BougeRV Solar Panel Review
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2022
- BougeRV sent a pair of their 180 watt 12 volt solar panels to me for review. Lets get them out of the box take a look and put them to the test.
BougeRV 180 Watt 12v Mono 5BB Solar Panel: amzn.to/3x56Qer
10% Off Discount Code: JAMESCONDON
Valid: June 15th through July 15 2022
BougeRV: www.bougerv.com/
BougeRV Solar Panel Products: www.bougerv.com/collections/s...
15a Fuse Holder: amzn.to/3aWxWfe
Solar Crimp Kit: amzn.to/3NOWbKC
20ft 10AWG Solar Extension Cable: amzn.to/3O7YiZW
Visit My Amazon Store:
www.amazon.com/shop/jamescondon
Your neighbors loved the sound level of these panels
OPEC doesn't. 😂
True..lol
An awesome surprise for a Monday morning. Loving the variety of your videos. Keep them coming.
There are tools to take the solar connectors apart. There is a series of thin tubular barrels that fit over the crimped end, they side down and squeeze the tabs closed so you can pull them back out, saves the outer fitting.
Hi, Mr. Condon. An interesting change of pace. Luckily the Amazon customer, in this case, was able to fix the problem. Thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
Thanks for the video James. I believe I've watched all of your videos to date and really enjoy the content. I play around with solar and batteries myself and it's a lot of fun making free energy. Practical as well, when you live in an apartment and can't run a generator during power outages.
I did notice you doing one thing that I was guilty of myself when I first started. The MC4 connectors are not designed to be connected/disconnected under load. Probably not an issue in this case because the power bank automatically ramped up the power very slowly. Just a "good practice" tip for the future :)
Cheers, Sev
Another great video! I was able to pickup some used solar panels 240w for only $44/panel. Santan in Savana Georgia and Gilbert AZ. RUclipsr Solar Power with Will Prowse turned me on to them when he reviewed some used $66 panels. He had recommended ordering a pallet full to save on shipping cost, but turned out I had one local. The $44 panels require some work to seal the backs (cracked vinyl warranty issues) but they otherwise still make the gogo juice. Because they're warranty units, no UL listing and thus no connecting them to the the grid, but great for the RV/camping applications.
You’re moving on up when companies start sending you free stuff 😂
Boy James, I don't think there's anyone else who comes close to your teaching and technical skills on the internet today, tremendous video!
I like bouge rv panels, I bought 4 180-watt panels and put them on my cargo trailer to add on to my 400 watts I already had. It powers my ac I put in the trailer. Until recently I had no problems running my ac all the time. Since it has got to be around 100 degrees my inverter did shut off due to battery voltage with in one day. I have to move the trailer to make full use of my 1100 watts of solar in order to find out if it will be able to keep up on really hot days. Out of the 760 watts that see sun most of the day I normally get around 300 to 500 watts. But they are not angled toward the sun, they are flat on the roof. If you want to get the most out of them, they need to be angled properly.
Yes dear, it helped me. I bought the same power station but wasn't sure of how many bouge rv panels to buy. I really only wanted 2 but not sure how they would perform. Now I know and its a go for me. Thanks!
Awesome video! I have no regrets with my solar panels on my rooftop, I see these portable panels getting better and better. Thanks.
It is the way to go. I love anything that makes power and generators are great, but at some point fuel supply will be an issue.
Thanks for the vid James, very informative. I'm a huge fan of solar and do many installs myself.
that was an excellent review with troubleshooting! it gives me an idea about the use of thses panels for my other projects - thanks for interesting setup. erik
Thank you for the video on solar panels. It is a great way to get a silent free way of getting free power. Great information on solor panels. Thanks James. ❤❤🇨🇦
As retired electrical contractor , I really enjoyed the video !
Another thing to remember is the angle the panel makes with the sun is pretty important too.
I have some large panels I plan on putting a couple on the RV and making a portable unit for where it is needed .. Nice setup James !
glad to see this video. gives me ideas. with prices of life these days. solar might be in the near future.
BougeRV is quality at the highest. Don’t you love the crimping/connection set in the zipper case? I built a 400W system one year ago over a weekend and have hardly ever used the generator since.
Now I run a BougeRV compressor cooler with it.
6.20.22 Great video. Good explanation on the male and female mc4 connectors. Good for beginners.
Great product and review James 🦘👍
A friend built his own travel trailer and fitted enough solar panels to allow recharge of batteries within only 4 hours of sunup.
He runs a 240VAC refrigerator via inverter overnight off the batteries.
He and his wife also enjoy a coffee machine, toaster and kettle..all no problem off grid...
He found an old Honda EX650 from the 1980's, followed your overhaul procedures.... and that is now carried as a backup...just in case.
Interesting as always, and for certain uses can be as good or better than a small generator of equal capacity..
That was great thanks again James
I have this as back. Nice video. Thanks
Really enjoyed that. Thanks.
Happy Daddy's Day and you might need to take the big block out for a run and try everything out in the primitives. GBWYall!
Nice review. Greetings from Jamaica.
Hi, James! It's Monday and just got around to watching this video. Hope you had a grand fathers day. I recently sold my Allegro motor home and was wondering if you ever got your levelers fixed? If not, will you? And, if you do, will you make a video of the fix?
Being in Arizona, I love to learn about solar power and power storage. It's a shame it's such a mystery to so many people, especially here. Thank you, Sir!
Check out Santan solar in Gilbert. I picked up some used, 240w, cracked back panels for $44. You apply a thin layer of silicone over the back to fill the cracks and keep them water tight. Can't use them connected to grid, but great for RV, camping or individual appliances (window ac, water heater, washer/dryer).
You have such a beautiful house!
10:00 I like how they're setup under a tree
Leads may have only one set of connectors fixed so that you can drill smaller holes in the wall to fix them through. The more weight on the roof the more the trailer will wobble Fixed panels benefit from careful placement to avoid shade.
Good video with good info. Thanks.
I have run across an issue where after a car wash I would notice charging current to my batteries would drop to an amount as if I only had 4 of 5 panels working. After troubleshooting I identified the panel. It would show just slightly low voltage when isolated. When connected in series with the other four panels it would drop out as system voltage indicated 4 panels. After things eventually dried under the Colorado sun the system would be back to five panels. I guess I lost my IP65 rating on that panel. So in my case just a voltage check did not indicate the bad panel.
By an amazing coincidence, I just finished adding 2 more panels to my setup an hour ago.
Another great video!
I used to have 600 watts on the roof my previous RV but I didn’t find them to be useful for keeping the house batteries sufficiently charged during normal use. You have to have ideal conditions daily for them to operate at their peak capacity. A small 2000 watt inverter generator was a much more dependable power source.
As always excellent content though.
Add more panels, that's what i did and now i am making more power than i can use. Greetings from Jamaica.
Thanks for this good video.
Very cool. The electronics nerd in me finds this fascinating and appealing, but I have no real use case for a small solar panel setup. I don’t own an RV or off grid cabin, and historically power outages have been rare and short where I live (who knows what the future will bring). I’ve given thought to getting a large battery bank like yours to replace an old UPS to keep networking gear up and running and to charge phones and a laptop. I would then recharge it when the power came back on. I do have a small Honda EU2200i inverter generator for our rare longer outages but don’t love dealing with smelly fuel, carbon monoxide, and risk of theft when leaving it outside. I also don’t have a good covered area to run it in bad weather. So a battery power station makes a lot of sense if the power just goes out for a day. I could also recharge the battery station from the generator if necessary.
My initial push was a 12 hour outage with cold and snow. A little over 4 years ago, I spent 30+ minutes in 30F and snow to get a cold generator started and running well. Since then, I've been putting together my "Wait until daylight" solar backup system. It can handle fridge, furnace, some LED lighting and charging phones for 8 to 20 hous depending on the season - running the furnace blower (460 watts) takes it to the 8 hour end, depending on how cold the day or night is. So far, I've used the unit for a number of short (under 4 hours) outages and one 12 hour outage (7 to 12 inches of snow in an area that rarely sees more than 3 inches tends to put people in the dark).
When used as "a big UPS", the system is fine with 200 watts of solar panels to keep it charged year round. If we had a multi-day outage, I'd be 1) adding more panels (1000 watts or so) and 2) running the 1600 watt inverter generator as needed to cool the freezer and recharge the battery bank. Nice to have the initial backup inside the house and just a few steps away - MUCH better than shoveling 7 inches of snow in the dark at 30F to get a cold generator out of the shed and try to get that cold gen started...
nice video. i enjoyed it very much.
Great video.
I would like to see how the inexpensive PVC pipe support was connected to the panels !
That was the cheaper and less efficient aluminum wire that you put the connectors on. you can also get the cable in cooper. That's what I do. Also, since these wires typically are always run in pairs, you can add some shrink tubing every so often, maybe every 18", so you can make a connected pair.
So Amazon description says the cable is copper. Perhaps the outside sires are tinned, so that threw me off. Some are not copper, so not as good.
Just garbage pushing. Alloy is prettty much exactly the same as copperand I reckon its copper tinned anyway . Its silicon insulation so rated much higher.
Nice panels. Please refer to the Anderson Powerpole connectors by their full name. I have made extensive use of these in my amateur radio power distribution setup...
I was hoping they'll send you at least 8 of them to put on top of your RV and make other RV owners jealous.
I really want to invest on panels but for power storage is very espensive.
Thanks for the video. I enjoyed the troubleshooting of the bad connector. I noticed that you used PVC pipe for the stands. I have the same arrangement on my "portable panels". How did you attach the pipe to the panels?
The pipe is not attached, just using the frame of the panel to hole it in place.
Nice !!!
Another great video! We’re you ever able to repair the hydraulic levelers on your rv?
It has had chronic problems since new. I decided to remove the system rather then making another repair to it.
@@jcondon1 I agree that the yellow blocks are much more trouble free.
nice job sir
I have a single 370 watt solar panel on my mobility scooter, along with a PWM regulator to keep my mobility scooter batteries charged. Voltage is 32vdc, & output is 15 amps. This set up works very well, & I can charge my mobile phones from it.
cool video!
Watch out for that inline tester. Mine worked all right for a while.... Then it roached out and started giving me bad readings.
I pulled its power under load and it was damaged
Very cool video James! Definitely enjoyed watching this one! My wife and I will never get panels on our roof, but having a portable setup like yours for tailgating to have creature comforts like lights, tablet/phone charging, even a blender for mixed drinks! :-)
Is the mount of the panel plastike and where to get it.
Nice presentation
James, I can assure you that you're not the first person to receive a DOA item of the electronics ilk from the good folks at amazon. I often wonder if they actually go out of their way to fulfill my orders with items from their "returned inoperable" stockpiles. Huh, the price of convenience can indeed be costly.
Hi James. The Adapter lead you bought from Amazon with the thinner insulation, did you buy the Amazon Basics version of the product, by any chance? This is usually the cheapest they sell. I know that they sell heavy duty cables that can handle 100s of amps, but they do not have the connections, unfortunately.
It was not the basics version. Here is the link to the one I purchased. a.co/d/hE0dGm2 No doubt there are better ones available.
WOW NICE
Even the slightest shadow on either panel will drop the output considerably. Something to remember.
Good point.
@@jcondon1 Well maybe not so much . Modern panels have diodes in the strings now that let a shaded string be bypassed
I have always wanted to go with Bougerv. The problem is I need six 200 watt panels and Bougerv only offers a 18 month manufacturers warranty, when their competitors offer a five year manufacturers warranty on top of a 25 year output. Makes me Leary if the panels will hold up past the 18 months, if I spend that much money.
Today is June 20th, the 2nd best day of the year for solar (with June 21st, the longest solar day of the year and the sun at maximum height being the best in the Northern Hemisphere) Presumably this video is no more than a week old. Doing this in late June represents the best you are ever going to get in your location. I think the ratings is probably would you would get at the equator at solar noon. I wish the solar industry was more honest about their panels.
Very true, this is the best time of year for solar power production. The winter months will limit the amount of power that can be generated.
@@jcondon1 I think they need to at least include charts saying what you could produce at your latitude.
Jim, no to change the subject but: I haven’t seen any duel fuel generators that you’ve worked on. Is there any special reason? Curious because I have one. It’s a Firman HO7553 I’d love to hear your thoughts on them. Thanks
I thought you might cut open the connectors to see how they failed. They passed the continuity test. Was it poor pin fitment?
I think it was just a pin fitment issue.
I suppose you oriented the panels pointing towards the equator, that is, towards the south of your country?
Yes
Is the cable aluminum or copper? It looks like aluminum to me, I bought the same cable.
Beautiful lawn, do you maintain it yourself?
I wish I could take credit for it.
Just a word of caution regarding the Anderson Power Poles... Sometimes the pre-made cables on Amazon are wired backwards. It's not a simple case of removing from it's packaging and simply plugging it in. There are still true to red-positive, black-negative but the orientation in the connector is reversed. If you aren't careful you could accidentally plug them in reversed, i.e red into the negative and black into positive. It's simple enough to slide the boot back and then slide the connectors apart then reverse them to your current configuration.
I'm only saying that because I've received some that are assembled one way then others that are reversed. Just verify before plugging them in.
Eric
You simply pulll the pin holding them together and change the around.
@@bigdaadio.K2WW My concern wasn't on how to re-align the connector. Mine was that one needs to be careful when you first get those imported connectors. The polarity alignment of the connector might be reversed to what you are currently using and if you aren't paying attention, you could plug it in reversed.
You mean putting the black into the red and vice versa?
@@bigdaadio.K2WW Yes, because there is no "standard" for which connector in on what side. The red wire will still be in the red connector but if you don't watch it, you'll end up plugging the red connector into the black connector and vice-versa. (I've seen it done before and that is why I wanted to give him a heads up and because they always come one way)
@@estruble Actually there _is_ a standard of sorts, at least among the radio amateur community. Thiis is to allow for interconnectoin of various bits of gear when you have a bunch of different folks all bringing their own stuff to a "field day" or other outing.
Happy Father's Day James. That was a very interesting video. On a scale of one to where ever what would you rate these panels at? I was big on solar about 30 years ago but my hopes of having a totally solar powered home have slowly faded.
I am trying to educate myself on solar. Do not have enough experience to compare these to others.
although 23% efficiency is about the best you can get from your average panel that's affordable i'll probably wait till they make them so the efficency is more up there. The concept is attractive but they just aren't there yet for any full time usable power source. As a supplement maybe but that's about it right now. I'm not going to let the hype and concept of the tech consume my better judgement on these at the moment. I look at this like i see the electric car market, same thing going on there as well.
Slightly off topic, but I once heard a couple of guys arguing like box full of bobcats over "which way up" the panels should go, one arguing that you arrange them like cells in a battery box, "one up, one down, one up, one down" in series. The other guy saying it doesn't matter, as long as you connect them positive to negative in series.
It was quite comical to hear two grown men bickering over what I would have thought was obvious.
Anyway, marrying up those panels with the power station makes good sense, and even if the output is quite limited, there's no denying that free electricity, is free electricity regardless of quantity.
@@smallbyrdz3823 Very true, and I guess it needs a certain amount of usage to recoup the initial costs - Then it's free! 🤦😸
The equipment is not cheap, but once setup you have an independent source of power that does not rely on a power grid or supply chain. You can do a lot with 300 watts especially when used to charge a lithium battery bank.
@@jcondon1 Again, very true, and many years ago our first generator was a little Honda E300 (300W). It was there mainly for camping holidays, but even in a power outage, as long as you have other ways to cook and heat water, 300 Watts of electric power is more than adequate to keep some lights on, radio, TV, PC and to keep phones charged, especially with the ultra low wattage devices we have today.
My rural, agricultural setting means we have a selection of generators, and most often used is the 30kW diesel set, but if it's late evening and all you need is a few lights, heating pump and a TV, then we go down to the baby gen. Solar setups like yours would likely be more than adequate these days, unless we need three phase, and industrial voltages.
I like the idea of independence, and in a time when energy costs are constantly rising, even more so.
@@jcondon1 and you can do it for a lot longer . It has not hit home yet to a large majority of battery users that Lead Acid is no longer the way to go. Lithium ,LFP ,LiFePo4 has an overwhelming advantage already and much more to come. LTO cells charge and discharge at 5C easily and are estimated to be capable of 40,000 cycles of daily charge/discharge. Yet the price of LFP is under a lot of L/A already.
Have you considered making a home charging station to maintain all ur batteries with the solar panels? Just curious
Definitely have considered. Would like to do that at some point.
@@jcondon1 will be waiting to see, ever since I found ur channel I've been binge watching every video in the last 2 weeks. Awesome content I really enjoy it.
I would love to know why did the Amazon jumper Ohm out good but did not conduct power?
the plug sockets must not have fit exactly
The pins between the cables were not connecting properly.
Can you keep the panels plugged in while you are using that power supply?
Of course
I should say so. The panels simply produce the electric power, they don't care what you do with it, as long as you remain within their rated output.
The only thing to bear in mind is that if you're using the power whilst charging your batteries, it will either, take longer to charge them, or, you won't get them fully charged.
You can charge and pull power out at the same time.
I must be missing something. How are you getting 45V out of 2 12v panels? Even if the panels can produce up to 18v, that would only produce 36 volts.
The open circuit voltage is 21.6 volts +- 5%. The panels were connect in series. 45 volts was on the high side of the open circuit voltage.
James... just a heads up. That first link to your Amazon page, with the 180 Watt panel options, all say, "CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE!"
Someone deleted our comments about the fuse. I don't understand why...
At the end of the day, solar just isn't there yet. Even the best and most costly panel, battery, inverter setups can't replace an inexpensive fuel powered generator. We are still years away from receiving inexpensive "free" power from the sun.
solder is a better connection, and then you don't need the gimmick tools.
and the inline fuse is a scam as well, there in not enough amps from solar to need a fuse.
Actually crimping is a better connection than soldering. And there are times when soldering is not okay to use, like in grounding for lightning protection for one example. One large induced current surge (never mind a direct hit) and your solder melts...
Solar panels are now less that $1 per watt; this is great but it's the batteries that are the BIG problem.
More like a billion yr fuel ⛽️ supply as earth will be inhabitable after that due to the expansion of the sun but 1 billion yrs is a good return 😀
Very true.
Why would you ever need a fuse on a solar panel?
They dont have a fault current, so the fuse is useless
If something back feeds the panels, say from the charge controller , it will protect the panels and stop a fire.
The only downside of the fuel supply is that it isn't constant.
True, but at least you'll NEVER EVER have to clean the Carb! LOL
Nor pull out the choke!
😜👍😁
Well I hope it is mate or we are both in trouble.
@@aprilsteel9466 I'm talking about the event that occurs for most of us every 12 hours and renders solar panels useless for 12 hours...
@@D2O2 But that happens constantly, and that's why we charge batteries to get through the darker parts of the day. Even without batteries, solar generation cuts your fuel and upkeep costs to generate power in half.
For most of the country, solar doesn't make sense. Here (desert southwest) solar panels will put out rated output. There is a new solar farm going in nearby.
Solar Always makes sense. It sits and works reliably for 20 plus years. A lot of the accompanying equipment needed lasts that long too.You are only fooling yourself mate!
Solar is being effectively used in the Pacific NW and in Canada. You will have reduced power levels but it's cost-effective in remote areas, not so much where grid access is easy. Solar is hugely better today than 20+ years ago in every way, but many people haven't updated their knowledge and still believe what is no longer true. Where you live it's almost crazy to not have some solar going given the ample sun exposure year-round.
Amazing not even broken in shipping like 2/3 of my bouge they look like that they might have improved packing.they replaced them now3 out of 12 are junk already .they burned through eva backing the others have water intrusion under glass they will die soon if. They get wet.so I have them under a 5 foot over hang.18 month warranty worst in business they suck I wouldn't waste my money on something that should last a minimum of 25 years
How long to charge an electric car😭
With two panels, a very very long time.
A BJD van charges overnight OK . about 10 hours @7 amps on a 240 volt output system, however if you are off grid then you charge your car during the day and keep the night for entertainment.
Everything solar varies by location and system. Check out DIY Solar with Will Prowse, he charges his Tesla's and a golf cart by solar in Vegas, and he breaks the figures down to how many miles he can get from one day's charging. Hint: It's more than most people drive daily.
That looked like lowly aluminum wire.
Hi James. Someone purporting to be you told me on YT that I'd won a chainsaw. They told me to go on Telegram, where I suspected that it wasn't you. I'm just making you aware.
I saw that yesterday. They were blocked from the channel and comments deleted.
@@jcondon1 Thank you James for confirming my suspicions. Unfortunately I did give them my home address which isn't a problem as I'm moving anyway.
It just goes to prove to be on your toes at all times.
Keep up the good work James :-)
Hi James, you need at least eight volts above your battery voltage to charge it mate, I think you need three panels. Bob UK. Well! that doesn't make sense, how are you charging a 48 volt battery with 33 volts?
The MPPT charge controller is able to step up the voltage in this power station. Not all controllers can do that.
Nope.
I don't believe for one second that these panels will last 30 years and probably not even 20. These are not 20 year old panels made in America. These are not made to the same physical standards. We have already 10 year old made-in-china panels failing. Failing even before 10 years. That is why they are so much cheaper. They don't just benefit from the yuan or the lack of regulations in china, or the scale of manufacturing today vs 20 years ago. They are also made MUCH more cheaply.
Some Chinese products are bad (usually the low-cost ones) but some are surprisingly good. I don't know which these are but to say all panels from China are bad simply isn't true, as many people have had very good experiences with the right products from there.
@@P_RO_ When you say there are panels from China that are really good, you are basing this on the short term. There are no 30 year old made-in-China panels that have withstood the test of time. We have, however in the last 10 years found a lot of made-in-China panels are degrading faster than the old American panels or just outright fail.
I just swapped out my 1987 Arco pv panels with these cheap junky panels and yes there are good and bad Chinese modules.i prefer Indian cells assembled in USA. Rich solar for small stuff
I get it but, I'm not here for commercials.
He is showing people how to do the hookup including what he used and where to get the parts. Maybe you should make your own videos.