Some of you may have responded to the various posts I've made on here in my quest to fit solar power to my Hymer. Well, the jobs finished & I'd like to extend my thanks to all those who replied to my posts.
It's a straightforward job confused by a couple of issues. Firstly the electrical system on my van's centred on the Schaudt Electoblock (EBL) & control panel that unifies all the habitation electrics & associated control in one place. There's provision on the EBL for an input from the Schaudt Solar regulator but getting this input to register on the control panel took a bit of digging for information & the elusive PIN code. Schaudt & Hymer were both very helpfull.
The 2nd issue was choosing the panels. There's an endless choice of PV panels on the market & some very cheap ones on Ebay. I ended up buying mine from Bright Light Solar I used two of these here as they were efficient & relatively small for the claimed output. They're also solidly built.
The companies I used were Bright light Solar for the panels. Solar Solutions who supplied the Schaudt voltage regulator & Aire & Sun who supplied me with a lot of the misc stuff needed to complete the installation. All of the above companies I found to be reliable & prompt with deliveries & were free with information on the phone.
Making the panel brackets.
Brackets anodised black.
Schaudt Solar regulator.
Schaudt Electroblock showing inputs from solar reg.
Looks a nice job there Dave must say. I think, though, on the pic that shows the panels on the floor, I could just see myself making sure everything was OK then jumping out of the van since the steps aren't out, and.......
Thanks Dave, a great post and very useful links, I have now figured out how I'm going to install my panel and been able to order or those other useful bits, like a Cable roof gromet
I did notice the link to Solar Solutions was wrong or out of date. After a bit of hunting arround I found their web address: http://www.solarsolutionsltd.co.uk/
The wiring is a mixture of 6mm & 4 mm. I used the thicker stuff everywhere except where it goes through the roof gland & a short bit of 4mm where the wiring terminates into the crimps going into the reg.
The brackets were fabbed by me using aluminium alloy bought from Metal supermarkets I made the brackets prior to taking delivery of the panels, me being the impatient type. Once the panels arrived & I had read the small print it transpired "Any additional holes drilled in the frame will invalidate the warranty" This necessitated some last minute changes. The idea behind the brackets being in two parts is purely to allow future removal without drilling out any rivets. IE for cleaning or maintenance. The base of the brackets have countersunk holes to allow fitment of csk screws in addition to the Sikaflex. The top part of the bracket which attaches to the PV panel is fastened to the base using security screws requiring special tools to remove. Nuff said
The anodising was done by a place in Shettleston in Glasgow. I wanted the parts hard anodised which provides a hardened surface that can also be dyed in a variety of colours. This gives the Alu corrosion resistance & protects it from the environment. Due to the small size of the parts I was advised that it was possible for them to melt during the hard anodising process. So I opted for "architechtural anodising" instead. In the time since this was done the brackets have now faded considerably. I've no idea how or if this will affect the corrosion resistance, but they now don't look nearly as nice as they did originally.
There are definitely quicker & easier ways of doing this. But TBH I enjoy doing stuff like this & it kept me occupied for a few days. I've got one spare bracket kicking around which could have been pressed into service as a spare. If you want any dimensions or closer pictures let me know.
I have just spotted your great post on your solar instalation and was just wondering if you or anyother memeber on here might be able to answer a quick question.
I have just purchased a CBE 120 Solar kit and was wondering if the control panel and electroblock unit would accept a feed from this system or am I better to just run everything into the domestic batteries?
I would say getting a third party reg to work with the Schaudt Elektroblock must be possible. However I don't know how this would be achieved as I used the Schaudt reg.
There was another post regarding this a few months back. It might be worth doing a search of the archives to see if he came up with an answer.
I have just connected up my solar panel & new LRS1214 regulator to my Schaudt Electroblock, but I need to switch the solar charging function on, via the control panel. i.e the "Read Solar Current" option to active
could you share the info that you obtained via Hymer/Schaudt" regarding :-"There's provision on the EBL for an input from the Schaudt Solar regulator but getting this input to register on the control panel took a bit of digging for information & the elusive PIN code" ?
hi, I have just bought an Alden panel from Outdoorbits which comes with a regulator, is it possible to connect this to the Electroblok unit on the Hymer or do I need to buy another regulator from Schauldt.
thanks curlyboy
how much do you think the install cost you in total? Also I assume that when my hymer is instorage the solar panels would keep the batteries topped up saving me removing the batteries?
hi, I have just bought an Alden panel from Outdoorbits which comes with a regulator, is it possible to connect this to the Electroblok unit on the Hymer or do I need to buy another regulator from Schauldt.
thanks curlyboy
The LR 1218 can manage between 15A up t 18A. The problem is in the combination with the EBL 220 you are restricted through the 15A at the solar-input!
DO NOT Increase the Amerpage of the fuse. To check if another solar-panel is possible, add the current of all panels together. The max. current must stay inside 14A, short circuit current max. 15A.
To add further solar-panels, you can use a second solar-charger (this can be any brand) and connect this one on the additional charger entry on the EBL 220. (The 2pole connector.)
This connector is normally for an additional charger for the mains, but it is okay to connect a solar-charger to this.
I have just spotted your great post on your solar instalation and was just wondering if you or anyother memeber on here might be able to answer a quick question.
I have just purchased a CBE 120 Solar kit and was wondering if the control panel and electroblock unit would accept a feed from this system or am I better to just run everything into the domestic batteries?
Nice! i fancy doing it similar myself, but maybe with the junction box outside on the roof, so it's easier to add further panels, just finding a totally waterproof box isn't easy.
don't suppose you remember what sort of cable you used, where you got it from?
I have been looking at the information "Davesport" listed on this topic, which I am very interested in as I am looking to install a solar panel to my Hymer, however some of the information is unavailable.
Does anyone have any information to help me with my task?
I have been looking at the information "Davesport" listed on this topic, which I am very interested in as I am looking to install a solar panel to my Hymer, however some of the information is unavailable.
Does anyone have any information to help me with my task?
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