Can a Solo2 run from a12v caravan battery?

[sandiego69]

As the title says I want to, if possible, run the box from a 12v battery but I am not sure if this is possible. I was told that the mains adapter does this but I would like confirmation before I blow it up!

[Larry-G]

yes, the external power supply unit outputs 12v @ 3.5 amps so yeah you should be fine running off a 12v car battery.

[Rob van der Does]

I just returned from a 5 weeks trip using the Solo2 on my caravan battery (very handy, such a small and powerful STB).

[sandiego69]

Brilliant. All I need now is a windmill and charging system........

[Rob van der Does]

I have a solar panel on the roof of the caravan.

[sandiego69]

I have a solar panel on the roof of the caravan.

Could you give me some idea of cost of such an installaion. I am looking for a system that will run the Solo2 for a few hours and occasionally I have a radio scanner (12v) that I want to use.

[pooface]

Could you give me some idea of cost of such an installaion. I am looking for a system that will run the Solo2 for a few hours and occasionally I have a radio scanner (12v) that I want to use.

I dunno so much about caravan solar, but a single solar panel (250w) will cost you approx £175. You would then need an inverter to convert the dc to ac, and then wire this to run the caravan/charge the battery...

A single panel is approx 1.8m x 1.2m iirc.

So, depends how much you want to generate (in peak, a 250w panel will create approx 0.3kw/h). So, I would say fitting yourself would be around £500-£600. But that's a guestimate, and could be more or less...

[Rob van der Does]

250W is far to big and heavy for a (normal) caravan. If I remember well my panel is 60W or 80W (peak), which is more then enough for normal caravan household (light/waterpump/radio-TV-STB). Take care the fixation allows for a fine streamline; fixation is normally glued to the roof.
I can't remember the price, but obviously a good quality converter (DC - DC) and battery (if you don't already have one) are pricey.

[Larry-G]

you can have a look here, but there not cheap by any means.


http://www.maplin.co.uk/productsearch?criteria=solar+panel