Date:         Tue, 19 Nov 2002 08:07:10 -0700
Reply-To:     Jeff K <kennedy@THERIVER.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeff K <kennedy@THERIVER.COM>
Subject:      Re: Solar Panels - from where?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I iknow people who've had good experience with AZ wind and Sun (my boss
bought 20 k worth for his house), personally I've had good experience with
Southwest PV, in TX, but I'm not sure if they do retail sales. We buy 'em by
the boatload for use in electronic recording raingages. Real Goods has a
good selection, but you pay a premium price. Ideally, I think the best for
the van, at least a permanent installation on the roof, would be the thin,
rollable panels - just mount them with sheet metal screws, and they'd be
practically invisible to anyone under 7' tall, at least with the roof down.

Does anyone have any bright ideas for mounts for traditional panels (I.e.,
the ones that are thick enough to clear the junction box)? The 60 watt panel
i'd like is almost 2 inches thick, and I'd like to have a way to mount it on
the roof yet still remove it to get it in the sun, if need be. I'm thinking
some aluminum C-channel on each side it could slide into, with some way to
keep it in place.

Dave, did you end up drilling a hole in the roof to route the wire? In my
case I'd like to use a quick-disconnect for removing the panel to place it
on the ground, without running the wire out through the roof. How did you
route the wire down below the seat?

Jeff
 Bisbee, AZ

> So where are people buying their solar panels from?
> Courtney
>