That is as it should be. If the battery voltage is high, a solar charger must not and will not output the full current you might expect from your panels or you will boil the battery. This confuses people who may even accuse their solar system of not ever putting out its full current when in fact it has no need to, because the battery voltage is already high. Only when the battery voltage starts to drop would you expect the full current. And even then if the battery temperature is approaching 40 degrees C the charger has to back off to protect the battery from "boiling".. you dont charge lead acid hotter than 40C or runaway ... Its why the temperature sensor(s) on your battery charger(s) (solar/hookup) should be fixed to the leisure battery terminal.. So in a hot place the solar cells reduce efficiency and batteries lose their ability to safely be charged.
I just let the cables fall in a lazy loop in the void between the canvas and the back of a rear hinge Westy roof, the connectors to join the two panels are there too, snake chain wouldn’t have worked.
Yep, same. One on the top of the pop top where the cables go through the fibreglass, and another on the rear of the actual roof where they go through into the headbanger locker. I liked the fact that the entry was from the side, rather than straight down, just seemed a more waterproof design.
Ok, cab I add my tuppence? At my first TE, I was most impressed with several working solar setups. I'd just got the Bus and thought, this was the way to go I procrastinated, I am good at that, and thought, let's see how experience bears out. Now, the Bus came with a gas fridge and dual leisure batteries, it's pretty original and I was reluctant to drill the roof, tho I realize there are ways around this problem. Drilling issues aside, the next TE I didn't hook up, by then I had also done numerous two night stops on the coast of Scotland and never run low on battery power, provided I used the fridge on gas. At the next TE, I stayed longer, 3 nights, I think, still no problems with battery power, but I noticed I went thru loads and loads of gas, mostly for my kettle. I was using my gas stove instead of using my small electric travel kettle. Did I mention I like tea Anyway, over the weekend, I used way more gas than the hookup would have cost. I have done several campsites and paid for the hookup, I know leccy is cheap at Vicky Farm, but I reckon with even more expensive leccy I still am in pocket compared to Camping Gaz prices in the UK and even France. So, if you have a source of really cheap gas then you're onto a winner, or if you have a non gas fridge then solar is good. My mate gets a couple of days, perhaps less, before eventually he'll have no compressor fridge. Or, if you do whole a week off grid, that's different, but I won't go that long without a shower, I start to stink For me the jury is still out.
You don't know what you're missing, I have been known to climb onto mine and just sit there to catch the better views
Those glands are good as they squeeze the rubber round the wires but you can still undo them. I made a version to run some cables through my roof. I replaced a rusty pop riveted patch where the Devon skylight had been with an aluminium panel and a smaller boat hatch. The solar cables go down in front of the hatch . Drilling a hole in the poptop inside near the roof struts meant I could then run some of the 4mm2 fine stranded OFC speaker wire ( very flexible ) down inside some PVC pipe ( intended for pond ornaments ) , that follows the strut down inside and then back in the headliner to run down to the solar charger . I used stiff wire to probe to find the path from hole to hole..
good evening 77 Westy have you any pictures of you wires going through roof i am hoping to fit mine this weekend and was wondering where to take the cables through TIA Steve
I’ll take it out of the garage tomorrow and take some pics but there isn’t much to see, just a couple of cable glands on the roof C/L between the canvas and the gutter – I’ll take some measurements if that would help.
@marigold13 , here is a shot of another approach for your reference. Near the bottom of the page. https://www.thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/chip.33075/page-8 Now, they are just simple grommets and I don't have a shot handy of the roof entry. It's on the left rear, looking forward, and is simply another 2 holes with grommets. Drops into the top of the bookshelf. Glands aren't necessary if you loop the cable as no water can run in because it's all tucked under the roof cap. @davidoft see page 24 in that old thread. You look very young! I haven't changed at all...
I left my bus off hookup yesterday for a while with the solar switched off. Turned on solar and with a slightly flattened leisure battery the 200w panels were putting out 8 amps when it was sunny yesterday. Out of which 5 amps was going to a coolbox ..
I had my bus out yesterday and with the roof opened towards the sun and a fairly clear sky the 2 x 100w panels were producing a combined 1.2amps topping up the almost fully charged battery. Switched on the compressor fridge and the battery voltage started to drop, solar panel output remained at 1.2amps, battery voltage continued to drop. This was at about 11 o’clock with a slightly hazy sun, probably equivalent to midday on a sunny day in the UK. Switched off the fridge and put the bus back in the garage. And ordered a B2B charger.
I hope the couple of pics help. If I were doing it again, I’d drill the holes in the pop-top closer to the junction boxes on the panels. I have angled cable glands on order to replace the straight ones as it will allow the cables to fold flatter on the roof, but it works fine as it is. And I’ll probably fit cable glands instead of grommets in the pop-top although they’re not really necessary.
