Harbor Freight Solar Panels

[Cubey]

45W of solar translates to roughly 2 to 2.5A max charging an hour. That's a trickle charge and unless you only run one or two LED lights and nothing else, you may find your batteries not recharging very well. My 200W gives about 9-10A an hour with full, direct sun and gets me by for my LED lights, fans, 12V to USB charger for cell phone charing, in-dash stereo plus external portable XM radio. Mind you, I don't run it all at once but I can run what I want pretty much and I have no problems.... assuming I have plenty of sun reaching the panels! On a cloudy day or in the shade? They don't work very well. That's how solar is.<br><br> If I had 1/4 of the solar, I'd barely be able to run lights and charge a phone, let alone anything else.

 

[Van-Tramp]

I have used the harbor freight panels for the past two years. 45 watts is bare minimum, and probably will not keep a battery charged enough to run the fridge for more than a day or two. 90 watts will do it (depending on the fridge).<br><br>For the price, you can find better panels. Instead of dropping $150-180 on 45 watts of inferior (film type) panels from Harbor Freight, take a look on Amazon for crystal-type panels. I bought two 100 watt panels for $160 each. That is twice the wattage, and many times more efficient panels, for the same price.

 

[Cubey]

Hmm, maybe my batteries are worse off than I thought. How low are you letting your batteries drain? You aren't supposed to more than 50% (about 12.06V) generally. If you have true deep cycles like Trojans or 6V golf cart batteries, they can be discharged further. Do you have an inverter/dorm fridge setup or a real 12V fridge?<br><br>My batteries may be in rotten shape if they are draining the way they are. One is a Diehard marine I got in like 2006... so yeah, it's 7 years old. The other is a smaller cheap WalMart one that was in the van when I got it, about 3-4 years old as I recall. <br><br>I will have to build another (vented) wooden battery box if I end up getting golf cart batteries since I didn't make this one tall enough. I need to try putting some water in the cells and see if I can extend the life of these since that could be what the problem is.

 

[MK7]

I'll take the advice from you guys as I have very little experience with solar. How big and heavy the HB solar panes are was another deal breaker for me.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br><br>Just FYI for anyone really wanting the HB solar kit....they are having their SIDEWALK SALE this Friday-Sunday and this kit will be $139. With a 20% coupon = $111.<br><br>How do you mount non-flexible solar panels on a fiberglass high top?<br><br><br>

 

[Cubey]

My roof is fiberglass. I got some 3M 9469 VHB double sided tape (1" width, 6" long strips) and some aluminum L brackets on ebay. <br><br>I slightly loosely assembled the brackets to the panels and lined things up how I wanted them. Next, I applied the VHB tape to the bottom of one bracket at a time and applied the bracket with the VHB to the roof. Then I drilled into the roof through the pre-drilled holes in the bracket so the holes would be lined up. Then you have no manually lining up of pre-drilled holes in the roof, and the bracket stays still while you drill. Finally, I drove in short sheet metal screws from Lowes, which is what you use with fiberglass (so I read).<br><br>Then I went back and tightened the nut+bolt that holds the two pieces of brackets together, then tighten the nut+bolt that holds the panel to the brackets. I used nylon insert lock nuts to keep them from backing off due to vibration.<br><br> The VHB tape is for extra security since it's supposed to be THE strongest tape adhesive you can get. Some people use JUST the VHB and say their panels stay on but I added screws too to be sure. Then I caulked (Dicor RV self leveling caulk) around the brackets to keep any water from leaking in.<br><br>Here is my solar panel installation before I did the caulking, but you can see how I did the brackets. <br>http://cubey7800.blogspot.com/2013/06/solar-panels-part-1.html<br><br>If you want, I can take an up close photo of one of the brackets.

 

[Douglas]

Ok , thinking now I'll forget hf panels and look at amazon, lowes is high dollar
And and Alex express or something like that is way high, just don't see why solar is so expensive.

 

[Cubey]

It's too bad there seems to be no 100W to 200W Renogy panel deals on ebay right now. Two 100W panels for just under $300 shipped was pretty cheap when I got them back around April or May.<br><br>EDIT: I take that back! <br><br>Here's a 100W Renogy panel just like I have... $150 shipped: http://www.ebay.com/itm/100W-Watts-...pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&amp;hash=item4173eec39f<br><br>Check their store for more deals.<br><br>These are the brackets I used. I think I drilled the holes bigger for the bolts that hold the 2 piece of brackets together and that hold them to the panels:<br>http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-x-1-1-2-x...pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&amp;hash=item2a1da9f782<br><br>Here is the VHB tape I used:<br>http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-VHB-9469...pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&amp;hash=item19e0ea09d8

 

[Zil]

"marine Batteries" are not true deep cycle batteries. I'm surprised you got 7 years. You must be very good at battery management.

 

[Cubey]

It's barely been used. It has sat mostly without any care. It may very well be that the newer, smaller Wal-Mart marine battery is doing all the work now, which might account for why it seems like the battery bank isn't holding as much charge as it was a month ago. It may not by holding as well as it should in general, having 2 batteries (different sizes, 27 and 24 or so). However, I don't have as much sun in the afternoon as I did at the other RV park I was at so that may be a factor as well. I'm going to check the old Diehard battery's water levels ASAP once I get some distilled water.<br><br>I may just have to get another marine battery in the meantime. In a year, I might have to replace it again but for $100 to stay off the grid mostly for a year, it'll tide me over since I don't really want to have to rebuild the battery box right now. Plus to get a pair of Trojan 6V batteries would cost 3x as much as a cheap marine battery, so cost is a major factor right now too. Unless I have a serious drop in capacity, I'm doing for the moment. But I need to keep it in mind that I may have to buy a new battery at the drop of a hat.<br><br>I need to get on an earlier wake up schedule so I don't have to power as much after dark which will help some. It's 9am and my current voltage reading at the 12v outlet strip next to me shows 12.9V. When I went to bed around 1am, it was at 12.2. Between about 6 or 7pm (when there is no more direct sunlight and the battery level is about 12.6v) and 1am, all I ran was my LED lights and the in-wall exhaust fan over the the stove while cooking. The fan pulls a LOT of power though. Even so, it all seems to drain down the battery bank faster than it probably should.&nbsp; The LED lights are the biggest LED clusters I could find to fit in 1156 sockets and inside the covers, about 2-4 of them running at a time. Having 4 of them on still pulls less juice than a single, regular 1156 though.&nbsp; I like a lot of light - but also and I forget to turn off the others I don't need behind and to the side of me.<br><br>I keep watch on the charge state from time to time with a plug in 12v voltage meter in the power strip next to me.

 

[MK7]

Cubey, thanks very much for your detailed instructions and exact parts to buy.&nbsp; Looks like I'll be copying your setup.

 

[highdesertranger]

as far as the price of solar panels find a wholesaler in your area that's were you will get the best price, &nbsp;not at a retailer.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[Cubey]

Damn! The old battery is shot... this morning my CO detector went off which is odd since I have nothing with a standing pilot. I got it back to showing 0 again and stayed inside for hours.. it never went off again. Fast forward about 6 hours. I was out much of the day and came back, nothing seemed out of the ordinary except that my battery level was very low early in the evening, 12.3V. WTF? So I plugged in my RV converter to top it off.<br><br>Then about 30 minutes ago, I went out about 5-10 minutes and came back. As soon as I stepped in. I smelled something like rotten eggs, but NOT from the stove or anything with a propane source. The CO detector showed about 45-49, as it did this morning but wasn't going off. I checked the battery box and found the smell coming from there strong. My battery box isn't TOTALLY sealed as well as it probably should be but it's sealed somewhat and it IS vented to outside as it was when it was built. I just built a custom double battery box in place of the old original single battery box.<br><br>The old battery was very hot!! Immediately I unplugged the RV converter. Then I unhooked my solar panels and removed the old battery and carefully hauled it outside. Now I'm on the newer battery only and it has higher voltage showing (12.6v). The old battery is shot and was leeching power and overheating. The newer battery is room temperature to slightly warm to the touch, but not hot.<br><br>I read that batteries are beyond coming back when they smell of rotten eggs.... and may even explode! I'm glad I caught it before it exploded or started a fire! I guess I should have put in water 2 months ago. It might have survived if I had. There's no telling though.<br><br>I'm going to see how I get by with the newer battery only just as I have been with both hooked up. It might be it's all I need for now. If not, I'll get another cheap marine battery for ~$100 in about 10 days.<br><br>In regards to the CO detector going off, it's apparently common when charging lead acid batteries nearby. <br>http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/charging-batteries-can-trigger-co-detectors<br><br>It must have been expelling a ton of hydrogren due to boiling/overheating and the gasses, or whatever, was reaching the CO detector somehow. Scarey stuff! The old battery is outside and won't ever be hooked up again.

 

[roadWarrior]

I realize there is a lot of talk about saving money and all but have any of you heard about those Goal Zero power and panel kits?<br><br>it may be $1800 and well over the output that anybody would need in a van but this bad boy would be awesome to own.<br><br>you could definitely part out how to make something similar to this for substantially cheaper I am sure.<br><br><a href="http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/138/Goal-Zero-Yeti-1250-Solar-Generator-Kit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/138/Goal-Zero-Yeti-1250-Solar-Generator-Kit</a>

 

[Cubey]

Looks like a crazy overpriced set of panels with a box that consists of batteries and an inverter.

 

[roadWarrior]

yeah, I realized after I posted it that buying that thing would be pretty stupid... I know nothing about solar panels, I'm a wind turbine tech!<img class="emoticon bbc_img" title="Thumb - :thumb:" src="/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif">