Portable solar setup

W

WSS

TJ Addict
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Joined
Jan 28, 2019
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2,594
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California
I have recently upgraded my solar setup. One reason was I forgot my old panel on the roof and it flew off and a prius ran over it. I bought a meter to see if it was still putting any power out and found three of the four panels dead. I did a little more research before buying the identical panel and found a 100w that had great ratings. My old panel was a120w that I doubt put out 70w. With just one panel working, I could only get 14w, but to be fair, it may have been damaged too.

So bought this off of amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FH85FW9/?tag=wranglerorg-20
I did some tests before doing the connectors and hardwire to find it could put out the rated watts!

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Note the voltage is in the 20's, this is due to the meter being on the output of the panel, not the MPPT controller. I will test the other side to make sure the volts are dropped to 14ish and that the amps are still up.

Very happy with the panel. Any input or info on systems in use out there?
 
Matt888 said:
A Prius ran over your solar panel, how ironic. What all do you use it for?
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Ya it seemed like he aimed for it or maybe thought he could center it but he was to narrow. I watched the whole thing. I had the Darwin Award for almost a week.
 
I use it for 110v mostly. I have a kit that can go in any vehicle. It is the panel, pwm (I thought it was a MPPT), a lifpo 45ah batt and a 700w tripplite inverter. It’s compact and easy to take along. It’s usually in the TJ but can be taken anywhere. I’m hoping to match it to another lifpo and up the inverter to 1k. Not sure yet. It puts out 4 Amos which can charge a battery fairly quick, like a trickle charger. We do a lot of “over landing” as the woke term is and use a lot of power loads like charging drones, hot water, etc.. Stuff that drains batteries quickly.
 
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Here is a portable power pack my son and built a few summers ago. It’s got a ICOM 2m/440cm transceiver, ext speaker, 400w inverter, 2) 20w panels and lots of USB and 12v power.

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Haha! Your probably right. It seemed like I had four or five of them. Now I can’t find one. I think the pwm was from my CJ, can’t remember. I’m just getting a clear head. I’ve had Covid brain for almost a month. It was frustrating. I did not feel safe handling things like electricity and guns. Lol.
 
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WSS said:
It now has a 45ah lifpo. The sla’s have been swapped out.

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The wife and I hope to convert a shuttle bus or a box van/truck over to an RV-type vehicle within the next few years. The only thing that intimidates me about it is the electrical/solar aspect of it. Electrical has never been my strong suit, and I know nothing about solar set-ups. Seeing what you've done here is impressive, and I applaud anyone who can work with such things.
 
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Squatch said:
The wife and I hope to convert a shuttle bus or a box van/truck over to an RV-type vehicle within the next few years. The only thing that intimidates me about it is the electrical/solar aspect of it. Electrical has never been my strong suit, and I know nothing about solar set-ups. Seeing what you've done here is impressive, and I applaud anyone who can work with such things.
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Once you get your head around the basics, you can fine tune as you go. The big issue for me is how fast tech changes. Back in ‘97, I set up a solar back up for my grandfathers ham shack. I bought a 18w panel for $300! Now a 100w is cheaper. Little changes and improvements are best learned at the time you need it.

Hopefully, we can get some knowledge rolling in this thread. Mine is limited to what you see lol.
 
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