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Thread: eBay solar panels and regulators

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    Default eBay solar panels and regulators

    Hi all, not sure if this is the right area for it but I'm after people suggestions on folding solar panels to put in the 4wd for camping. It's going to be for charging the Aux battery while the fridge is running and some LED camp lights.
    I'm looking at some on eBay around the 120w-160w mark that come with regulators but I have seen some bad reviews about the regulators and the actual output of the panels. Has anyone had any experience with eBay solar panels? Any recommendations or advice on what to stay away from?

    Cheers



Look Here ->
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    Senior Member mutanti's Avatar
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    I recently got a 200Watt panel Via Ebay for $175.20...
    After I Purchased I found online the the Seller is Know for Dodgy Sells...
    I have tested A little since I have received .
    Will Attach Images below..







    Dont think I'm quite getting my 200 Watts..
    14.66 V x 5.4 Amps if I have measured Correctly.

    Read below - the Seller was mentioned several times in the Whirlpool link below..
    Last edited by mutanti; 16-02-16 at 08:43 PM.

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    There are a few threads on Portable Solar panels already on here if you have a search.
    From memory, there is a place in Melbourne that sells well recommended panels...

    There were a few others too, you'll have to search or check out the 4WD forums perhaps
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Hmm that's pretty cheap for such a big panel but that's only getting about 80w. Might be better efficiency on a bit of an angel facing the sun apparently they can be fairly sensitive like that. I've been looking a bit and I think I might just spend the extra and get a Projecta folding panel so it doesn't take up a lot of room in the back of the Patrol.

    On eBay for about $600 for a 120w but are fairly efficient, might be able to get it cheaper through a couple of place I might need to check out.
    I like to price of the eBay ones but I've been burnt a few times on eBay and with a lot of the stuff I've seen people post I think I might be better going with decent Aussie brand.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jk86 View Post
    Hmm that's pretty cheap for such a big panel but that's only getting about 80w. Might be better efficiency on a bit of an angel facing the sun apparently they can be fairly sensitive like that. I've been looking a bit and I think I might just spend the extra and get a Projecta folding panel so it doesn't take up a lot of room in the back of the Patrol.

    On eBay for about $600 for a 120w but are fairly efficient, might be able to get it cheaper through a couple of place I might need to check out.
    I like to price of the eBay ones but I've been burnt a few times on eBay and with a lot of the stuff I've seen people post I think I might be better going with decent Aussie brand.
    Look at The Shadow , Sun was Directly Above.
    WAs a Cheap buy only because if the 20% Off Ebay .. but in the end I probally only got what I paid For..


    Cheap..

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    You may find all solar panels will give below their rated output unless you use trackers, I've got all mt panels of ebay and they have all produced around their quoted output. But have seen some on ebay where they claim one thing, but if you look at the parameters, you soon see they don't match with the claims.

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    +1 spook, I have bought several panels off ebay sellers; only got ripped off once & started a dispute, seller supplied an extra panel to compensate lack of watts.

    Have bought others with no problems for neighbours & myself.

    2 years ago I bought a 200 watt panel for my caravan from EBay for $230 delivered & it is what it states.

    Having said that, it is hard to measure the rated output of a solar panel, as on a clear day the moisture in the air blocks up to 20% of the suns rays, on a cloudy day when the sun pops out from behind a cloud in that deep blue sky, some panels can actually produce slightly more than their rated output, (~1-2%)

    The rated output of a solar panel is measured during manufacturing using a precise sunburst light source, we cannot emulate that.

    The best way to judge a panels output is to compare them side by side with a known good panel with genuine stats.
    That's how I proved to Ebay & the seller (LHP) that the 120w panels he sold me were in fact 80w; as well as the fact that their dimensions would have made them the worlds smallest 120w panel.
    There is a thread about this & the guy who ran LHP somewhere around here from years back, he ended up getting busted for fraud.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    The information is out there; you just have to let it in."

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    If you check the number and size of cells in a panel, that will give you a very good indication of of their capacity. There used to be a big difference in output between ploy and mono panels, now they are pretty close. I still use mono panels, because the poly ones I got years ago have lost capacity compared to the mono with the same life time. Still have panels working that date to the early 1980's and still produce good outputs, which is over 30 years. So to my mind any investment in decent solar panels is worthwhile energy investment.

    The real problem is this country doesn't have proper consumer protection or truth in advertising laws. If we did, the majority of companies would go broke because all their advertising is lies and deception. When people get ripped off, in the majority of cases you have no real come back because of the costs involved in getting justice.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jk86 View Post
    Hmm that's pretty cheap for such a big panel but that's only getting about 80w. Might be better efficiency on a bit of an angel facing the sun apparently they can be fairly sensitive like that. I've been looking a bit and I think I might just spend the extra and get a Projecta folding panel so it doesn't take up a lot of room in the back of the Patrol.

    On eBay for about $600 for a 120w but are fairly efficient, might be able to get it cheaper through a couple of place I might need to check out.
    I like to price of the eBay ones but I've been burnt a few times on eBay and with a lot of the stuff I've seen people post I think I might be better going with decent Aussie brand.
    I have a Projecta 120w folding kit and got it from a seller on fleabay for a fair bit less than $600. The only gripe I have with it, is the spindly legs that are supplied with it. They're a PITA in anything less than a firm solid surface. Easy to get over, just a pain.

    Have used it heaps for camping trips as the only source of charging a 100Ah battery with a fridge running, charging phones/tablets/cameras and running lights at night. The last trip was 10 days, battery fully charged when we left home, connected the solar for around 8 hours every second day and still came home with around 75% SOC.

    A++++ would buy again.

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    I mention these 3 below, which are in your range, as they come well liked on 4WD forums;

    eBay 200Watt
    eBay 150Watt
    eBay 100Watt

    I have no idea about this last 160Watt panel, but it does seem cheap enough
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    I know a few guys that have the 120w folding panels sold by bitdeals on ebay and they are happy with them, none of the cheap kits have a decent regulator/controller so it would be wise to upgrade to a better quality unit and mout it close to the battery for the least voltage drop and upgrade the crappy cabling.

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    Much cheaper and easier to buy two panels the size you want, join then with hinges and connect them in parallel to a cheap $25 x 20amp MPPT solar charger controller off ebay next to your battery and that's it. Those panels are way too expensive, just for a couple of hinges and junk controller.

    Having the controller on the panels means you get voltage drop to the battery and sometimes you may have to put your panels a long distance away from the controller to get a decent input. If you buy 24v panels which are cheaper, there'll be little voltage drop from the panels to the controller. Which means you can build a cheap fold up panel that you can site up to 20metres away and still get its best output. Even with 12v panels, they should have open voltages over 18v, or they are crap. So wouldn't lose a lot compared to having the controller in the panel, then you only have 12-14v and every metre means a drop into the battery.

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    Cheers guys, I'll see what price I can get the Projecta panel for and I might go with that, if not I'll end up getting a eBay cheap one and see how they go.

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanboy View Post
    I mention these 3 below, which are in your range, as they come well liked on 4WD forums;

    eBay 200Watt
    eBay 150Watt
    eBay 100Watt

    I have no idea about this last 160Watt panel, but it does seem cheap enough
    None of those are cheap, not even the last one, actually the last one is well priced, however I always get suspicious of items that indicate a saving of $530.

    I recently priced a , just add a simple 20A regulator for ~$20 or an , ~$30 for cable & connectors & you are way in front of these kits.
    Everybattery has kits too, however they are still way overpriced, build your own it's way cheaper.

    As spook said, if you want a compact folding type arrangement get 2 x 100w panels & a hinge. It's so easy to save money & still get quality.
    Last edited by Tiny; 17-02-16 at 07:01 PM.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    That's why my first link was to a build your own website :-)
    Yes, many options out there, depending on your ability or budget.
    Last edited by ol' boy; 17-02-16 at 08:15 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by mutanti View Post
    I recently got a 200Watt panel Via Ebay for $175.20...
    Dont think I'm quite getting my 200 Watts..
    14.66 V x 5.4 Amps if I have measured Correctly.
    Been thinking about this & then it twigged, to measure the current, the panel needs to be connected to a load, if the load you are using is a battery & regulator, then at 14.7 V which is max battery voltage (in cell equalize mode) on most regs, the current will be regulated to prevent over voltage of the battery, hence your low Amp/current reading.

    Put a load on the battery to draw the battery voltage down below the regulator float voltage of ~ 13.6v & then test your panel.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    The information is out there; you just have to let it in."

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    Ill run the Tv for a few hours of the battery over the weekend and see how it goes... See if Any Diff......

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    Quote Originally Posted by mutanti View Post
    Ill run the Tv for a few hours of the battery over the weekend and see how it goes... See if Any Diff......
    That should work, although my 46" TV only draws 100w so your TV may not be able to keep the battery voltage down for long with the panel connected, so you will have to watch that the voltage doesn't enter your regulators set point voltages, 13.6 V & above, as this will limit current flow. This could happen quite quickly depending on the size of your battery bank & it's ability to absorb the incoming current flow.

    Looking at the pics I can see that the panel is on top of some old milk crates & therefore the perceived physical size of the panel is consistent with the 200w mono panel I have here, also the cell count of 6 x 12 is the same, so you should have a 200w panel.
    On a clear sky day you should get easily 160w , ~12A @13VDC out of that panel & on a cloudy day when the sun peaks out from behind the clouds in deep blue sky, you should get a peak output of at least 200w, ~15A @ 13VDC. It will only be brief.

    Please do let us know how the test goes.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    The cheap controllers "MPPT" on ebay are fakes too. For a proper 20A MPPT, if you get one under $100 you're doing very well.


    Do a Google and you'll find plenty more examples.

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    Maybe a cheaper full kit


    Or buy 2 of these to make a 200Watt kit:


    Or just buy a single panel:
    200Watt

    Although, this could be of concern:
    Last edited by ol' boy; 18-02-16 at 03:53 PM.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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