Anyone have experience with unisolar flexible pv

[bgordon]

I made my hole at the edge of the panel, put in a grommet, clipped the MC4 connector and slide the wires through. The

Still need to wire them up to a charge controller - leaning toward the Morningstar 45MPPT, but need to wait before I throw another $400-$500 at it.

[BigAl]

I'm thinking of using the same charge controller that Dan used in his setup(Intronics).
It is only $200.00. But it doesn't have the capability of adding a remote monitor which I really want. It does however have an auxilliary output which I like.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to add a remote monitor?
Al

[daveswenson]

Originally Posted by BigAl

I'm thinking of using the same charge controller that Dan used in his setup(Intronics).
It is only $200.00. But it doesn't have the capability of adding a remote monitor which I really want. It does however have an auxilliary output which I like.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to add a remote monitor?
Al

How about using a Trimetric 2025?

[BigAl]

Thanks Dave,
I'll check it out.
Al

[bgordon]

Just a little update.

My panels have been working great - they are hooked up to a Morning Star TriStar 45MPPT charge controller. I've seen them peak around 250+ watts. They are rated at 288 watts but the curved roof means that all the cells aren't facing the sun at the same angle. It could be more in the winter.

I did get some sap on them from budding cottonwood trees. It was a real pain to get it off and I was worried about using a heavy solvent that would discolor the clear film covering the cells.

I ended up using alcohol to dissolved and wipe over the panels. It took a while, but ended up being the best solution.

[Tazameir]

I've been thinking about doing the same thing. In my case, they will fit just fine w/o cutting. One down each side. I've also been thinking about the same charge controller. The only difference is I also plan on adding a second set of panels, but MUCH larger ones so I can literally run a full on AC unit which I have yet to also install. My thought is to have the PVL-144's for keeping my batteries topped off, but when I need real power, break out the other panels, and have them on stands outside the rig for when it's needed. 80-90% of the time I will not need those extra panels though. It is temping to just add a generator, but I like the idea of being fully off the grid with my Safari. Thanks for all the details in your post. If I get around to this, I'll do the same.
C.

[BigAl]

Hey Chris,
The company went bust so the supply of those is limited to what you see on ebay.
get them before they are gone.
I have mine just need to install them.

[Wabbiteer]

sunelectric in Miami has them... supposedly wired w/ MC3 connections...

[carl2591]

Thanks for the update.. i happen to stumble upon this thread and was following with great interest..

I understand bgorden has 2-144 watt panels wired to make 288 watts.. what is the voltage for that and how many batteries do you carry.. seem that the same with Dans system.??

My understanding on solar is limited but i am reading a lot of stuff here and on solar bobs site and other as well.

I am more looking at a 28ft AS for us at some point in the future 5 or so years out. if these flexible panels are that good and in short supply should i consider getting some now and just hang on to them for that time.?? They appear to be just the deal for attaching on top of RV and supply good power at a low cost point.

In talking with my wife we are more leaning towards boondocking more than not. So I was wanting to get a system to supply power with out use of gensat for being out some 12-14 days at a time.. I see the need to convert all lighting to LED and get as much stuff off AC as possible.. I think the energy usage of refrigerators will be even better using less AC making the gas/elec/DC units not needed.

anywho thanks for the update and more stuff about them going forward is welcome.

[1derer]

ddruker and other unisolar users -
The 144w 18foot long unisolar is 24 volts. I imagine your Trek and most other RVs use 12 volt systems. I'd sure like to get the 18 ft unisolar 144w panels, but other sources tell me using this voltage panel straight will fry my 12 volt batteries, as if the panel was like the old time "battery burner" chargers. I'm also told that if I put a controller between this panel and the battery, the controller will only allow 12 volt charging, thus reducing the wattage to 72.

I don't want to believe these things, or hope there's a way around them.

If you've cut your 144w 24v strip in half, I assume the half that has the hookups is then at 72w 12v. That would be about the same as the unisolar panels that are 9' long and 68 watts, 12volts. But after cutting your 18 foot strip in half (actually you cut it into 3 pieces each 6 ft long), you hooked the pieces back up to be 24v 144w. Have you fried your batteries or only gotten out half the charge you wanted to get? Or are you parked where it's shady or cloudy enough that you never could get the full charging out of the panels that they're able to put out and have thus saved your batteries from getting overcharged?

Or is there some kind of controller that would enable a 24v panel to put out the max it can put out towards charging your 12 v batteries. (Or do you have a 24v system?)

[1derer]

unisolar surgeons -
It seems everybody on this forum who has sliced up a unisolar panel has done so with the e-pvl 144. Has anyone done it with a pvl-144 or pvl-136, pvl-128, pvl-64 or whatever, or at least do you know if these are equally amenable to resizing?

Has anyone successfully used a panel they reduced in size but didn't re-hook up the rest of it to it, such as cutting a 144 in half then using just a half as a panel.

Has anyone successfully put a hook-up on, say, the discarded half of a 144, and used it as a separate panel?

[BigAl]

Read carefully what has been posted. You need an mppt controller to convert the high voltage low amperage output from the panel to acharging voltage which will result in higher amperage output. In my setup four 68 watt panels hooked up in series produce up to 70 volts which is converted to a charging output of about 14 volts
Al

[Tazameir]

My plan (Which I still have not done) is to connect 2 of the 24V panels (ePVL144) for 24V to a MPPT controller, to charge 4-6V batteries (2 series, 2 parallel) and get 12V.

[BigAl]

Chris, if you hook them up in series you get double the voltage. This let's you use thinner wire which is cheaper. You need a charge controller that will handle that voltage. The one Dan used does this. It is what I used

[1derer]

Say you have 2 unisolar epvl-144watt panels that came from the manufacturer with 22 cells each. And an mppt controller. Is there any reason you can't cut one of the 2 panels so it has say 5 cells, the end with the junction box, and you complete the circuit at the other end? Then you take 7 of the remaining cells and add a junction box to one end and complete the circuit at the other end. Then you take the remaining 10 cells and insert them in the other panel such that it ends up having 32 cells. Then you hook up the 4 resultant panels to your mppt controller. In other words, does the controller just treat all panels connected to it in a cumulative manner whether each panel is the same or not? And although the original panels have a junction box connected to solder points, can one eliminate the junction box so long as you solder the correct gauge wire to the solder points to run to the controller? This would be really relevant if you chose to bend the panel around something where the curve is the 14.75" width, rather than the 18' length. Because although the panel can bend either way, the junction box is stiff and doesn't bend. I ask because I'd like to run the panels along the edge of the RV where the roof does about a 12" radius curve down to the side of the RV.

[Keyair]

FFW to 2015...
Any updates?

[bgordon]

My system continues to work great. I've been off the grid for about 2 years

[BigAl]

Same with me. I don't usually get electric sites any more. Never run the batteries down.
Al

[ddruker]

Me too. Working perfectly, zero maintenance. I only bring the generator with me when I know I am going to be parked in full shade for an extended period...

[BigAl]

Hi Dan,
Thanks for your posts a few years ago. That was what convinced me to do the installation as well.
Al