Makeshift Solar

[Nogob]

I've been dreaming about one of Dodgey's wonderful solar kits for a while now but having paid out for a new cylinder head, steering rack and wheel arch repair in the last couple of months, it's not going to happen.

I'm wondering therefore about the cheaper alternatives available. I've seen brief case type kits in the past and wonder if they're worth a go?

Does anyone know what type to buy, whether to bother at all or how many watts I should be looking for?

Also, as I have a Willington Kit, would I connect the panel to the leisure battery or the main battery?

Any help or advise gratefully received....

[g8dhe]

Any panel rated at less than 50Watts isn't going to impress you. If you want to run a fridge continuously then 100Watts minimum is needed.

[Nogob]

Thanks for the information.

Is it just a question of pointing the solar panel at the sun and connecting it to your leisure battery with crocodile clips or would I connect to the starting battery and let the split relay do whatever it does?

[Filmick]

If it's just a question of trickle charging or topping up the Leisure Battery, what would be the minimum panel output required..... For my previous car I used to have a small Halfords panel that sat on the dashboard and plugged directly into the ciggy socket: it kept the battery topped up as I didn't use the car regularly and I'm sure that would have had a miniscule output compared to the big panels that are being talked about.

So realistically, would say, a 25w panel, outputting through a regulator, plugged into the ciggy socket work to keep the LB topped up between driven trips out of the campsite?

[g8dhe]

A portable panel should come with a controller built to charge the battery, but just make sure! If you have a LB then connect it to that direct NOT to the starter battery unless you specifically want to charge the starter battery.

[Dodgey]

You absolutely need a solar charger/regulator, but these can be cheap as chips if you buy a basic one.

As for a panel, just aim for 80w min if you want to run your fridge in summer. The briefcase panels that are on Maplins and the likes, are a generously rated 14watts. It just isn't enough to do much other than charging phones and a tablet.

[Nogob]

Thanks - I think I have enough info to form a plan.