cowcharge
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I suffer from Shastasomiasis.
Posts: 1,471
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Post by cowcharge on Feb 2, 2013 9:04:55 GMT -5
I'm considering building my own, there are plenty of how-to vids out there, and plenty of cheap cells available on Ebay. It's about $40 for enough cells to build a 65-watt panel, plus the price of glass and frame material, and some resin to encapsulate the cells with, cables etc. It's a bunch of soldering, but nothing that tricky. Anyone done it yet?
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cowcharge
1K Post Member
I suffer from Shastasomiasis.
Posts: 1,471
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Post by cowcharge on Feb 5, 2013 14:54:07 GMT -5
Well, with the price of solar panels dropping to about a buck a watt, and the encouragement of my old friend/ex-boss Rob (who taught me how to install solar systems on houses), I've decided to buy a new 220-watt panel from him, for $220 (maybe two if I can scrape up the money). 25 year warranty... It's bigger than I had planned with the homemade 65-watt panels, but having a warranty and not having to build it is nice, and not having to wire and mount more than two panels is nice too. Now I'm deciding which DIY sun tracker to build, and designing the mount so that it (they) will fold flat to be no higher than the thickness of the panel...
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soup
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Posts: 1,768
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Post by soup on Feb 6, 2013 4:50:01 GMT -5
Lots of interest here! Please keep us posted, with pics too!
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Post by pathfinder3081 on Feb 6, 2013 8:46:39 GMT -5
Hey Cowcharge! Looks like you have a audience ;D Jump in and start and we will watch. Seriously, I have lots of questions as well. I need to dig around and see if I can find my old "Mother Earth News" box. They had quite a few simple basic, start'em up ideas. I don't know if I want it actually attached to my camper. Where the camper goes, my truck goes. But a $90 battery in the bed could be awfully tempting to an opportunist looking for a quick buck.. Perhaps one could have a KIT BOX, pull it out, lay it out, plug it up and be set. My interior wires are working, but I am having a little trouble with the breaker tossing when we use a toaster. The PO got a little crazy with some wires and I pretty much have a mess in the grid. I'd really like to snip snip the whole package and start a new.... Inter-grate the solar charged system in the process. As said.. You have my interest, keep us all posted.
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Post by oldcarbuff on Feb 6, 2013 12:36:13 GMT -5
I have a panel about 3X6 ft. but I need help in how do I hook it up and what I need to convert the solar power into charging power and how do I control the voltage in charging the battery. Any help with this would be great! Mark
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cowcharge
1K Post Member
I suffer from Shastasomiasis.
Posts: 1,471
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Post by cowcharge on Feb 6, 2013 12:46:51 GMT -5
I'm an electricity hog who doesn't want to make any sacrifices he can avoid, while off-grid full-timing. The 220-watt panel(s) I'm getting are about 65" x 37" and weigh about 40 pounds, so they'll need a robust mount. That's also a little big to carry anywhere other than the roof, and heavy enough to make it unwieldy to set up and take down for a weekend trip. Also, any kind of box or portable setup that makes it convenient to set up also makes it convenient to steal, so on the roof it will go. On the other hand I have about 18 x 7.5 feet of flat roof to use too, so you Compact owners might not want to "dirty up" your profile... Smaller panels would probably suit both your usage and trailers better. I'm looking at basing my tracking system on one I found online, made with cheap electrical relays, resistors and sensors (no microprocessors or programming needed), using recycled windshield wiper motors for drive motors. They included add-on circuits for dual-axis tracking, and even a circuit for folding the whole thing flat if it gets too windy (also for travel, which makes it great for a camper roof)! Although that was really the first plans I found, so I'm still looking in case I find a cheaper/easier one. And it seems obvious to use a small solar panel and battery to drive the thing, although for some reason that wasn't integrated into the plans. Anyway, the roof mount and tracker will have to wait until the roof is done, so I have time to mull it over before committing to a design. I'll probably just lean it against a tree when I'm there working on the camper. Here's the vid of the tracker I've been looking at, there's a link to the plans in the description: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHBm4XuCqlQ
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Post by bobt on Feb 18, 2013 9:40:13 GMT -5
I'm a incorrigible DIY'er and I tackled making a panel about a year ago.
My conclusion was that by the time you buy everything you'll need it will cost about the same, or even more, than a commercial panel. And that's considering that your own time is free.
If someone is dead set on building one as a hobby or educational project I suggest starting with a small one to see how it goes.
In the future I'll be buying panels not making them.
- Bob
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cowcharge
1K Post Member
I suffer from Shastasomiasis.
Posts: 1,471
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Post by cowcharge on Feb 20, 2013 16:44:33 GMT -5
I have a panel about 3X6 ft. but I need help in how do I hook it up and what I need to convert the solar power into charging power and how do I control the voltage in charging the battery. Any help with this would be great! Mark Mark, you need a 12v charge controller to change the panel voltage to the proper charging voltage. The controller must be able to handle the voltage from the panel, which should be marked on the back of the panel. Then you need a mount of some kind, depending on where you plan to install the panel. I'm planning on mounting my panel to the roof on a tracking mount, and running my cables in through the fridge roof vent to avoid making more holes in the roof than I have to. Bob, it's amazing how the price of panels have dropped in the last year or two. Two years ago you never could have bought panels at $1/watt, or even close. I think you could still get below that by making your own, but not by much, and like you said, the labor isn't counted, and there's no warranty, and you have to worry about your solder connections etc. Part of me still wants to be able to point at them and say "I made those" though, lol.
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Post by oldcarbuff on Mar 5, 2013 17:37:50 GMT -5
cowcharge, Yes, I need to look for one. The panel says 245 watt and 32 volts. If you see something, please give me a shout as I continue to look.
Mark
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cowcharge
1K Post Member
I suffer from Shastasomiasis.
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Post by cowcharge on Mar 10, 2013 9:13:55 GMT -5
Carbuff, you need a charge controller that can handle 40v input, probably a 30-amp, since 245w/12v=a tad over 20 amps, and controllers seem to come in 20 amp and 30 amp versions with no in-between sizes. There are tons of them on Ebay for somewhere between 100-200 bucks.
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Post by oldcarbuff on Mar 10, 2013 10:40:51 GMT -5
Cowcharge, Many thanks, I will begin my search. I have planned to mount this just flat on the roof figuring it is big and should pull in enough sun to produce power.
Mark
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Post by universalexports on Mar 10, 2013 10:44:11 GMT -5
I just picked up the power4patriots DVD, it is suppose to be full of cheap ingenious ides about doing solar and wind power.
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cowcharge
1K Post Member
I suffer from Shastasomiasis.
Posts: 1,471
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Post by cowcharge on Mar 10, 2013 11:09:30 GMT -5
Cowcharge, Many thanks, I will begin my search. I have planned to mount this just flat on the roof figuring it is big and should pull in enough sun to produce power. Mark You might want to reconsider the permanent flat mount. Especially up north, you lose a lot of power mounting them flat. You don't need a tracker, but a tilting mount gives you the best compromise between full tracking and flat mounting.
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mobiltec
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Restoring The 57 Shasta
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Post by mobiltec on May 7, 2013 22:40:09 GMT -5
Just thought I would show you this dumb thing we made LOL... The little trailer is a 70s Sears Craftman Clam Shell trailer. We bought the panels here and there at yard sales. 3 RV batteries and a 4000 watt peak inverter I think... Worked great and we could never run it down We even plugged in a bug zapper... Never do that out in the forest. Every freaking bug for miles will come straight at you and crash into that thing. Soon there will be small fires starting from the burning carcasses... We powered 3 campsites with this without ever running it completely down. You can see the bug zapper hanging there.
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