Can I get away with a solar panel for top up charging in my van? Last summer I had a couple of long weekends away in the van kipping in it, didn’t really drive anywhere when there so the battery eventually drained – used internal lights briefly at night, odd bit of radio plus charging phone.
So I have learnt my lesson after that. Got a couple more similar trips this summer – do I need to go for the split charge leisure battery route or can you get away with a solar panel (what wattage?) to just plug onto battery to put in a top up charge when parked up? I see some have some kind of over/reverse charge relay things included. Just wanted to know if it’s an option before looking at more expensive solutions. Any advice appreciated. Cheers

personally i would fit a spare battery as its cheaper and more reliable

you would need a largish panel to charge in one day and the starter battery is designed for charging not for leisure use

I would ignore a split charger as you will be driving long miles and just wire it up to the alternator or battery positive and fit a one way diode or just fit a switch so you disconnect the battery from the live when parked up

You could also probably just use a battery bank type thing and use blue tooth usb chargeable speakers rather than car stereo and LED lights [ battery –
ie AA not the 12 v thingy-operated] as well to get away from any reliance on the internal battery

There are numerous solutions but the second battery gives the greatest power for the cheapest price

Also consider changing any internal lights to LEDs if you’re likely to have them on for long.

I’ve used my van as a base for a few days and never had any issues so it could be that your battery isn’t in great nick anyway.

Disagree…if you really are just using the radio, interior lights for an hour or so, and mobile charging, get a decent ‘battery maintainer’ solar panel or even a small ‘normal’ solar panel and a cheap controller to the starter battery. The semi-flexible panels (Small ones at least) can be glued to the roof.

The other option is a jump pack with integral battery. Charge it off the 12v socket/mains, mine has two 12v sockets and a USB socket, plus the jump leads. We charge it up and run the lights and wireless rearview camera in our horse trailer with it.

yep should have added my van last year was 7 years old on original battery so might have been getting old, now in a new van so hopefully battery will be better anyway. Thanks for advice so far

A fresh battery will help a lot. A solar charger will make it last longer in the right conditions. But, and you already know this, the only way to be totally sure and relaxed is to have a spare battery you can switch in to start the engine.

Ideally you have a separate circuit and battery for interior lights, charging phones and the radio, then you don’t kill the vehicle starter battery. If you work out what you need over a couple of nights in terms of juice and spec a smallish leisure battery, a budget split charge kit and the most basic fused box running 3 circuits I can’t see you spending more than £150.
Have a look a simply split charge’s website

I couldn’t find any maintenance/trickle panels over 5w so thats not going to work.

My camper was running just solar power for the last few months, I didn’t hookup the split charge/b2b charger as the van had electrical issues due to be fixed under warranty.

In all honesty, I’d spent money on a solar panel over any sort of split charge now. Even in winter, 200w of panels was keeping my electric fridge running 24/7, I even ‘stress tested’ it by leaving an oil filled rad in the van to make the fridge work harder.

I’m still not sure your usage justifies an additional battery, but if you do, perhaps pair up a 50w panel with battery and don’t bother with the split charge for now. You should easily see a constant 2Ah charge from the solar during daylight hours, which is much more useful than a bulk charge when you drive to an event and then no charge for the next 48 hours.

What panels have you got spooky?

Might have to bite the bullet and go the extra battery route but would something like this do enough of a trickle charge attached to battery if left out facing south over the long weekend: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered-12v-15w-battery-charger-n31cx

There are 20 to 50w versions on ebay too which say they do the same thing.

If it were me I’d be going the split charger leisure battery route and leave the vehicle battery for it’s intended purpose. A VSR and cheapo leisure battery is a doddle to fit and as said above will cost £150 max.

I’ve got two of these; https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/287-100W-Flexible-Solar-Panel-with-Rear-Junction-Box-made-of-back-contact-cells-for-motorhome-caravan-camper-rv-boat.html

Midday today they were feeding 10Ah into my batteries.

That 54w panel seems expensive but I suppose thats partly due to it being a ruggedised/portable panel. You could do with working out your power consumption…radio probably uses 1.5 or 2.0 amps, phone charger another 1-2 amps etc. times the amps by the number of hours for each item and add them all up. Then check your panel can provide at least that number of amps during the day. That 54w panel will probably manage 1.5 or 2.0 amps per day so in summer, call that 20 amps? (you will only get full output when the sun is high)

Cheers Spooky.

OP – If you’re going the split charge route, these guys are fantastic, raved about on the T5 forums:

https://www.travelvolts.net/shop

A second approval for travelvolts. I got my split charger system from them and it’s been great. Very easy to fit for even a muppet like me.

Even in winter, 200w of panels was keeping my electric fridge running 24/7

it never got close to running mine and given the amount of daylight and the type of sun we get in winter i am very surprised about that – some days its barely even daylight and about 6 hours of it at best. IME it wont keep the batteries topped up in a boat with no fridge in darkest winter.

I forget what the real world readings were for mine in deepest winter but 200 w of solar panel for summer use and a weekend away is a massive overkill IMHO and not the cheapest solution- and should still require a second battery.

You do not need a split charger you only need to make sure it cannot drain the starter battery so fit a diode or isolator switch – ie disconnect it from the main live when parked up [ about £10-£20 to get]. Cheaper and more efficient and easier to wire.

Sound alike you had an absorption fridge which is why your were struggling to run it.

Modern equipment surpasses that of olde days shocker. Modern compressor driven fridges are much more compatible with batteries and solar panels at the expense of a little noise.

Wish I had one…..3 way absorption fridge for me 🙁

Junkyard, I was just answering IHNs question, not recommending 200w to the OP.

But you’re saying 200w of solar won’t keep a battery back topped up in winter but is overkill in summer…

I can’t remember the exact figures but I was seeing 5-6 amps in January during the middle of the day, thats more than enough to maintain batteries and in my case, it seemed plenty to run a compressor fridge for two weeks straight, obviously it was cold outside but I was putting a heater in the van to ensure adhesives and varnish were drying properly so the fridge was doing some work.

Now the weather is getting hot, the fridge is working harder but the panels are producing about 50% more power over a longer day. I am using a clever MPPT charger which sucks more power from the panels however.

If I had to choose between the solar, or the 30 amp battery to battery charger (the most efficient setup to charge from the alternator) it would be the solar hands down. Even on a long trip of four hours, you’ll potentially get 120 amps of charge. But with solar, I get a constant trickle charge over a much longer period.

Just got my charge controller back as the first was faulty, and its been a pain having to keep using a manual charger over the last three weeks to keep up with use of the lights and radio whilst I’ve been carrying on with the conversion…had to turn the fridge off as well.

Time for an update – ended up getting one of these solar light/power kits: https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/hubi-10k-solar-lighting-and-power-system-n19ek
Bit cheaper in the sale when I got mine, been ideal for what I originally wanted – something to charge and run phone/ipad/bluetooth speaker/lights when away for a few a few days in the van so I don’t drain it’s main starter battery like I did last year. The small lithium battery lasts for ages with the panel topping it up. Seems a good solution for being off-grid and handy as obviously not fixed to this one vehicle.