Solar powered cold weather starting

[Rockwarrior68]

I checked the threads and could not find anything on the subject. Looking to add a battery heater and coolant recirculating pump to my truck. It spends the winter in North Dakota. No place to plug into electric source. Of course some sort of timer would have to be added. Plenty of room for a solar panel, little room for battery's. Thank you for your help.

 

[DeMented Toys]

So what exactly is the question?


DinéMetalworks.com

 

[Rockwarrior68]

Has anyone done before, how, what were the results. Does that make it more clear?

 

[DeMented Toys]

Not really.... You'll have to figure out how much power you will be using. You will need battery storage to match the power use. I doubt that solar power up north in the winter would be very efficient, but again it depends on how much power the heater and stuff uses and how many hours per day it will be running. If you will be driving your truck every day and need to use the warmer overnight you could charge the auxiliary batteries from your alternator.


DinéMetalworks.com

 

[bfdiesel]

I assume you are talking block heaters. Most block heaters are 800 to 1000 watts at 120 volts, so 1000 watts is about 8-9 amps at 120 volts. If you invert 12 volts you are going to need about 80-100 amps from the battery, it will not take long to drain a battery at that kind of draw. You are going to be better off getting a coolant heater that uses whatever fuel your vehicle uses, or buying a small generator to plug the block heater into and start it a couple of hours before you need to start the vehicle.