Re: [A/S] solar panel

[Jerry Flanders <jeflanders@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

FYI - my '91 LSE came from the factory with a small solar panel already 
installed. They did not bother to install any solar controller - only an 
isolating diode. It is a 35 watt panel, 73 percent the rated size of yours. 
If it ever damaged the batteries, I am not aware of it.

Also FYI - you might not get much usable power from it. Panels the size of 
mine are useful mostly to just keep the trailer batteries charged if the 
trailer is stored away from shore power.

Based on 3 days of real-world tests (I used a computerized ammeter that 
logged current every minute on 3 "sunny" days, then processed the data with 
Excel) I made with a solar installation last summer here in SC, I would 
predict that a panel rated at 48 watts will actually give you about 13 
ampere-hours charge per day under similar conditions (total power of around 
150 watts for one hour at 100% system efficiency). So when boondocking, 
this might help out with a modest lights load after dark, but probably not 
much more. This is not to say that you couldn't use more power from the 
batteries over a limited number of days, but you will be taking out more 
than the panel can put back in, which is not sustainable.

Since most of us have access to the almost unlimited power of our tow 
vehicles, it would seem more practical to simply recharge from the vehicle 
when needed. For years, I have used an auxiliary battery and inverter in my 
truck to recharge my trailer batteries or run a TV while boondocking.

All that said, I now have a 235 watt solar panel installation atop my AS 
just because I have always wanted it as a tech-toy and was parked next to a 
good solar sales guy from New York at Lansing last summer (Gary 
Minnick,  http://www.gosolar.com/  ).  Gary's main business is home 
installations.

Jerry 4404