Solar panels and what size is suitable

[Vk3bq Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Vk3bq]

i just got a 160w kit from http://www.mandrakessolar.com.au/

this is just driving a 50l fridge and led lights. 160w was overkill, but gives me room to grow my gadets..

[Guest Close Guest]

For our big trip around Australia next year, I am installing 2x185W panels hooked up to a 40A mppt controller. Mine will be mounted on a rack attached to the roof bars, effectively creating a mobile car port to help keep the truck a bit cooler inside

Work in progress:

Those 185W panels are massive. They are meant for static home roof top installation and are unlikely to withstand the vibrations from going offroad. I would fix additional bracing underneath with a layer of foam between the bracing and the backing of the solar panel.

[brogers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close brogers]

For our big trip around Australia next year, I am installing 2x185W panels hooked up to a 40A mppt controller. Mine will be mounted on a rack attached to the roof bars, effectively creating a mobile car port to help keep the truck a bit cooler inside

Work in progress:

Wow, is this the solar car challenge?....heck, I'm not sure I would mount those large panels on the car, you may take off, let alone damage to the panels....might be ok mounted flat on the roof of a caravan or a house, but maybe not best to mount on a roof rack, but I'm interested in how you go with it. Good luck.

[gumboot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close gumboot]

i just got a 160w kit from http://www.mandrakessolar.com.au/
this is just driving a 50l fridge and led lights. 160w was overkill, but gives me room to grow my gadets..

Good choice going with Steve. I have done a lot of research and two of the best systems i found were Mandrakes and Korr lighting. both use top quality Mppt regualators with their panels instead of PWM ones. So you get about 15-20% more Amps out of them and they seem to do nice long 4mm2 or 6mm2 cabless to stop voltage drop.
I notice Steve is updating his pricing now on his website.
cheers

[VXWesty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close VXWesty]

I picked up a 120W panel, controller and remote display from Redarc at the recent Perth 4WD Show. I'm in the middle of the installation and will show pics when complete, but I've tried the panel in full sun and I'm getting 6.9 amps max which should be enough to keep my 60ltr Engel happy.

VXwesty

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

Those 185W panels are massive. They are meant for static home roof top installation and are unlikely to withstand the vibrations from going offroad. I would fix additional bracing underneath with a layer of foam between the bracing and the backing of the solar panel.

I am a bit concerned about the effect of vibrations, especially over corrugations. The 2 panels are 2m in length (together) and will be mounted to 3 roof bars that are spaced about 70cm appart. Each panel also has its own aluminium frame that is braced across the middle - you have me thinking about adding additional aluminium bracing to the back of each panel... My current thinking is to also add some sort of damping between the roof bars and the panels/rack, but I haven't decided what yet: foam, rubber, something else..???

Wow, is this the solar car challenge?....heck, I'm not sure I would mount those large panels on the car, you may take off, let alone damage to the panels....might be ok mounted flat on the roof of a caravan or a house, but maybe not best to mount on a roof rack, but I'm interested in how you go with it. Good luck.

I might have got a little carried away... but how else will I charge the batteries for my 2kW inverter...

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

In my opinion 3 bars wont be enough support. You will need a frame that is separate to the integral panel frame and bars. The frame that comes with the panels is there to support the panels on a fixed structure like a roof or ground mounted frame. You will need to allow for flex in the roof/roof rack as well as isolation from vibration. I hard mount my pathetic little panel onto four pieces of mini aluminium unitstrut that are bolted to a roof basket. I use the standard panel clamps that allow some movement and only hold the panels down and don't restrain them completely.







Think your best bet would be to fit a large roofrack and mount the panels to that in a similar fashion rather than just rely on the three rails. Don't forget the rails are only about 1250 apart and you are going to have some 400 or so overhang each end.

We only fit the panels once we are camping and only do a few beach tracks and beach runs so I don't drive over km after km of corrugations thus I haven't bothered about damping vibrations and so far no problems.

Michael

[Guest Close Guest]

I think fridayman has a 95 series which has gutters to mount the crossbars. So in theory, he could have the 3 bars stretching out to 2m and have several unistrut bars just over 2m long going north-south on top of the crossbars. Then use the brackets that the solar installers use to clamp the panel onto the unistrut.

Alternatively, the unistrut could go under the crossbars and the solar panels can sit in between the crossbars.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Ahh that sort of Colorado.......................................

In that case please refer to my signature.

[VXWesty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close VXWesty]

Hi Guys,

I just posted my solar panel installation on my build-up page...

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...1-VX-D4D/page9

VXWesty

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

I think fridayman has a 95 series which has gutters to mount the crossbars. So in theory, he could have the 3 bars stretching out to 2m and have several unistrut bars just over 2m long going north-south on top of the crossbars. Then use the brackets that the solar installers use to clamp the panel onto the unistrut.

Alternatively, the unistrut could go under the crossbars and the solar panels can sit in between the crossbars.

Yes, mine is a 95 with 3x gutter mount bars spaced 70cm apart. The Foxwing is also mounted on the roofbars with some custom brackets that slide into the end of the bars. Instead of unistrut bars I made an angle iron frame (2" front & rear, and 1" on the sides). The solar panels bolt to all 3 roof bars (through the frame on the first and last roof bar). To reduce the vibrations going to the panels, I ended up using 1.5mm neoprene tape on the sides of the panels, and 6mm underneath (between panel and frame). I'm also using neoprene rubber washers on all the bolts.

Here are some pics of the 1st test fit.

[pradogang Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pradogang]

I would like to endorse earlier commendations make about Steve from Mandrake's Solar Power. Very helpful and knowledgeable. For those in greater Brisbane, his agent Theo at Ningi near Bribie Island is well worth dealing with.
Cheers

Jim