[Nadja]

I don't find that solar panels save elec so much as they make elec for us that live so far out that their is no grid tie available. I survive on about 18 panels, 18 trojen T-105 batteries, Trace 2512 pure sine wave inverter, 4 trace c-60 charge controlers and a swea 500 watt wind gen. I also have 3 gas gennies for back up , when days like today will not produce much solar due to mostly cloudy.

Naekid, I don't think I have ever heard of a 1,000 watt solar panel. It would be huge and much easier to break due to the strain on the large sheet of glass. Even if they made such a monster, you would be far better off splitting that into about 4 panels to relieve strain , and also to not be putting all your eggs into one basket. The best bang for the buck right now would be shuco 245 watt panels , selling here retail for about $585.00 each. 24v only of course . By splitting your wattage into 4 seperate panels, should something happen to one , you will still have 3/4 of your system still up and working. If something happens to your single monster panel, your finished

 

[Nadja]

nakid, why don't you instead add a 125 watt panel to your existing 80 w panel and also two more batteries to your system. It is always better to have more in solar then not quite enough

 

[Nadja]

Naekid, by the way , since your up there in the cold beyond your wildest dreams, you ought to wear clothes Lol Why don't you make you a hinged "awning" window or no window, and let it down when your traveling and put it up when your parked ? I think I would create something like that if it were me.

 

[Nadja]

Well, nakid, I don't know if you could read my sketch. But picture this. Lets say you put two panels side by side and made you a angle iron frame. Then , you put say 4 door hinges at the top of them, and mount that , hinges at the top to the side of your rv so that it goes up and down , sorta like the flap on a tent. Now you can either mt a couple of support rods, like on the hood of a car to keep it up or simply make a couple of 2 x 4's different lengths etc or a rod with bolts sticking out to raise the entire "awning' at different increaments as to where the sun is. Sure would give you a lot of extra power. When it comes to solar, more is always better.

As far as Crazy Canooks are concerned, why would anyone down here in the real world think of you guys as anything different anyway ? LOL

 

[Nadja]

Good mornin Naekid. Having just looked at your tent trailer, I instantly realised that you cannot put much more on the roof and pretty much nothing on the sides. A 1,000 watt panel, if they were to make such a monster, would weigh in at 2 or 3 hundred pounds by itself. Therefore, you would need to make a small A-Frame type mounting system, much like the old hawkers would wear walking up and down the streets to advertise products and movies. But even then you would want no more then 2 panels on it, as they are a little heavy, especially when you add all the wood weight with it.

 

[Nadja]

Austin. You would want to check out the Shuco Solar panels made in Germany. Incredible and the price is really good for such a well designed and made pane. 235 watts at @585.00 per panel

 

[Nadja]

Why do you limit yourself to carrying them all on the roof ? Could you not utilitize a little space on the jeep ?

 

[Nadja]

Anyone running solar panels?

If so please tell us what brand, how much, where you bought them from and how much energy they produce.

Would love to hear feedback from solar users.

Austin, here is a link to my pic's on my solar/wind system

MySolarSystem