WideAngleWandering
Deambulador
One of the neighbors has been watching me build my truck in preparation for my roadtrip through Latin America. The other day he came over and gave me a solar panel and a charge controller that he never got around to using.
The panel is a Unisolar US-21, 20 watt panel. The controller is a BZ Products 240, 14amp controller with a blocking diode.
Score! Now how do I build a solar system around this?
I know from previous experience with a 30 watt Sunforce panel that I can run my Norcold NRF-30 fridge (4.3a @ 12v) for 6 days, if I clean and reposition the panel throughout the day. I measured 1.7a at peak output.
I declined to take that panel on this trip however because of the fragile glass construction. This US solar panel is totally different. It appears to be made from some sort of plastic that seems very durable. 20 watts would help but 80 would probably let me run indefinitely on electric power (stereo, fridge, fan at night).
I don't want to drop a bunch of money on panels (and matching US-21 panels seem pricey) but I'm interested in more power. What are my options? Are there any inexpensive but durable panels I could add on to this setup? I have ~3'x5' of area on my roof rack that I could devote to panels.
Vehicle is a 60 series landcruiser with dual agm batteries on an isolator.
The panel is a Unisolar US-21, 20 watt panel. The controller is a BZ Products 240, 14amp controller with a blocking diode.
Score! Now how do I build a solar system around this?
I know from previous experience with a 30 watt Sunforce panel that I can run my Norcold NRF-30 fridge (4.3a @ 12v) for 6 days, if I clean and reposition the panel throughout the day. I measured 1.7a at peak output.
I declined to take that panel on this trip however because of the fragile glass construction. This US solar panel is totally different. It appears to be made from some sort of plastic that seems very durable. 20 watts would help but 80 would probably let me run indefinitely on electric power (stereo, fridge, fan at night).
I don't want to drop a bunch of money on panels (and matching US-21 panels seem pricey) but I'm interested in more power. What are my options? Are there any inexpensive but durable panels I could add on to this setup? I have ~3'x5' of area on my roof rack that I could devote to panels.
Vehicle is a 60 series landcruiser with dual agm batteries on an isolator.
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