Tips for mounting 15W solar panel?

[xtremexj]

I've got a 15W solar panel to mount to the roof of my Bronco 800 and just wondering if anyone has any tips for mounting it? Should I screw it right to the roof or build some sort of rack? Is it necessary to cover it or just leave it exposed at all times? Trying to get ready for this camping/wheeling season with a method to keep the house battery charged up. Thanks.

 

[davidshourd]

I have 4 panels on the roof of my camper now. 2 15W and 2 5W. all of them have been mounted directly to the roof of the camper. I first purchased 1/8" aluminum flat bar that is 1" or so wide. HUGE amount of silicone roof jack caulking under that and screwed it to the framing members on under the skin. then caulked over the screws. with those down you have a solid surface to mount the panels too. tons of sealent is obviously the key here. they then have a nice low profilefor highway driving and low brush driving so nothing will get snagged. The panels are always exposed and hooked up to a controler to control the charge they are giving to the battery. works great though. hard to see the details in this picture, but its the only one I had on file from this past weekend.

 

[tanglefoot]

The 10 watt panel I have doesn't have a way to mount it without some kind of bracket. Fortunately, Dad still had some brackets from a broken swing from the swingset when we were little. They worked perfectly with a few holes drilled in them.

I don't think there's any need to cover the panels. With 15W, you want to put a charge controller in line though. Brunton has a nice affordable one--I think it's around $20. That way the charging will stop when the battery reaches 14V or so and won't overcharge. Even with a 10W panel, my charge controller usually cuts off the current when the camper's parked for very long.

I mounted mine near the conduit that provides the wiring for the interior ceiling lights. Then I just drilled through the top layer of roof aluminum and ran the solar wire down through the same conduit into the cabinetry where the charge controller and battery are. Silicone and putty were used in the screw and wire holes.

Eric

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Panels should be mounted off the surface they need air circulation to keep cool to work at there peak.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Panels should be mounted off the surface they need air circulation to keep cool to work at there peak.

Phil beat me to it, but I was going to say that you need to have air space between them and the roof.

We have 3 100 watt panels on our trailer and they work great. AMSolar has all sorts of different mounts as does the Solar Panel Store

 

[xtremexj]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll have a look at it this weekend and see what I have to work with.

 

[xtremexj]

Actually, I've got another question regarding the panel. Should I disconnect the panel from the battery while driving as the battery will also be charging off of the truck? Will the charge controller automatically stop charging when it senses that the battery is reading the 14V of the battery while be charged by the truck? It's a Sunforce 10A controller.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

If the charge controller is working properly, then it should keep the solar panel turned off or turned on when the battery is either charged, or in need of a charge.

I never turn ours off or I forget to turn it back on and end up with dead batteries...LOL

 

[xtremexj]

Well, it appears that 15W is not enough. I am a little frustrated by the fact that with the panel hooked up and ready to go it basically did nothing for me. In an 8hr day time period I dropped 2.5V out of my battery with basically nothing on. I ran the refrigerator on gas so only the status lights would have drawn power, the furnace was off, and only the clock on the radio was on. It was overcast most of the day but I still figured that I wouldn't have used that much power with what I consider minimal draw. I am thinking of stepping up to an 80W monocrystalline panel just to make sure that I have some charging even during overcast conditions. Still trying to decide though between 68W unisolar (amorphous) strip or the monocrystalline panel. Thoughts as to what would be the best one for producing the most power this far north (central Alberta)?

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

15W is pretty minimal. We have 3 100w panels and they do a wonderful job keeping us topped off, and an overcast day I've found to produce more power than bright sunny days.

Must be something about the light being filtered through the clouds.

See if you cant find a company that might let you buy a panel with a trial gurantee?

Can I ask if you bought your panel from a Northern Tool or one of the outlet places? Those tiny little panels are pretty useless unless you're going for a trickle charge. But forget trying to keep a bank of house batteries topped off.

 

[xtremexj]

The panel is a 15W Sunforce amorphous panel. I figured it would be enough for battery maintenance but I guess only for time in between excursions while it's sitting in the yard. I don't want to get too crazy but I will spend the money to do it right the 2nd time around if it get's me the results I feel I should get.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

I would recommend AMSolar. I know it might be a bit more than you want to spend compared to the 15 watt panels, but this company is awesome

Give them a call and I'm sure you'll be happy with what you learn. I have no affiliation, but the first time I called them, I was probably on the phone for an hour at least and learned so much stuff.

Depending on where you are, you could go visit and they'd let you try one out I'm sure. It would make for a good road trip/research project:smiley_drive:

 

[xtremexj]

Looks like nice product but with the controller it's a little out of my league at the moment. The panel without the controller is definitely a great deal. Any suggestions on a little lighter duty controller that utilizes 10-12 gauge wiring and doesn't cost $300?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Looks like nice product but with the controller it's a little out of my league at the moment. The panel without the controller is definitely a great deal. Any suggestions on a little lighter duty controller that utilizes 10-12 gauge wiring and doesn't cost $300?

I have used the SunForce

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: I've used the Sunforce 60 Watt panel/7amp controller, for almost three years now and it's been more than adequet, for cooler/lights/radio--

Mine is set up for any position to take advantage of the suns exposure and I have no idea what the cost would be now, 3 years ago it was $499 bucks

By having an ENGEL cooler, the draw is minimal and the solar panel will keep the trailer battery topped off with at least 8 hrs, of direct sun !!

:costumed-smiley-007:costumed-smiley-007 JIMBO