I want to get panels for my RV. Now I've been shopping around and looking and it is a pretty expensive deal in a way.

So I got poking around Craigslist lastnight and found these >> Craigslist Solar Ad

I've emailed the person and they say they have 40 of them here in dark storage and more in New Mexico.

The first thing is do you guys know how well these will work? They are the framed unit so I can attach mounts to them. I'd need to buy mounts and a controller.

So let me know what you guys and gals think. He will no ship them and is in scottsdale and if we can get enough people maybe some of us can get a good deal. If they will work I'll go pick them up.

I've emailed him and I ask some questions but he just responds with look at the specs and let me know basiclly.

it LOOKS like those panels generate .78 amps. that might keep your motorcycle battery charged, but not much more than that!!!

i have ONE panel that puts out close to 4amps when the sun hits it straight on, and it Does keep my 2 12v batteries maintained nicely, but thats about all it will do!!

you'll prolly spend five or six hundred bucks on a decent system. it was well worth it to me.

Dang I totally missed that. Thanks That is why I wanted some other input.

I guess they will be sitting on those for awhile back to saving up more money.... I don't mind spending the money was just tryin to save a little. I'll have to get a hold Mikey here on the board again.

Thanks RiverMobster I owe ya one.

OK, here's my opinion.

I have 2 x 165W panels feeding a 25 Amp MPPT solar controller. It works great, I can power 2 LCD TVs, a surround sound system, HD projector, fridge and Microwave all while keeping the 4 x 6V batteries fully charged. It puts out between 10 and 14 amps depending on the sunshine. It wasn't cheap, I put about $1350 into it back then, it would cost just over $2,050 to duplicate it today.


OK, let's talk about this particular setup.

1. The MPPT controller he's selling is too large and too expensive for what you need. The Solarboost 2000E is just about perfect at 25 amps and can be found for about $215 new.

2. The panels are kinda small, you'd have to install 7 of them to match the power level of my setup, and I feel that if you're gonna go to the trouble to climb up there and drill holes in your roof, that is the minimum one should get. It better be worth the trouble or why bother?? I used 6 brackets to mount each of my 2 panels to the roof, because I didn't want high winds or frwy speeds to rip one off the roof. So to mount 7 or 8 of these would require at least 4 - 6 brackets each, for a total of 28 to 48 brackets, with at least 4 screws each.


Now look at the emerging technology. This guy is selling these for about top dollar. There is a new technology coming out (in production now, actually) from Nanosolar which enables them to print solar panels onto mylar film like an inkjet process. This radically cuts costs, increases yield and they are also more efficient per square inch. Prices should drop drastically once these flood the market, hopefully in a year or two.


Although I have solar panels now, I would suggest buying the $300 Champion 3500W generator from Kragen for the time being. It's a little loud, but if properly insulated, is almost as quiet as a Honda. It can power the entire trailer, including the A/C, which a Honda 2000 cannot do, and it uses very little fuel. It has about a 4 gal tank and consumes about 1 qt an hr. Then if you still want solar panels after the prices drop, do it then.

So if we're just chillin with low electrical loads (ceiling fan, 2 vent fans to keep the dogs cool), the solar panels handle it all. If we need to run the A/C at all and/or we're partying at night with all of the lights on, blender going, etc, then we'll run the little genny. On an average weekend trip (3 days min) we'll use between 2 and 3 gal in it.

If its summertime and it's blazing hot, then we run the built in 6500W Onan genny and run both A/Cs.

I bought my panels from the Solar Biz. They were the least expensive of any I could find. Here is a link to their site.

The solar Biz

I have two 155 watt panels, a Blue Sky MMP controller and the Blue Sky INP ProRemote.

This system cost about $1700 but allows me to stay in the desert just about indefinitely. I have a small inverter (400W) for the TV and other small stuff. Use the generator only for the microwave. We usually have the batteries recharged by noon each day. I use two group 27 12 volts batteries.

I built brackets to be able to tilt the panels during the winter when the sun is low in the sky but with the 310W of panels I never have had to tilt them.

A good solar system and cheap solar system are mutually exclusive.

Mikey has panels in buy and sell...

ya, mikey did have some good panels for sale, and at a decent price too! dont forget you HAVE to have a good charge controler, so they take care of your batteries nicely.

this is the one i have, its worked awesome for the past 5 years!

http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/sb2000e.htm

glad to help

Wow! Where and who? I liked into Solar panels and was 200K for my house. Didn't do it.

They're talking about a small system for a trailer.

Per watt that is not a bad price, but you have to be able to have the space....

Really?? 200K is that a typo??

That's including a lot of panels and 100K for labor.

I have 2 85W panels on my trailer and it works pretty well, The only thing that i have noticed over the last year and a half since i put them on is you really have to watch your batteries (water and corrosion on the terminals). I let mine set this summer for a few months without checking on them and the terminals got all messed up. I have to put new ends on them now but when it happened it stoped charging the batteries so now i have them sitting at home on a charger(took me 2 days to get them back to 100%)

I wonder how many batteries you would need to keep the ac running thoughout the night, my wife loves that damm ac at night?

More than you could fit in the trailer. I accidentally started the 13.5K BTU A/C off of the 3000W inverter. It started, but fried the inverter in the process.

Not recommended.