100+ ambient Temp - ARB 50qt - 100 watt solar panel - Not enough?
- Thread starter dstock
- Start date
dstock
Explorer
Excellent news! Congrats on resolving the issue.
Thanks! Couldn't have done it without all the help here.
dstock
Explorer
I found myself in Death Valley again this May in similar temps as last year, so I thought I would report back on my results.
Late last summer, I discovered I was having intermittent charging issues with my National Luna system. After swapping parts around with the help of Paul from Equipt, the problem persisted. After several months with no solution, I got a bit frustrated and ditched the system altogether in favor of a Blue Sea ACR. I also replaced my ARB fridge wiring with the ARB fridge harness and the new style plug connector.
I am happy to report we were parked for 3 days straight in 90+ temps, solar panel deployed and I did not have to run the Jeep at all. The solar kept everything topped off, and in fact we had power to spare. I will say we did bring a separate cooler for drinks, more of a convenience issue, so we were not working the fridge as hard, but I am so much more confident in the system then I was a year ago.
It's been quite the learning process, but it's a great feeling when it all comes together. Thanks again for all the help!
Late last summer, I discovered I was having intermittent charging issues with my National Luna system. After swapping parts around with the help of Paul from Equipt, the problem persisted. After several months with no solution, I got a bit frustrated and ditched the system altogether in favor of a Blue Sea ACR. I also replaced my ARB fridge wiring with the ARB fridge harness and the new style plug connector.
I am happy to report we were parked for 3 days straight in 90+ temps, solar panel deployed and I did not have to run the Jeep at all. The solar kept everything topped off, and in fact we had power to spare. I will say we did bring a separate cooler for drinks, more of a convenience issue, so we were not working the fridge as hard, but I am so much more confident in the system then I was a year ago.
It's been quite the learning process, but it's a great feeling when it all comes together. Thanks again for all the help!
The Blue Sea ACR is the real deal. It's outside of the offroad world because they are made for boats, but they are perfect for a dual battery system in an offroad truck. They make a great product. It's built for 100% percent duty cycle and supported by a great website and tech support. I don't know about the NL system but there are enough reported issues that it's one to avoid.
dstock
Explorer
Yeah, I have a whole other thread going about my NL issues, another member with a 2012+ Jeep JK was experiencing the exact same issue. He ended up ditching his as well. For whatever reason, the NL and the JK don't seem to like each other.
I love the fact that the Blue Sea has a manual mechanical switch to use if all else fails. So far very happy with it's performance.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
I have two group 31's on our 28ft sailboat. No doubt Blue Sea gear is at the top of the heap. Though I've been messing around with some super cheap stuff on my little 18ah super light weight power needs set up on our trailer. I think more than anything is just checking your power input vs output etc on both sides of the cheap controllers. The $30 off grid parking light controller I'm using for my really light duty needs is actually a pretty nice little device for really light power needs. Though with any of these electronic solar controllers you need to check them to ensure your getting power on the charge side vs what your solar panels are generating on their side of the system etc. Its fun to fool with these and build up your own custom power system for this stuff thats for sure.
No solar on my boat given that comes with its own set of issues solar generates power regardless if you want it or not and we don't need solar on the boat so no solar etc. However on my little Life Time Tent trailer adding very very light duty power system has been really interesting and a bit of a learning experience and it has upped the enjoyment factor of the simple tent trailer so its been fun to fool around with. I'm running two 10watt Renogy panels these are very small 8inch wide and 16inches long to keep our little 18ah battery charged. I stow them in padded boxes in the tongue box when we are on the move. Our load side consists of just a few LED lights and a very basic 12volt charging hub for small items like ipad, gopro cell phone etc. Even in the horrendous heavy coastal CA fog over the three day weekend we had plenty of juice for what we needed. Fun stuff though! Always interesting to see what other folks are powering and how they are doing it.
shdwkeeper
New member
I have the Blue Sea ACR hooked up in my Tundra with a Bussman CB185-150 150Amp Circuit Breaker. I ran a 6 gauge power lead back to the bed of the truck and attached some quick connects to it so it would handle my dual-battery setup (Optima Yellowtop 27). My ARB 63q plugs into this 2nd battery in a battery box via the cigarette plug. Everything worked fine especially driving through 100+ temps through Bakersfield last week. Fridge was set to 34 and it was at 32 or 33 most of the time, this was in back of a pickup with a truck lid on and packed with gear. My problems started 2-3 days later when I was at campsite and my Powerfilm 60w could not keep up with the demands of the ARB living in a Bear Bin when outside temp was mid-80s, much hotter in bear-bin. Going to upgrade my Solar panels to 200W with an MPPT controller and give it another run at it.
The Blue Sea gear rocks and it kept my Aux-battery at 13v for the 6hr drive.
The Blue Sea gear rocks and it kept my Aux-battery at 13v for the 6hr drive.
Wow we have very similar setups (I also have a Tundra). I have 200 watts of panels and a MPPT and runs my 47L ARB no problems even with the current heat wave inside a camper shell. Got up to 110-115 in there with fridge set at 27 degrees, there is an abundance of power. When its dark outside the battery reads 12.7- 12.8v (Group 31 Lifeline) and in the morning (8am or so) its at 12.5
Signed on to purchase a data logger to determine power consumed, power generated, ambient temps.
Ducky's Dad
Explorer
Are your Tundras first gen or second gen? If second gen (2007+), where did you mount the second battery?