Best? Beast?
Haven’t weighed it yet. Fridge slide is the heaviest part.. I think it’s close to 30 pounds by itself. The rest is all aluminum and 1/4” hdpe for the panels... so maybe 50 pounds total
LifePO4 and solar build for my Land Rover
- Thread starter jeegro
- Start date
Best? Beast?
Haven’t weighed it yet. Fridge slide is the heaviest part.. I think it’s close to 30 pounds by itself. The rest is all aluminum and 1/4” hdpe for the panels... so maybe 50 pounds total
Wheelman55
Member
Jeegro...I think that you’ll be happy with the 200 watts of solar and the BattleBorn.
I’ve been using a BB LiFePO4 for a year now and love it. I serves dual use: in the Raptor to run an ARB Elements fridge, and in basecamp to run two arb fridges at the same time.
In the Raptor I charge via alternator with a Hellroaring battery isolator, at basecamp I charge with a 180 watt ZAMP folding panel. The ZAMP unit includes a waterproof charge controller and charges at 10 amps. If I hooked up the solar panels there would be no driving required.
When in basecamp the ZAMP 180 had the BB battery fully charged by 10:30 am when in full sun this winter in Terlingua, TX. FYI, while at basecamp the battery as well as the fridges are in a building with an ambient temp of 75 F or so. The ZAMP also keeps a 12 volt 220 AH FLA battery bank charged. The FLA bank charges phones and laptops and gets charged once a week, sometimes twice a week. The ZAMP unit has plenty of power to keep both banks charged when we have full sun.
This winter we had multi-day low sun periods lasting four to six days...the 180 watts of solar along with the BB battery allowed us to keep up. I did use a smart charger set to AGM once during the six day stretch.
When in the Raptor the alternator w-isolator keeps them charged if I’m driving the truck every two or three days. While in the truck they are under a tonneau or under a RTT, so ambient temp gets considerably higher than it does at basecamp.
The only potential issue that I can see for you is shading on your solar modules if you are under tree cover.
Have fun!
I’ve been using a BB LiFePO4 for a year now and love it. I serves dual use: in the Raptor to run an ARB Elements fridge, and in basecamp to run two arb fridges at the same time.
In the Raptor I charge via alternator with a Hellroaring battery isolator, at basecamp I charge with a 180 watt ZAMP folding panel. The ZAMP unit includes a waterproof charge controller and charges at 10 amps. If I hooked up the solar panels there would be no driving required.
When in basecamp the ZAMP 180 had the BB battery fully charged by 10:30 am when in full sun this winter in Terlingua, TX. FYI, while at basecamp the battery as well as the fridges are in a building with an ambient temp of 75 F or so. The ZAMP also keeps a 12 volt 220 AH FLA battery bank charged. The FLA bank charges phones and laptops and gets charged once a week, sometimes twice a week. The ZAMP unit has plenty of power to keep both banks charged when we have full sun.
This winter we had multi-day low sun periods lasting four to six days...the 180 watts of solar along with the BB battery allowed us to keep up. I did use a smart charger set to AGM once during the six day stretch.
When in the Raptor the alternator w-isolator keeps them charged if I’m driving the truck every two or three days. While in the truck they are under a tonneau or under a RTT, so ambient temp gets considerably higher than it does at basecamp.
The only potential issue that I can see for you is shading on your solar modules if you are under tree cover.
Have fun!
You must not use very much power, to be recharged by 10:30 am on 180w / ~10-12 amps
Since my 200w is fixed, I'm planning to add a portable folding solar blanket to give that extra bit of juice and flexibility. Got my heart set on the Powerfilm 120W, buy once cry once... is it worth ~1300?
Here's the pinouts of the Magnum SBC Switch and Load disconnect switch.
SBC Switch:
- ON: Automatic. Disconnect when engine is running
- OFF: Force disconnect starter and lithium battery
Load disconnect switch:
- ON: Automatic. Disconnect when Blue Sea 1830 battery monitor sees low state of charge. Blue sea relay is set to normally ON. When the victron LVD sees voltage on the trigger wire, it allows the LVD to connect loads.
- OFF: Force disconnect loads
For the SBC switch, I couldn't find any fuse in the passenger compartment box that is only on when the engine is running, so I wired it to ACC2 for now. Not totally ideal, but works
Here's the guts of the panel. I fired it up in my living room, and everything works as expected. Can't test the BCDC and magnum until I put it in the vehicle.
Not as pretty as the front no doubt, but gets the job done.
Red SB175 Anderson plug = alternator hookup to BCDC
Yellow SB175 Anderson = solar hookup to BCDC
Primary fuses at the left is a Blue sea MBRF fuse block for the loads, BCDC, and Magnum.
3 shunts at the upper right
2 negative load busses at the bottom
Anderson plugs on the right:
Gray SB50 = Air compressors
Green SB50 = audio amplifier
white/yellow/orange/red/black APPs at the top = hookup to steering column fuse panel
white = ignition tap (currently not used, can't find an ignition tap)
orange = constant starter 12v, used to power the Blue sea 1830 battery monitor and read voltage
red/black = power to fuse panel under steering column
8 colored Anderson plugs at bottom = switch inputs for relays
8 colored anderson plugs in the middle + 2 black plugs = load power out to devices driven by relays, plus two ground wires. I've used a trailer cable (6x 12 AWG, 1x 10 AWG) as a power cable to the hood, terminated by a terminal block where accessories can hook up to, and a common bus bar using the single 10 AWG wire. This way no relays are exposed to the elements
That's pretty much it!
Not as pretty as the front no doubt, but gets the job done.
Red SB175 Anderson plug = alternator hookup to BCDC
Yellow SB175 Anderson = solar hookup to BCDC
Primary fuses at the left is a Blue sea MBRF fuse block for the loads, BCDC, and Magnum.
3 shunts at the upper right
2 negative load busses at the bottom
Anderson plugs on the right:
Gray SB50 = Air compressors
Green SB50 = audio amplifier
white/yellow/orange/red/black APPs at the top = hookup to steering column fuse panel
white = ignition tap (currently not used, can't find an ignition tap)
orange = constant starter 12v, used to power the Blue sea 1830 battery monitor and read voltage
red/black = power to fuse panel under steering column
8 colored Anderson plugs at bottom = switch inputs for relays
8 colored anderson plugs in the middle + 2 black plugs = load power out to devices driven by relays, plus two ground wires. I've used a trailer cable (6x 12 AWG, 1x 10 AWG) as a power cable to the hood, terminated by a terminal block where accessories can hook up to, and a common bus bar using the single 10 AWG wire. This way no relays are exposed to the elements
That's pretty much it!
dreadlocks
Well-known member
$1300 for a 120W panel? yesh buy another lithium for that.. I just dropped $850 to load up my BB100AH w/650W of panels..
since rover is not going to have capability of carrying alot of solar, I'd just forget about it.. do what you can cheaply and make fit, but rely on your alternator for primary recharge source... mixing and matching panels of various design and voltages on the same controller could have issues at worst, and be quite inefficient at best.. folding and flexible panels usually dont have any bypass diodes.
since rover is not going to have capability of carrying alot of solar, I'd just forget about it.. do what you can cheaply and make fit, but rely on your alternator for primary recharge source... mixing and matching panels of various design and voltages on the same controller could have issues at worst, and be quite inefficient at best.. folding and flexible panels usually dont have any bypass diodes.
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Yeah, you're right. I'm going to wait and see how this setup does. Even with no solar, 100AH should last me 3-5 days parked. I rarely stay in one place longer than that. The Powerfilm is really nice though, it folds up like a blanket and only weighs 6 pounds. You don't think the Powerfilm would cooperate well with my 2x 100w Renogy panels? Unfortunately there's very few options in a similar blanket style. Sure, there's suitcase panels but they're too heavy and bulky. There are some Amazon semi-blanket style panels like the Lensun, but quality appears mediocre.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
If your running panels w/out bypass diodes built in, or installed externally.. you should really only be running one or else one will get shaded and drag the other down with it so the whole system is only as capable of the weakest cell.
I thought that was only an issue in series? In parallel they each just put out what they can?
My renogy eclipse mono panels have bypass diodes in them. The powerfilm I don't know, but I would assume so as it's designed for low light conditions, used in the military, and has amorphous cells. There's also the Redarc 190w blanket which retails at a mind boggling $2,000 AUD...
dreadlocks
Well-known member
for parallel they are blocking diodes
I've never seen a flexible panel that had any diodes, part of making em thin and lightweight is ditching the junction box on the back of em... spec sheet makes no mention of any diodes, so one must assume there are none.. that panel is designed to be the only panel in the system so it dont really need em.. you can always put em in externally, which is how most people do multiple flexible panels.. but it makes wiring a bit complicated for a portable setup.
On my last trailer I had a 50W flexible fixed to the trailer and 120W briefcase, I tried hooking em together once but w/out the diodes in the flexible it just made the briefcase output crap.. I coulda installed diodes but I never did, fixed was for providing a top off charge when driving (no 7pin hookup for alternator charge) or stored and when camping I just left it unplugged because I didnt like parking the trailer in the sun.
I've never seen a flexible panel that had any diodes, part of making em thin and lightweight is ditching the junction box on the back of em... spec sheet makes no mention of any diodes, so one must assume there are none.. that panel is designed to be the only panel in the system so it dont really need em.. you can always put em in externally, which is how most people do multiple flexible panels.. but it makes wiring a bit complicated for a portable setup.
On my last trailer I had a 50W flexible fixed to the trailer and 120W briefcase, I tried hooking em together once but w/out the diodes in the flexible it just made the briefcase output crap.. I coulda installed diodes but I never did, fixed was for providing a top off charge when driving (no 7pin hookup for alternator charge) or stored and when camping I just left it unplugged because I didnt like parking the trailer in the sun.
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luthj
Engineer In Residence
When panels are in parallel, they must be roughly the same Vmpp. If one of the strings gets shaded by 20%, the cells go from producers to consumers, dropping the strings voltage dramatically. This pulls down both panels in parallel. With bypass diodes, a shaded string is bypassed and the other strings stays at normal voltage.
If the panels in question have blocking diodes, they should not back feed current from the non-shaded panel when in shade.
If the panels in question have blocking diodes, they should not back feed current from the non-shaded panel when in shade.
Alright, good to know it's not as simple as I thought. Powerfilm panel is 15.4v, renogy is 17.7v. Is that a showstopper in of itself? Can a diode simply be wired between the positives of the panels? Is there a product for that that works on 8 AWG? I'm imagining like a midi fuse holder, except with a diode instead of a fuse
dreadlocks
Well-known member
yeah that voltage difference is going to be a problem, I dunno if 15.4v will even fire up a MPPT controller.. my victron requires +5v over VBatt to start charging.
can you stack another panel ontop of your existing rigid one and make that portable?
can you stack another panel ontop of your existing rigid one and make that portable?
luthj
Engineer In Residence
Amazon.com: 50 Volt 10 Amp Schottky Diodes for Solar Panels (Pack of 5): Garden & Outdoor
Amazon.com: 50 Volt 10 Amp Schottky Diodes for Solar Panels (Pack of 5): Garden & Outdoor
amzn.to
The Voltages he lists are not open circuit but Power Point I think.
Attachments
Alright I'll bench that for now..
I put it in the truck today. Fits like a glove!
Still testing and tweaking. The solar was putting 8 amps in, the SBC would connect after a minute or so, then disconnect as it pulled the voltage too low, then repeat again. Starter batt is at 12.2 at the moment.
BCDC is only bringing the lithium up to 13.7.
I put it in the truck today. Fits like a glove!
Still testing and tweaking. The solar was putting 8 amps in, the SBC would connect after a minute or so, then disconnect as it pulled the voltage too low, then repeat again. Starter batt is at 12.2 at the moment.
BCDC is only bringing the lithium up to 13.7.
Wheelman55
Member
Just overnight loads from the two fridges. Maybe 25 AH each night. Those #’s are for full sun days at 29 degree latitude, with the panels pointed at the sun. On partial sun days I won’t see full charge until late in the day. Low sun days and I’ll just keep up. For the multi-day low sun periods I fire up the Honda EU2000
You do realize that you’ll get rated amps only during full sun (NOCT), right? And you’ll get zippo if your panels are shaded? And for full cloudy conditions you’ll get the best harvest by pointing the panel straight up?
PS. Your wiring job looks awesome!