Zamp 120W or 160W?

Finn12

 I have a T@B CS-S Max with a single Group 24 12V battery.  I'm in the market for a solar panel and am leaning toward the Zamp panels.  In one of the marketing pages, they recommended the 120w as "Best" for a single group 24 battery.  Is there any reason a 160W panel wouldn't work?  
New to this solar charging arena and I don't know if I am missing some important detail.  Want reassurance before I plunk down the money.
Any advice is welcome.

Nomad

Anything will work - 120, 160, 200 - The Zamps are plug and play. I have the std. Group24 and a Zamp-120. I'm full-time and live off solar the vast majorty of the time. I've helped people with their 200s and wouldn't want to haul those heavy buggers out everywhere I camped. Look at the weight and decide what you want to deal with as you camp.

Verna

I love my 200 watt Zamp, even though it does weigh 49 lbs. I've gotten used to the weight. I do have two 6-volt golf cart batteries to store the solar power. 

I decided I wanted to buy a suitcase once for the next dozen years or so, so I bought the largest suitcase that was available. 

Finn12

Thank you PXLated.  Definitely don't want to haul around the 200W.  The 160 is only a pound or two heavier than the 120 so I thought that might be worth the higher rate.

Nomad

If the 160 weight sounds manageable, go for it
Sorry Verna, not into weight lifting every day - The 120s would handle the 2 sixes I believe, just take longer :-)

Nomad

There is one difference between Verna and me - she tends to stay put for longer periods of time. I do at times but also do a lot of one nighters when I'm out on photo shoots. If I didn't have to deal with the 200s but once every two weeks it might make a difference...Naw, it wouldn't but I might consider the 160s :-)

jkjenn

Finn12 said:

Thank you PXLated.  Definitely don't want to haul around the 200W.  The 160 is only a pound or two heavier than the 120 so I thought that might be worth the higher rate.

Start by figuring out how much power you will consume and then go from there. It sounds overwhelming, but it is difficult to do more than guess if you don't get a handle on your consumption. I made a spreadsheet to help, that lists the consumption of some of the common items that draw power on the T@b. You can estimate how much you might use it and then you will have a better idea.

https://1drv.ms/x/s!Ap2jOFwlywQSmI8nuMjdpjt600eynA

You might have a hard time knowing how you will camp until you have been out a few times. Also, you aren't stuck with a panel if it is too much or too little - just sell it and get what you need!

Cyclonic

Nice research and spreadsheet Jenn.  I do like my spreadsheets

I also agree, don't make the investment until you really know how you are camping.  Are you staying put for a period of time in the boonies, or moving along regularly (where your TV would do the recharge duty)?

Nomad

But consumption has more to do with what size battery you need. Solar will charge whatever batteries you have (slower or faster). Even if I had dual 6 volts (so lots of capacity) I personally would not go to bigger/heavier panels.

gooselady

Someday, I would like to go with the 2 6V batteries, but like my 120W suitcase.  Every camper is different.

ScottG

Finn12, I felt just like you when I first got the T@B. All I knew was I'd be camping without hookups most of the time, so I needed to do something. Exactly what that was, however, wasn't clear--as others have emphasized, every situation is different. (Case-in-point; I learned a lot about solar from both PXL and jkjenn, and they come at it from opposite ends of the spectrum!)

Ultimately I decided to learn for myself in the most economical manner possible. I started with a relatively cheap and compact 100W suitcase and--since I'd toasted the original anyway--upgraded to a group 27 battery. So far so good. This year I'll probably extend the leads on the suitcase so they can catch a few more rays on shady sites. Baby steps, ya know.  :-)

Nomad

ScottG - Added the extension cable towards the end of my first year - easy thing to make. Lots more flexibiliy. Which brings up another point. For best solar, you reposition your panels 2-3 times a day. Larger/heavier panels make that a little bit more of a hassle. If there's one thing I would change/add it would be going to a Group-27 like you. Not a pressing need but would get me a little amp/hr margin.
Yep, Jenn and I are on opposite ends - wonder how I manage some days :-)

ericnliz

I have the same set-up as ScottG, only with 15' extender cables. Still have the Group 24 original battery, and has worked fine so far. Agree with PXL about having to move the panels to maximize the effectiveness, but easy to do with the lighter panels. When I get to the point of having to replace the battery, I'm leaning towards 2 six volt golf cart batteries to replace the original with. I'm thinking considerably more amp hours that direction.

jkjenn

PXLated said:

But consumption has more to do with what size battery you need. Solar will charge whatever batteries you have (slower or faster). Even if I had dual 6 volts (so lots of capacity) I personally would not go to bigger/heavier panels.

But...having an idea of battery use can tell you if you need to recharge from half a battery or 75%. If you really don't use power beyond the little used for the L.P. fridge, for exampke, and are mostly looking at weekend camping, you might not need a panel, at all or if you realize that you only need to too off from 85%,  you can get by with a 100w panel.

driftless

I have the zamp 120 and it meets all our needs.  I have found the Renogy is coming out with a 200w panel.
https://www.renogy.com/renogy-200-watt-eclipse-monocrystalline-solar-suitcase-pre-order/

Nomad

At midnight, I'm usually sitting at 12.2 - remember, I don't have the media package, my media consumption is thru my Mac and iPad - on a good solar day like today, I'm already (by 10:30am) into float mode. In another hour I'll be charging all my devices thru my inverter. Everything will be fully charged by 1:00. With solar like this, I can also keep the Mac charged while I photo edit all day so it's good to go till bed time. That's with a Group-24 and 120w solar and using a 500w inverter.

jkjenn

PXLated said:

At midnight, I'm usually sitting at 12.2 - remember, I don't have the media package, my media consumption is thru my Mac and iPad - on a good solar day like today, I'm already (by 10:30am) into float mode. In another hour I'll be charging all my devices thru my inverter. Everything will be fully charged by 1:00. With solar like this, I can also keep the Mac charged while I photo edit all day so it's good to go till bed time. That's with a Group-24 and 120w solar and using a 500w inverter.

You wouldn't be in float that early in W PA, today. Sun angle and latitude also factor into the equation.

Nomad

Jenn - Nope - Not home in MN either :-)
Here at noon and all devices are now charged also - Mac from 20% to full. Can turn the inverter off.

Finn12

Thank you everyone for the insight!  My boyfriend has a Tesla and has a penchant for wanting a faster recharge.  Since we can handle the weight of the 160W, I think we'll go with that.  Hard to know about usage.  Plan to remove 2 way refrigerator (too small) and use our Yeti cooler instead.  The 160W might be overkill but will serve as an entertaining gadget for the boyfriend who loves renewable energy.