Solar again - Fixed vs Portable

[Snoozie]

I know there has been a thread about solar panels recently, but I have a different question so hope no-one minds that I have started a new thread.

I have been thinking of paying dodgey a visit one of these days for a solar panel on my AFT but at a festival a couple of weeks ago I saw someone with a portable folding solar panel. They had theirs opened out on the top of their (flat) VW roof, which obviously would be no good on an AFT when it was up but it could be placed on the ground at an angle or I suppose against the windscreen (or even perhaps on the dash inside? - I presume a layer of glass won't affect it).

Does anyone here use a portable one? I am trying to think of the pros and cons of fixed vs portable. I can see that a portable one might be handy for some outdoor activities and if camping with a car and tent, although I can't see me using a tent again given that I love my Bongo and hope it keeps going for a long time.

Still, I'm wondering if there might be other things to consider before I make a decision, including the practical aspects of using either type. For example would you have to have the bonnet open to attach a portable one to the leisure battery, or can it be connected some other way from the inside after feeding the wires through an open window?

Any thoughts would be appreciated, and Dodgey .... any comments on the benefits / convenience of one fixed to the AFT would be very welcome.

[mikexgough]

Cant speak for a folding portable.....but my framed roof mounted 100w solar kit from Dodgey has done the business for me since last October.... I have mine set up to charge the starter battery when the leisure battery is full so making use of all the what would be wasted energy from the panel.My fridge was running from October.....until 2 days ago...when I wanted to clean it out thoroughly...... with no power issues and we also used lights inside,tv,sat,charges phones etc as well as odd uses of an inverter.

In this context....why would you want to have a portable unit,all the faffing about of manually connecting up all the time etc.....

[mikeonb4c]

Cant speak for a folding portable.....but my framed roof mounted 100w solar kit from Dodgey has done the business for me since last October.... I have mine set up to charge the starter battery when the leisure battery is full so making use of all the what would be wasted energy from the panel.My fridge was running from October.....until 2 days ago...when I wanted to clean it out thoroughly...... with no power issues and we also used lights inside,tv,sat,charges phones etc as well as odd uses of an inverter.

In this context....why would you want to have a portable unit,all the faffing about of manually connecting up all the time etc.....

But is it much of a faff to set up? And it does allow you to orient the panel independent of how the Bongo is parked. On board is very cool, convenient and always at work keeping batteries topped up, but I can see pros and cons for either

[Bob]

Theft risk of portable, and you can leave it home, but likely cheaper.

Like Mike, I can see arguments for both.

[roosmith]

Put me down on a vote for the fixed.
1. We leave our Bongo for extended periods over the winter months and the panel on the roof keeps both batteries tip top.
2. On days out we will be using different electrical items inside (on a motorsport day we have all sorts running including a TV) and we wouldn't bother with a portable unit for 1 day, also in a car park or similar where would you put it. We'd probably end up running the engine instead every hour or so.
3. Storage, the folding ones are fairly cumbersome and of course still made of glass so need careful handling. The large capacity ones are also heavy.
4. Theft! While having it bolted to the roof doesn't guarantee anything, a folding portable one at a festival is high risk to get half inched.

As has been pointed out there are plenty of advantages for the fold up ones, don't get me wrong but for what we use ours for the fixed works best.

[helen&tony]

Hi
+1 for fixed / no phaff
Cheers
Helen

[roosmith]

This is from 2 years ago, pre solar panel but here is an example of a typical day-van scenario where the roof mounted works for us but the portable just wouldn't.

[mikexgough]

Plus...... an equivalent decent 100w portable unit is around £260..... yer pays yer money.... but for me and with the solar split to allow starter battery charging.... when the leisure is full, so no wasted free energy ....... it's a no brainer and the fuel consumption with the roof mount is no difference at all

[mikeonb4c]

Plus...... an equivalent decent 100w portable unit is around £260..... yer pays yer money.... but for me and with the solar split to allow starter battery charging.... when the leisure is full, so no wasted free energy ....... it's a no brainer and the fuel consumption with the roof mount is no difference at all

Good points all. What's the cost of a fixed installation? Could it be made demountable to cover occasions where it might benefit from it?

[Snoozie]

Some really helpful comments - thanks everyone

I had been looking at this sort of thing £198 from Bosch (I gather monocrytalline cells are better than poly ones), or else the 100W one which is around £260

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photonic-Univer ... B0086O0ZYI

But I think I am leaning towards a fixed one now, especially after the comments about it keeping both batteries topped up if it is not driven for a while.

I wonder how busy Dodgey is ....

[roosmith]

With the fixed kit from Dodgey with both batteries being topped up, yes it is more expensive but is going to be better than that Bosch portable solution I would have said. Especially if you're not a fan of faff!

[Dodgey]

With a fixed one, All You do when you park up is get a compass out, or your smart phone, and make sure you park north south with the sun behind you. That way it passes from West to east over the roof giving you the best possible coverage.

I've yet to park anywhere where I was forced to park in one direction.

Even if you can't park north to south directly, close enough is good enough. As long as you get sun on the panel from late morning to four o clock you are getting the lions share of the most intense sun, and plenty to keep you going.

I am funnily quite busy but always can make time

P.s.the reason I got into all this was after buying a portable panel and spending too much time moving it or worrying about it getting stolen.

[Snoozie]

I'm convinced Dodgey - I'll be in touch with a pm soon.

[roosmith]

Of course as Dodgey says parking in the right direction I notice a difference but I still get more than enough for fridge and phone charging parked the "wrong" way on a half decent day. Maybe I'm just lazy but I don't bother

[mikexgough]

Im away at the Tour of Britain cycling and the solar will come into it's own....so I will be off grid with no worries....