Using solar in a van is simple if your expectations are in line, and unworkable if not.

First, the bad: If you want to run devices that heat or cool with electricity, such as coffeemakers, hotplates, A/C, toasters, hair dryers, etc., you will not make your numbers or anywhere near them. Give that all up. There is a reason whole-house systems cost $30k, it is heating and cooling.

For a quick example, say you have a tiny 700 watt A/C unit. This represents half a normal small window A/C, or half a hairdryer. A 100Ah marine cell (basically a car battery that swaps maximum acid/lead contact area for thicker internal lead plates) from Wal-Mart ($100) has 100Ah, which translates to roughly 1200 watt hours. You do not want to run a wet cell like this below 50% or so; a fully-charged marine cell will run a unit like this for about 50 minutes. So, if you want to run it 10 hours a day off batteries, you will need 12 fully-chrged batteries, costing $1200 and weighting 700 pounds. You would also need a semi-sized trailer covered in panels to charge them. Oh, and the A/C compressor takes double the load when it starts up — which will tire the batteries out quickly, so expect that $1200 in batteries to be a yearly thing.

Now, the awesome: IT WORKS. I ran 30 feet of LEDs, a laptop, a small but nice stereo, a PoE wireless antenna, a wireless hub, iPhones and iPods, 18v DeWalt battery packs, a fan — plus whatever I am forgetting — off of 2 x 100W solar panels and 2 x 100Ah marine cells while boon docking in my camper for ten weeks.

To run a full system you will need a solar panel, an inverter, a battery, and a charge controller.

First you must go ahead and do all the math of your usage, because we are are still at the stage where we must all do all the math, and math is good, but when you are doing all the math to the third significant digit, and looking up the model of that rechargeable flashlight you like for its charging amperage requirements, maybe say screw it and start with half what works for my boon docking setup; one beefy panel, one solid battery. You can then add another panel later if your location or climate require it to keep the battery charged.

As to wiring, your charge controller will have connections that include a legend where to hook up your batteries, panels and inverter, so easy peasy there. See the link below for an example. I recommend spending the extra on an MPPT controller, which converts some of your extra juice (the 12V panel below can run almost 19V) that normally is dumped when charging into increased amperage of the charging current. Do the math of your expected load, it's possible you will want a 20A.

YOU WILL WANT TO DO THE MATH on wire sizes. There are calculators online. For your small setup, the important run is going to be between the battery and the charge controller. This is where the fires start. If you think you will EVER add another battery dig deep and wire for it. Also, fuse your system correcly, there is a schematic on the charge controller link below. Don't skip this, you can get the fuse holders and fuses at your local auto parts store.

For inverters, I feel better about everything by getting a well-respected pure sinewave unit. I run a Cotec 350W for the solar, and it seems bulletproof. I also run a Xantrex 600 in my 4Runner and it seems just as solid. You could save a ton by getting a cheap modified sinewave one and seeing if it meets your needs. Either way they will have outlets on them, so you don't need to wire it further.

Also, no wet cells inside the vehicle unless properly secured, sealed to the inside, and vented to the outside.

Solar panel:
http://www.amazon.com/RENOGY-Monocrystalline-Photovoltaic-Battery-Charging/dp/B009Z6CW7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417553121&sr=8-1&keywords=100W+solar+panel

Charge controller (10A likely okay, do your math, I got the 20 amp)
http://www.amazon.com/Tracer1210RN-Solar-Charge-Controller-Regulator/dp/B008KWPGS6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417552788&sr=8-2&keywords=mppt+charge+controllers

Inverter:
http://www.amazon.com/COTEK-SK350-112-INVERTER-OUTLETS-CABLES/dp/B006W9IPA0

I drilled a hole in the roof and ran them through there. Didn't consider for very long if I could feed them through the door or not. DIidn't immediately look like it, so through the roof it was!

I haven't anchored the batteries yet. This is a little bit halfway done honestly. I did the solar and the vent at the same time, and that took all day, so the mess of wires isn't permanent it was just a quick "Let's see that everything works mess" haha. I need to build the bed frame, for that what I'm gonna do is start at the rear of the wheel well and go forward, and then put a couple of boards up vertically so that the very back will be a space for our bikes, and probably have a board going horizontally over my tools and the battery shit.

The tan box is actually silver but appeared tan in the picture for some reason. It's a 1000W inverter with 2000w peak load. It's just a china brand since I'm broke.

As for price I'll add most of the stuff up here, but I might forget some small stuff I got from home depot or such.

Column A | Column B
---------|----------
Sikaflex | $13
Inverter | $160
Charge Controller | $20
Wires | $22
VHB Tape | $30
100W Solar | $170
2 Batteries | $200 + $18ea core
total | $651

I didn't really have any tools so I spent like $200 at homedepot/lowes on shit too. Including some wire, wire cutters, jig saw, zip ties, caulk gun, etc.

First of all, I don't agree that a generator is an important prep unless you have a specific life-or-death need, e.g. medical equipment or an electric-powered well. The average apartment-dweller should be able to get by without electrical service for a few days. Stock up on spare batteries for flashlights and such. Get some non-electronic forms of entertainment. Get a hand-crank radio — many of them can charge your phone as well. Get food that doesn't need refrigeration or cooking. Learn which food actually needs refrigeration for safety; don't throw out your whole fridge on day one of an outage.

That will cover the short term and, in a long-term disaster, fuel will be in short supply so a generator is of questionable use.

> Unfortunately, i live in an apartment in socal. Can generators even be used in an apartment? I have a small balcony.

Do not risk it. Carbon monoxide can get inside the building. Do not risk it.

As an alternative, consider a portable power pack, and remember to keep it charged up! Some can be charged from solar as well. Or DIY with a bare panel, a charge controller, a marine deep-cycle battery and an inverter. (Also, a lot of things such as LED light strips can run directly from the 12V battery and don't need an inverter.)

> How long do they last if i buy one and just throw it in storage?

All prepper equipment should be tested regularly. I'm not an expert but I would say run it for 30 minutes every month or two. Remember that gasoline goes bad after a few months. They also have starter batteries that need to be topped up like a car battery. You'll need to check the oil and air filter and replace if needed.

> Once i buy a house, what is the best generator to own?

Like any "what's best" question, it depends on your needs. How much power do you need? Look into a dual-fuel gas/propane generator as well. Propane is much safer to store and it stays good for decades assuming your tank doesn't leak.

Also for the love of god, don't jury-rig a connection to the house wiring. There are about seven ways to kill yourself or someone else by doing that. You need to use a proper transfer switch or at least a breaker interlock plate. The easier option is to rely on extension cords and not the house wiring.

At Luna we get asked this a lot. So here is some info. I have added this to the knowledge base for Fixed for future reference.

Considerations for adding second battery for more range

Generally speaking this is not advisable. It would require extensive modifications and could compromise the battery. Please note that Luna can not take responsibility for the consequences if you break your bike or battery. There are a few separate proposals, we will discuss each below.

Manually switching batteries: Physically unplugging battery 1 from the controller, then plugging battery 2 into the controller. This would be the most straightforward, and eliminates a lot of potential danger in doing the other methods incorrectly. As long as the second battery is a normal 36v nominal battery that should be fine.

Parallel wiring: The idea here being that you would put another battery in parallel. Generally this is strongly discouraged on bms protected packs unless you are unplugging them from eachother when charging, and are making sure both batteries are identical, and both batteries are same voltage at time of connecting them. Given that this would be difficult to meet these requirements there is another way you might go by using a diode to block current from flowing back into the other battery. This page goes over that in more detail. For a working example of this idea in practice, see this page.

Theoretically you could use Luna remote switches on each battery in that parallel circuit, and switch back and forth by turning the one battery off and then turning the other battery on. This would not be advisable due to the possibility of accidentally not turning the other battery off, which would lead to a massive influx of power which could cause a fire. It might be possible to modify a couple remotes to use the same button with a circuit to control making sure that one remote is always off before another one is turned on, but this is outside the scope of what we can advise on.

Charging integrated battery via the charge port: This is unsafe for multiple reasons. Primarily because any second battery you want to wire up will have a discharge rate ten times higher than the safe charge rate on the charge port. This will burn out the charge port instantly and is also likely to damage the integrated battery on the bike. The port expects something like 2-3A, and another battery can put out 20-30A, maybe higher.

Additionally, as with any BMS-protected battery the charge port is how the battery bms is reset if something trips it. So if you are charging the original battery while in use, if something like a short happens in a cell, (which normally the BMS would protect against by shutting down the battery) you may be forcing it to reset despite it not being safe to do so.

In theory you could limit the current of the discharge on the secondary pack using some custom circuitry, so when you plug into the charge port it is not charging it at some massively high rate of current. For example something like this, which can also do CC/CV charging, an important safety consideration. However, you would still be resetting the BMS on the original battery whenever you are charging it. Do so at your own risk.

I'm not an EE, but I know a bit about batteries. Low amp is fine, better for overall battery life. But, lead acid batteries get some kind of build up on the cells that needs to be zapped off with high-amperage from time to time. Solar charge controllers and automatic battery tending devices will go through a number of different cycle types throughout a month, for the health of the battery.

Your battery is probably damaged by now if it's been depleted several times. Best thing you could do besides buying a new battery is get some kind of trickle charge setup, so that it stays topped off. Whether it be a wall plug charger, or solar charger.

Secondly, open the battery and make sure that the lead cells are fully submerged. Add distilled water if the cells are exposed to atmosphere. Some car batteries are sealed and not able to be maintained in this way.

**Edit. Check this out, Battery Tender 021-1163 5W Solar Maintainer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Q83TGO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ypxAyb2SXVHSN

For about $200 you can be charging laptops and cell phones and running some fans and lights in your house. Here's the breakdown:
Solar Panel - $106
Charge Controller - $38
Inverter - $20
Battery - Anything 12 volt, ideally "Deep Cycle" but a car battery will work if you have one. This can be between $30 and a lot, depending on what you want to run.

The parts aren't special, they were just the cheapest I could find on amazon, and while they took a little longer than I wanted to get there, they did get delivered to San Juan. Now my family is charging and running all kinds of things off the sun while the idiots in government continue to suck at their jobs.

No

60 Watt Panel

Charge Controller

Battery

Light

12v Cig Adapter

Thank you, didn’t see it.

So honestly, super easy project that anyone could do, I called it diy but it’s 99% just connecting wires. For speakers, I’d recommend scouring craigslist for a set of bookshelf speakers. You should be able to get a good set for under $30. The most important thing to look at is the sensitivity rating and the impedance of the speakers. Sensitivity is essentially how loud the speaker gets with less power running to it. Get the speakers with highest sensitivity (preferably 88+) and a low impedance (4 or 6 ohms if you can) if you want to be lazy, these are a damn good value. You could probably find better on craigslist but if you don’t trust your speaker buying go with that pair.

Next step is the amp. There are two pretty easy options that come immediately to mind. First, the “diy” amp you can go ahead and install this in one of the speakers. Parts express has videos showing you how this could be done. The second option and the one is probably recommend is this as far as I know it’s the same amplifier just this one comes housed, there may be small differences.

The final problem is how to power it, and once again you have options. The two basic options are either off some double a batteries or off of a large lithium ion battery pack. Between these options I’d say just go with the aa batteries for cost and just come down with a whole bunch (hit up Costco or bjs and buy like two packs of them). With the first amplifier you’ll have to buy a seperate battery pack to held them, with the second it actually has a place for the batteries already. Now, the coolest option but more expensive is what I’m hoping to do this year. Your car battery is actually 12V dc, exactly what you need. Therefore you can power the amps off of your car battery, just make the connections when you’re there and leave the wires running out of the hood with some quick disconnects (not necessarily this one but something similar) so that it’s easy to take down and set up every day. If you go with the second amp you will need the correct plug. Now, to ensure you don’t kill your car battery, you’ll need a solar panel, preferably with a with a trickle charger. I believe this is probably the best option. You can go cheaper but this is a well known brand so I trust it not to screw up my cars battery. This can sit on your roof all day if you have a tall car. Still do something to make it an inconvenience to steal. If you have a short car just leave it on while your there and use quick disconnects again to make packing up easy, or run the wires inside the car when your gone and have it charging through a window.

Hopefully this all makes sense, it seems like a hassle but for about $100 you’ll have a damn good sounding festival set up that you could take home and set up in a room and love the sound just as much at home as at the festival- I’m telling you, bookshelf speakers sound soooooo much better than your average Bluetooth speaker, just ask r/audiophile, and it’s a cool conversation piece while there. Anyone has any questions I’m happy to help!

Not a bad price on that kit. Personally I pieced together my own, using a Renology 100W panel and a cheap Mohoo PWM controller, and what you're looking at looks pretty comparable for a comparable price.

To try and actually answer your question, though, here's a fairly quick run-down of how to roughly size your battery. I'll use my own situation as an example; I have a small popup camper my wife and I use in the boonies, nowhere near power, for days at a time. This will assume you're using decent quality, sealed AGM deep cycle batteries, not the garbage RV/Marine "deep cycle" batteries, which are not true deep cycle, just slightly tougher starting batteries.

First step is actually the hard part, the rest is easy. You need to know what you want to run, how much power it draws, and how much you want to be able to run it between charges. That sizes your battery. Finding the current draw on your items if you don't already have them can be the hard part - if possible, it's often best to have what you want to run, and measure it for actual numbers.

For example, my main loads are:

• I wanted to be able to run a pair of Fantastic Fans on low (1A each) overnight, for up to 10 hours each, which is roughly 20Ah.
  
• Alternately, on colder nights I have a propane heater with a fan that draws about 3A, but which would only run for about four hours tops in twelve hours on a really cold night, so that's only about 12Ah. Since that's less than the fans and I wouldn't be running both, I don't count it.
  
• I have a water pump that draws about 3A but that is only used for minutes a day (not worth counting)
  
• LED lights that are 3W (about 1/4A). Let's assume I want to run one of those for up to 12h per night, so that's 3Ah.
  
• I also recharge two phones overnight, which are usually roughly 2Ah batteries each, maybe 2/3 discharged. The charge circuits aren't very efficient, so you can assume at least 2Ah each to recharge those phones, for 4Ah total.
  
• I'm also recharging a pair of 2.5Ah small batteries for e-cigarettes ("mods" ) overnight. They aren't fully discharged, but assume 5Ah to charge those up.
  
  My worst case overnight loads basically work out to 20Ah (fans) + 3Ah (lights) + 4Ah (phones) + 5Ah(mods). That's about 32Ah of load per day, pretty much worst case in hot weather.
  
  Now, you can do a few different calculations to get a minimum battery size from that.
  
  Number one, you really don't want to regularly cycle your battery below 50%, unless you want to be replacing your good batteries a lot. Hence, your absolute minimum recommended battery size would be 2x your load between charges. In my case, that's about 64Ah. A deep cycle discharged to 50% will usually last about 400 charge cycles.
  
  Now, given the choice, you really don't even want to discharge that low. A deep cycle discharged only 30% (roughly 1/3) will usually last 1100-1200 cycles. I generally recommend you size for at least triple your daily load. This pays off big time in the long run. For 50% more battery, your batteries will usually last nearly 200% longer (3x as long). Enormous cost savings long term.
  
  Hence, my recommended sizing would be 32Ah x 3, or 96Ah. I'm running a 100Ah battery, UPG UB121000, part number 45981. In practice I'm not regularly discharging this battery more than about 25%.
  
  Now, you get some extra benefit from oversizing as well. By sizing to 1/3 discharge, I can run two days without charging if I have to, and not be worse than a 70% discharge. That's a good emergency backup, since if you regularly discharge anywhere near 100%, your battery usually won't last more than 100-150 cycles. That covers me in case I get a day with absolutely zero sun. In practice this isn't a big worry for me, as on days with poor sun I'm only running the fans about half as much anyway, and if I couldn't get topped off during the day, in a pinch I'd just connect jumper cables to my van and have the battery at full charge after about an hour at idle.
  
  Next, once you know your average daily usage, you can also size your solar panel. You actually need to size more by charge time than by pure wattage, since a 100W panel will not produce 100W using a PWM controller. My 100W panel produces about 5.3A at 19V under ideal conditions (that calculates to 100W), but since the PWM controller just knocks the voltage down to an appropriate battery charge voltage, I'll never actually get 100W out of this panel. The current maxes out at 5.3A, but my battery pulls the voltage down to around 13.5V at charge, so at most I'm actually getting about 72W out of it.
  
  To size your panel, look at the optimum operating current (usually listed as Imp), and use that to size in amp hours instead. Plus, you also need to include any loads you'll be running while you charge. In my case, my panel puts out about 5.3A, but if it's a hot day, I'm going to be running one of those fans on medium (2.25A) for our sheepdogs in the van, so I really only have about 3A to work with to charge. If I can get a solid 8h worth of good charging light, that's about 24Ah useable per day. As you could see, I'd really do well with a second panel. As it is, it's been just sufficient with one panel to mostly keep me topped up, since I haven't had a ton of hot weather where we've really had to run the fans a lot.
  
  If I added a second panel, I'd have roughly 8A to charge with even with that fan running, and could reliably charge my bank all the way with only about 4h of good, full sun.
  
  I know that's a bit long, but hopefully it'll be a help to get you going in the right direction!

Lets do a quick run through so you can compare:

The Yeti 1250 is 12v 100ah and 1200 watts for $1250. It has 3 USB and 3 standard plugs + other ins and outs in addition to a solar charger.

A 12v 100ah deep cycle battery off amazon is $159. You would need a charger unit ($50 on amazon) in addition to some basic electrical wiring ($20-50). Then you would need an inverter (this one is $65 w/ three plug ins and two usb inputs) for 1000 watts. Last you would need to invest in a solar charger unit (often comes with solar panel kits and those can run around $30. So probably close to $350-400

So then however you want to store these (plywood box construction and a little DIY elbow grease) you can build essentially the same unit for about 1/4 the cost.

https://www.amazon.com/ERAYAK-Inverter-Alligator-Refrigerator-Cooler-8099U/dp/B019PXILXA/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1482364654&sr=8-17&keywords=12v+inverter

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-UB121000-45978-100AH-Cycle-Battery/dp/B00S1RT58C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482364350&sr=8-1&keywords=12v+100+ah+deep+cycle+battery

https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Regulator-Intelligent-Display-12V-24V/dp/B018ICLC3K/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1482364823&sr=1-4&keywords=solar+charge+controller

I've done it. I used a single 100w panel hooked to an MPPT charge controller with variable output voltage. It would only charge higher voltages than 18v, but that was okay since my bikes are 24, 36, and now 48v. Obviously, it was slow going. But i was able to put in about 50wh over an hour. Not the best efficiency, but it did work.

Hi, I was recently looking for the same thing. This is the set up I am ordering:
For the panels--http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IK19VF6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A05654602L3XUQ70M87BV
Battery bank--http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BUH0VB0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A33OOXQLQV58WQ
Charge controller--http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB3OPKM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A05654602L3XUQ70M87BV
Inverter--http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SLDDHQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AWZ3LXPHZK09

I'm pretty new to this too, this is just what I've come up with from doing research and assessing my (basic)needs. I would like to hear other opinions as well.

Looks like bullshit to me.

1. No discussion on the technology used on the website. No specs This is a huge red flag. What temperature does the fridge maintain? How long does it maintain that temperature on battery power?
   
2. I see no compressor. This means it is likely utilizing a Peltier to do the cooling, which runs at about 10% efficiency (compared to 30% with a compressor which is 3x more efficient) and is incapable of maintaining temperatures of proper refrigeration. It may cool your drinks down to 45-50 degrees, but it will not function for safe fresh food storage.
   
3. Those solar panels are going to put out a max of maybe 50W in the heat of the day if you're lucky, probably closer to 20W. And that involves taking your refrigerator and leaving it in the sun, where you will need far more cooling capacity to maintain proper temperatures. That's not enough juice to run a portable compressor powered refrigerator by a third. You'd probably need 6 times as much power to properly cool with a peltier.
   
4. Large gaps between the parts will make for leakage and loss in cooling capacity. Combined with thin walls, this thing is not going to be a good insulator.
   
   
   You can use a compressor powered, 12VDC portable refrigerator and freezer effectively on the go, but you're going to need some dedicated solar power production. Let's run through some numbers:
   
   31 liter capacity portable fridge/freezer for $611
   They have a 10.5 liter capacity version for $316 if you need to go really cheap. Reviews say this unit draws an average of about 3.75A, or 45W. For quick math: watts = volts x amps.
   
   

• This will consume 3.75 amps for 24 hours every day, so it consumes 90 amp hours (AH) per day.
  
• Lets say for 16 hours per day you need to make sure your fridge runs of of batteries. So 2/3 of that 90AH will come from batteries, resulting in a number of 60AH for battery power
  
• I am going to add 50% right back on that 60AH for energy loss and battery efficiency, putting the requirement back at 90AH. We're then rounding this to 100AH since thats the size batteries come in. To run the above refrigerator at 45W all day long on solar/battery power, you will want a 100AH deep cycle or AGM battery
  
• Next up, we want to know how much solar power you need to keep this going. This varies by solar panel placement and latitude, but I'm going to say you get a total of 6 hours of prime sun per day. During that 6 hours, you need to be able to charge 100AH of battery. That equates to 16.6 amps per hour. 16.6 amps x 12 volts = 199.2W. To run this system you will need 200W of solar panels on the roof of your van, producing power for you
  
  As a comparison, you can just how much different an actual refrigeration system is from the portable unit linked above. Looking at the pricing and weights further shows just how far off this system is from being able to actually safely refrigerate your food.
  
  
• 100AH battery for $179 (weighs 63lbs)
  
• 31 liter capacity portable fridge/freezer for $611 (weighs 30lbs)
  
• 30A charge controller for $30 (weights maybe 1lb)
  
• 2x 100W solar panels for $277 (weights 33lb)
  
  In total, This is $1100 in hardware and 127lbs of equipment to be able to properly maintain cold food storage. The thing you linked is a backpack sized beverage cooler only.

There aren't any battery chemistries that run at 5V +/- 10%.

It sounds like you should get a 12V deep cycle lead-acid battery. They are very common, cheap, can take heat, have solar chargers available, and come in the capacity you need.

All you need is a 12V > 5V regulator, which is also very common, cheap, and available.

edit: This one has a 5V regulator built in, so you could run it straight off the USB ports if your load is < 3A

Nice... The controller you posted is unavailable, but a newer version is offered on Amazon.

These are easy to set up.

Battery Tender 021-1163 5W Solar Maintainer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Q83TGO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_n0.pzbQQMHT2C

you said that you have a fridge, and you want to make it to work in solar panel (250W) and (200Ah) batteries.

the fridge seems to be 12V DC, you can buy a MPPT controller if you want to get more effiecent system as the PWM controller is less in effiecency by 30%.

you can check the following products on Amzon

200W solar Panel

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Controller-Adaptor-Connectors/dp/B00B8L8MD2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=250w+solar+panel+12v&qid=1571660384&sr=8-3

MPPT controller

https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Display-Tracer3210AN-Charging-Regulator/dp/B07BHKJSFN/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=solar+mppt+controller+30+amp&qid=1571660256&sr=8-1

PWM controller

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Adventurer-Charge-Controller-Compatible/dp/B07BBKFTNV/ref=sr_1_3?crid=YJJ1S10D2RNM&keywords=solar+controller+30+amp&qid=1571660195&sprefix=solar+contro%2Caps%2C332&sr=8-3

For controllers, I've been happy with this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018ICLC3K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's simple and the two USB outlets are very convenient. I haven't tested it on the playa yet but it works great in my backyard!

SUNKINGDOM still has a massive sale going on right now for panels: https://www.amazon.com/SUNKINGDOM/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_9956573011?ie=UTF8&node=9956573011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=SUNKINGDOM

For battery, I 'm going to pick up a 100+ AH deep cycle in reno. Even without my 39 watt panel, it should be enough to run my swamp cooler for several hours a day. That said, I like having the back up trickle.

I use similar gauge to wherever my part uses and I use these to connect them: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015OCV5XO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Tracer-Charge-Controller-100VDC/dp/B00E7NI9PE#productDetails

Its not cheap or in Australia, but it works well. I am not sure what you mean by temp control? I have heard that a lot of the cheap MPPT charge controllers are not actually MPPT so becareful with that.

I think you are over-estimating the capacity of that car battery. You might be able to run a few LED lights for a few hours a day, like 2 or 3 hours a day maybe, but a constant draw of a cheap wifi camera (often not the most efficient possible power-wise), will kill that battery very quickly.

Let's say you wanted to run 12 Watts of LED lighting for 4 hours a day, and a camera (24 hours a day) which draws ~3 Watts.

12 x 4 = 48 Wh. Not much, but definitely substantial.

3 x 24 = 72 Wh. Again, not much, but substantial. This isn't going to be a 10 Watt panel type of deal here. :P

So, 120 Wh total. Or, ~10 Ah.

You'll need to account for cloudy days, so let's multiply that by 3.

360 Wh usable storage capacity needed, and 300 Wh generation needed each day.

You'll only get ~4 hours of good sun in a day, and panels put out ~60% or there about their rated power in the real world.SO...

360 Wh / 4 = 90 Watts.

90 Watts / 0.60 = 150 Watts.

​

So, you'll need:

1 x ~150 Watt rated solar panel. ( https://www.amazon.com/Newpowa-Moncrystalline-Polycrystalline-Efficiency-Module/dp/B00ZIZ6VY6/ should do.)

1 x PWM charge controller. ( https://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Charger-Controller-Intelligent-Regulator/dp/B01MU0WMGT/ or similar.)

Wire with MC4 connectors. ( https://www.amazon.com/BougeRV-Extension-Female-Connector-Adaptor/dp/B0753ZLLQB/ )

And battery cables to go from the charge controller to the battery, but you can probably buy some ring terminals at your local hardware store and use some 10 AWG stranded copper wire, don't necessarily need to order special ones if you can make them. :)

EDIT: You'll also want to fuse the positive side of the battery, solar, and load circuits. Choose fuse sizing for the wiring you use.

​

Now, the battery will die in a few months most likely if not sooner being cycled like this since it's not a deep cycle battery, but hey, then you can replace it with a good one. :)

I've been very happy with the Battery Tender brand. I have a friend who uses this on his boat (it's designed not to overchage).

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-1163-Solar-Maintainer/dp/B004Q83TGO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416250584&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+tender+solar

We use a traditional (plug in) tender on my wife's car. A fairly common setup is to permanently connect the terminals to the battery and then run the leads somewhere more convenient, like out the grill or fender. It makes connecting/disconnecting a lot more convenient.

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-081-0069-6-Terminal-Disconnect/dp/B000NCOKZQ/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_text_z

The most recommended setup I see from other vandwellers in Renogy. They make pretty much everything you need, and it's competitively priced.
You can buy a kit and have almost everything you need but a battery or you can build from scratch. The big components are deep cycle battery, panel, charge controller. There are obviously lots of other smaller things you'll need as well such as fuses, wires, mounting brackets, etc.

This option is much more cost efficient but also requires a good working knowledge of electrical setups (or the desire to learn them) in order to do it safely.

Sure, I will try to list everything here, most of what I got was from Amazon.

$107 HQST 100 Watt,12 Volt Solar Panel

$20 Charge Controller from Amazon

$90 1000W Power Inverter I went overkill for most on this, but I wanted to power a chainsaw if needed, otherwise you would only need to put in $37 for something really good

$11 Battery to inverter cables

$64 35AH 12V Deep Cycle Battery

$14 12V LED lights

$5 light wiring

$6 Switch

$38 Solar Panel Wires

$13 Battery Cables

$16 Conduit Pipe

$17 Unistrut

$13 For the Satellite Mount on eBay

Then figure $20 for various nuts an bolts.

So for me it came out to about $434, but considering that I paid high for my inverter, and over paid on cables/wire (you can use cheaper cables, but I went with the pre-set ones for convenience), you could do it for just over $350.

Those all-in-one power setups always seem kind of expensive to me, for what you are getting. They are all about convenience. You could build your own system for a little cheaper. The storage and output are incredibly low, I thought maybe there was a typo, but it seems to just be a portable phone charger which is what you are looking for.

Here's a tiny 12ah battery, charge controller, and you can get a small inverter. You can beef up these components, or just expand as you go.

​

Honestly, I think a deep cycle yellow top Optima battery would serve you better. You could charge your stuff, and have a reliable starting battery. No fuss, no gizmos.

You need to stay within the amperage limitations of your wiring and charge controller.

For instance, this is a good charge controller that can do 75v and 15 amps, so in theory you would think it could do 1125 watts. But that's not the way it works. You need to keep peak voltage and amperage under 100/15, and load voltage and amperage will be a good bit less.

You could run three 300w panels like this in parallel with a charge controller that can handle 40v 30 amps, or you could run the same panels in series with a charge controller that can handle 120v 10 amps. The wiring needs to handle the amperage, so much smaller wiring would be needed for the latter.

If you did more, smaller panels, like six 150w panels, you could do a series/parallel combination for something like 80v at 15-20 amps. That would go very nicely with this charge controller.

And then there's the decision of how likely you are to want to expand the system and if you should buy equipment that can handle more panels.

Create a short list of your preferred charge controllers and their capacities, then start shopping for panels and do the quick math. If the panels were the same dollar-per-watt I would probably do six 150w in series/parallel with the controller I mentioned above. If you think it's likely you may expand capacity, I would go with three 300w panels in parallel with this controller, then you could add 6 more of the same (2700w total) in series/parallel without changing your charge controller or wiring.

For the controller, a quick amazon search comes up with several models, this being one of them.

The panels can be a bit trickier to find at reasonable prices, but here's one.

If 15W isn't enough to keep the battery going with all your accessories, Harbor freight sells a full-on 45W kit for about $170. However it's probably a lot more than you'd really need.

You can get panels in less than 15W, but it needs to be able to charge the battery up durring it's (we'll assume here) 10 hours of usable light.
You'll probably want to do some actual math on how much you're using. Your typical lead acid battery varries from 12-14.2V, and could go up to 17+ when it's charging (i'm not exactly sure on the circuitry inside the charge controllers). So make sure whatever 5V regulator you're using can keep up with your current draw.

This RENOGY 100w Monocrystalline Photovoltaic Solar Panel on Amazon is a much, much better deal. Combine it with a Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller, deep cycle battery and a small power inverter for a complete system.

The battery is a good one but you don't want to skimp on that part. If you want to expand to 4 of those solar panels you need to upgrade to a Sunforce 30 Amp Solar Charge Controller. I would not go for too much larger of an inverter unless you decide to enlarge the battery bank. It's much too easy to overtax batteries.

I am also a solar panel noob but i just managed to set up a system in my bus. I went with 4 renogy panels, they're cheap, good, and seem to have a good customer service.

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watts-Volts-Monocrystalline-Solar/dp/B009Z6CW7O

We have 3 of them for 2 people. You will need a charge controller to regulate the energy going to the battery. If you opt for a nicer MPPT controller, you will have 30% more nergy coming to the battery. That's what we did.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G3XTWTS/ref=twister_B01HHRLB1K?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

For more of an idea on what to do for the electrical system, i used a video by a guy named campervan cory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZY4BWEZ4ig

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Start with just researching and seeing what is out there. You can add panels later, a decent MPPT will get you closer to the rating of the panel that you have now, and there is a LOT of money to be saved by not buying retail.

Victron makes a number of great MPPT controllers, you don't need a huge one. Here's a decent option for you, the SmartSolar 75/15 with bluetooth.

https://www.amazon.com/Victron-SmartSolar-Charge-Controller-Bluetooth/dp/B075NQQRPD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524710908&sr=8-1&keywords=victron%2Bmppt&th=1

Some math to consider - and I am going to make several assumptions here, so please adjust accordingly for your situation:
Typical flooded golf cart battery, GC2 is 220 amp-hour at 6V. 2 of them in series gives you a 12V pack at 220 amp-hours, of which 110 is usable for 50% discharge. A total of 1320 watt-hours is available in that setup. Yours may be different if you are using a 12v AGM, but you can figure the ratings and fit them into this.

A 75/15 controller is able to accept up to 75 volts and outputs 15 amps of charging at the battery voltage - So that charge controller would max out with just 180 watts. Two 100 watt panels, since they won't output their actual ratings. Assuming 5 hours of usable sunlight (you should get more, but again, always be conservative) right now you are getting maybe 350 watt-hours in a day... With the Victron 75/15 and two panels, that is more like 900 watts since the controller will stay closer to its limit as the sun provides.

BUT here's the thing about battery charging. The first 80% of charge takes only 20% of the time. The remaining 20% of the charge takes 80% of the time - so your charge controller can't just keep dumping power into the batteries at full throttle all day. It has to taper off, which means lost power if that solar isn't also connected to the RV at the same time so that the fridge can siphon some of those incoming watts.

So the 75/15 may be OK for your needs, I think based on your usage the 75/15 would probably do you just great, and allow some slush capacity for cloudy days - they will still produce, but not as well.

Now, the panels:
https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Solar-Panel-Design/dp/B078J42WL7/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524712012&sr=8-3&keywords=renogy+100+watt+solar+panel
Here's a 100 watt panel, two of these in series gets you about 6.25 amps at 40 volts open circuit (that is the max rating you need to match with a controller) so that will work great with the 75/15. $125 each.

So 2 panels at $125 and one controller (buy that first) at $118... And you are basically done! For FAR less than Canadian Tire (or anywhere else) would charge for one of those "ready to use" kits. They prey on people that don't do what you are doing, asking the questions and doing the research.

In order to do a fully stand alone system you need to make two changes;

-replace the 10 amp charge controller with as many of these 40 models in parallel as needed to achieve the desired amperage. for an s9 2 should do it;

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Tracer-Charge-Controller-100VDC/dp/B00E7NI9PE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468170133&sr=8-3&keywords=mppt+charge+controller

• Next change is to add a DC timer into the loop between the lamp controller out and the relay activation leads. This is one I like;
  
  https://www.amazon.com/MISOL-Controller-display-program-programmable/dp/B0090MTLFO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468173063&sr=8-3&keywords=dc+timer+switch
  
  Solar panels will hook to the charge controller unlike in the DC power supply only scenario. DC timer is programmed to start miners in the morning once there is normally good charging and off in the evening as you start to lose good charging conditions.

Yeah, I thought anyone interested in the thread would be! But as soon as I posted the original version with amazon links, it was auto-deleted. Weird.

Oh well, here are my products:

Solar panel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017OMTAV6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=I2R53I6ASRE7TH&psc=1

Charge controller: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JMLPP12/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=IMF9F8IHLJ6EN&psc=1

House battery: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SSBQ/3478PLT/03321.oap?year=1967&make=Ford&model=Mustang&vi=1332302&ck=Search_03321_1332302_-1&pt=03321&ppt=C0005

Battery isolator: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058SGDFK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=I2UYT4LFVI14AN

Van fan: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OWAIB8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=I1Q9S1UN7Z94H7&psc=1

LED lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JF2A6G/ref=od_aui_detailpages02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Fuse block: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K2MBPA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=IK1ERB55YT6QX&psc=1

Busbar: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-MiniBus-Grounding-Terminal/dp/B0058GA4IO/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1467345205&sr=8-11&keywords=6+terminal+bus

Main line fuses (inline): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WZHE3A4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3NTUA0DGQ65YX&coliid=ICS8GYAQNUJV1&psc=1

I'm handicapped by only knowing English, but that device appears to be the correct item. Is that the same as this? If so, it's the right item.

P.S. I agree with pyromaster114 about the sizing of the system.

I spent this Australian winter at the snow which meant that I didn't have as much power coming from the solar panels. I have 180AH of AGM batteries and 200w of solar with Renogy Adventurer 30A PWM solar charge controller.

I also had a Redarc SBI12 VSR which charges the batteries from the alternator when the car is running.

I'm was running a 38L Fridge, diesel heater, lights, laptop, cameras, gopro, rechargeable torch batteries, battery for chainsaw, etc.. So basically a hell of a lot of electronics. I was using too much and the batteries, VSR and solar couldn't keep up.

Sounds like I was in a similar situation to you. I looked at the cost of extra batteries, solar panels, etc.. Those options looked expensive.

Instead after some significant research I went with a Renogy 40A DC to DC Battery Charger. This replaced the existing Redarc VSR that I had. This is what I would recommend to you. It's significantly better at charging the batteries than the old Redarc VSR which is probably similar to what you have at the moment.

For me, even when I was parked up for days it was easier for me to run the van for the bit and charge the batteries.

How many AH do you have?

The monetary cost to do pedal recharging is minimal, you would need a regenerating motor controller which is less than ten dollars more than a non-regenerating one and you would need a way to prop the rear wheel off the ground so it can be spun with the pedals.

I built a solar recharged ebike about five years ago with very similar parts to what you see on these bikes. The problem I had was I was running 50V of lithium cells and the only solar charge controller I could find for lithium at the time had to be custom ordered and cost more than the rest of the bike put together. That has changed now, you can get a high voltage solar controller that would be suitable for lithium from 24V to up over 60V for less than fifty dollars.

The average person can't turn the motor fast enough pedaling as a generator to get it into a reasonably efficient range or at least not for longer than a minute or two.

Of course you could hire a few kids to pedal your bike to recharge, they take turns and can pedal fast for a few minutes each and then swap out.

Is it possible? Yes. Is it a good idea? You're an adult, you be the judge!

Flexible 100w solar panels weigh about 5 lbs and are about 2' by 4'. Their maximum power is produced at about 17v, so you'll need a CC/CV MPPT charge controller that can boost the voltage into the 50v range. You can find the Ming He mpt-7210a for $25-35. You'll need one of these for every 10 amps of electricity produced by the panels, but you can easily wire 2 panels in series to double the voltage/halve the amperage, I think you could wire four panels in a 2p/2s configuration and get 300 watts into your battery in full sun. Here are a couple of videos you'll want to check out, since the instructions are inadequate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM6JTquNSZU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVkehQ_RypI

I wouldn't bother charging while riding, I would take a 2-3 hour noon siesta and get a bit more charging in the evenings. I would get 3 or 4 panels and stack them up on a bike trailer, and then lay them out to charge. In the evenings, you can prop them up with a couple of tent poles or bamboo stakes. Tie them all together and then ram a few pegs into the ground to secure them. You could charge while riding but you probably won't want to lay out 16 square feet of solar panels (wind and all that) and you won't be able to position the panels accurately.

A 48v 10ah battery pack has about 500 watt-hours of energy. With 400 watts of panels, in peak sun, after losses from boosting the voltage, maybe you could get 300 watts into the battery per hour. In theory you could charge the battery in a couple of hours. Solar energy peaks at ~12-1pm, there will be twice as much power (or more) at solar peak as there would be about 2 hours before sunset.

It'll cost you around $200 to get one panel, one charger, and associated wires. Try it and report back!

Parts:

Panel

Controller

Controller to XT60

Panel to controller

Extra wire

Hello, we are doing just about the exact same thing. I currently am using:
-(1) 240W Mono panel
-(1) 20A 12V/24V charge controller
-Some MC4 connectors

• (2) 12V 100Ah marine batteries
  -(1) 12V 1000W power inverter
  
• About 10 feet of 16AWG wire, going to change this to 10AWG soon though for the batteries and inverter
  -About to add in fusing
  -About to order 20A DC-DC converter
  
  I've seen a couple people on here saying you need an MPPT charge controller, they're half right. You do need a charge controller, but you don't need an MPPT one. The issue is that with a 30V panel at 8A, the charge controller needs to drop the voltage to about 15V to charge the batteries, the current should stay the same but the voltage is halved, so your 240W panel just becomes a 120W panel, not good efficiency at all. An MPPT converter gets around this by changing the extra 15V into another 8 amps, keeping the panel producing 240W, but now at 15V at 16A. However those MPPT controllers are expensive (from what I hear, any controller under $100 is going to be a PWM controller disguised as an MPPT). For myself I'm just experimenting for now and didn't want to invest in an MPPT, so I'm planning on purchasing a DC-DC converter, which should do the same thing as an MPPT controller when it's coupled with my charge controller. The DC-DC converter should take my 30V@8A and make it 15V@16A, which will then go into my charge controller to charge my batteries in series. I'm hoping to buy one within a few days, I'm just looking for a good quality one online, probably $25.
  
  Currently I'm charging either one battery at a time, or the two batteries in series. My charge controller seems to be having issues charging in full sunlight though so I'll be contacting the seller today to inquire about that (it stops displaying charge current yet the charge voltage is still good).

I picked: Model MB7420 motorola for an example.

power draw: 12v @ 1a. 12 watts.

12v supply is really REALLY nice for the next thing i'm going to suggest: solar and a battery.


https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-MB7621-Approved-Spectrum-Downloads/dp/B077BL65HS/


26 bucks for a charge controller:
https://www.amazon.com/HQST-Regulator-Charge-Controller-Display/dp/B00FB3OPKM/

46$: a 20 amp hour battery will be more than enough to get your thru the night. if you're concerned about cloudly days then you can double it up.
https://www.amazon.com/Chrome-Battery-12V-20AH-T3/dp/B00BW3ULZI/

130 bucks for a 100watt solar panel
https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watts-Volts-Monocrystalline-Solar/dp/B009Z6CW7O/

figure 20-30 bucks in wiring and mounts and random stuff.

total cost to power it: 200-250$.

References

[0]: 1st charger
http://imgur.com/gallery/SFL5Gz3

[1]: Docooler® MPPT Solar Panel Battery Regulator Charge Controller 10A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HCL7LEW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wZQ7CbFHZ58AP

[2]: laptop supply
http://imgur.com/gallery/EeTMH4O

[3]: battery charging dongle and spare parts
http://imgur.com/9etsFlw

[4]: 48V 17Ah (13S5P-35E) https://em3ev.com/shop/em3ev-48v-13s5p-jumbo-shark-ebike-battery/

1. Get one that can handle the maximum power you're generating with some wiggle room. That is, if you've got a 1kW generator, I'd get at least a 1.2kW controller.
   
   
2. Hookups are straightforward. Positive and negative from the generator into the controller, another positive and negative from the controller to the battery, another positive and negative from the controller to the load. Should all be labeled on the controller.
   
   Here's one that's fairly simple and popular.

I really like the new Victrons. Blazing fast mppt. And you can add bluetooth monitoring/programming. Which is really nice.
v75/15

Out of curiosity is the boost converter actually putting out the voltage it's saying when under load? When I was experimenting on making one for my XR I found I'd set mine to put 63v out, but when I measured it under load regardless of the voltage of the battery at the time it was pumping 68v! I was using one of these mind you so it might just be an inferior product compared to what you're using.

I've since opted for a solar charger that has been working fine. It will start charging in a constant current state at the same voltage of the battery at that time up untill it reaches the max voltage then charges in constant voltage mode to top off the cells.

I'd get one of these and carry it on:

https://www.amazon.com/MOHOO-Bendable-Lightweight-Connector-Compatibility/dp/B06XVWPD7N/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1506055237&sr=8-11&keywords=100+w+folding+solar

Note that you'll need a battery (AGM/sealed) and at minimum a solar charge controller. I like these ones:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0191QN7OO/ref=sxr_rr_xsim_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3008523062&pd_rd_wg=dnE5M&pf_rd_r=86BF01NK65JWJANM0TKG&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhs-carousels&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B0191QN7OO&pd_rd_w=BQDtY&pf_rd_i=solar+charge+controller&pd_rd_r=8YE8X122ADP49YFNBB11&ie=UTF8&qid=1506055373&sr=1

Appropriate battery:

https://www.amazon.com/ML35-12-Battery-Replaces-Mighty-product/dp/B00K8E0WAG/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1506055420&sr=8-10&keywords=agm+battery

Hi, this is pretty much what I have, cheap.

Edit: Just noticed this one doesn't have a load connector so this one depends upon you connecting a load directly to the battery - this is bad as it won't protect the battery from deep discharge, so avoid this one linked above. ainstead, opt for one which has all three connectors.

The reason you need one of these is that solar cells don't actually output precisely 12v, they have an open circuit voltage which can go up to 20v in some cases, and connecting this to a battery directly is likely to damage the battery and possibly the cell too.

The charge regulator cuts this excess voltage down into usable current and shunts it into your battery/load.

When your battery is full, the regulator has to shunt the excess energy produced by the solar panels into a heat sink.

Have a read of reviews before picking a regulator to be sure, mine isn't on there since I am from outside of the US so I cant 't actually vouch for it.

For something this small a simple dumb (non MPPT) would work fine.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-7-Amp-Charge-Controller/dp/B0006JO0XI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381095592&sr=8-2&keywords=solar+charge+controller

I recommend moving to 12v components and then regulating the power back down to 5v for the Pi. There will be many more options and prices will be better.

Start with a solar panel:
http://www.amazon.com/HQRP-Mono-crystalline-Anodized-Aluminum-Radiation/dp/B002HSUT40

Use a charge controller to attach it to your battery(s):
http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-7-Amp-Charge-Controller/dp/B0006JO0XI

Attach a voltage regulator to the battery and your Pi:
http://www.amazon.com/Ship-Hobbywing-Switch-mode-UBEC-Lowest/dp/B008ZNWOYY/

As far as batteries go, buying local will save you some shipping. If this is an outside battery you can use a deep cycle/RV battery. If inside then you need something sealed. You should have several days of reserve for bad weather. Maybe something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/26-SEALED-VOLT-DEEP-RECHARGEABLE/dp/B007GCDDOA

Of the two charge controllers you've picked, the cheap one is actually a far better choice for what you want to do.

You want to get a charge controller that lets you run the load through it, and is programmable with either a timer or an adjustable low voltage disconnect. That way you can set it up to run the pump when the sun is shining or when the battery has plenty of charge. The Renogy will only control the charging, so you could find yourself with a very flat battery if you don't add in something else to control discharging.

If you want a branded version of the cheap charge controller, check out this one (but it's basically the same thing).

If you want something with similar features but better quality and functionality you could try this EPsolar controller plus this PC cable and temp sensor.

You'll need cables, a battery, and a charge controller https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KWPGS6

This model of charge controller has settings for turning on power to the load after dark, and shutting it off after some number of hours or at sunrise.

Just make sure buy the correct size battery, and correct gage of wire. You will also need a waterproof enclosure for your battery and charge controller.

I have a 100w renology panel and this charge controller. They fed into a 100AH deep cycle battery from costco and kept my swamp cooler, cell phone charger, and LED lighting running all week last year.

You need to use a deep cycle or marine battery as they are designed to be run down lower and more often. As for wire, the panel has a short cable so I bought an extension and wired that directly to the controller. I believe I used 12 gauge solid core wire for the connection from the controller to the battery. all ,my stuff connects straight to the battery, however I want to add a terminal bank to make it easier.

I have a cheap Renogy charge controller and a 50W panel. If you're into DIY that might be the way to go. 50W isn't a lot of panel, but it might work if you keep the loads down.

I have a 120 volt shaver, jig saw, variable speed electric drill, and more that get used occasionally. I got a $25, $20 with a coupon, inverter from Harbor Freight, the 400/800. It is sufficient. Often used stuff like phone charging and exhaust fan use 12 volts.

My mini van has one battery. The original starter battery got to the end of the warranty period and died. I replaced it with the biggest battery that would fit in the original location. That's a group size 24. I got the one with the most amp hours, 75, and the least cold cranking amps to attempt to get a deep cycle battery. It uses water so it might be deep cycle. It was $80 at Sams. A group size 59 starter battery was $100 so I saved $20. Deep cycle batteries like golf cart batteries shouldn't be discharged more than about 50% to avoid shrinking capacity. It is my opinion that starter batteries should be limited to 5% discharge. Batteries that are 12 volt and alleged to be deep cycle, like the one I got, should be limited to 15% to 25% max discharge. I'm looking for at least 3 years service.

I got a cheap charge controller like this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MU0WMGT/
High priced charge controllers have lots of settings and stop charging and call that float. How they determine that the battery is full varies and they are often accused of battery killing. This simple controller has one voltage setting. When the sun comes up it connects the panel to the battery. The current is limited by the ability of the panel to produce. When the battery voltage gets up to the set voltage, mine is set to 14.4 in the summer, 14.6 in winter, the controller goes off and on keeping the battery at that level. Some people call that absorption. Then the sun goes down stopping the charging. When the absorption voltage is reached and the current tapers off to1% of the battery capacity, .75 amps in my case, the battery is full. For the controller to tell the difference between amps going to the battery and amps going to a load gets complicated.

My battery is flooded lead acid. When it gets over charged it makes hydrogen and oxygen by taking apart water. I check the water level. Since it does use water I take that as confirmation that it is getting fully charged. I keep track of how much water it takes. Thats 20 to 30 ml per cell per month. I also use a hydrometer to check the electrolyte specific gravity. 1.275 means it is charged. AGM batteries cannot be checked with these simple methods. Electronics to asses state of charge are $150 and up. Simple coulomb counters can tell you what you put in or take out but that isn't state of charge.
Whatever battery you get it has to be fully recharged or the capacity of the battery fades away.

My system is a $20 controller, $108 panel, $80 battery, $10 fuse box, $20 inverter. That's $238. Crimp terminals, crimper, wire, fuses, battery fuse holder, nuts and bolts, and some bits of heat shrink will go over $250. The single battery gets me alternator charging without a solenoid switch. Your $250 budget might be a bit short.

I have just put together a system for a remote barn on my property. It may be overkill for what you are trying to accomplish, but thought it might help.

• 30W Solar Panel
  
• MC4 Cable Connectors
  
• Charge Controller
  
• 12v LED Flood Lights
  
  This is connected to a 12v deep cycle marine battery that you an find at NAPA.
  
  Depending on frequency of use, you may be able to get away with a lower wattage solar panel, or, if it is rarely used, scrap the solar components all together and just lug the battery back to your house once a month a stick it on a trickle charger.

I just bought, and installed an exhaust fan in the back of my pickup. It works great, and I'm stoked to have power in the back now. It wasn't very difficult to figure out.

I bought this, this, this, this, and this fan. It set me back about $350, but I went with a larger, more powerful solar panel. You'll need some 10 gage wire and crimp connections. Home depot has all those parts.

Here's what it looks like.

Any decent solar charge controller should have a low voltage cutoff if you run the load through it. The super cheap PWM ones might be configurable, but spending $120 for one like this was a reasonable investment for me:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075NQQRPD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are obviously others out there that might fit your needs better, but I went with this one because you can use to view exactly what is happening with your system using an app on your phone. You can also set cutoff voltages to whatever you want.

Regular car batteries are made to have a lot of cranking power, and then stay on a trickle charge once the alternator gets going. Running the battery voltage down each night and charging it daily will kill the life of your battery (if it's not deep cycle).

Honestly, charging a phone (5w), running some small LED lighting (8w), and a couple 12VDC fans (6w) can all be done through your cigarette lighter port and won't be drawing more than 20watts. If you ran that all night, you would only be using 15amp/hrs or so of your battery; and if you get 8 hours of sunlight, you only need a 30watt solar panel to charge it back up. Whenever you are talking about solar though, you should plan on doubling your capacity to account for non-optimal performance, cloudy days, long winter nights, etc.

kieranmullen gives a pretty good rundown of what you would need to setup a separate 12v system but seems like overkill for what you are asking (and would run you about $300-400).

Personally, I would get a 100 watt panel, 7 amp charge controller, the cheapest 12v deep cycle marine battery from walmart, and maybe a 3-400w inverter (for a laptop charger or any other AC devices). Also, I'd put an inline fuse between my charge controller and load, and maybe another between the battery and charge controller.

My solar panel is 160 watts and I currently have a PWM solar charge controller (30V) which apparently aren't very efficient and loss 30% of solar power.  So a MPPT solar charge controller was recommended.  My question is; will this controller be okay for a 160 watt solar panel, or should I buy one of the smaller ones?


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07429RK43/ref=as_li_ss_tl?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07429RK43&pd_rd_wg=2Tk2y&pd_rd_r=92XADJVX85X17T90PT7F&pd_rd_w=R7yk9&linkCode=sl1&tag=vehicledwelling-20&linkId=8b93017dcab6009786a3f874e2280e87

I installed this controller: Solar Controller, ALLPOWERS... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MU0WMGT?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Hopefully that link works. We are in Ontario Canada.

Love Renology panels. Just ordered a 2x 50w since the 100w is a bit tough to store after the burn. This charge controller came today for testing. I like the addition of USB as all my lighting is now wired for USB battery packs and USB on the charge controller provides easy recharging.

I haven’t yet determined the charge controller. I am currently considering this 40AMP Epever MPPT charge controller : https://www.amazon.com/EPEVER-Controller-Regulator-Backlight-Lead-Acid/dp/B077HHYYHT/ref=pd_cp_86_2?pd_rd_w=RTARC&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=A30ZESRECHRVT1NXREEH&pd_rd_r=376fa169-36b6-4c2a-a56d-163aa901ad0f&pd_rd_wg=JtZJ9&pd_rd_i=B077HHYYHT&psc=1&refRID=A30ZESRECHRVT1NXREEH

And the Renogy Rover 40AMP MPPT
(Two versions, I can’t tell the difference between maybe being two different years?)

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Charge-Controller-Compatible-batteries/dp/B01MSYGZGI/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Renogy+40&qid=1565635435&s=gateway&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Rover-Amp-12V-24V/dp/B07DNVTJHD/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Renogy+40&qid=1565635435&s=gateway&sr=8-4

I am very open to suggestions on the charge controller. The ePever comes with the voltage reader and what not, so seems like a good deal. However, through my very limited research, Renogy seems to be a standard go to.

As far as a battery, forgive me, as I am about two hundred miles south of it at the moment, but it’s just a standard deep cycle marine battery I purchased from Napa to work with a battery isolated in my old truck. I believe it has something like 150AMP charge. But it might be as low as 110. It weighs about 50lbs, not that helps anything.

Sunlight is not an issue.

Also, I've been able to run fans, charge my phone and laptop, etc so I know that my solar system IS working and keeping my batteries topped off (because I can see on my windynation controller https://www.amazon.com/WindyNation-Regulator-Controller-Adjustable-Settings/dp/B00JMLPP12/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=windynation+controller&qid=1565557593&s=gateway&sr=8-1 )

Ah, its pretty important that solar panels get direct sunlight. they get quite a big efficiency loss in the shade.

You would want a solar charge controller, something like this and a solar panel, something like this

The ones I listed are just the first hits on amazon, i dont have experience with those, so do some research :) I think that will work with a motorcycle battery but i might be wrong.

BTW, how about a really long extention cord... like 100ft+?

No, that won't work. It's only got a 10W solar panel. That means sitting at the top of the highest mountain in the world at noon, clear skies, with a tracking mount that follows the sun, you might see 10W if you're lucky. In the real world, you might average 5 during the day if the Sun's out.

That's nothing. If you had LED lights that drew 5W (not much light), you can see that the Sun won't even power the lights much less a pump even when the sun's shining. You'd have nothing available to charge a battery to keep things running at night.

You have to figure out how much power your pump and lights use. "Not much" isn’t good enough.

You correctly noticed that the device in your link didn't have an outlet for the pump. If your pump has a standard plug, you need an inverter to convert the battery voltage to plug power. Better is to get a 12 Volt pump that directly runs off the battery. Same for the LED lights - there are lots of 12 volt LED lights for recreational vehicles and campers.

Search Amazon for 'aquarium pump 12v'. Here's a $12 unit that draws 5W. That's pretty good. The LED lights will be more, surprisingly. Actually, depending upon what you need, I'd buy the inexpensive solar LED lights; you'll never be able to build something cheaper.

So, you need 5W for the pump. Let's guess 4 days without sun. 4 days times 24 hours times 5W is 480 Whr. Call it 500 Whr. That's how much battery you need. Double that since 12v battery lifetime goes down if discharged less than 50%.

1000whr at 12 V is 83 AmpHr which is how 12 V batteries are rated.

For solar panel, you need a bit over 5W average output. Sun only shines enough for solar 8 hours/day. That's 15W needed during those 8 hours. Assume 4 days no sun. Now you need 60W output during that 8 hours of sun. That basically means a 100W solar panel. Amazon shows a $112 unit.
http://www.amazon.com/ACOPOWER®-Polycrystalline-Photovoltaic-Connectors-Charging/dp/B01586LFJ0/

You need a solar charge controller. Amazon, $22
http://www.amazon.com/Controller-Regulator-Intelligent-Display-12V-24V/dp/B018ICLC3K/

You'll need some wiring, fuses to be safe. Get a 'marine battery' instead of a standard car battery. Marine deep discharge batteries are designed to be discharged over a period of time rather than a normal car battery which just needs to supply a lot of current briefly to start the car. Buy a 75Ahr battery.

If you don't need to handle running through several days of rain, you can drop the solar panel size and battery.

You would want a charge controller. A charge controller basically manages te solar power going to your battery so it doesn't overcharge it. They can be as cheap as $30

What current (or power if that's more handy) rating do you need?

Number 1 best seller on Amazon.

You did specify 30V - is that the actual voltage you need or did you round up? A 36 cell solar module is fairly common - you'll have an open circuit voltage of about 22V in that configuration, less after the panel heats up.

Second best seller on Amazon.Its becoming more common to claim "12V panel" as a way of saying "panels intended to charge 12V batteries" - it has nothing to do with the actual open circuit voltage of the panel.


To be honest, if you can't easily get replacements, I wouldn't go cheap on this component.

Are you within the Amazon return window? Send it back.

​

That is almost certainly not a real MPPT charge controller, and it is way overpriced for what it is. The "PV Off" setting is where charging stops and the battery goes into float. A single setting is not enough, with this controller you will always undercharge and eventually ruin the battery prematurely.

​

A proper charge controller (MPPT or PWM) allows you to set a level for Bulk charge (i.e. approximately 80% charged), Absorption charge (the remaining 20% to full) and Float charge (trickle charge once full).

​

If you are on a budget, on the cheaper side get Epever or Renogy. This 30A Epever is a proper MPPT controller and is more than enough charge controller for your setup (with a 30Amp MPPT you can go up to ~400W of solar if you are charging a 12V batttery system).

https://www.amazon.com/EPever-Controller-Tracer3210AN-Charging-Regulator/dp/B07BHKJSFN/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=epever+tracer+40a&qid=1562524137&s=gateway&sr=8-8

​

With a 100W panel you don't need a 40Amp controller, or even a 30Amp controller. A 100 watt, 12V nominal panel (i.e. 18-20V PV) will produce around 5.5 amps, and a real MPPT controller might raise that to 7 amps charge to the batteries. This 15A Victron controller is vastly superior and can handle up to 200 watt solar when charging 12V batteries.

https://www.amazon.com/Victron-BlueSolar-MPPT-Charge-Controller/dp/B00U3MK0CI/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=victron+75%2F15&qid=1562524536&s=gateway&sr=8-4

They make 12v tvs with built in dvd players. They're a bit cheaply made but they cost less than the inverter.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Naxa-19-LED-TV-DVD-Media-Player-12V-AC-DC-w-Car-Package-Car-Truck-Camper/182500581988/

These are nice and charge fast. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BV1MTAA

And should work fine for your Switch. If the price is a bit much, there are these, which will charge slower:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0082CXEI8

There are these: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Volt-Socket/dp/B004XIWF12

Which will allow you to plug in a 12v fan.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zone-Tech-12V-Oscillating-Fan-Includes-clamp-and-Screws-for-Easy-Attachment-to-either-the-Console-or-Dash/188629593

If it were me I'd replace all your bulbs with LED bulbs, I get mine here: https://www.superbrightleds.com/

That'll greatly reduce your current draw.

I have this solar panel: https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Solar-Compact-Design/dp/B07GF5JY35 and this solar controller: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075NQQRPD

For a small system that solar controller can handle both the charging and monitoring the battery. It's also got bluetooth so you can monitor it over time, if you're a big nerd like I am.

I just designed and built the electrical system in my boat so this is all fresh in my mind.

Anything you add, be sure it's properly fused to protect the wire running to the device and that you're using the right size wire. This is the best place I've found to get wire and supplies for that: http://www.genuinedealz.com/

Hope all that helps.

Post here
https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/
Solar is the standard on vans now. Most people are skipping the engine isolator these days.
You left out the fantastic fan which you'll want if you're doing this level of project.
$700 is way easy. Probably can do for half that. Most people are using $30 MPPT charge controllers for example:
https://smile.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Charger-Controller-Intelligent-Regulator/dp/B01MU0WMGT/
Are you putting this on a roof box? otherwise why do you need flexible. Bolt on ridgid panels to a roof rack; cheaper.

This one. Turns out it's 40A so I'm probably good.

true looks like almost a $120 difference.. damn

PWM

vs.

MPPT

edit: any thoughts on this one? sounds pretty great for a 200W setup.

I just, on a whim, ordered this charge controller on eBay for $35 flat. https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Wanderer-30A-Charge-Controller/dp/B00BCTLIHC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
It was new with original everything and I figured I have the eBay protection if its not what its supposed to be. The owner says they ordered a bundle but they already had a charge controller so sold their Wanderer. we'll see how it plays out.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes! but that's a pretty spendy piece of kit. Wouldn't something like this work sorta the same, just replace the panel input with a 12V source?

Like others have said, it's a mistake to run any sort of electrical heating device off of a solar power system. This includes, kettles, electric blankets, hair dryers, etc. They simply require too much power unless you have a huge battery bank and a very large inverter.

For charging phones, you could just wire up your own cigarette lighter port. You can buy a combo cigarette lighter port and 2 USB ports for like $7 at Walmart. You just have to wire it into your car's 12V system and stick it to your dashboard or something. You can use a cigarette lighter inverter in it for small devices. It might be enough to run a laptop charger. You'd have to check the amperage limits. (I use a cigarette lighter inverter for my phone's special AC Adapter which has quick charge. I don't get quick charge just using a USB port.)

Have you considered buying a "solar generator"? They're all-in-one solutions for moderate power needs. It's basically a box that contains battery, inverter, and charge controller. All you need to do is add solar panels. The portable folding ones might be good, or you can get traditional ones and mount them on your roof. Here's an article about them that links to other comparisons between them. He even built his own using relatively inexpensive batteries (with an added battery management system), and a normal charge controller and inverter.

That site is run by William Prowse who has a ton of useful videos and tutorials on solar power, including several plans.

Of course, you can always build a full solar power system by buying all the separate parts and wiring them together. I'm not going to lie, it's not easy. The best thing to do is watch hours of YouTube videos and read tons of forums posts and articles to learn about all the parts, what they do, and which ones work with each other. You gotta watch out for misinformation, though. There are some... "older people" who are set in their ways and will tell you all you need are lead acid batteries and a PWM charge controller instead of an MPPT one. What those mean is a topic for a different day. Or you can follow a plan online and buy the exact parts they do, but then you wouldn't know how to adjust it for your own needs.

Here are some of the questions you need to be able to answer in order to design a solar power system:

• How many watts of power do each of your devices use, and how many hours a day do you plan on using them?
  
  • You can buy a Kill-A-Watt to accurately measure the wattage your AC devices use.
    
• How many rainy days in a row do you need to survive before you have to either stop using power or charge your battery through other means? (Alternator, generator, wall charger.)
  
  • 2-3 days is the most you can really hope for in a van. You simply don't have enough space for panels.
    
• How much sun (insolation) do you get, on average, in the locations you will be at the times you plan to be there?
  
  • Are you going to live year-round in one place, or travel all over?
    
  • Do you plan on spending any time in Winter in Northern locations with less sun?
    
    You buy large enough batteries so that you can get those 2 days of usage, and you buy enough solar panels so that you can get back those two days of usage with one day of sun. For the most part, the number of solar panels you can fit on your van is the limiting factor. You can buy a ton of batteries which will last you a week, but there's no point if you can't charge them back to full in one day.
    
    Regarding batteries, you also have to account for the fact that traditional lead acid batteries take a long time to charge because of their high internal resistance. With too large of batteries, if you discharge them too deeply, no amount of solar panels will help. The batteries can only take so much current at once, and there simply aren't enough hours of sun in a day to provide it, no matter how many panels you have. If you don't charge the batteries to full regularly, you will literally destroy them. (None of this applies to lithium ion batteries, which are so much better for solar, but they cost a lot more up front, but last much longer.)
    
    It's a balancing act between battery size, solar panel wattage, and amount of sun.
    
    Then you have to answer these other questions:
    
    
• What's the peak amperage my panels will provide based on location, time of year, angle of tilt (or not), and coldest ambient temperature?
  
• How large of a solar charge controller do I need to support the above?
  
• How many continuous amps can my battery bank provide?
  
• How many continuous amps do I need to support an AC inverter of a given size?
  
• Do I need a pure sine wave inverter, or can I get away with a cheaper modified sine wave one?
  
• How large do the wires need to be that go from my battery to inverter, or charge controller to battery, or the battery to fuse box and then to my 12V devices? (fans, fridge, lights, etc.)
  
• What size fuses do I need for all these connections?
  
• And much more...
  
  You can forget about all that and just follow someone's plan online. Well, except the fuses and wires for each 12V device. You'll still need to figure that out. Will Prowse has this "Classic 400W solar package" that you can follow to the T and get by just fine, but you won't know if that's even good enough for you until you figure out your power usage. But if it is, then the article and video are great.
  
  There's even a link to everything on Amazon, although the last time I checked, the specific charge controller he links is no longer available except from random sellers. There's a newer model instead. Oh, wait, he links to eBay now, but it's $51 more expensive than the new model on Amazon ($209 vs $158). I would just buy the new model. It's what I did. But the rest of the advice, plans, etc, is pretty good. Except all inverters suck if you read the negative reviews, even the one he links. They often can't really handle the wattage they claim. (I personally went with a Samlex brand inverter, which was nearly the same price, but less than half the wattage rating, which is much more realistic.)
  
  I used his videos a bit in helping design my system, but I have 600W of panels to suit my higher needs, so I had to scale some things up. I run two strings of 3 panels in series (2x3). This gives me a good balance of voltage and current.
  
  I don't have a battery that can support a 2000W inverter, so I bought a 600W one. I bought a 170 Ah Renogy lithium ion battery. Renogy suggests no more than 100A of continuous draw (more than 150A, and it will turn itself off). 100A is less then gentle to the battery, though. You can multiply the DC amperage by 10 to get an estimate of the wattage of an inverter it can run. So 100A could run a 1000W inverter. If I bought a second battery and wired it in parallel with my current one, I could get 200A continuous, but this battery was $1300. I'm going to live with what I got for a while. (In retrospect, I should have bought 2 100Ah batteries instead, but supply was very limited, and they cost more per amp-hour, $950 each.)
  
  After my (literal) months of researching and teaching myself about batteries, solar power, and all that, I have come to the conclusion that buying lead acid batteries is a mistake. This includes traditional flooded lead acid, sealed AGM, deep cycle marine, etc. Unless you treat them super gently, charge them to nearly full every day, never discharge them lower then 50%, equalize the cells on a schedule, etc., then they will only last a couple of years before you end up buying new ones. In the long run, lithium ion is cheaper.
  
  Good lithium ion batteries can be discharged "100%", be left for long term as low as 20-30%, don't need special equalization, weigh half as much, and have almost zero internal resistance so they charge faster. And they will last 10 years, easy. Even longer if you treat them extra gentle. The only problem is the upfront cost. I could have purchased 4 Trojan T-105 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries for 1/3 the cost of my one battery, and I would have had even more capacity, but the size, weight, fragility, and the whole spewing acidic vapor was a turn off. In 10 years, I'd probably replace them 3 times, at least, making them cost the same or more. I've read many experienced solar power users say you should expect to replace them in 1 year because you're going to do something wrong in your first year and ruin them.
  
  (There is one downside to lithium ion batteries I should mention. You can't charge them directly from a van's alternator. They draw too much current and will fry it! You instead would need to use a battery-to-battery charger. A found a good one for about $200, though I didn't buy it and I don't have a link handy. Just something to consider.)
  
  (Continued in reply)

Thanks for the responses.. I have ensured that the positive and negative are aligned the same between the lamps. I've connected to each with in sequence terminating at the controller.

This was my first attempt with a solar panel (20W).. Bought this : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWTKYDC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

I see now that I should have purchased on with a variable load output. Any suggestions?

I would this work? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G4ZWX3F/ref=twister_B07JW87L4G?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

​

Again thanks for the help.

Yes I do have a voltmeter, the battery voltage now that I've unplugged the solar panels from the charge controller is 12.9 volts.
Wire is 10 gauge CC to batteries, under a foot in length.

Wire for inverter is 5 gauge, 2 feet.

Ive only had it all hooked up for about a week, and yesterday was the first sunny day. I had my fan and lights running OK, but today when I started using the inverter was when I realized something was wrong. The batteries shouldnt be draining that quickly, or venting so intensely

Link for charge controller is https://www.amazon.com/Regulator-Controller-Digital-Adjustable-Settings/dp/B00JMLPP12

No alternator, just solar.

The panel output more like 5.5 amps /hour per 100 watt panel that's what my HQSTs do. PWM Is fine for a small solar setup better gain would be to get a 3rd panel than the extra expense of mppt. Something with a lcd to display input and output in amps is nice like HQST 30 Amp PWM Smart Solar Charge Controller with LCD Display https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FB3OPKM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.XETybK31ADKN

I was planning on getting a 30 Amp like this one

Car like that? Try something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-1163-Solar-Maintainer/dp/B004Q83TGO

On a side note, for those at apartments without battery tenders I highly reccomend the solar battery tender. It's saved my ass...well...5 times now.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-1163-Solar-Maintainer/dp/B004Q83TGO

here is what i have going on.

2 100 watt mono solar panels connected parallel via mc4 connectors.

they connect to the tracer 20amp charge controller, think its 8awg wire here.

then i need to connect the charge controller to the battery. the battery is a 12v deep cycle interstate 94 aH. i wanted more juice, so i parallel connected a 12v 34aH golf cart battery to it.

my question is what gauge wire and what fuse i need on the + wire from the charge controller to the battery?

the panels wil grab not more than 15aH.

Quick math, I just noticed the self consume stat on the charge controller's page...7000mAh battery. 4 weeks 7 days per week 24 hours per day = 672 hours * 10mA draw = dead battery. I can definitely see it killing the battery over a month if the battery wasn't on but I would have expected the panel to add enough to at least make it a wash.

I guess the discharge stop is only for the load and not for the controller itself?


https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Regulator-Intelligent-Display-12V-24V/dp/B018ICLC3K/

Specifications:
Solar controller has specifically designed to meet the needs of the rural electrification market.
Working Temperature: -35°C to +60°C
Self consume: ≤10mA
Float Charge: 13V(default,adjustable)
Discharge stop:10.7V(default,adjustable)
Discharge reconnect:12.6V(default,adjustable)
Size:133x70x32mm
LED display
PWM battery charging
All necessary protections equipped
Adjustable controlling parameter of the system
Suitable for Home, Industrial, Commercial etc.

So, I had the panels working for over a year with no problems, so I doubt it was the controller.

But there were 6 Renogy flexible solar panels 100W each, nominal voltage of 18.5 I believe, with this charge controller. Two parallel sets of 3 panels in series wired to the controller, wired to the battery.

I think the main thing though was I drained the batteries and had them connect to a 24V/12V step down with no low voltage shutoff. Maybe we just haven't been getting enough sun to power it, and it killed it.

Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Panel (New Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFMBF3G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bTBZDb1FFV9EY

EPEVER MPPT Solar Charge Controller 40A 150V PV Solar Panel Controller Negative Ground W/ MT50 Remote Meter + Temperature Sensor PC Monitoring Cable[Tracer4215BN] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07429RK43/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LTBZDbQ4VNMAZ

Universal Power Group 12V 100Ah Solar Wind AGM SLA DEEP Cycle VRLA Battery 12V 24V 48V https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S1RT58C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AUBZDbEKFZ000

Hmm...so basically overcharging it a little helps a lot? Though the best method would be to just keep it fully charged all the time. I've seen it hit >28v before on the batteries so I think I should be good with equalising.

They are indeed 60 cell and have a Voc of 39.6v@25C at it's rated power. They're connected in series. This is mainly to minimise voltage drop and lower the amperage along the wires.

I do.
Current (cheap) charge controller: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G3XTWTS/

What I plan to upgrade to: http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/pt-100-mppt-charge-controller

As well as the inverter that I'm planning to upgrade to: http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/product-inverter/4000w-24vdc-pure-sine-hybrid-inverter-charger-msh-series

And the panels: https://www.solarworld-usa.com/~/media/www/files/datasheets/archive/sunmodule-bisun-duo-solar-panel-datasheet.pdf

It would be pretty easy to build something similar for a lot cheaper. Pick up a used suitcase at the thrift shop, mount a 50w panel on the outside (much better than the 10W panel in the case you linked to.) Inside the case, mount a charge controller with USB, this 20Ah battery (again, better than the 16Ah in the other one), and this 500W inverter (not sure how big the one in the expensive case it, but 500W should be enough.) So for less than $250 and a little bit of build work, you can have a much more functional system (500% larger solar capacity and 25% more battery capacity).

Just found that these Victron MPPT solar charge controllers have a lithium charge profile you can select: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U3MK0CI/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awdo_x_ClVtybFR6JJ4Y

Still wondering if there is some elegant way to tie in alternator charging

It's super bad all around to have your solar panel directly connected to your battery. Probably not too dangerous, but I have heard that the flexible solar panels like to get so hot (if bent in a certain way) that they'll literally burn out parts of them (like a broken fuse).

Main issues here:

1. You're going to over-charge your battery, shortening its life or damaging it.
   
   
2. You're going to be drawing when not charging
   
   I bought one of these guys: https://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Controller-Battery-Intelligent-Regulator/dp/B01MU0WMGT/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_263_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XPGVMHDYZV5TBJ2NCJ53
   
   You can go much more expensive, but it's not really worth it. Worst thing that happens to these is they stop working. If you're really worried about that, buy a spare or two.
   
   20A is more than enough for anything less than 200W. If you have more than 200W of solar panel you'll need more.
   
   My 100W setup is larger than your flexible (lower efficiency) panel, and peak I'd only output a little more than 8 amps.
   
   Your solar panel might also be bad. Check how many amps its outputting. You need a cheap multimeter for this kind of work.

following that link I found one, that specifically say: user can set the output voltage and current according to actual need.
https://www.amazon.com/Docooler%C2%AE-Battery-Regulator-Charge-Controller/dp/B01HCL7LEW/ref=sr_1_7?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1506314112&sr=1-7&keywords=mppt+charge+controller

but it seem is for 24v system and up. not for 12v.
btw when using MPPT controller do you need to have 24v panels?

Use something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-7-Amp-Charge-Controller/dp/B0006JO0XI (will prevent overcharging or discharging)

Edit: You already have a controller bundled. No need for the above.

with something like this:

http://r.ebay.com/wFDuiC (or bigger depending on your need).

Well yes, solar is big in campers, etc. You can get many types (like the one you linked) that have a seperate solar panel, so you can wire the light inside.
You can also get a stand alone battery/batterypack, solar panel, and LED lights. it's very easy, and there are tons of places online that you can check out for simple solar systems.

ie:

Solar panel (say, 20w), small 12v lead acid battery (like 10Ah), a charge controller ( or equiv. for the UK ), and then some 12v lights

[inverter](ampeak 1000w power inverter 12v dc to 110v ac dual ac outlets 2.1a usb car inverter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NZ8DSB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NbC6Ab814KH3Z)
[solar controller](allpowers 20a solar charger controller solar panel battery intelligent regulator with usb port display 12v/24v https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU0WMGT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_adC6Ab4DAFH9X)
And ill add some sort of solar panel

I've been studying up on the same topic, and there are a few ways to go about it.

I think the best option for you might be this particular MPPT controller, which you could between the panel and battery, or the battery and a higher voltage battery if need be.

This is the brand @frothface - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07429RK43/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 thanks

This is my fallback option right now.


Renogy Wanderer 10A, and BT-1 bluetooth module.


Compromises: PWM and no temperature probe.

$100 panels https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HHDC6NQ/

$20 charge controller https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MU0WMGT/

$100 marine battery https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008974VFG/

$150 ac inverter 2000watt https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0716WT8D5/

I'd suggest you make this... it is pretty simple. Off the shelf, the Solar Gens are going to break your budget quick and then no money left for solar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-o9XSAfXTw Here's a good DIY. You don't have to have the lcd monitor.

The hardest part is predicting how much power you will need out there. Charging a phone is trivial, but lights can pull big power quick. So you'll need to figure out the lowest wattage you can run... 15watts * 6 hours/night * 5 days = 450Wh, so you'd need something like a 12v 35Ah battery if you don't have solar. BUT if you can get down to 5watts, you only need a 12Ah battery which is MUCH lighter.

So simplest would be a battery, ammo can, and a USB/12v with switch. (This would be like $70 battery, $20 for usb/switch, $12 ammo can)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S2V5GB9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you want to charge with solar, you need a charge controller and panel. (Add to above $15 controller and $100-200 for solar panels)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWTKYDC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am in the process of finishing mine now and have elected to just use an external inverter for the off chance I need 120v.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MU0WMGT/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1495807720&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Solar+controller

I used 2 solar panels, 2 deep cycle batteries and this solar charger off Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MU0WMGT

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY0875V/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006JO0XI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got these charge controllers they worked great as far as i can tell. no noise

I just set my panel on a lawn chair and point it at the sun moving it a couple times during the day.

links to what I bought-

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018BMGTTO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D7VBJK8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB3OPKM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Controller https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U3MK0CI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Panel https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XVWPD7N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have this one right now https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MU0WMGT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

but I could be putting up 50 of these configurations and need a way to get the data remote without traveling to check the controller

I used 2x 150W roof panels that I got off of ebay for $330 shipped and a cheap amazon pwm charge controller combined with 3 marine deep cycle batteries. Just keep in mind that panels these days are very cheap, you should try to pay less than a dollar a watt, I would avoid buying panels from Harbor Freight as they can end up costing over $5/W (the only advantage they have is portability which could be a big deal I suppose) (The goal zero 90W panel would cost you $5.56/W).

Here is the posting that I bough from last year, I have been very happy with the panels, keep in mind these things are heavy so with shipping $330 is a pretty darn good price. http://r.ebay.com/4SCK9w

Amazon PWM charge controller (I bought this one because the lcd displays voltage levels, current in and out, and usage over time for the input and output) http://amzn.com/B00JMLPP12

Image of the setup from last year: http://imgur.com/a/AuM03

EDIT:
The pwm controller has a built in dusk dawn timer system so you can feed your lighting right off the unit. Or for high power stuff just tap right off the batteries (fuses would probably be a good idea...). We ran a couple 12V swamp coolers, a couple inverters, and a couple lipo chargers (charged 10+ large lipo packs a day for personal led lighting). And we never even came close to using the full 300W.

Got that covered, I have a larger, better 24v MPPT on the way. However, I have to disagree. ut the spec sheet says 24v (https://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Charger-Controller-Intelligent-Regulator/dp/B01MU0WMGT/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_263_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TAP7B6HN0BP9SXXHVYN8)