Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

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22theman
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Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

I put some 5 watt solar panels on each of my Zapino's batteries. I also have hooked up a Watt's Up meter and voltometers for each of the 5 batteries.Just wanted to share the pics:

Danyel

22theman
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

picsIMG_4037b.jpgIMG_4038b.jpgIMG_4039b.jpg

reikiman
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

I hope you can angle those panels. For solar panels to work best they have to be directly facing the Sun. The way they are in the picture would only work on planets that have two Sun's.

djkees
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

That is GREAT! Do you leave these on while you are driving? If so, is there any issue with charging the batteries while you ride? I have always been curious about this. I would love to try something similar with an accordion folding array that can pack away while I'm riding. How about weight? What is the added weight of your system?

Soooo cool and inspiring. Thank you for the photos...very clean install!

Dan

22theman
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

I got the solar panels on clearance from Northern Tool for $15 each. I installed two sliding door bolts underneath the two 'wings' to jeep them up while charging and fold them while riding. The total added weight is about 30lbs.

weissp
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

Very cool upgrade. I was thinking about doing this also. But I recharge mine at night on off of my home 6 pack of trojan t 105 set that gets energy from my rooftop solar panels during the day. I have enough AMP hours in my system to fully recharge my scooter after about a 3/4 run down on batteries. I drain the Trojan garage set down to about 70% charge. Which is not too bad.

http://www.paulweiss.bz/solar%20electric/index.html

I like this portable idea. Obviously it is just a supplement since 25 watts would take about 2 weeks to recharge a half drained battery. I have 300 watts on the roof and it takes 2 days to charge my zapino back from a 17 mile trip. Cool concept though and I am sure you are adding a few mile range to your scooter on a sunny day! Way to go!

Paul

weissp
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

Very cool upgrade. I was thinking about doing this also. But I recharge mine at night on off of my home 6 pack of trojan t 105 set that gets energy from my rooftop solar panels during the day. I have enough AMP hours in my system to fully recharge my scooter after about a 3/4 run down on batteries. I drain the Trojan garage set down to about 70% charge. Which is not too bad.

http://www.paulweiss.bz/solar%20electric/index.html

I like this portable idea. Obviously it is just a supplement since 25 watts would take about 2 weeks to recharge a half drained battery. I have 300 watts on the roof and it takes 2 days to charge my zapino back from a 17 mile trip. Cool concept though and I am sure you are adding a few mile range to your scooter on a sunny day! Way to go!

Paul

colin9876
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

Brilliant. How much were those Watts up meters and do they drain the batteries much? guess u had to add a fair bit of cabling in the series too as to put those meters up front? - its all extra resistance thats what Im wondering.
Fab job mounting the panels.
I used some Flexi powerfilms (10w) on a bike, good & light but they are v expensive. However it was a only a 36v system so only needed 3

hdavis
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

That is really cool. How is it working? I also agree with a previous comment in order to maximize the energy you get from the solar panels you will need to have them angled at the sun directly. Also, you will need to make sure that the solar panels are not in the shade when parked. Where do you live? Solar peak hour is also something you want to look at. The more solar peak hours the more energy you will get with the panels. Good luck and thanks for sharing!

22theman
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Re: Solar Panel upgrade to Zapino

Actually I ended up taking them down. It was a fun experiment but the weight of the panels vs the benefit was just not worth it.

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