Energy Independence

J

jfocallag

Junior Ranger
Donating Member
I decided to buy a Grape Solar 100 watt solar panel:



I really want the folding kind but could not justify the cost for the amount of times that I am going to use it. I think this will do for now.

I bought a 30 foot solar cable with a male connector and a female connector at the other end:



I cut this in half and will connect it to the wired cigarette plug to make a 15 foot extension cord:



The next step was to wire the plug for the controller. This required a trip to Ace Hardware:



What you see is a multi purpose crimping tool, butt connectors, 14 gauge wire and electrical tape. I was looking for step down butt connectors since I will be connecting 10 gauge to 14 gauge but the guy at Ace said just to fold the 14 gauge wire and that should work.

Below is what the cigarette plug looks like when you take it apart:



This is what it looks like with the wires attached. Red is positive and white is negative:



Below is a youtube video I watched that explained how to wire the plug:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B5DXXKW4GY

Cigarette plug reassembled:



Cigarette plug attached (butt connected) to the solar extension cord. I wrapped all connections with electrical tape:



I wrapped tape every two feet to keep the cords together.

I am posting this information for two reasons:

1. Provided information for others who like me have no idea what they are doing.
2. Hopefully those who are more mechanically and electrically astute will give a shout if they see something that I have done wrong.

I would like to thank Oly who gave me guidance and also pointed out that when wiring the plug, the wires go into the holes under the screws and the screws are tightened to hold them down. They are not wrapped around the screws themselves.

I am going camping on Wednesday and depending on the site I get at the walk in campground, I will be testing the panel.

Next project will be to build a stand for it and think about a carrying case. For now, I will prop it up against something or just put it on top of the camper. I will use the box it came in as a temporary case.

P.S. I didn't take a picture of it but I did connect the red wire to the positive solar cable and the white wire to the negative cable wire.
 
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'More power Mick' has just set me up with a small solar panel with trickle charger (think I have that right). I brought it on this trip, but haven't tried it yet. I will try to get him to post something about it. It was a pretty slick set up.

Joan, nice work tackling something you weren't sure about! That is fantastic!
 
Great job, Joan. Be sure to post back and let us know how it performs.
 
While we are on the subject of solar experiences, I just got a 2nd panel and it is a bit different.

I have a 120W rigid folding panel and as I have found out for most of my needs it is just too much. It is too much weight, too much bulk, too much to deploy and just too much power. If I am dry camping for 5 days, it would work great, for most of my needs, I just need to top off my batteries. Also, the problem was always do I keep the panel in the trailer, the house, the TV or just keep moving the panel between each location.

So I found a semi flexible 60W panel that is about a 1/3 of the weight of an equivalent rigid panel, has the same power specs and is about as thin as a sheet of heavy poster board. It sits under the cargo matt of my SUV, always ready for deployment. It came with two wires, which I connected to the Camp-Inn provided plug and now all I have to do is pull out the panel, lean it against the side fender, or put on the roof, plug it in and I am ready to go. I got a DC extension cord for those times I need to move the panel further away from the trailer.

There are of course a couple of drawbacks. First is the cost, they are about 1/3 more expensive than an equivalent ridge pane. Second. I have no idea how fragile they are. They are mounted on a very thick plastic substrate, with the actual photo cells embossed on it, all covered with a plastic sheet. You are supposed to be able to walk on them. It did fine on its first test at Salt Creek; I will report issues as I encounter them.
 
Interesting Stephen.
While I'm pretty much lost on what they (panels) do, how they can do it and under what conditions they do it, it is something I'll look into.
I currently have the "Big Ole Battery" and in extreme situations a Honda, but the panels might also be an alternative. My biggest power drain is the heating pad. As stated before, it drains my battery (not the original "Smaller" one at about 3am...
I remember you mentioning you have some power hungry items also to maintain..
 
fpoole said:
Kinda related, kinda not... not hooking up to the trailer, but Independent, just got this from:
http://www.campingroadtrip.com/outdoor-living-newsletter-june-2013/solar-chargers

nice website if you haven't been there and an Apple/Android app too...
Click to expand...

Frank, I've had this one for a few years now, and it does a great job with cell phone/gps to keep them going a little longer while away from 'the grid', which for us has been while backpacking. It also has a battery that charges either by solar or with a wall plug. I've used it a few times while on layovers in airports when there's no access to 'normal' power (mostly out of the country).
81UYypgYToL._SX342_.jpg
 
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Ken, thanks, just put it on the Amazon wish list...heheh, Gawd, with all the "Stuff" (A-hem, using the nice word here), I've got now, I should be able to power a city... LOL....

But the solar on peaks my interest as traveling to isolated place, it might come in handy. Not sure how well in PNW as we have "Sun Breaks" occasionally and not sure how they work in Non-Summer weather.... fun...
thanks..
 
Gary,

I have bought both of my solar panels on eBay. I do a fair amount of transactions on eBay and have never had any problems buying from China, which is where most of the panels are manufactured anyway. The “brand” of the flexible panel I got is called Lensun and it was sold by a vendor called solarmotorhome. I bought through them because they shipped from the US, had a lot of transactions and a good rating. I did not expect a lot of support from them, albeit, I had 14 days to return the panel if it did not work out.

There are a lot of different types of flexible panels. I was particularly intrigued by the peel and stick ones. The flexible panels seem to be geared to attaching to surfaces rather than as freestanding installations. I do like the fact that I can easily put the panel on the roof or lean it against something. They are flexible so you can drop them and they will not break. My primary concern is accidently puncturing the side where the cells are. Also, the panel is very thin, but there is a surface mounted diode that adds about ½ inch of depth at one end of the panel. This is not a big deal since the diode is only a few square inches. They provide a foam packing sheet that protects the cell side and looks like it will help keep the panel safe while in transit.

This was a speculative purchase with the knowledge that there was some risk with this type of solution. This would not be something I would recommend for a risk adverse person; however, so far it seems to be working out well.

Frank, solar is easy, if you can use a blender, you can do solar.
:cool:
 
Joan,
That looks great.
Becky made a padded protector for our panel. You definitely do not want to scratch it, especially the back.
Great pictures.
 
Solar panel is sitting on top of the camper. Nothing blew up or started on fire when I plugged it in. Green light on the controller is on. Meter says it is charging and with clouds it says:



Sun came out briefly and it said:



Tomorrow we are suppose to get more sun.

I am going to put it through its paces. Before I had the panel, I would conserve energy when I did not have hook ups. Tonight I am going to watch a DVD and run the lights and probably the furnace. Whooohoo, energy independence!
 
Heheh... You go girl... Whoop it up Baaaad, it's all free....
Will look forward to the outcome tomorrow... especially with the heater.

I'm going out next Sunday and will run right off the 'Battery Beast' to run it throuth it's paces too. Site, Wanapum, has power, but not going to hook up just to test it just like you. Heater, TV and might even bring the power blender.. Work'n it...

Looking forward to your outcome... even when my smaller battery, pre-newer TD models, was charged it would drain at 3am with the heat pad on... so waiting to hear...

heheh... love it, "nothing exploded..." feel the same when trying something new too... and sniffing... "What burning??"

Also, if your camera battery is still charged, JK, pic of the panel on the drop would be fun... just to see how it sits...

Good Luck "Luke, may the Force be with you..."
 
Frank, I will probably just run the furnace a little bit before I go to bed. I don't think it will be that much of a drain. Just have to say, raining, meter, 13.4.
 
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