Power Station and Solar Charger

[vegeta13613]

I currently own a Schumacher XP2260. I use it as my main charging station when camping. It has a 22 amp hour battery, so it can charge all my USB devices over and over as well as power a fan when it gets hot. I really love it, but now I am thinking about how to charge it while camping. I like the idea of solar, although I know there are other options.

From what I have read, you can use the vehicle power port to charge the battery of the Schumacher XP2260. So, I was thinking that a solar battery maintainer might a good fit with this product. Schumacher makes a 15w solar battery maintainer.

Has anyone tried something like this? Would it be worth it for long trips, or more of a hassle then it is worth? I know that in the end, it is subjective, but I would love some input. Thanks!

[MacGyver]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

I don't know how much draw all your devices will have on your battery, so I really can't recommend the right size solar panel that would suit your needs. But I do know that a 15 watt panel, even in full sun, amounts to a trickle charger. Battery maintainers aren't meant to keep up with a battery in use, they're just supposed to keep a battery that doesn't get used topped off so it doesn't self-drain to where it won't take a full charge.

As far as whether or not it's worth the hassle, I would say definitely not, but I'm a big fan of solar. I'm more or less Mr. 12 Volt when I go camping. I've got two 100 watt panels, 4 different inverters and 6 different batteries to configure for what kind of camping trip I'm on. LED lights everywhere, a stereo, mp3 players, fans, inflators, a battery charger for my drill, a CPAP machine for one of my friends and, of course, cell phone charging. You definitely won't need that much juice, but if you're like me and do go solar, you'll love being able to charge your battery just about anywhere without having to run a generator or a vehicle a.k.a silently.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

I (nearly always) recommend that people determine their power usage (in amp hours or watt hours ) then match the panel to their usage so that it will recharge the battery in a moderate/reasonable amount of time. Trickle charging is OK as long as the trickle makes up or more than makes up for the power usage, in a reasonable amount of time.
...also be aware that most solar panel makers/dealers tend to fudge their panels' out put numbers to give unrealistic watts/specifications. (I have trickle panels that actually put out less than half the maker's specification each (fine for me as it closely tracks with my small, though growing, usage). Right now; if I allow my usage to grow I will out grow the panels and have to add more panels or go to larger panels.
Additionally shaded solar panels will not charge a battery well ... this is a major concern for me since I prefer shady sites... resulting in moving and realigning the panels every hour or two.

Most of the folks that I have met that are happy/satisfied with their camping solar setups are either over paneled or rigorously maintain their energy budget (a bit of a pain until it becomes second nature).

Enjoy!

[MacGyver]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

Most of the folks that I have met that are happy/satisfied with their camping solar setups are either over paneled or rigorously maintain their energy budget

Is this what you mean by over paneled?

[Bojib]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

I use the same set up myself. I've considering the same thing. What I need is something with enough power to run two cpap machines for a couple of nights. The battery in the XP2260 just can't do it. I'm looking at getting at a 30 watt or 50 watt solar panel set up and a decent size deep cycle battery. The cpap's can be ran on 12-volts so I won't need an inverter or anything fancy like that.

[James.]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

So far I have just skirted the issue with 27ah battery that is more power than I need. Fits in a tool box so it is easy to carry and I can charge it at home before I head out. If (when) I need more power I will do like Joe said and calculate the wattage and find a panel that will offset my usage. I figure that I won't need to fully charge the battery, just help to offset the usage. I will say that I don't think a 15w charger is going to do much to offset the usage of a 22ah battery.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

Is this what you mean by over paneled?

... maybe uber over paneled...

What I mean is you can either live on the edge of not enough panel to fully recharge in a day; as I do (the second light and stereo are a significant impact at roughly 1.3 amps combined; so tracking run time is important).
Or... you can have more than enough panel and not worry about it. The down side being; carting around large heavy awkward panels (I have a couple of 50 watt'ers, in storage, that verge on being too big, size wise, for me (although I may change my mind if I ever go camping with the fridge).
I have been tempted to add several flexible 100 watt panels to the top of the vehicle but realized that where I typically prefer to camp the vehicle is in the shade arround 80+% of the time, and would be more of a pain to move than baby sitting, and aligning the small/portable panels by hand.

Enjoy!

[tplife]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

Vegeta, I'd be putting my $$$ into a real battery designed for deep discharges, rather than solar panels for charging a little tire inflator/jumpstarter.

[MacGyver]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

Even though they seem to have come down in price in the last few years, they're still a bit on the pricey side, but the Brunton Solaris folding solar panels are great where size and weight are a consideration. 26 watts should be more than enough to make sure you stay topped off.

[vegeta13613]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

Even though they seem to have come down in price in the last few years, they're still a bit on the pricey side, but the Brunton Solaris folding solar panels are great where size and weight are a consideration. 26 watts should be more than enough to make sure you stay topped off.

I think this is my ideal option. It is a little more than I would like to spend, but it folds small, and has plenty of power output for my needs.

[James.]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

I think this is my ideal option. It is a little more than I would like to spend, but it folds small, and has plenty of power output for my needs.

Mac has all the answers. There is a reason his show is being rebooted.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

I think this is my ideal option. It is a little more than I would like to spend, but it folds small, and has plenty of power output for my needs.

Unless you actually want to do solar backpacking, you can get a way better deal by going with a hard panel.

Try not to get an amorphous panel (their output tends to drop after 18 months or so of continuous use, I got some before I knew this and since I only use them camping, so far they are still OK).
Try to get a monocrystalline or polycrystalline panel (refers to the crystal structure of the solar cells).
Take all watt ratings as not real world, not true, the amount of over rating varies by manufacturer but seem to come from marketing not engineering departments.
Avoid solar maintainers and chargers; they seem to mostly be designed with a low output voltage in an effort to reduce the chances of running the battery dry when not using a controller.
To approximate the actual working wattage of a panel take the working current (Iop, if listed) and multiply it by 12 or 13 volts.
Try to use a charge controller to minimize having to watch a voltmeter.
PWM charge controllers are typically fine.
USB compatible backpacking panels typically do not have a 12 volt output so are pretty much useless (without a DC voltage converter) for a 12 volt system.
Figure out what your current (amps) usage is and for how long for each item used, or better yet measure it with a digital voltmeter.
Decide how big a panel, or panels, you want to hassle with then start searching amazon (the "outdoor gear" and "RV gear" links at the top of the page work fine). Personally I have found panel sizes on the order of 24" x 24" are too large, and several panels on the order of 13" x 18" to easily pack in the SUV (they fit well on top of my short under cot storage totes).

Hope it helps...

(Edit); I just did a quickie look at panels on amazon; if I were going to make up another small, vehicle camping solar setup; I would go with 2 twenty watt panes (for size/packability( small room in an SUV), then hinge them so the fold book like, and try to get as close to 2 amps output per panel as possible... figure around $100 bucks for panels but get a pretty solid minimum of 2 to 3 amps output. I would expect this to be able to completely recharge a nearly flat (very hard on batteries) 35 amp hour battery in 10-15 hours or so (figure around a 30% loss when charging).
... don't forget to get & use a charge controller...

(Edit); While a pretty nice setup I do not believe this would do a good job of keeping up with a 12 volt portable refrigerator-freezer; not enough battery and the panels total are on the order of half big/powerful enough...Figure on a 100 amp hour deep discharge battery and at least a good 100 watts of panel to do this.

Enjoy!

[MacGyver]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

Mac has all the answers.

I've never heard that before! Believe me!

...figure around $100 bucks for panels but get a pretty solid minimum of 2 to 3 amps output.

30 watts https://www.amazon.com/Watts-Monocry.../dp/B01DAP2996
50 watts https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watts-.../dp/B00DVPPFDS <-- I own this one. Love it! Keeps my smaller AGMs (18 - 35 AH) topped off.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006JO0XI

EDIT: Renogy is having a sale, including the 30 and 50 watt panels above. https://www.renogy.com/on-sale/

[Happy Joe]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

Yep, I looked at the 30 watt and it is a fair deal both size wise and for output though 2 would still likely be better/closer to 3 amps total (expected actual ouput in the 1.5 to 1.6 amp range each). My, possibly mistaken, impression is that the OP is probably looking for a good minimal cost system. (EDIT) the $60 sale price each makes the 30 watt Renogy panels an even better deal and would probably convince me to jump on a pair of them.

I have a couple of the Renogy 50 watt'ers and after a short trial fit in the SUV with the rest of the stuff found them to be quite large and unwieldy (also I would not expect the frames to stand up to placing a hinge along one edge making them even more awkward to pack).

For me when camping, ability to pack well and easily (right size and shape) is very important. The current small low output panels have spoiled me somewhat, as they pack easily.

...Its all just personal preference... if a person can fit a full sized or half sized (2'x2') panel in with the rest of their stuff the higher output would be a good thing.

(The $100 is for 2 panels (40 advertised watts total, but likely much closer to 30 watts actual) and shows the cost premium of soft backpacking solar panels.

...many ways to skin a cat...

Enjoy!

[MacGyver]

Re: Power Station and Solar Charger

I would not expect the frames to stand up to placing a hinge along one edge...

Have to disagree with that. I have a hinge on a pair of 100 watt panels and it works just fine.

Edit: When I finally get out on a trip, I'm going to try to put together a bunch of pictures including some details of some of my MacGyverings, including the folding solar panels. Hinged on one side, latches on the other, it holds all the wire and the controller inside. I don't think it's too unwieldy, but what a person is willing to carry might just be subjective. I need lots of power so, to me, it's well worth the effort. The first test I just did in my back yard gave me a solid 10 amps in full sun - and that with a simple PWM controller. Anyway... I put it in my truck up against the back of the jump seat with all the soft goods - blankets, pillow, tent etc. - to keep it from moving around and it only takes up about 3 inches of the seat.