Comparing/rating solar brands

[Graniterich]

I bought the harbor freight 45 watt kit. It consists of three 15 large panels. Each panel should be capable of about an amp in full sun. The best I can get out of it is less than a half an amp. A twenty year old siemens that is a quarter of the size rated at six watts puts out a third of an amp. That is the one I end up using.

[Shadow Catcher]

felixx one option for charging is to use jumper cables between the TV and the tear battery.
For others consideration I inadvertently bought a 185W panel used from ebay. This was intended for a grid tie system and it is high voltage. This required a Morningstar MPPT Sunsaver controller. The practical aspect is that even in shade I get 34+ volts and usable current from sun up to sun down.

[booyah]

So figure if everything were left on, doing everything I'm drawing 4.03 amps an hour (48.36 watts because watts are watts no matter watt).
So if everything ran all day every day it would draw nearly 100 amps (1200 watts) in a 24 hour day.
Mind you that is totally unrealistic.

Now, in a much more realistic load lets say I charge one phone for an hour, one tablet for 4 hours, run the outside lights for about 1 hour a night, and the inside ones for about 4 and run the fan for 8 hours (sleep). Now we're talking about 17.8 amp draw. (213.6 watts).

I suppose you mean Amp-hours and Watt-hours?

A lot of guys get really sticky about the phrase Amp-hours and watt hours in solar situations due to the different discharge rates and affects out of lead acid batteries, but more or less, yes.

[Esteban]

The Grape Solar 160 watt panel I ordered arrived in good shape a few days ago. I'm now a big step closer to installing a solar panel to the roof of my teardrop. It should have plenty of capacity to charge up the teardrop's battery to run lights, ventilation, and a chest type fridge/freezer.

[DrewsBrews]

So figure if everything were left on, doing everything I'm drawing 4.03 amps an hour (48.36 watts because watts are watts no matter watt).
So if everything ran all day every day it would draw nearly 100 amps (1200 watts) in a 24 hour day.
Mind you that is totally unrealistic.

Now, in a much more realistic load lets say I charge one phone for an hour, one tablet for 4 hours, run the outside lights for about 1 hour a night, and the inside ones for about 4 and run the fan for 8 hours (sleep). Now we're talking about 17.8 amp draw. (213.6 watts).

I suppose you mean Amp-hours and Watt-hours?

A lot of guys get really sticky about the phrase Amp-hours and watt hours in solar situations due to the different discharge rates and affects out of lead acid batteries, but more or less, yes.

Sounds like folks look at it the wrong way then.. Battery capacity will always be a moving target.

Watt-hours is an actual amount of energy, it doesn't change if it's colder out or if you are drawing it at a faster rate but over less time. It can be directly converted to joules, BTUs, Calories, ect. IMO that would be a good reference point to use.

[pete49]

My tear is 12v power only and not hooked up to the TV as I don't see the need. I have a 120 watt foldup panel via eBay with built in controller which does the job and gets carried in the TV. All my lights are led and in the kitchen I have a 3foot strip of led lights. We charge our phones and wireless dongle and my wife uses a cpap machine with a inverter and have never run out of power, the battery is usually fully charged by lunchtime. We, like felixx, use the unpowered site in van parks or campsites because they are cheaper and quieter with no gen sets running.