School me on solar power

I think this guy has the best solar tutorials out there. Little odd but very knowledgeable and has actually tried and tested most of the stuff. He didn't just do one build and post a video.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj6RxIAQq8kmJme-5dnN0Q

He also sells allot of the stuff that works.

https://poweredportablesolar.com/

Worth your time if you want to do it right the first time.

I plan on doing a second battery for accessories as well and will be upgrading to a higher output alternator. Not there yet, but its in my future plans.

I was considering using solar panels with a stand alone battery /inverter solar power gennie. You can get the size you need based on your demands and use it for your fridge and other appliances while keeping the second battery in the vehicle for LED area lights and such. Always go higher than you need obviously. The technology has evolved a lot and the footprint for what you need to carry isn't as big as it used to be. Couple of 100w panels on the roof of the jeep or on the ground and the solar generator. Heck, can even get a wind power generator for those short and cloudy days.

I'm in the process of doing this to my Jeep and I already have all the parts, just need the find the time to install everything in the next couple of weeks. I plan on getting a fridge too but the main reason was to be able to use my CPAP when I'm camping because I have sleep apnea.

I wanted to have a system that will charge the battery while I'm driving and also while I'm camped out for a couple of days (or more). As usual, I researched the heck out of this project and some of the more expensive conclusions were to use a lithium iron phosphate battery (LiFePO4) and a pure sine wave inverter.

I went with mostly Renogy components and a Xantrax 2000W inverter:
https://www.renogy.com/12v-100ah-smart-lithium-iron-phosphate-battery/https://www.renogy.com/12v-dc-to-dc-on-board-battery-charger/https://www.renogy.com/100-watt-eclipse-monocrystalline-solar-suitcase/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LGEMOQ/?tag=wranglerorg-20

The advantage of these expensive 100 amp hour batteries is that they weigh less than half as much as regular deep cycle batteries and you can draw them down to almost nothing, as opposed to regular batteries that shouldn't go below 50%. To get the same usable amp hours out of regular batteries, I would've needed two of them (bigger footprint and ~128 lbs of weight) vs the Renogy LiFePO4 battery that only weighs about 26 lbs!

The DC to DC charger is relatively cheap (just over $100) and it will charge your auxiliary battery while you're driving, maybe between campsites or on multi-day off-road trips when you can't stop very long to put solar panels out to recharge your battery.

I selected the Renogy Eclipse 'solar suitcase' because it's a stand-alone solution in a very solid case that's easily packed in the Jeep when not in use. We really don't have the option of a permanent mount on a TJ and I wasn't all that thrilled about having to park my Jeep in the sun to charge the battery. The solar suitcase allows me to park the Jeep in the shade and then run 30-50' of wire to the solar suitcase that's placed in the sun, away from camp.

Lastly, the Xantrex pure sine wave inverter is obviously a bit more expensive that a modified sine wave but if I want to safely run a CPAP or a laptop or other sensitive equipment (my DSLR and drone batteries), I think it's worth spending a few extra bucks for clean power.

At the end of the day, this is not an inexpensive project and it adds up to almost two grand, but I will have a functional system that will be able to handle just about anything I can throw at it. Space is at a premium in a TJ and I really couldn't go much bigger. I could theoretically add a second battery but they're very expensive and I really don't see myself needing more than 100 amp hours. I can always add one later if it turns out that I need it.

This is an interesting thread for a solar newbie like me and timely too as I will be camping for 4 nights next week and trying solar for the first time. I'm sure some of what I will be using is "wrong" and that I'll learn from the experience. No doubt I'll be making some adjustments for a similar trip next month.

I would like a dual battery set up but I camp with 2 different Jeeps, my LJ or XJ, and I don't want to modify both if there is an alternative. I take I of 2 trailers. My tear drop has a Group 31 deep cycle battery that I charge ahead of time and while I driving. It has run the trailer just fine up to now (basically LED lights, nothing else). I have just added a water pump for an on demand water heater. The water pump needs 12V DC power - the heater doesn't. I'll also be running a 12V DC 40 litre cooler. A "real" 12V fridge is in the future. I precooled the cooler and ran it for about 6 hrs. yesterday off of a 12V car battery hooked up to a 100W solar panel. I was able to maintain 38*F with no draw down on the battery.

I also have a 2,000W 700 amp power box that I'm going to try out today. It can be charged using the same solar panel. I'm hoping this will come in handy as a back up and for day trips that I take. If it's useful in lieu of a dual battery set up in the above 2 Jeeps plus my MJ for day kayaking trips … great!

I usually pack my dry food in a large plastic ammo box. This time I'll be using a Coleman cooler. If my 12V cooler can't keep up or simply fails, it will become the dry food storage bin and I'll be looking for some ice for the cooler!

I really need to map out all of my power sources and demands and try to make sense of it. I found thomat65's post very helpful in that regard. I should probably take a calculator with me next week. One with its own battery of course.

PCO6 said:

This is an interesting thread for a solar newbie like me and timely too as I will be camping for 4 nights next week and trying solar for the first time. I'm sure some of what I will be using is "wrong" and that I'll learn from the experience. No doubt I'll be making some adjustments for a similar trip next month.

I would like a dual battery set up but I camp with 2 different Jeeps, my LJ or XJ, and I don't want to modify both if there is an alternative. I take I of 2 trailers. My tear drop has a Group 31 deep cycle battery that I charge ahead of time and while I driving. It has run the trailer just fine up to now (basically LED lights, nothing else). I have just added a water pump for an on demand water heater. The water pump needs 12V DC power - the heater doesn't. I'll also be running a 12V DC 40 litre cooler. A "real" 12V fridge is in the future. I precooled the cooler and ran it for about 6 hrs. yesterday off of a 12V car battery hooked up to a 100W solar panel. I was able to maintain 38*F with no draw down on the battery.

I also have a 2,000W 700 amp power box that I'm going to try out today. It can be charged using the same solar panel. I'm hoping this will come in handy as a back up and for day trips that I take. If it's useful in lieu of a dual battery set up in the above 2 Jeeps plus my MJ for day kayaking trips … great!

I usually pack my dry food in a large plastic ammo box. This time I'll be using a Coleman cooler. If my 12V cooler can't keep up or simply fails, it will become the dry food storage bin and I'll be looking for some ice for the cooler!

I really need to map out all of my power sources and demands and try to make sense of it. I found thomat65's post very helpful in that regard. I should probably take a calculator with me next week. One with its own battery of course.

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You could build/buy a small rolling toolbox or rack for the battery, charge controller and wire. I think with 5 different potential vehicles the smartest thing you can do is use 1 type of connector for everything so it's plug and play. I would recommend the XT90 from the RC hobby world. This way you can plug the solar panel in to the power box or trailer battery, run the cooler from either, run the trailer from the power box etc. You will need a battery disconnect for the trailer battery if you hook up the power box though. Otherwise the voltages will try to synchronize and you can blow fuses if you have them or melt wires if one is totally dead and the other is fully charged. You can also get a dual battery solar charge controller so you could charge them both at the same time through different circuits.

fixmysix said:

the smartest thing you can do is use 1 type of connector for everything so it's plug and play. I would recommend the XT90 from the RC hobby world.

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That's funny, I have my Jeep hard wired with an XT60 connector and use them for all my accessories. They are gold plated and really cheap, great idea to use those hobby connectors.

Babygools99 said:

I did a little more research and found a Renogy 12v Solar Starter Kit. The kit has 2 100w solar panels that can be ran together in a series to make a 200w solar system that ties in to a Charge controller. The charge controller ties into the chosen battery.
My question now is, how can i ensure that the fridge accesories aren't just relying on solar to keep them charged? Is it possible that there is a single battery that can theoretically handle 5 dark days of running a fridge without the need to start the jeep at all? Or can i tie the auxillary battery into the alternator as well to ensure when the jeep is started and cranking, that it tops off the battery? Im confused, lol.

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Is there such a battery? Yes. Do you want that much weight in your Jeep? Probably not. Most of the medium sized fridges pull around 1-1.7 amps per hour. So say 32 amp hours a day. If you go lead acid you don't really want to drain much below 50% capacity. 5 days = 300 amp hours. That's 150-200 lbs and $600 in battery. Run a battery isolator to the auxiliary battery and it will charge from the alternator, but won't drain the starting battery.

pagrey said:

That's funny, I have my Jeep hard wired with an XT60 connector and use them for all my accessories. They are gold plated and really cheap, great idea to use those hobby connectors.

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I'm a nerd and like my off road vehicles in all sizes. The XT60 are great for general accessories. The XT90 allow the use of 10AWG. It'll never see that amperage, but efficiency in solar is pretty important.

fixmysix said:

You could build/buy a small rolling toolbox or rack for the battery, charge controller and wire. I think with 5 different potential vehicles the smartest thing you can do is use 1 type of connector for everything so it's plug and play. I would recommend the XT90 from the RC hobby world. This way you can plug the solar panel in to the power box or trailer battery, run the cooler from either, run the trailer from the power box etc. You will need a battery disconnect for the trailer battery if you hook up the power box though. Otherwise the voltages will try to synchronize and you can blow fuses if you have them or melt wires if one is totally dead and the other is fully charged. You can also get a dual battery solar charge controller so you could charge them both at the same time through different circuits.

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Thanks, that's helpful. I want to be plug and play for as much as possible between the vehicles & trailers. I just want to confirm I have all the right bits. Each has its own battery and the trailers both have their own power box for lack of a better term. The one in my off road trailer is in this thread ( http://www.jeepcentral.ca/forums/showthread.php?3937-PCO6-s-Trailer-Build ) and the tear drop is pretty much the same. Each has its own 12V battery, solar controller, power inverter and shore power charger. The trailer wiring is basically what Babygools showed above. Apart from the power users (12V cooler / future fridge, etc.) the only part that will move from vehicle to vehicle and trailer will be the solar panel. The 2000W power box I mentioned will be used as a back up if necessary and not connected to the vehicle or trailer. Actually, it will probably be used more for charging or running phones, lap tops, cameras, etc. It can be charged by the solar panel and I'll keep things separate (not connected to the trailer) when I'm doing that.

PCO6 said:

Thanks, that's helpful. I want to be plug and play for as much as possible between the vehicles & trailers. I just want to confirm I have all the right bits. Each has its own battery and the trailers both have their own power box for lack of a better term. The one in my off road trailer is in this thread ( http://www.jeepcentral.ca/forums/showthread.php?3937-PCO6-s-Trailer-Build ) and the tear drop is pretty much the same. Each has its own 12V battery, solar controller, power inverter and shore power charger. The trailer wiring is basically what Babygools showed above. Apart from the power users (12V cooler / future fridge, etc.) the only part that will move from vehicle to vehicle and trailer will be the solar panel. The 2000W power box I mentioned will be used as a back up if necessary and not connected to the vehicle or trailer. Actually, it will probably be used more for charging or running phones, lap tops, cameras, etc. It can be charged by the solar panel and I'll keep things separate (not connected to the trailer) when I'm doing that.

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I have serious trailer envy after reading that thread. You are good on the pieces. The one thing I would want to know is which solar charge controller you are running. Also, I'd add a second 100W panel. @pagrey linked a great source for a flexible one that could be attached to the underside of the trailer lid. They are roughly 2'x4',1/2" thick and 5lbs. This would be way more than enough to charge all your batteries on a long sunny day, but would be just right if you have some cloud cover or a shorter day. It seems like, with everything else you have invested in multiple trailers, $170 for an extra panel isn't a bad idea. Just have to make sure the charge controller can handle it.

fixmysix said:

I have serious trailer envy after reading that thread. You are good on the pieces. The one thing I would want to know is which solar charge controller you are running. Also, I'd add a second 100W panel. @pagrey linked a great source for a flexible one that could be attached to the underside of the trailer lid. They are roughly 2'x4',1/2" thick and 5lbs. This would be way more than enough to charge all your batteries on a long sunny day, but would be just right if you have some cloud cover or a shorter day. It seems like, with everything else you have invested in multiple trailers, $170 for an extra panel isn't a bad idea. Just have to make sure the charge controller can handle it.

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Thanks. It's been a fun project.

I have a Coleman 7 amp controller in my off road trailer and a 30 amp controller in my tear drop ( https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B075W858CH/?tag=tjforum-20 ). The instructions for this one are poorly translated but I think I have it figured out. I'm not married to either of these controllers. I have a solid framed solar panel that's about 2'x4'x1.5" and weighs about 20 lbs which is too much. I'm going to replace it with something lighter and probably more powerful. I'm thinking of a suitcase or foldout style simply for reduced weight and being able to move it around more easily.

One issue though is that we basically establish a base camp and take of exploring or kayaking for most of the day. Leaving a solar panel sitting around is a concern. Up to now I thought something mounted to the trailer would be better but that has issues too. We tend to be in areas with good tree coverage so it's hard to position it properly.

For multi-day off-grid Jeep trips, a dual battery system with a solar input is the right direction. I’d start with estimating your total daily watt-hours, then scale solar accordingly—don’t underestimate cloudy days. A 100W foldable panel paired with a charge controller and deep cycle battery could cover fridge, lights, and occasional air use without overcomplicating the setup.