Foldable panel experience?

[wandererr]

So here's what I'm thinking. I want a solar panel for my trailer that's lightweight, easy to store and easy to deploy in a divorced scenario. Why? I spent 3 days in Sequoia and 3 days in Yosemite where the trailer was in total shade which is why I'd love to set the panel someplace in sun.... I saw one of these and it looks appealing.... Thoughts ?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071YP7X4F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1XcCzb98K5D70

 

[Winterpeg]

Lots of spelling mistakes in that link... I would stick with a brand you can trust.... Goal Zero or Renogy come to mind.
https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-watt-12-volt-monocrystalline-foldable-solar-suitcase/

 

[Corey]

Go with the Renogy like Winterpeg.
I have one for my aux. battery that powers my fridge, and it works great.
In the full sun the battery reads 14.5v when it is charging.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

I wanted a similar set up for the same reasons and decided to use renogy 100w residential panels and just put hinges on them to make a 300w solar suitcase. I hardwired the charge controller and house battery inside the truck with a plug to plug in the panels under the bed side. I've been using this setup for over a year now and it has been great, though a bit heavy to move around.

In retro spect I would have mounted the panels to the roof and come up with a quick-release mounting system and extension cord to deploy them if necessary. Next build

 

[Bear in NM]

I just picked up a GZ Nomad 100 foldable to supplement my glass panel, that I do use in a remote configuration. I have not tested the GZ in a real camping scenario yet, just testing here at home. It is very nice, but pretty stupid money unless you place a very high premium on portability. I started a thread here, concerning hooking up mis-matched panels, for efficiency.

The bottom line in the thread was if hooking up mismatched panels, you need to test for optimum performance, and likely the best scenario is two controllers. I mention all of this here, as it is very typical for folks to buy, and add panels as needs change. If you stick with one of the known makers of panels, with a track record of being around for a period of time, you would have better opportunity to expand your system later if needed, with a matching panel. I looked at ones like you linked, and many other brands in the same class. Pretty cheap, but by a a somewhat unknown source. I decided not.

The panel you link also notes bare wires, with no connectors. This could be good or bad, depending. Good if you are already using a particular connector style, and have the tools or place to have them made. Bad, for the opposite reasons.

Craig

 

[Mgyver1]

Go with the Renogy like Winterpeg.
I have one for my aux. battery that powers my fridge, and it works great.
In the full sun the battery reads 14.5v when it is charging.

Corey would you recommend the solar book like that or the foldable blanket type like the 60 watt PowerFilm you have?

 

[Corey]

I think if charging a battery that is going to run a fridge, I would want more wattage like I have with the Renogy.
You can get bigger foldables now too, but I have not kept up on them, but they sure save space.

On my upcoming trip I hope to be running all three of my panels.
The Renogy for the aux. battery and fridge, the Goal Zero Boulder 100 watt briefcase for the Yeti 400 lithium, and the Powerfilm foldable for the starting battery.
The latter one I probably would not need at all, the only thing running off the starting battery will be the 12v receptacles in the rear, and one will be for the Airlanders bulb.

Speaking of bulb...the one that came with the light back in 2008 when I got the tent is a festoon shaped bulb like on your headliner, and not energy efficient.
Awhile back I switched my interior lights over to LED festoon shaped bulbs, and I just got one for the tent, so there will hardly be any power draw at all on my starting battery for a week long trip.

Also I am not sure what kind of solar cells the foldables have, but I know the Renogy and the Goal Zero one I have has the mono-crystaline I think they are called, and that is suppose to produce the most power right now I think.
This type of tech changes all the time, just like CPU processors.

 

[Mgyver1]

Ok thanks. I'm only running one battery, a group 31, since no one makes a dual battery tray for the 3rd Gen 4Runner. I have an Antigravity jumpstarter in case I go flat, but I don't see that happening with my Projecta voltmeter with alarm.

Most of my trips are "move every day" expeditions but I have done a few "stay put" trips. I borrowed a 30 watt panel from a friend and it did ok at keeping the battery from dying, considering the limited sunlight in the canyon I was in. Blessing with lower temps since we weren't in direct sunlight often but curse with limited power generation. The last trip I did was a beach trip away from the truck and ended up bolting 2 of the 30 watt panels together with a deep cycle battery and the system performed fantastic powering my Engel MT45 and charging cellphones during the daytime. We were there for 4 days and the fridge was in the tent. I would repostition the panel fairly often and it was in full sun since we were on the beach.

That leads my to believe a 60 watt system would be sufficient, but I think a 90 would give me more buffer as I may not be in full sun the whole day on another trip.

I like the idea of the foldable PowerFilm with it being American made and packs so small as the 60 watt setup I used on the beach would take up way too much space in my Runner. The more I camp the more I want to downsize, but the more I camp the more cool stuff I see that makes me keep adding kit! However I just can't swing that cost of the PowerFilm right now, maybe next tax return.

 

[john61ct]

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.

 

[tenebs]

Powerfilm 90W foldabale solar panel

I have a PowerFilm 90W folding solar panel. I've had it for about 3 years and love it. It is compact and light when folded. When camping I usually lay it on top of my ARB awning but have a long cable plus extension I can use if needed to lay it out on the ground. In Tucson flat on the ground I see 21.49V coming out. I have used it in partially cloudy and periodic drizzling skies to recharge my second battery while camping. I forgot about being parked and the battery that runs the frig ran down so my frig cut off. The power from teh panel was enought to power teh frig back up as well as fully recharge the battery in just a few hours of no optimal sunlight/clouds/rain (attached picture).

 

[nixid]

Mgyver1 said since no one makes a dual battery tray for the 3rd Gen 4Runner. I have seen several posts here where, on a 3rd gen 4ruinner, the two batteries are mounted where the original battery was just rotated 90 degrees, an overflow container needs to be relocated too.

 

[spikemd]

If you are camping anywhere near shade, the solid panels are WORTHLESS. If you put one hand shadow over a section, any section, output drops by 80% while the Powerfilm only drops 5 to 10% based on the sections shaded. It is quite remarkable and you should test it yourself. I was floored. I wouldn't buy the solid panels for that reason alone. Most of my buddies have the Renogy, but have issues keeping batteries charged unless we out in the open desert.

The Powerfilm is also much more compact and easy to store but it is very pricey. We were just camping last weekend and a few friends have the Renogy suitcases and they were constantly having to move positions and it became futile when you are camping near any trees while the Powerfilm put out much more usable power even thogh it has a smaller rating. I have a 60 watt panel and plan to get another 60 watt panel. I also have a few Goal Zero foldable panels that work pretty well, (27.5w, 13.5w, 20w) that I have picked up over the years but want to consolidate to just 2 60watt panels. With around 100 watts and decent sun, I can keep my ARB running indefinitely and cold beer is essential on the trail.

 

[spikemd]

Reading up some more trying to determine if I should get a PowerFilm 60 or Flexopower (Expo sponsor) 79W panel. From Chris's review, it validated my observations above:

Regardless of where we placed the square on the Atacama there was a consistent drop of .2 -.3 amps, a good representation of the square footage we blocked off. On the second folding panel you see above, the drop was between .3 and 1.0 amps depending on placement., meaning it was still good but less adept at handling partial shading. Finally we threw the cardboard onto the glass panels, and the results were devastating, up to an 80% loss of power. Now we should mention that none of these panels were the same size of wattage, but that just makes the Atacama's performance even more impressive. It had the least surface area of the group meaning the cardboard covered a larger percentage of its total space, and it was rated 16 to 40 watts lower than its competitors, yet delivered equal or more power.

 

[Bear in NM]

That is very interesting. I did test my 135w glass panel for shading last year, and was seeing the expected drop in performance. I have a new GZ 100 Nomad that I need to run the test on. This newer make of panel has 4 fold out panels ( as opposed to two larger panels of the older design), so maybe it will perform better, as to sensitivity to shade. I will try and do that little test this weekend. I had this foldable panel out a couple of weekends ago, and ran it rather than my 135. The weather was horrible with rain/monsoons, and it kept up with my fridge as well as my 135 glass has done in the past. Between the rain and the tall trees, this camp spot was pretty solar crappy. I was doing my set up and forget, real world test, as opposed to anything more "scientific".

From what I have been able to gather from reading, this shading issue seems to be related to the panel wiring and diodes/construction. I think. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts on why this appears to be happening. This subject is certainly worthy of a discussion, as most conversation here tends to be more about more watts, the better.

Craig

 

[Corey]

I had just the opposite experience last week on a four day trip to Mount Rainier with my Renogy 100 watt suitcase.
I had full sun from 8 am until around 4:30 to 5 PM, and I hardly had to move the panel at all expect to pick it up and re-aim it at the sun, but I never had to carry it anywhere.
Some of the other sites up there were not good for solar, but I had one of the prime sites for sun being over the rig most of the time.
It kept my new Yellowtop (aux.) and National Luna fridge/freezer very happy.

I do have the Powerfilm 60 for the starting battery, but never hooked it up since I am not drawing anything off if it.
That was used in the past when I ran the old school ARB fridge off of the starting battery.