Your Questions About Best Solar Panels For Camping

Henry Dover answers:

BARNEYS idea is good… Either bigger wattage panel (s ) or bigger battery ( watts per amp hour ) that you can afford the better… After camping they can be used to run phone / laptop / torch recharge ,car stereo inside house ,12 volt personal fan… 12 volt lighting inside as well…just need 12 volt fuses , wiring . Toggle switch..tail / stop light .. No inverter needed … Can do all that camping as well…good idea to have extra alternator fitted to car on own separate circuit to recharge the deep cycle battery… Worth thinking about as long term … 2-way fridge… 12 / 240 volt draws less than a 3-way ..gas / 12 / 240 volt…

Don’t forget the dunny rolls….

Jaycar > http://search.jaycar.com.au/search?w=solar%20panels&view=list

.ps…. If you are going out bush and the nights are cold leave a bucket or two filled with water out … Get up at first birdsong to collect the ice that has formed in the buckets….

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Henry Dover answers:

Crudely speaking, you should not draw down more than 50% of the capacity for a deep cycle lead-acid battery. Your capacity is 115 Ah, so that’s 57 Ah available to use per day.

To put that back in the battery, assuming 6 hours of peak equivalent* sun per day, you need 10 amps from the panel. If it’s a 12-volt panel, that’s a 120-watt panel. Crudely speaking, without accounting for inefficiencies in charging.