Solar panels

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Could someone confirm something for me please?

I have an electric coolbox with this stat:

Wattage is 42W. Draw in amps is approximately 3.5A from a 12V supply

I'm looking at getting a set of folding solar panels to take camping, rated at 100W. I'll also have a 115Ah leisure battery.

I'd like to run the coolbox for 4-5 days.

Is this the right setup to do it? I notice that the solar charge controller has a 12v load side - is it able to draw power from the battery to supply that, so if I connect the coolbox to the load side of the controller it'll use solar or battery power automatically as required?

TIA

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OK, so I need to bin the crocodile clips off the panel -> battery connector and wire it into some proper post terminals, and then connect the 12v socket to the battery too and plug the cool box into that?

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bristolracer said:

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpand...

My 120w panel runs our 42w fridge fine. It is a compressor type though so will use less than an electric coolbox type.

Thanks.

I took a 110Ah standard car battery last year, and that ran the cool box for 2.5 days with no solar assistance. Despite the helpful guesses above, I suspect that with solar panels it should top it up enough to get another couple of days out of it.

I'm surprised no-one has direct experience of it TBH.

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According to the email I just received, the solar panels should be waiting for me at home later today. Need to swing by and collect a leisure battery, then I shall rig it all up and do some testing. My aim is to have the cool box running from the solar panels during the day (and also them charging the battery) and then run it off the battery overnight, assuming the ambient temp is warm enough to need it.

I shall report back in due course...

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Thanks for the advice, but at the moment I don't really want to spend that much on a cool box / fridge, for two reasons: firstly, the one I have does a perfectly good job, I just need to finesse the power situation. I'll have a generator as backup this year in case the leisure battery / solar panels aren't the answer, but I'm hoping they are. Secondly, I'm still plotting a better, more permanent solution to camping so until that's sorted I don't want to commit money to something that may not be transferrable.

Panels were here when I got home and look decent enough. Will update once I've done some proper testing.

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Thanks Mark. It transpires that the controller on the panels is duff, so will need to be replaced.

O/T - random one - were you in the Boxster at Silverstone a couple of weekends ago? I was with the white E36 M3 parked behind you if you were!