Flexopower’s Atacama 79W Solar Panel

It was a Saturday afternoon and the wind and rain had been relentless. From the very start, my weekend of adventure during the second annual Overland Expo, held outside of Asheville, North Carolina, had turned into a sort of survival frenzy with wind gusts well over 60mph and a constant downpour that wouldn’t let up. I needed a break and opted to take a foray from our booth to walk around. During my walkabout, I met Werner Fischer and was introduced to Flexopower, a South African solar energy company preparing to introduce their products to the American market. Werner and I discussed the merits of his product when he began citing the solar panel’s capabilities in a myriad of conditions with durability designed for civilian and military applications. I was intrigued and once we had completed our visit, I anxiously awaited the arrival of the Flexopower Atacama 79W panel for field testing in the rain, heat, humidity and desert cold of Texas as well as numerous planned adventures throughout the U.S. Eight months later, I couldn’t be more impressed.

I anxiously awaited the arrival of the Atacama 79W panel for field testing in the rain, heat, humidity and desert cold of Texas

The Atacama 79W arrives with a storage bag similar in size to a briefcase with a front storage pouch to house everything needed to operate the panel including an LCD display for viewing the charge amperage, a solar controller, all connections needed to wire the solar controller directly to the battery terminals, as well as over 30 feet of cable to accommodate placement of the panel virtually anywhere at basecamp. At nearly 5.5′ long and approximately 2.5′ wide when fully deployed, the panel is large enough to place completely across your vehicle’s windshield which works perfectly for keeping the battery charged as well as providing a sunshade to keep the interior of the vehicle cooler. Integrated holes along the perimeter of the deployed panel provide plenty of attachment points to hang the panel from the side of the vehicle, a roof top tent, tree, or anywhere else to keep it out of the way. When folded, the panel fits snuggly inside the storage bag and when not in use, it folds to the size of a medium-sized laptop. I found this to be such an appealing attribute of the panel as space is usually at a premium when traveling, especially for me with a family of five.

 

When folded, the panel fits snuggly inside the storage bag and when not in use, it folds to the size of a medium-sized laptop.

The size of the Atacama 79 is great but how does it actually perform and will it accommodate a weekend or a week in the backcountry with a fridge/freezer installed and other electricals? Well, the short answer is absolutely!

The Atacama 79’s amp draw is fantastic with the panel’s triple junction cell technology capable of drawing energy even when the sky is completely overcast. In overcast skies, the Atacama 79 still performs with a consistent 1.5-2 amp draw which is usually enough to keep a solid battery system at around 12.5 volts.

To prove this point, I used the panel throughout the entire weekend during the latest Overland Expo event several weeks ago. On the first day, I discovered the battery in my teardrop trailer had been completely shot and was down to 8 volts, causing the Engel MT-45 fridge/freezer to shut off. The sky was overcast with consistent rain throughout the day. After plugging in the Atacama 79 directly to the battery terminals with the panel laid out on the grass to draw as much energy as possible given the conditions, the panel managed to pull 1.5 amps which was enough to power the compressor in the Engel MT-45 and keep my perishable goods cool until the following day.

On day two, the conditions improved with the clouds rolling out and the sun bearing down despite a significant temperature drop. With clear skies, the amp draw was now up to 3 and the battery was now pulling around 11.5 volts. While the voltage on the battery was still very low compared to where it should be at full charge, I still saw a 30% increase day over day despite having a shot battery. This allowed my fridge/freezer to continue operating throughout the remainder of the weekend before replacing the battery on my return trip home.

During the summer, my family took a 10-day trip through three states and spent most of the trip off-the-grid, camping in the backcountry and using the Atacama 79 to power the battery in our 100 Series Land Cruiser. Throughout the trip we were fortunate to have clear, sunny skies which maximized the Atacama 79’s amorphous silicon technology and provided a consistent 4.5-5.5 amp draw. This consistency can be expected when powering a battery system that’s working properly unlike the batter I had while at Overland Expo.

 

As for using the Atacama 79, installation is relatively simple. The solar controller attaches directly to the panel with the LCD display wiring from the solar controller directly to the battery source. I currently have the wiring installed directly onto my teardrop trailer battery but I can easily switch between the teardrop battery and the main vehicle battery as needed. The only real drawback is the LCD display isn’t designed to handle high temperatures so in my case, I have to completely uninstall the wiring when I’m done using the panel when powering my vehicle’s batter system. An alternative to this would be to mount the LCD display in a location that’s permanent, away from the heat from under a vehicle’s hood so that using the panel is plug and play.

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– Visit the Flexopower website at www.flexopowerusa.com to purchase the Atacama 79

* OutdoorX4 Magazine Promoting responsible 4×4 adventure travel and outdoor recreation

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As for durability, the Atacama 79 solar panel is exceptional. Its PV technology is strong enough for a vehicle to drive over and while I’ve not perforated the cells, Flexopower claims the Atacama 79 can literally be bitten into by a crododile (I suggest not camping in areas where crocodiles roam) and still function without problem. It’s an excellent product that’s not only efficient in size but extremely functional and durable in the field. It’s wattage rating has proven perfectly fine for my family adventures and knowing it’s durable enough for military use, it’ll certainly be durable enough for your next vehicle-based adventure.

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