Installing solar power systems / upgrading electrical (old c class)

[Username]

Hello,

Outfitting an old c-class for long term boondocking. I currently work from home online, and the longterm plan is to work from "no fixed address." This means I'll want a 12V fridge/freezer, a low-watt induction cooktop, and maybe a portable AC for the inevitable summer heat wave so my electronics don't melt. In addition to a somewhat power-hungry laptop (or two) and mobile internet until Starlink becomes available for RVs.

I've researched various setups, played with calculators and read blogs. Prevailing wisdom seems to be that power needs are always underestimated, and without real world use no idea what the bottleneck for my situation is going to be. Whether it's batteries or power generation, or something else entirely.

So thinking of starting small -- one 400W panel, and an oversized charge controller (150V/100A -- which can support 4 panels, but maybe this is completely overkill?) plus inverter (at least 2000W)

Then scale up with panels / batteries as needed. The guy doing the work will build me something scalable, just throw batteries/panels at at as needed -- seemed like the smart move.

Where I'm stuck is what's good, what's not needed, what's dumb...

For example here are two 400W panels with $100 difference but the same spec sheet...

• https://volts.ca/collections/solar-panels/products/peimar-sm400m-bf-solar-panel-400w
• https://volts.ca/collections/lg/products/lg400n2t-j5-solar-panel

Is the LG actually worth $100 more? Or are you just paying for the brand at that point...

Then going down the rabbit hole of batteries, from the cheap option of leaving the house batteries which are just two standard deep cycles, add a shunt, and see how long they last.
Or the expensive option to drop some cash on something like this now, rather than needing to do it later anyway: https://dakotalithium.com/product/dakota-lithium-dl-170-ah-12v-battery/
Trying to hit that sweet spot of value conscious but also budget conscious, and most importantly not cheaping out and getting a setup that is totally unsuitable or plain dumb.

Anyone on this forum have any experience to share?

 

[JDub]

Well, you can compare that to my full sized setup - which never gets used anymore. 4 x 100w Renogy panels, 40 amp Renogy MPPT controller, remote status monitor, 6 line junction box, 4 x 29 Group Deep Cycle Marine batteries - several inline fuses and cabling... Cost? Just over 1000 bucks and produces all the electricity I ever needed and then some - even only using half the available battery power.

I now run with an as needed combo from 2 Renogy 100 w suitcase folding panels, a Dokio 100 w flex panel, a Wagan 1200 Cube, and 2 GOLABs. Total cost there ~ 2 grand. Way more expensive but a lot more flexible - most of the cost is in the solar batteries. My biggest draw? My Wynter 45q refer - but it runs on one of the GOLABs for 48 hours just fine @ 38 degrees F. AC off solar? You'd need a lot of system to do that.

Cheers!

 

[jonyjoe303]

I have a LG neon 365 watt panel and its an excellent panel, in summer I seen up to 27 amps of charge power, and have seen it output 375 watts on occasion so it definitely performs as per specs in the real world. If I only had to rely on one panel I would get the LG neon even though its an extra 100.
As far as solar controller I been using a makeskyblue 60 amp mppt (cost 130) works great with the LG panel it will easily handle the 400 watt panel. For a low cost controller it has an LCD screen and you can calibrate the controller to the battery terminal voltage (solves voltage drop problems). I've had about 2 years and its been reliable. It handles all types of batteries, I use to charge my 4s 220ah lifepo4 and also my 3s 312ah li-ion battery.
Even though I have over 500ah of lithium I wouldnt attempt to run an AC on them, due to my one solar panel woulnt charge the battery bank back up. Also I have gaming laptop which the solar panel can easily power it, but I usually use a smaller 12 inch laptop most of the time. The 12 volt fridge I have is no problem to power with my system.
If you are thinking about running an AC with solar, a good website to look at is "hurriedyear.com", the person there runs an AC on 900 watts of solar and 700ah of lead acid. So its definitely possible if you have the room for more panels. I been getting by on a small swampcooler for the past 8 years, it uses about 2 amps, which is insignificant for my system.

 

[Username]

Well, you can compare that to my full sized setup - which never gets used anymore. 4 x 100w Renogy panels, 40 amp Renogy MPPT controller, remote status monitor, 6 line junction box, 4 x 29 Group Deep Cycle Marine batteries - several inline fuses and cabling... Cost? Just over 1000 bucks and produces all the electricity I ever needed and then some - even only using half the available battery power.

I now run with an as needed combo from 2 Renogy 100 w suitcase folding panels, a Dokio 100 w flex panel, a Wagan 1200 Cube, and 2 GOLABs. Total cost there ~ 2 grand. Way more expensive but a lot more flexible - most of the cost is in the solar batteries. My biggest draw? My Wynter 45q refer - but it runs on one of the GOLABs for 48 hours just fine @ 38 degrees F. AC off solar? You'd need a lot of system to do that.

Cheers!

Very interesting, thank you for posting! How long does it take you to charge the GOLABs and Cube?

 

[JDub]

Very interesting, thank you for posting! How long does it take you to charge the GOLABs and Cube?

The GOLAB 500's take about 3-4 hours on shore power or plugged into the DC on the vehicle while driving. 7-8 hours on average with just a 100 w panel and good sun.



The Wagan, it's pretty heavy duty - Mfr specs below :

"The Lithium Cube 1200 is no slouch; with a 1000W inverter paired with the 1166Wh lithium-ion battery, you'll have the power you need to get the job done. Whether you need to power a battery charger, refrigerator, CPAP, laptop, or lighting for remote photography, we have you covered!

1166Wh Battery
1000W PSW Inverter
100W MPPT Solar
3x 120V AC Outlets
4x USB, 2x USB C
1x Anderson Port
Faster recharging (ability to be charged by two inputs at the same time!)
1x 12V DC Socket (regulated)
2x 5.5mm DC Outputs
Full Color Backlit LED Display
Folding Carry Handle
Stackable Flat top Design
Over charge, Over voltage, Short circuit, Overload, & Reverse polarity protected
11.8 x 12.2 "

It has so much power storage I rarely need to charge it on the road even on a two week trip. If I do, I just plug it into the DC on the vehicle or shore power at the campsite. Full charge takes about 8 hours. On a single 100 w panel, it would probably take 2 days of good sun.

Cheers!

 

[awesum]

I have a LG neon 365 watt panel and its an excellent panel, in summer I seen up to 27 amps of charge power, and have seen it output 375 watts on occasion so it definitely performs as per specs in the real world. If I only had to rely on one panel I would get the LG neon even though its an extra 100.
As far as solar controller I been using a makeskyblue 60 amp mppt (cost 130) works great with the LG panel it will easily handle the 400 watt panel. For a low cost controller it has an LCD screen and you can calibrate the controller to the battery terminal voltage (solves voltage drop problems). I've had about 2 years and its been reliable. It handles all types of batteries, I use to charge my 4s 220ah lifepo4 and also my 3s 312ah li-ion battery.
Even though I have over 500ah of lithium I wouldnt attempt to run an AC on them, due to my one solar panel woulnt charge the battery bank back up. Also I have gaming laptop which the solar panel can easily power it, but I usually use a smaller 12 inch laptop most of the time. The 12 volt fridge I have is no problem to power with my system.
If you are thinking about running an AC with solar, a good website to look at is "hurriedyear.com", the person there runs an AC on 900 watts of solar and 700ah of lead acid. So its definitely possible if you have the room for more panels. I been getting by on a small swampcooler for the past 8 years, it uses about 2 amps, which is insignificant for my system.

What type of swap cooler do you have ? Or is it DIY? If so, did you design it yourself or find instructions somewhere on how to build it? Thanks for lots of great advice and info in your post . Take care and travel well. A

 

[Happy Camper]

There are some good threads regarding evaporative coolers in the heating and air conditioning section. It's worth going through a lot of threads even from way back, as the tech hasn't changed much.

So many people staying cool in different ways.