Any other solar power people out there?
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2530
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Topic: Any other solar power people out there?
Posted By: secretbard
Subject: Any other solar power people out there?
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2012 at 1:12am
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I just took the plunge and bought a Powerfilm 13 watt rollable solar panel for trickle charging the two marine batteries either at home or while dry camping. I haven't received it yet, but I will report back on how well it works with charging a (disconnected from shore power) pod. I'm busy with grad school right now, but I plan on posting some pictures and a write-up about my observations in regard to how well solar power works to maintain the batteries. Unfortunately I will not be able to charge a Macbook pro on this panel (because the power fluctuates with the weather and the Mac needs consistent power to charge), but I can charge my cell phone, ipods, and ipad with it. I can also trickle charge the truck battery through the cig lighter plug. This thing is cooler than bees knees.  ------------- 2010 Rpod 172 :) 2004 Chevy Trailblazer |
Replies:
Posted By: Alex&Marie
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2012 at 4:37am
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is this the item you mean.? it looks pretty usable! I wonder if it could mount on the roof of the pod, either permanently of just while you are dry camping somewhere. what are your plans?  
------------- Alex and Marie 2012 R-pod 177 2006 Toyota Tundra 
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Posted By: secretbard
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2012 at 4:51am
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Yes, that is the one. It is completely water proof, so you could permanently mount it to the sloped rpod roof, although, for me, I am going to drape it over the roof and hold it down with some bungies to secure it. I plan on using it mainly for when I dry camp to see if it can maintain the batteries in between hookups. I don't think the power output will charge the batteries quickly, but it may buy me a day or two before having to charge the batteries with the generator. I also plan on taking it with me if I do any backwoods hiking so that I can keep the ipod and ipad charged. Well, I don't actually have the ipad yet, but I'm looking for a good deal as well as the ability to load my own books, music and apps on it. Right now, you can only download what you need via the internet. I suppose I could figure out how to do that via email to myself or something. Anyway, the Powerfilm is one of the few I've found that has everything I want and need. I wanted something portable, something I could leave outside in any weather, and something that uses a 12 volt female connection as it's power hookup while also generating .90 amps and up to 15.4 volts. It was also one of the better rated rollable solar panels and it was on sale at Amazon. I couldn't afford a 28 watt unit, so I had to settle somewhere in the middle. ------------- 2010 Rpod 172 :) 2004 Chevy Trailblazer |
Posted By: TIDALWAVE
Date Posted: 29 Apr 2012 at 1:18pm
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I use a flexible solar panel. I put 3M semi-permanent hooks on the Pod Roof. I didn't feel that I could adequately secure the panel permanently on the roof. I can remove it when traveling or when the Pod is in covered storage. I feed the solar power to my dual batteries (the panel has a regulator to prevent over charging). I then tap into the 12V circuits available from the Pod. I don't have to worry about fluctuating current/voltage by routing the solar power first into the batteries.
------------- TIDALWAVE |
Posted By: BlueAudi
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2012 at 3:05pm
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We were thinking about getting one of these. Any problems/suggestions? We are not electrical wizards and are a little intimidated by wiring and such. Does the panel come with idiot-proof instructions? Will there be any modifications we will have to make in order to hook up to our 2 deep cycle, marine batteries? They keep going dead while our r-pod is in storage... ------------- 2012 RP-177, 'Poddy Mouth' '07 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: TIDALWAVE
Date Posted: 01 May 2012 at 8:43am
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One of my dual batteries sits in a 'power box'. The plastic box has both a female covered socket, and two thumb-screw posts sticking out of the box. My solar panel came with interchangeable 'plugs'. One set can be attached to the screw posts. It only takes a second to attach or remove the wires. The box also has LED lights which monitor the voltage level of the battery. ------------- TIDALWAVE |
Posted By: BlueAudi
Date Posted: 01 May 2012 at 10:08am
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Sounds simple enough. Thanks for the insight, Tidalwave! ------------- 2012 RP-177, 'Poddy Mouth' '07 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: BlueAudi
Date Posted: 01 May 2012 at 11:21am
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Ok, I have another question: We just have 2 deep-cycle marine batteries that sit in plastic housing just behind the propane tank. Will we need the daisy-chain wiring so both batteries use the trickle charger? Also, along the same lines, would you recommend the charge controller? We are looking at the Powerfilm 13watt charger as well, but the recommended items are the RA-6 daisy chain and the RA-9 charge controller. I just want to avoid a situation where I get the charger and it doesn't work to it's full potential because I didn't get all of the correct parts. But I also don't want to end up with un-needed parts to stuff in a drawer somewhere... Again, thanks for all of the help and patience. ------------- 2012 RP-177, 'Poddy Mouth' '07 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: secretbard
Date Posted: 01 May 2012 at 5:14pm
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The Daisy chain cord is only for connecting two or more solar panels to each other, so you won't need that. The panel comes with an extension cord with eyelets to hook to the battery directly, but you want to hook the controller up to the solar panel first. Amazon carries all of these cords and such too. ------------- 2010 Rpod 172 :) 2004 Chevy Trailblazer |
Posted By: TIDALWAVE
Date Posted: 01 May 2012 at 5:24pm
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Your dual batteries are wired in parallel, otherwise they would be putting out 24VDC!. The simplest connection is clip the positive 'charger' feed to the 'red (+)' post on one battery and the negative feed to the 'black (-)' post on the OTHER battery. Your Pod OEM charger is set up the same way if you have dual batteries. Most experts suggest that the batteries have the same capacity (type 24 is the usual size in our Pods), and they also suggest that the batteries should be the same brand. ------------- TIDALWAVE |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 01 May 2012 at 9:45pm
This is important! ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: BlueAudi
Date Posted: 02 May 2012 at 12:02am
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Thank you so much for the guidance Secretbard, Tidalwave and techntrek! I think I know what I need and how to make use of it now. Electricity and I haven't gotten along in the past but I feel confident I can handle this. We used our pod once and then it sat at the service shop for a month. When we went to take it out on the second trip, both generic batteries from the dealer were dead and wouldn't even hold a charge so we bought 2 new, deep cycle marine batteries at an O'Reilly's and are hoping we can keep them from becoming completely worthless like the generics. We are stationed away from home and cannot plug in the pod while not in use so we are hoping the trickle charger will do the trick! ------------- 2012 RP-177, 'Poddy Mouth' '07 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 02 May 2012 at 8:44am
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If it is to sit without power I would recommend the batteries be disconnected from the Pod, and the trickle charger be used. Even with lights out etc. the detectors and such in the pod run a battery down in a couple of days. 13 watts is not much. Please let us know how it works for you. If it keeps the batteries fresh I think I willl get one! ------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 02 May 2012 at 10:43am
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If 13 watts is the rated output of the solar panel, it won't be enough to keep them topped off even if you disconnect the battery from the pod as Keith-N-Dar recommended. Most trickle chargers are rated for 1 to 1 1/2 amps, for a single battery. 13 watts, after wire and other losses will end up being closer to 1/2 amp into the batteries. With two batteries that is only 1/4 amp per battery - not enough to overcome the natural discharge rate, even in the winter when that process happens more slowly. You need something closer to 50 watts. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: TIDALWAVE
Date Posted: 02 May 2012 at 11:01am
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I store my Pod batteries in a cool (not cold) area during the off-season. I use a good solid-state battery charger that has 'float-mode'. It is only 2 amps, 12VDC. I 'charge' the batteries about every 3-4 weeks. Checking the charge...the two batteries are never below 90% full charge when I connect them. As soon as it warms up, I connect the batteries into the Pod. I then plug the Pod into a 120VAC outlet. The Pod's charger does an excellent job in keeping the batteries fully charged without loosing any water. ------------- TIDALWAVE |
Posted By: BlueAudi
Date Posted: 03 May 2012 at 12:49pm
Ok, I walked into Camping World yesterday as a slightly overwhelmed girl and after some more confusion and overwhelming info, I walked out more informed and headed in the right direction. I think  I went in to buy a battery disconnect but after grilling the guy in the parts department, I left the disconnect there. Fully explaining our situation and all the facts (way too many to go into on this forum) he said that what I needed and wanted was the solar film. We have no way to connect to shore power between camping trips so we are going to manually disconnect the batteries while in storage between trips and use the trickle charger to maintain a charge on the batteries. We know it won't allow them to keep a full charge we are simply trying to prevent them from going dead between trips. We are averaging a trip a month right now, so it should do the trick. It is still cool up here in NW Washington and we have our fingers crossed. I'll let you know what benefit we see from the powerfilm charger, if any. Thanks again for all of the insight and suggestions! You folks are a great bunch of people! ------------- 2012 RP-177, 'Poddy Mouth' '07 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: parbogas
Date Posted: 04 May 2012 at 2:37pm
| Have solar panels from Costco. Have noticed that the internals of the R-pod charging system gives me about 13.7 volts on a full charge. My panels give me about 12.7 (about a 2/3 charge). Does this seem normal? |
Posted By: geklund
Date Posted: 05 May 2012 at 5:29pm
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I use the 28 watt rollable solar panel from PowerFilm Solar. It is flexible, weatherproof and lightweight. I install it on whichever side of the rPod is facing the sun using suction cup hangers. Here it is installed on the curved front of our 182G:  I have installed a 12v receptacle attached to the batteries on the front tongue, where I plug the solar panel into the rPod system.   Between the solar panel and the 12v outlet is a regulator which keeps the current flowing in the correct direction:  I have also installed a Volt Minder in the garage 12v outlet to monitor the voltage of my batteries. In this photo it shows 13.39 volts from the solar panel in almost full sun:  The whole setup works like a champ when I am not connected to shore power. The beauty of the PowerFilm panel is I can just lay it on the ground if it is too windy to stick to the rPod or if the rPod is in total shade. Also, it works great if I just want to use it by itself to charge my tablet or cell phone. ------------- 182G 2011 Hood River Edition F-150 5.4L |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 05 May 2012 at 9:03pm
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parbogas - 12.7 is the normal resting voltage of a fully charged battery, not currently being charged or drained. A battery in "float" on a charger should be in the mid-13's like you see from the converter. Sounds to me like your battery isn't being charged at all.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: Alex&Marie
Date Posted: 08 May 2012 at 12:52pm
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nice write up and thanks for the pictures. I have been thinking of doing something along those lines as well. ------------- Alex and Marie 2012 R-pod 177 2006 Toyota Tundra
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Posted By: secretbard
Date Posted: 08 May 2012 at 8:19pm
Thanks guys. This is a very informative thread.  ------------- 2010 Rpod 172 :) 2004 Chevy Trailblazer |
Posted By: bhamster
Date Posted: 10 May 2012 at 6:26pm
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We've been using a 30-watt "briefcase" panel from GoalZero: http://www.amazon.com/Goal0-22003-Escape-Solar-Briefcase/dp/B004GUI15Q - http://www.amazon.com/Goal0-22003-Escape-Solar-Briefcase/dp/B004GUI15Q
along with the battery minder solar charger: http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Volt-Solar-Charger-Controller-Desulfator/dp/B001DZJX6I - http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Volt-Solar-Charger-Controller-Desulfator/dp/B001DZJX6I
I use a single group 24 lifeline AGM battery that has a very low self-discharge rate and it allows us to camp without electrical hookups indefinitely. We did a 2 week trip to Yellowstone last year and it worked perfectly. I have a 20ft extension cord so that I can put the panel in the sunniest part of the campsite and the charger actually fits inside the battery case. The battery was brought back to a full charge every day and had enough surplus energy to charge two cell phones and some random NiMH batteries. When the trailer is parked I use a less-obvious (and less expensive) 10 watt panel that I put on top of the propane tank. It keeps the trailer topped off when not in use. I should mention that our usage pattern is very minimal. At night we use lights (LED only), water pump, and heater blower (if it's cold). During the day we'll run the fan, charge devices, or run accessories since we have the surplus energy from the panel. So it doesn't work for everyone, but it's great for us. Now only if we could harvest drinking water from the air and vaporize our waste... then we could really go off the grid.
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Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 10 May 2012 at 8:01pm
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Actually there are water-from-air devices, mostly small water coolers, although this article talks about larger ones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_water_generator
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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