Specifications for the Sun Flare PV panel

CatDaddy
CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
in Battery/Electrical & Solar
Does anyone have detailed information regarding the Sun Flare solar panels used on the Boondock versions of the Tab series? I specifically interested in the panel used on the 2022 320S Boondock. I can’t even find the power or open-circuit voltage ratings for it. 

I’m asking because the previous owner of my 2022 320S just wired a Harbor Freight mono-crystalline panel in parallel with the Sun Flare panel. I’m surprised that it seems to work, after a fashion. I highly doubt it’s optimal. 
Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD

Comments

  • skibug
    skibug Member Posts: 11
    I know you asked for 320 S but this is the spec sheet for what we have on our 2023 320 CSS. 
  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    Well, that's interesting! Now I'm wondering if the panel on my 2022 320S BD is Sun Flare or Xantrex!
    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD
  • rfuss928
    rfuss928 Member Posts: 1,181
    This is the spec sheet for the Sunflare 162 watt solar panel added to our UT by NuCamp Service Center in Aug 23

  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    rfuss928 said:
    This is the spec sheet for the Sunflare 162 watt solar panel added to our UT by NuCamp Service Center in Aug 23

    Thanks! That's very helpful! I will attempt to see if the dimensions shown match my panel.

    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD
  • pthomas745
    pthomas745 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 4,593
    The question about Xantrex panels came up a couple of years ago.  It may have been a very short term solution.

    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    That's helpful as well.  My panel does not have grommets so it's probably a Sunflare panel.
    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD
  • rfuss928
    rfuss928 Member Posts: 1,181
    This is a link to pretty complete specs on a Sunflare Flex35 105 watt panel.
    https://shop.waypointvehicles.com/products/sunflare-xplor-105w-weekend-panel?srsltid=AfmBOoouMGP0TSTtCtqXq3zY7jHceaMFPKTCDG1PcCXqGy9Y-B-kaSJ1

  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    In any case, putting either panel in parallel with the Harbor Freight 100W Thunderbolt panel seems like a poor idea. Harbor Freight says the voltage is 18V.  Don't know if that's the open-circuit voltage or the maximum power voltage, but either way, it's not 25-32V of the Sunflare panel.  I'm really surprised that adding the HF panel helped at all. 
    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD
  • ckjs
    ckjs Member Posts: 137
    If the low voltage panel is in the sun (e.g., as with the Harbor Freight one in a portable frame) while the Sunflare is shaded on the roof, the HF panel could help some. If both are in equivalent sun then the lower voltage panel probably doesn’t help at all. 
    Charles & Judy, Santa Cruz, CA
    2018 T@B 320 CS-S; Alde 3020; 4 cyl 2020 Subaru Outback Onyx XT
  • Horigan
    Horigan Member Posts: 880
    You may want to consider putting the panels in series, assuming your controller can handle the voltage.
    Rich
    2019 T@b 400
    2025 Toyota Highlander 2.4L Turbo
    Bellingham WA
  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    Horigan said:
    You may want to consider putting the panels in series, assuming your controller can handle the voltage.
    Putting panels in series without their own MPPT hardware results in the string current being the same for both modules, which is almost never optimal. It does solve the problem of two chargers fighting each other over what state the battery is in and therefore what state the charging should be in.

    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD
  • Horigan
    Horigan Member Posts: 880
    I was thinking both in series through a single controller, assuming that's possible with the HF panel.  However, that wouldn't be practical with the HF panel being portable.
    Rich
    2019 T@b 400
    2025 Toyota Highlander 2.4L Turbo
    Bellingham WA
  • ckjs
    ckjs Member Posts: 137
    CatDaddy said:
    Horigan said:
    You may want to consider putting the panels in series, assuming your controller can handle the voltage.
    Putting panels in series without their own MPPT hardware results in the string current being the same for both modules, which is almost never optimal. It does solve the problem of two chargers fighting each other over what state the battery is in and therefore what state the charging should be in.

    Two MPPT chargers in parallel don’t “fight each other”; it’s more like they cooperate as best they can. If they have different charging schemes, then one is likely to read the voltage provided by the other as a sign to stop charging, and subsequently it will go idle. 
    It would “waste” some solar energy, but that isn’t going to be a big deal. 

    Mixing different PWM chargers, or an MPPT and a PWM, would probably also be “wasteful”.
    Charles & Judy, Santa Cruz, CA
    2018 T@B 320 CS-S; Alde 3020; 4 cyl 2020 Subaru Outback Onyx XT
  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    ckjs said:
    Two MPPT chargers in parallel don’t “fight each other”; it’s more like they cooperate as best they can. If they have different charging schemes, then one is likely to read the voltage provided by the other as a sign to stop charging, and subsequently it will go idle. 
    It would “waste” some solar energy, but that isn’t going to be a big deal. 

    Mixing different PWM chargers, or an MPPT and a PWM, would probably also be “wasteful”.
    Actually, they do fight each other. I'm an electrical engineer that designed charging systems. For that reason, Victron has a feature that uses the VE Direct wireless Modbus interface to allow Victron devices to synchronize themselves to cooperate instead of fight. 

    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD
  • ckjs
    ckjs Member Posts: 137
    CatDaddy said:
    Actually, they [chargers] do fight each other…

    Ooh, thanks for the correction. Could you point me to a description of the interaction? I did some EE when I worked, and still am curious about just about anything.
    Charles & Judy, Santa Cruz, CA
    2018 T@B 320 CS-S; Alde 3020; 4 cyl 2020 Subaru Outback Onyx XT
  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    I will look for something better but here’s some information: Victron VE.Direct synchronization allows multiple solar charge controllers to communicate and coordinate their charging stages, ensuring they share the load effectively. This setup helps prevent weaker chargers from dropping to float mode too early, optimizing the overall charging process.
    https://duckduckgo.com/?q=victron+VE+direct+synchronization&t=iphone&ia=web&assist=true
    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD
  • CatDaddy
    CatDaddy Member Posts: 130
    ckjs said:
    CatDaddy said:
    Actually, they [chargers] do fight each other…

    Ooh, thanks for the correction. Could you point me to a description of the interaction? I did some EE when I worked, and still am curious about just about anything.
    Here's a slightly better description of why synchronization is needed. I'm not even convinced that the WFCO and the factory Victron 75/10 MPPT Controller get along well together, but I suppose that when one is using the solar array, the WFCO isn't typically connected to shore power at the same time: 



    Adventure Cats living in the Pacific NW USA
    2022 NuCamp T@B 320S Boondock
    2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD

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