First solar install

[that420vanchick]

Y'all this is stressing me out hard, electronics and my brain just don't get along. I've got a 94 Chevy G20 van, eclipse model and it's already got a 12v aux outlet in the test. I can use it for about 2 days charging phones, tablets and running fans and lights without the battery dying... Do I even need a secondary battery system? Couldn't I just solar straight to a power station and use those outlets instead?

 

[user 423]

If you are regularly running down your starting battery, it will suffer an early death.

Sounds like you need a secondary system.

 

[bullfrog]

It’s a question of getting your battery fully charged each day and discharging it as little as possible during the night if you are depending on the alternator to keep it charged and don’t want to be buying batteries prematurely. If you are using power while driving most likely the alternator is supplying it as long as the battery is staying fully charged so it only costs you a little fuel and wear and tear on the alternator. A completely separate system using solar and a power station which can also be charged through a ciggy plug that is large enough to power your needs is a good simple solution as long as you can afford it. I basically did that starting out when I didn’t have a lot of power needs. If you are going to use the vehicle battery be sure you have a way to start the vehicle should you drain the starting battery. An extra battery or a jumper pack is a good idea to keep charged and ready. To answer your question you do not need to get anything as long as you are only slightly discharging the battery overnight before running the vehicle long enough to get a fully charged battery the next day. Going two or three days draining the battery to where it cranks poorly or is more than 50% discharged will kill the battery quickly and put a lot of wear on your alternator. The less you drain the battery and the sooner you get it fully charged the longer it will last.

 

[that420vanchick]

It’s a question of getting your battery fully charged each day and discharging it as little as possible during the night if you are depending on the alternator to keep it charged and don’t want to be buying batteries prematurely. If you are using power while driving most likely the alternator is supplying it as long as the battery is staying fully charged so it only costs you a little fuel and wear and tear on the alternator. A completely separate system using solar and a power station which can also be charged through a ciggy plug that is large enough to power your needs is a good simple solution as long as you can afford it. I basically did that starting out when I didn’t have a lot of power needs. If you are going to use the vehicle battery be sure you have a way to start the vehicle should you drain the starting battery. An extra battery or a jumper pack is a good idea to keep charged and ready.

That's kinda where I figured the power station would come on and I wouldn't even need to use the vehicle battery

 

[bullfrog]

That is the confusing part about power station advertising. The power station doesn’t create any power it only stores what it can get from several sources. It is basically just an extra battery with several built in charging options you can plug in like solar, ciggy plug, or grid power. It also has several outlets that regular batteries don’t have as well like USB, 12 volt DC and 120 volt AC you can use directly and separately from the vehicle battery as long as you don’t leave the ciggy plug in while the vehicle is not running.

 

[that420vanchick]

The power stations I've seen are able to be charged with a solar panel which is what I was thinking more along the lines of. End of the day I should probably hire a professional for this one

 

[bullfrog]

Just get by until you can get out to a HOWA event on meet up with a forum member that can help you. Most power stations can be charged by plugging them into a regular 120 volt AC plugin like your house has, 12 volt ciggy plug like your vehicle has or solar that usually the manufacturer offers. Having a separate source of power that won’t run your vehicle’s battery down is a good idea but in my case I was driving at least 4 hours every day and using a vehicle charger to charge tool batteries so it stayed up just fine.

 

[that420vanchick]

My house?! My van is my house

 

[bullfrog]

Lol!!! RV full hookup, library, fish cleaning stations and diesel truck block heater parking even some rest areas for instance. Any place that has grid power.

 

[that420vanchick]

Lol!!! RV full hookup, library, fish cleaning stations and diesel truck block heater parking even some rest areas for instance. Any place that has grid power.

And just hang out there for 10 hours of the thing charges? No way

 

[bullfrog]

There is no free lunch! Lol!!! Power stations depending on their size do take several hours to recharge but most charge quicker on grid power than solar or vehicle (unless it is modified).

 

[that420vanchick]

But if the solar panels installed on the roof and it's right there to keep plugged in I don't see why I would need to stop. I don't make it a point to stay in Babylon for too long. I'm not a fan of the grid

 

[bullfrog]

Smaller load, sunny weather or driving on cloudy days should work fine. You do need to compare the number of times you can recharge the power station and how long it’s warranty is for before buying one. They really are plug and play simple but make sure you are getting a good one. There are several recent threads on here about them.

 

[jonyjoe303]

The roof on your van is large enough for a giant solar panel, thats all you need, it will easily charge your power station. I have a single 365 watt panel on my small astrovan, the larger the panel the better performance in winter. My batterybanks a 220ah lifepo4 and 312ah li-ion are all charged with solar. Never had to connect to the alternator.

With a giant panel you have unlimited power to run power hungry devices during the day, I get up to 27 amps of charge power in the summer. I run a fridge and all the fans, swampcooler I need, and still have power left over to keep my batteries at 100 percent..

Most panels are about the same width, maybe longer by a few inches. In this picture is a side by side of a 240 watt panel and the 365 watt panel I replaced it with. I used the same attaching brackets during the installation with minor changes. The 240 watt panel maxed out at about 15 amps, the 365 watt panel max out at 27 amps, a big upgrade. I originally had a 120 watt panel that only provided a measly 6 amps of power.

If you plan on solar, its best to do it right the first time and just get a large panel, even if you don't think you need all that power, you won't regret having it.

 

[GotSmart]

I was able to use a Sternwake design for my van power system. I kept my battery bank charged by driving until I could afford solar panels. This information is all in the archives of this website.

Now we have 600 AH of lithium batteries and about 1,200 watts on the roof. Except for running the AC, we don’t notice being off grid. But now we are in a Class A so more things to break.

 

[Scadwell]

The roof on your van is large enough for a giant solar panel, thats all you need, it will easily charge your power station. I have a single 365 watt panel on my small astrovan, the larger the panel the better performance in winter. My batterybanks a 220ah lifepo4 and 312ah li-ion are all charged with solar. Never had to connect to the alternator.

With a giant panel you have unlimited power to run power hungry devices during the day, I get up to 27 amps of charge power in the summer. I run a fridge and all the fans, swampcooler I need, and still have power left over to keep my batteries at 100 percent..

Most panels are about the same width, maybe longer by a few inches. In this picture is a side by side of a 240 watt panel and the 365 watt panel I replaced it with. I used the same attaching brackets during the installation with minor changes. The 240 watt panel maxed out at about 15 amps, the 365 watt panel max out at 27 amps, a big upgrade. I originally had a 120 watt panel that only provided a measly 6 amps of power.

If you plan on solar, its best to do it right the first time and just get a large panel, even if you don't think you need all that power, you won't regret having it.

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Where did you get the 365 watt panel?

 

[that420vanchick]

The roof on your van is large enough for a giant solar panel, thats all you need, it will easily charge your power station. I have a single 365 watt panel on my small astrovan, the larger the panel the better performance in winter. My batterybanks a 220ah lifepo4 and 312ah li-ion are all charged with solar. Never had to connect to the alternator.

With a giant panel you have unlimited power to run power hungry devices during the day, I get up to 27 amps of charge power in the summer. I run a fridge and all the fans, swampcooler I need, and still have power left over to keep my batteries at 100 percent..

Most panels are about the same width, maybe longer by a few inches. In this picture is a side by side of a 240 watt panel and the 365 watt panel I replaced it with. I used the same attaching brackets during the installation with minor changes. The 240 watt panel maxed out at about 15 amps, the 365 watt panel max out at 27 amps, a big upgrade. I originally had a 120 watt panel that only provided a measly 6 amps of power.

If you plan on solar, its best to do it right the first time and just get a large panel, even if you don't think you need all that power, you won't regret having it.

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Yeah, I don't want to half ass this I've and end up having to go back to it again. Thank you for this insight.... I've got a TON of roof to work with!!

 

[bullfrog]

One of the biggest expenses is due to not properly determining what you will need in the future. It may cost a little more now but save a bunch in the future. When it comes to solar “Less is more.” doesn’t really apply in most cases!

 

[jonyjoe303]

Where did you get the 365 watt panel?

I bought it off craiglist 2 years ago for 250, brand new they are 350 to 400 dollars. I use a makeskyblue 60a mppt controller. I recommend the makeskyblue 60a because it has voltage calibration to compensate for any voltage drop between controller and the battery, it also has an LCD screen where you can program it, some controllers don't have an LCD or buttons to make adjustments, you need bluetooth.

If you will be charging lithium you need a controller that won't produce voltage surges when the BMS is activated and the lithium battery won't accept any more amps. Most controllers will try to forcibly charge the battery, this will produce voltage spikes above 20 volts which will destroy any 12 volt devices that is connected to the solar system. The makeskyblue 60a model does show in its specs that it won't produce voltage spikes when the BMS activates. Its something to consider when looking for controllers.

Here is a picture of the controller in summer producing max power, it actually was able to get 375 watts off of the panel. The LG panel produces at least its rated power when the sun is overhead.

 

[that420vanchick]

I bought it off craiglist 2 years ago for 250, brand new they are 350 to 400 dollars. I use a makeskyblue 60a mppt controller. I recommend the makeskyblue 60a because it has voltage calibration to compensate for any voltage drop between controller and the battery, it also has an LCD screen where you can program it, some controllers don't have an LCD or buttons to make adjustments, you need bluetooth.

If you will be charging lithium you need a controller that won't produce voltage surges when the BMS is activated and the lithium battery won't accept any more amps. Most controllers will try to forcibly charge the battery, this will produce voltage spikes above 20 volts which will destroy any 12 volt devices that is connected to the solar system. The makeskyblue 60a model does show in its specs that it won't produce voltage spikes when the BMS activates. Its something to consider when looking for controllers.

Here is a picture of the controller in summer producing max power, it actually was able to get 375 watts off of the panel. The LG panel produces at least its rated power when the sun is overhead.

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That's a nice lookin'piece of equipment right there