The sequel to Solar Secrets, how we made our tilting solar panels - Part 12 of our van build

You will know from our first video on solar panels that you will get far more power from them if you tilt them. But how do you build a tilting solar array, and how do you handle drag? This video explains how we made our panels tilt.
Watch the first one here if you missed it; • The secret to getting ...
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#sprintercamper #vanlife #campervan #solar #solarsystem #solarbattery #solarefficiency #efficient #camperelectrics #vansolar

[@user-lx3mk4bl4v]

Thia is the most comprehensive KZbin video on building tilting solar panels. So many great points! Thanks! 😁

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks very much, that’s very kind. They worked great on our recent trip to the Arctic where we were getting 3 times the charge with them tilted than flat on the roof.

[@stevenlowrey6617]

Best linear actuator solar panal tilt video I have ever seen.

[@diamondsontour]

Thank you for watching and your comment. Hope it helps you. Ben

[@technotic_us]

I love the drag humor, especially in 2023 when people are attacked for making good jokes like this. Also, thank you dor explaining the geometry for the actuator. This is exactly qhat ive been trying to find, i wasnt thinking about the problem the right way, but now it makes sense. Now i know what i need to mount it and can calculate the right length. After about 10 videos, you actually explained the tilt. Thanks so much❤

[@diamondsontour]

Hi, thanks very much for your kind comments. We try to make a fairly dry subject a little entertaining, glad you appreciated it! Ben & Sarah.

[@Tom111060]

This in one reasonable in depth How-To for a tilting mechanism - should be standard watching this before anything else ... (Very pro editing and presentation as well ... underrated channel ! - thank you.)

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks for the kind comments, we really appreciate it.

[@AlexBayes]

Shout out for that clever cut at the start of the video to a static image of your van!

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks. It was quite a bit of work and I don’t think many people have appreciated how tricky it was to do. I really appreciate you noticing and commenting. Thanks for watching. Ben.

[@chrisluehmann3094]

Yeah that was well done!

[@diamondsontour]

@@chrisluehmann3094Thanks!

[@kalef1234]

So well made!

[@diamondsontour]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. Stick around. The videos get even better. Sarah

[@veselkadogcoats692]

Excellent guide

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks for watching, we really appreciate your time.

[@AleMagalhaes]

Great video, very cleer edition, very useful and precise information. Good humour an very clear speech as well. I'm brazilian and didn't even bother to turn subtitles on.

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks very much for your kind comments and for watching.

[@spammebabe]

Wow, that's a very pro installation, filming and presenting. Very useful and informative congratulations! I had to comeback and edit my comment to additionally complement on unique use of ball joint and introducing a Swiss theory. Thanks! :)

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks for watching, and we appreciate your comments. Lots more videos on the chance if you’re interested.

[@gisellew8748]

What a cracking video Ben! Thank you! It's just packed full of easy to follow instructions and I've already referred it to two amateur pals setting out on a similar exercise to you.

[@diamondsontour]

That’s great to hear, thanks for your kind comments.

[@boxster1970]

Thanks for another excellent video. Loved the 'drag" humor!

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks. It can be a dry subject so a little laugh helps.

[@fredod1620]

Great video!!!

[@bdiamond999]

Thanks for watching!

[@diamondsontour]

Glad you liked it!

[@joeblow1942]

12:44 Explanation for where to place actuator starts here. Raises panels to 50 degrees. 22:04 Simple sign that goes on steering wheel warns you to lower the panels before driving. Description has links to stuff used.

[@francisdebriey3609]

I am building my tilting 5x200w = 1000w PV for my ford transit L4H3. Thanks for this very good video !

[@diamondsontour]

Glad you liked it, thanks for watching.

[@functionalvanconversion4284]

Nice job! Thanks for the valuable information 👍

[@diamondsontour]

Glad it helped and thanks for watching.

[@clivetucker176]

Great video. 👍

[@diamondsontour]

Thanks, we really appreciate you watching and commenting.

[@kamranharandy3738]

Hi Ben, such an informative and well constructed video. Can I ask how the linear actuators you got from Amazon are holding up after the months/years of use? Any issues, corrosion or need for replacement? Thank you

[@diamondsontour]

Hi, thanks for watching and your kind comments. They’re holding up very well, no problems so far, touch wood. We’ve done about 15000 miles since fitting them from 40 degrees C in Spain to -23C in Norway so I reckon we’ve given them a thorough test. Ben.

[@kamranharandy3738]

@@diamondsontour thank you. That’s really reassuring - I’m hoping to get two to fit to my self built roof top tent instead of my current gas strut set up!

[@chipmeister111]

This was informative so thank you. You've got a good setup with a lot of thought gone into it all. I've always wondered what would happen if the system failed while the panels were tilted. Is there a way to manually bring them down without electricity? Also, you use the actuators to lock the panels down, so if they weren't working, would there be a way to secure them down? Another question if it's ok. How did you begin the process of a starting point of what size actuators to start with? Were you able to get all of your measurements and then decide that you need an actuator of X length with Y stroke. Thanks again for the video and your time.

[@diamondsontour]

Hi, thanks for watching. They’re great questions. If the actuators failed completely while raised, I can just pull the pins out where they fix to the panel and lower the panels manually. I would then hold them down with a ratchet strap. Not a very sophisticated solution but it would get me out of trouble. At the start, I mocked up the roof rack and the frame that holds the panels, lifted them up and measured the sizes. I did have a failed attempt when the first actuators I bought turned out to be the wrong size but I was able to change them to size that worked. Thanks again for watching. Ben & Sarah.

[@chipmeister111]

@@diamondsontour i appreciate the response, I'm going to be building a rack for my panels as well and it's the the question that continues to come up in my head so I'm going to consider creating a pin setup to lock the lift down if the actuators ever need to be unpinned in an emergency. Maybe even a cradle to place the actuators in under the panel as well so they won't have to necessarily be unwired, disassembled and taken off the roof if this were an emergency and i had to relocate before fixing them. Thanks again and I'll be checking out your channel.

[@diamondsontour]

@@chipmeister111 Hi, yes that would work. Having said that, the actuators have been reliable. You might find you do a lot of work to cater for failures that don't happen.

[@thomasvanlanen6279]

Hi Ben, excellent video,thanks! Wanted to ask if you could find the dimensions of the actuators you have used? the Amazon link in the description isn’t working for me, greetings Thomas

[@diamondsontour]

Hi, thanks very much for watching. I'm sorry the link to the actuators wasn't working. I have updated it now so it should work. Bear in mind this size worked for me but check that your set up will work with that range of movement before you purchase actuators. This link isn't to the exact ones I used as they're not available now but these should do the job. Mine are 500mm.

[@thomasvanlanen6279]

@@diamondsontour yes I’ll measure everything out before purchasing, thanks for the help !

[@joeblow1942]

Good video. Thank you! Questions, please…. 1) 21:06 Did you install the manual switch inside the van or outside? 2) If the manual switch is installed inside, is it possible to break the actuators because you kept trying to lower the panels AFTER they had already been lowered as far as they are supposed to go? 3) Did you ever consider a system that would tilt the panels from the right and left sides, or even all four sides? Thank you!🤙🏼

[@diamondsontour]

Hi, thanks for watching, great questions. 1) the manual switch is inside, near the fuses in the garage area. An outside switch would have needed to be waterproof with little to be gained by putting it outside. To reach the switch you need the back doors to be open so you can see the panels even though the switch is inside. 2) the actuators fully closed position is only about 10mm beyond the closed position of the panels. So, if you just keep on closing them after the panels are down, the panels and their mounting frame would bend rather than the actuators being damaged. In practice, the actuators slow down when they’re under that sort of serious strain and it’s clear from the sound that they make that it’s time to stop them. As they are fully closed soon after starting to bend the panels, the actuators reach their limit stops and cut out before any damage is caused, although I wouldn’t want to put the panels under that much strain so I always stop it before it gets that far. 3) I didn’t consider multiply tilts, really just because of the additional weight that would put on the roof of the van. I’ll also be putting air conditioning up there in the next few months so there’s already a lot of weight up there that I want to minimise. The ultimate solution would be a single tilt on a rotating base so that it can follow the sun all day. That could even by controlled automatically using data on the sun’s position, but that would be a serious undertaking and the return on that investment wouldn’t be worth it for me. Just parking with the panels as close to south as possible gives a good improvement on the panels’ output on average throughout the day. Hope that helps, and thanks again for watching. Ben.

[@joeblow1942]

@@diamondsontour Thank you for taking the time to so thoroughly answer my questions! I really appreciate it.

[@max5183]

Very nice video! Seeing that you still answer questions round here: Have you considered locking the solar panels in place when they are down? Automatically would introduce a lot of weight, but maybe just with a small thumb screw or similar? Because i am located in germany and i dont know, how strict our TÜV (MOT Test) will be with this. Cause i suppose it is allowed bc stuff like a maxxfan is too, but maybe i am better off putting on some kind of locking mechanism. Even for my own safety. I wont drive more than 100kph, but technically i am allowed to drive as fast as my van will go^^

[@diamondsontour]

Hi, always happy to help with questions. I made it so that when the panels are down, the actuator is not fully retracted. I can then operate the actuators for a little longer to pull the panels firmly down onto their supports. They are held down very firmly and as the design of the actuators means they can’t move without being powered, the panels are effectively locked down. We rarely drive over 100kph but have occasionally gone up to 120 with no problems at all, apart from the amount of fuel you burn at that speed. Hope that helps, Ben.

[@veselkadogcoats692]

By the way the link to the actuator arms does not work :) I would like to buy these but would prefer to use your links after such an excellent guide.

[@diamondsontour]

Hi, thanks for watching. I'm sorry the link to the actuators wasn't working. I have updated it now so it should work. Bear in mind this size worked for me but check that your set up will work with that range of movement before you purchase actuators. This link isn't to the exact ones I used as they're not available now but these should do the job.

[@ZillaYT]

But what if you needed to tilt them the other way, but the view is on your passenger side?

[@diamondsontour]

Well I guess we would get our chairs out and sit outside to admire the view. If we’re using solar, then the sun would be out and it would be nice to sit outside. Thanks for watching.

[@kayraakin5759]

arabanızı anlattınız sanırım arabanız çok güzel ama ben araba kullanmayıda bilmem arabadanda anlamam siz eşiniz beceriklisiniz türkiyemizede gelin misafir olun türkiyeden sevgiler selamlar😀

[@diamondsontour]

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