Driving across Africa is now politically impossible. Our 1960 such two-way expedition across all Africa was the very last known. We started in mid 1959 – and exited the Sahara on 28 April 1960. The track was closed that night. It has never re-opened. Further, Africa’s centre, right down to Zambia, has ever since, been far too dangerous to even consider.
SRW
Problems with stand-alone solar – much applies also to RVs
Problems with stand-alone solar include over-selling, vendor claims, poor installation etc. Here’s plain English answers to the most common questions.
Australian Battery Breakthrough
Gelion is in an exciting phase of its development program for battery systems. With their London-based counterparts, they are well advanced in planning their commercialisation and supply-chain strategies from initial prototypes all the way through to demonstrating commercial production capacity this year (2020).
Gelion’s small, low-cost battery cells can be used in flexible configurations, depending on the required applications. This could range from street lights, domestic use, commercial buildings and grid support.
Electrolysis corrosion in vehicles – how to find and fix it
Electrolysis corrosion in vehicles eats away engine and particularly cooling system parts such as water pumps. It is often caused by a broken earthing lead. These are often accidentally disconnected, or broken. If so, return current travels through components such as the radiator cooling system. Also metal around them. This corrodes parts that have dissimilar metals.
Solar That Really Works! – sample chapter
On clear days around noon, up to 1000 watts of solar energy (enough to boil a kettle in about five minutes), is theoretically available on each square metre of much of the Earth’s surface. Commercially available solar modules (in 2020) convert only 20% or so of that energy into electricity. By using appropriate and efficient appliances, however, such solar can free recreational vehicles and cabins substantially or totally from mains, alternator or generator power.
RV Solar Basics
Solar is now so cheap that the main limitation is the space available for the solar modules. It is not possible to have too much solar. Ample solar prolongs battery life. It also and ensures at least some output during overcast days. There is no risk of overcharging, nor overloading the associated solar regulator. That regulator blocks the excess current.
RV Batteries
RV batteries store energy from your RV’s or tow vehicle’s alternator and solar modules and grid or generator power via a battery charger. This article explains all about the many types of battery now available.
Solar That Really Works!
Solar That Really Works! fills a previously all but unexplored need. In one tightly written book, Collyn covers all that is needed to design and install rv solar electrical systems in anything from a tiny or campervan to a large fishing camp. It includes the...
Vital things about solar in the USA
This excellent USA system assisted USA’s residential and commercial solar installation to increase by over 1,600% since 2006. That’s a compound annual growth of 76%. It enables home-owners to use the credit to offset their personal income tax. It applies when home-owners buy the systems outright and have them installed on their homes. In the case of the Section 48 credit, the business that installs, develops and/or finances the project claims the credit.
Our solar equipped RVs – all proved a major success
We personally drove our solar equipped RVs some 130,000 km over most of Australia’s inland dirt tracks. Nothing failed in that distance (and 20 years).




