FYI on some solar panel sales

[pods8]

Solar Blvd doesn't have the Gen 3 at this point and said I can return the Gen 2 unit. I'm currently working some contacts I got from morningstar to see about locating a dealer for the Gen 3 unit.

[kclark421]

Picked up my two 40 watt panels, seem well built. I mounted a ss hinge with rivets. Need to pick up and 10 ga, connectors and controller. Pods , thanks for the info on the gen 2 controllers. Here are some pics of the panels on my teardrop trailer blog if anyone is interested. Also tested with a volt meter and each panel is showing right around 20 volts DC from the back of the connector

[pods8]

FYI: I talked to one of mornignstar's distributors who supplies AltE and they said if you request a Gen 3 controller there should be no issue getting one through them, you just need to make sure to specify while morning start is still clearing out Gen 2 stock. I didn't get a chance to call AltE today, I'll follow up when I do.

[smoothisfast]

This is my first solar purchase so I must ask, is the 80 watt panel a good panel to experiment with?

[teotwaki]

This is my first solar purchase so I must ask, is the 80 watt panel a good panel to experiment with?

In a nutshell, yes for an average overland vehicle application.

Normally you sit down and figure out what the amp-hour demand will be and then size the panel. Having said that, a lot of folks here have a second deep cycle battery in the vehicle and one 12v DC fridge that pulls 2 to 3 amps when cycling on every 30 minutes over 24 hours. If good sunshine is available an 80 watt panel will easily recharge the battery. Picking a good solar charge controller is also important.

[K2ZJ]

Here are some clearance solar items on CL near Denver CO.

http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/2678210504.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/for/2782682444.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/2740863386.html

There was one with prices, but i can't find it, I remember it being a good deal.

[teotwaki]

Picked up my two 40 watt panels, seem well built. I mounted a ss hinge with rivets. Need to pick up and 10 ga, connectors and controller. Pods , thanks for the info on the gen 2 controllers. Here are some pics of the panels on my teardrop trailer blog if anyone is interested. Also tested with a volt meter and each panel is showing right around 20 volts DC from the back of the connector

pictures? How are they working?

[Fireman78]

I am trying to put together the right combo to keep my travel trailers deep cycle full. These are decent prices for sure

[mattm01]

Just wanted to add to this. Got my 60W panel last week and wired it up for my Goal Zero setup today. I had to kludge a few Anderson to Goal zero plugs together but no big deal. 60W panel through 20 feet of 12gauge wire to the extreme 350 pack. Hoping to scale this up with another panel or two to work with their upcoming Yeti 1250.

Observations: 1) The WATTS on the meter surprised me. I figured it would be lower, drawn down by the power pack. Makes me wonder what the Extreme 350 is using for a charge controller. I'm new to the Watts Up though so could be reading it incorrectly.
2) Panel doesn't like hard shade at ALL. Some shadows from my house crept onto the panel and the WATTS plummeted. Like 58W to 10W.

[teotwaki]

The numbers that you show for your 60 watt panel are exceeding the specs for short circuit current which is the maximum the panel should put out. (a good thing!)

Max Power: 60W
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 21.6V
Short Circuit Current (Isc): 3.86A
Maximum Power Voltage (Vmp): 17.2V
Maximum Power Current (Imp): 3.49A

Your numbers are actually closer to an 80 watt panel

Max Power: 80 W
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 21.6V
Short Circuit Current (Isc): 5.17A
Optimum Operating Current (Imp): 4.65A
Optimum Operating Volatage (Vmp): 17.2V

If I'm readiing this correctly you got an 80 Watt panel for a 60 watt panel's price