Repco Projecta solar panel Easter sale

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

I will wait until the novelty wears off and they get to a more realistic price.

[Chris220220 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chris220220]

Blanket type are still very expensive compared to the others. Thing to also watch is the output voltage of the panels. This has to be dropped to 14 to charge batteries, yes the MPPT does it better but you still loose some power in conversion. Dont expect to get the full current. Orientation, angle, cloud, shade and heat all work against you at times. I'd work out what you need in amps over 24hrs then divide by 10(sun hours) and make sure your panels will deliver that.
Paying $500+ for blanket 80w and finding you need 150w you are better off with a cheaper 150w folder and upgrade the wiring.

I have had no issue with the Bit deals panels, connectors and regulators were changed from the originals and work great. You can pick up from bit deals and look at them on pick up.

[brooksy78 Member Find all posts View Profile Close brooksy78]

Agree with the calc. Only things is to be careful how much amps you use on average. A fridge and some lights might peak at 4-5amps for only 2 or 3hrs a day, the rest of the time maybe you're only using 2 amps running a fridge...

I've been finding I way over estimated my power draw over 24hrs. In reality I can run off an 80W panel but that assumes good sunlight on the panel for 8hrs a day, so 120w should more than cover that.
If I calc off the Projecta data sheet and allow my own fudge factor for the manufacturer being overly optimistic I get:
Total Amps I draw on average: 5amps * 3hrs + 2amps * 21hrs = 57 amphrs
Assume 8hrs sunlight/d, I need 57/8 = 7amps out of the panels which is at least a 120W panel.
When I actually measured my amp draw I found it was more like 41 amps. And often I go for a drive during the day which will charge up the battery my fridge is running off which I didn't measure. So taking my real world needs it's less than 5amps which is the 80W model.

But it's horses for courses to work out your needs...

[Chris220220 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chris220220]

Sure is horses for courses. My battery is in the camper and not recharged when off driving.
The 70lt fridge draws 7 amps when the compressor kicks in and tries to stay at that and get the temp down. We have recently gone for a smaller fridge that draws much less. My parents found up north with hot nights the fridge works hard nearly 24/7 and the battery soon suffers especially when you have hot cloudy days with little charging going on. Both situations put a strain on your deep cycle battery especially if stationary for a while.
I have 3x50W panels (was a double that fell out the car when not secured) and they deliver 10 amps no troublew hen needed in full sun. Pity the battery I had couldn't hold charge in the end and was generally low by morning. Now its replaced should be good to go.

We had the idea of putting the thin folding panels right across the roof of the camper, but that idea will have to wait until the price drops.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

I've had these 140w panels recommended to me, only $219 too :-

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360466559...84.m1438.l2649

Not quite as compact as the blanket type but a helluva lot cheaper and have good quality panels.

I have the rich solar ones.
They are about $500 at camping shows.
I have Only done a few little tests.
It will keep a battery charged enough on a daily basis to run a cf50 and a weaco on fridge temps in warm conditions.
I'm very happy for $190 to the door, that's what I paid.

Edit: no I think I bought mine from bitoo, $205 to your door atm.

http://bit.ly/1g3mnJx

[Chris220220 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chris220220]

panels are getting heaps cheaper.