Recent content by jonyjoe101

Years ago I tried charging from the alternator cigarette plug to my lifepo4 which was at 20 percent, thinking I would at least get 15 amps charge rate. But I was only getting 2 amps charge rate max. I don't drive much which is why I never tried using the alternator as a source to charge my...

to make your own 12 dc to dc charger you need 2 components boost converter (about 10 dollars) and a buck converter (another 10 dollars) and a dc LED volt amp meter. I build my own and they work great to charge all chemistries Lead, li-ion and lifepo4. For 12 volt to 12 volt, the boost...

max charge for a lifepo4 is 14.6 volts, most alternators put out 14.4 volts. Many of the lead battery chargers also charge to 14.4 volts. As long as the battery charger doesnt have a equalizing feature (which charges past 14.4 volts to refresh the lead acid battery) it should be good. You don't...

You only need a mppt controller if you have a large solar panel 200 watts or more (40 volt panel), if you have a smaller 120 watt panel or similar (24 volt panel) you only need a pwm controller. On the back of the panel it'll give the max panel voltage. You can use either the mppt or pwm on...

All the cables that failed on me was due to me using the cheap copper clad aluminum (CCA) wire, back then I didnt know any better. Now I use the pure copper wire (OFC or oxygen free copper), which is excellent for soldering, havent had any fail on me. There is also some OFC wire that is pure...

I suspect the fuses might be the cheap chinese made ones. I have had those fuses melt. For high amp devices like my 30 amp tire inflator, I only use the bussman fuses, those don't melt and will pop at the rated amperage. I prefer the fuses in the hard plastic, not the see-thru plastic. I never...

I been using xt60 connectors on my solar system for over 10 years, currently have them on my 365 watt panel, panel maxes out at about 27 amps on full sunlight. You can find them on ebay or amazon.

I have a fullriver 27ah agm (clone of the oddysey) I bought it in 2013 and used mostly as a jump battery but have been using it as a start battery in my astrovan for the past 3 years. I do have to top it off to 14.7 volts every 3 to 4 days, If I don't top it off it wlll give me weak cranks...

For low amp connections like lights, small fans etc less than 5 amps I been using 5.5mm x 2.1mm connectors. These are cheap and are more convenient (I buy on ebay). Before I was using the small 2 wire jst connectors but those can be inserted backwards which I did and it ruined one of my fans.

I been using the xt60 connectors for over 10 years, use them on everything including my 30 amp tire inflator, they make a solid connection. Recently I found the flush mount xt60 on amazon (10x 10 dollars) these make for a more professional installation, the connectors themselves you can also...

Once the 2 batteries are connected together the voltages will stabilize to each other, even over distances, the higher voltage battery will charge the lower voltage so the voltage stabilizes. I've connected DC amp meters between 2 batteries to see what the voltage transfer is and its very...

What causes voltage drop with solar is that controllers arent properly calibrated at the factory, they all read high. Every controller I used (pwm or mppt) was reading high, anywhere from .5 to 1 volt high. If the solar controller was reading 14.4 volts the actual voltage on the battery...

Everything seems to be connected correctly. It probably just needs a good charge to 14.4 or 14.6 volts to get the battery monitor to reset to 100 percent. On my 220ah lifepo4 when I discharged it to 0 percent, it took me almost 2 weeks to fully charge back to 100 percent (14.6 volts on my...

On the sensor P- there is a black wire and also a white wire, where do those wire go? on mine there is only one wire which is input and output. If the black and white wire connect to a common busbar then it should be ok. Thats the only way the sensor will be able to record accurately charging...

the white wire going to the second battery should be on the battery terminal directly. Right now as the picture shows its connected to the P- of the sensor. Remove the small white wire completely, and disconnect the second battery wire from the P- and connect it where the small wire was on the...