Solar Panels

[Part-time Northumbrian]

Hi All,
Due to the terms of my insurance I have to have my van alarmed during winter storage. I know the alarm will put a drain on my 12v battery so I have just purchased a Falcon 10w portable solar panel battery charger just to keep the battery topped up, it will be used for nothing more.
Instructions for fitting are very vague and say it will not over charge my battery but doesn't say how this is managed.
Videos on YouTube recommend the fitting of a Solar Charge Controller to prevent overcharging the battery.
Has anyone else had dealings with this piece of equipment? any help would be appreciated.

 

[Jcloughie]

My understanding is that at 10 watts and below, a charge controller is not necessary. It does not have enough umph to over charge.

Just wire it directly to the battery. It’s not a bad idea to fix it to the inside of a skylight for the best security.

John

 

[Mandarin]

Used one for several years for the alarm with no problem without a controller. We did exactly what John said.

 

[JezzerB]

us too, no controller needed. worked a treat.

 

[Part-time Northumbrian]

Thanks for the prompt replies. Now I need to get up to my van before Thursday's lockdown.

 

[Raywood]

We use a 10 watt solar panel to keep our battery topped up while in storage and have never had any problem with it overcharging. It does need to be facing the sun as best you can manage and it should do the job but only just. I would keep an eye on the battery charge level to make sure it is managing.

 

[Beachball]

Same here no controller needed works great .

 

[Guzzilazz]

Only caveat with no controller is to ensure there is a blocking diode, to stop the battery discharging through the panel when there's no sun...

 

[JezzerB]

Yes ours had one and was built in and was waterproof too so could pop it out on the A frame or next the battery box in the AVondale-when we moved to the Bailey with the inside battery the panel lived in teh roof light above-held by the blind and insect blind perfectly! Still worked a treat!

 

[otherclive]

Yes ours had one and was built in and was waterproof too so could pop it out on the A frame or next the battery box in the AVondale-when we moved to the Bailey with the inside battery the panel lived in teh roof light above-held by the blind and insect blind perfectly! Still worked a treat!

I’ve always returned the battery home to place on a CTEK charger and as a theft precaution. However the small panel look attractive fir those periods when the van isn’t in store for too long.
What type did you buy, how long were the leads and what connectors. Did you connect directly to the battery? Cheers.

 

[JezzerB]

Just got a real cheapy off ebay but it was waterproof and diode protected and ran a two or 3m cable to the battery direct connected via Croc clips, did disconnect the battery though. Using Halfrauds quick release terminals as the juice provided wasn't enough if the caravan was connected!

 

[Baron Von Greenback]

Hi All,
Due to the terms of my insurance I have to have my van alarmed during winter storage. I know the alarm will put a drain on my 12v battery so I have just purchased a Falcon 10w portable solar panel battery charger just to keep the battery topped up, it will be used for nothing more.
Instructions for fitting are very vague and say it will not over charge my battery but doesn't say how this is managed.
Videos on YouTube recommend the fitting of a Solar Charge Controller to prevent overcharging the battery.
Has anyone else had dealings with this piece of equipment? any help would be appreciated.

A 10w Solar panel will only produce maximum by the laws of physics based on 12v. about 830mA and that’s without the drop in voltage through supply leads. It will based on average leisure battery keep it afloat. Make sure your alarm battery is full charge as well as it will drain your battery in no time

 

[JezzerB]

As above-we disconnected the battery on our little solar-alternative is a bit larger panel with a controller that you can leave on and is enough to counter the wiring losses and look after the battery. Optimate do a portable one for eg but plenty out there.

 

[Baron Von Greenback]

As above-we disconnected the battery on our little solar-alternative is a bit larger panel with a controller that you can leave on and is enough to counter the wiring losses and look after the battery. Optimate do a portable one for eg but plenty out there.

So you have a controller in circuit? Is it like a pulse width modulation type ( seen as PWM) if so what is the wattage of the panel ? These controllers will use power , that’s why it’s best to get a bone display type that use less power

Like this

 

[JezzerB]

No we just bought a v cheap 10w panel disconnected te van battery to prevent any drain. Worked fine but we didn't have an alarm.

 

[Baron Von Greenback]

I am very dubious of the low wattage and merits of them , my last caravan had a 120w fixed panel and was brilliant , living in Scotland some amazing places to pitch up with no EHU , gas and lights all the way it was brilliant, going to fit a panel on my current caravan looking at the same

 

[JezzerB]

We have 100 and truma controller on our Buc-seems very good-battery is always charged and ready to go in spite of a fair bit of motor movering into our storage spot and ep levelling.

 

[Baron Von Greenback]

We have 100 and truma controller on our Buc-seems very good-battery is always charged and ready to go in spite of a fair bit of motor movering into our storage spot and ep levelling.

That is a good system , if you have another van without it you will miss it