shade a module and the power flow is interrupted. A folding panel may be wired together differently. Think of it as serial vs massively parallel. So items like that fabric folding panel are much less effected.

Expressing it crudely. Trying ot say it's a design issue and not necessarily one of brand or quality, even though those categories often go together.

Folks using panels need to pay heed to where and how they site their camp site. Sun exposure, latitude, time of year. To maximize panel exposure and minimize fiddling with deployable panels. Also a good reason to learn about power loads and wire gauges and voltage drop and add a longer connecting lead to your setup for those times you would benefit from positioning your panel setup further away from your vehicle. Make it an add-on component, like an extension cord, not permanently wired to your panel.

 

[No Ma]

My $0.02 worth. I went with solid foldable suitcases. Everything improves over time, but some of the earlier foldable panels have durability issues. The idea mentioned by others of having extensions, so you can place your panels, either foldable or solid away from your vehicle or trailer is very good advice.

You also want your charge controller close to your battery, which is problematic from some of the all-in-one solutions. I went with a separate battery monitor and charge controller in the battery box of the trailer right next to the battery, and 30', 10ga, extensions for the panels. Has worked very well for us so far. And yes, regardless of battery type or panel type, the more watts of solar panels you can reasonably carry the better. We have 3 folding, rigid suitcases for a total of 320w. The last 4 years in the Rocky Mtn. west have been pretty rainy and cloudy in the afternoons. You need to be able to collect as many amps as possible when you can get them.

YMMV. But it's interesting stuff.........

 

[Mgyver1]

@nixid Columbia Overland made one but their company kind of fizzled out. There's another out there that is a generic tray designed specifically for Optima batteries, but I didn't want Optima, and you have to design some of your own solutions for coolant overflow bottle, cut a section out of your radiator fan shroud, and I'm sure more but that wasn't very appealing to me. The Columbia setup was pretty nice as it relocated the factory coolant bottle with no issues, there was no need to notch the shroud and it fit batteries like Odyssey & X2. But Columbia's gone so no chance of getting that tray. While I wish I had the capability of having a separate house battery, the CBI group 31 tray has worked out fine and I have 100AH of power. Also there's less weight on the fender with this setup at 75 lbs, whereas 2 group 35's would've been 100 lbs.

 

[Mgyver1]

Never mind the finer PV panel tech points for now.

Fridge usage is not light, you really should spec the average AH per 24 hrs yours uses in your conditions.

Lower fridge temps and/or higher ambient will increase that number.

Personally with the most efficient fridge in mild weather, I wouldn't bother with less than a 250AH bank, 400+ better, and 300+ watts of PV panels, 600 if in a place with frequent overcast.

Less is OK if driving long distances every day, stopping for mains topups frequently, or carrying a genny with a big (80A+) charger.

The rules of thumb are size the bank 5-6x daily AH usage - be conservative!

And PV ratio W:AH most like 2:1, some sunny places or other​ charge sources 1:1 is OK.

I ran an Engel MT45 with no transit cover in a tent with low 80's daytime temps off a Autozone group 24 Duralast deep cycle battery being charged by 60 watts of solar through a PWM controller. We were there 4 days and 3 nights and I had to turn the temp up in the fridge because I was starting to freeze stuff. One of the days was overcast and I don't believe the panels were super fancy, although they did have a sticker saying the cells were German. I also charged cell phones and tablets during the day and never once had an issue with power.

Checking AZ's website they claim that battery is 85AH, however I don't know how they measure theirs as the X2 group 31 bohemouth says capacity 20hr 100AH.

Anyway, I had 1/5th the amount of solar charging through a less efficient controller than a MPPT (which I'm assuming you would have with 300+ watts of solar) and at best 1/3rd less battery capacity (probably less with AZ's floated claim and the battery was old) and I had more power than I needed for 4 days and 3 nights running my 40L fridge with no insulating cover.

 

[john61ct]

Big difference between a short trip and a long-term sustainable system. My advice is based on the latter.

 

[IdaSHO]

Correct.


Similarly, the calcs I do to spec systems are based upon 100% sustainability.

If you do not gain every single amp back in a day, that you use in a 24 hr period, you dont have enough solar.

That is simple math, and is based upon good sun.


Once you factor in location on the map, weather, terrain, etc.... you will need considerably more.

 

[OCD Overland]

A fridge will consume 35Ah/day typically.

And you typically get 6A per 100W of solar.

And rule of thumb is to assume 4 hours sunlight on average.

35/4/6*100=145.83

So you want a 150W panel. Some will say even that's overkill. Those people live in Arizona mostly, but they have a point, because...

A typical 200Ah battery will give you +/- 100Ah useable, or ~3 days with no sun, because it always rains when you camp.

And you've got an alternator that can make up that 35Ah in no time if you're in bulk or went fancy with LFP.

But by all means, carry around 600W of portable panels. They'll only take up all your storage and weigh about 150 lbs.

Dude said he wants to spend 3 days camping, not survive a nuclear winter.

 

[IdaSHO]

And for 3 days, Id never consider a solar setup.

Second battery, and start/idle the vehicle if/when needed