Solar panel advice please

I think what peedee was actually saying was, that anything over 10 -20 watts would need a regulator otherwise you may overcharge the battery - he was not saying that 10- 20 watts is adequate.

What a lot of caravanners need is a means of keeping their battery charged when in storage so they can use their mover etc. when they need to. They don't necessarily want a large panel permanently attached to the roof with all that entails in weight and cost. I agree you shouldn't use a panel in excess of 10 watts without a suitable controller either. I found in the past that a 10w panel wasn't adequate to keep my battery on my Bailey charged and so I did a bit of research. A removable 30 watt panel works for me and is easily stored in the van until I return it to storage.

Hope this helps.

Bob D.

Interpreted that way I would agree that it is unwise to use panels even from 10 Watts without a controller, a session of good summer days could see overcharging.

We use a Maplins 5 Watt solar panel on our caravan in storage through summer months , which is left on for periods of up to 5 weeks between trips & find the battery is more than charged to use the mover on site , when we arrive .

However over the winter months , we use a second battery which is kept at home & recharged & used alternatively to the original , I simply change the battery over before we leave storage.........👍

Very interesting topic .Our present van came with a 40 w fitted on the roof with controller it's been working fine just the odd days in winter it doesn't reach total charge and where our van is stored is in the back garden near trees .Would certainly fit one to our next van.

You need a 100w panel. Cheap enough and will overcome the limitations of a less than ideal (cheaper) controller.

Personally, for a shed roof, I would bang up a 200W panel but then I like big American muscle cars and 200MPH Motorcycles.