Ok Guys, the rack system in place, this solar panel not going anyway regards Alex p.s. And Yes I made it myself,
Attachment 77149Attachment 77150
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Ok Guys, the rack system in place, this solar panel not going anyway regards Alex p.s. And Yes I made it myself,
Attachment 77149Attachment 77150
Ok Guys, check battery this afternoon and is showing 13.7 because I set on the controller hours only at 2 hours per day, So I think I'm happy with that, not 14.4 as it was showing yesterday regards Alex
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...018/12/394.jpg
I was thinking of making one of these before I sold the Patrol
May still make one for the new ute[emoji106]
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Looks good , whats that 2 panels of 200watt each regards AlexQuote:
Originally Posted by Yeti's Beast
Hi Guys, just upgraded from a PWM to MPPT solar controller as this will be better for my needs and finally fitted my second battery that located in my draw unit and now have the dc to dc controller runing to charge the second battery. all seem to be working great. oh happy days of free energy from the Sun, :-)
Attachment 78187
Attachment 78188
I hope you have been keeping that battery charged because more than likely it’s stuffed. See the competition sticker in the front !
That ended June 2016
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No, they were 12v 180 wattQuote:
Originally Posted by altech
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all good on the second battery 13.4 VQuote:
Originally Posted by Yeti's Beast
Is that a wet cell battery? inside the cabin? Not a great idea. I had a calcium wet cell crap out and it filled the cabin with fumes and that means corrosion - yet to get a handle on the potential of what slow creeping damage I have to the electronics inside the car. Cleaned out @MudRunnerTD sinus's!!!!
Hi mate, good effort sorting all that out. I dont want to rain on your parade at all mate but a couple of comments for your consideration though. I think the cables coming off your Projector150 are very small and not big enough for a dual battery system beyond a trickle charge and i'd consider swapping them for something bigger. Also i note you have used domestic 240v 3core flex for your wiring. I have used this in a previous build thinking it was the go but it lacks flexibility and goes hard over time. It doesnt like vibration and lack efficient current flow on 12v. a fine multi strand will be far more flexible and provide much more efficient 12v Current flow. I would avoid using 240v anything on your car. It will probably get you years of service but maybe not.Quote:
Originally Posted by altech
Hideous indeed. If that is a Wetcell in the car then you need to rethink that for sure. I remember the day that was venting into the car. OMG! was terrible. Also another forum member @matfew had a wetcell explode in the back of his GQ on the way to Licola a couple of years ago. it was in the rear area and his daughter was in the back seat. he was Very Very lucky.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeeBee
If you're up Deer Park way I have too Rhino aero bars you can have,
You can even install a light bar underneath.
Hmmm, it's sealed maintenance free battery, So whats wrong with that ?Quote:
Originally Posted by PeeBee
Cheers thanks for the offer, the aluminium tubing is very strong and my custom made roof brackets will do the jobs as not much weight in all .Quote:
Originally Posted by threedogs
If its a lead acid battery even though its sealed it will have a breather. As far as I understand. As when charging the battery will need to vent off the poisonous gas it will, create. If the battery is housed in a box with sufficient ventilation to the outside of the vehicle then it might be good to use.Quote:
Originally Posted by altech
Can I just add something here. That battery is not sealed , back then Century didn’t have a sealed battery. They fitted a fake long cap over the actual battery caps. It’s hinged
If you lift it up with your fingers, you will see the 6 caps. Open them up and check the water level because a lot of these batteries run dry prematurely, killing them.
Century now have a proper sealed version but it still vents and should not be used in a confined space.
Agm, Gel or Lithium are the only safe options to be used inside a car/ caravan.
After 30+ years selling batteries I have learnt a trick or 2
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can't fine any caps on top , just a glass indicator saying good to go. anyway thanks for everone input and l have ordered a deep cycle sealed battery that is safe inside the cabin , here the linkQuote:
Originally Posted by Yeti's Beast
https://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/b...-cycle-battery
Very goodQuote:
Originally Posted by altech
That’s heaps safer than having that time bomb in the back.
Check out this video and see if your old battery is like this one
https://youtu.be/r4StoOMsrBw
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There will be a vent hole, maybe only 1mm diameter. If you are lucky they will be a vent with a small diameter spigot, so you can slip a plastic hose on to vent externally. My big wet cell - also maintenance free had this however I didn't see it until after the event. I think I simply had the wrong battery for the duty - guessing the cells themselves could not take the vibration and collapsed? Anyway, its just a situation to be aware of and if you can sort something out for normal venting I guess thats your call. My lesson is learnt and never again!
Some great feedback and suggestions here in your setup mate. Yetis Beast helped me out big time with batteries / suggestions. Knows his s#it.
I will reinforce what Mudrunner said.
Get some proper bigger and thin stranded auto cable mate.
Think of your current setup as fieries turning up to fight a fire and only having your Bunnings 10mm garden hose as a pressure supply.
DC electrons don't like being pushed through long solid metals (larger strands).
Even if you don't need high amp demand, still helps heaps having larger cables making sure it is properly fused to size / demand.
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Actually the individual conductor size has no impact for DC or low frequencies. It only effects the flexibility or ability to withstand movement or vibration.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hodge
It is only with high frequencies where 'skin effect' occurs which make the conductors appear electrically smaller and multiple small strands or better than fewer large ones.
It is primarily the overall size or cross-sectional area, but also flexibility, that is important here.
So basically use some 6mm cable and you will be apples. Make sure you use fuses too
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Also not to forget is the contact end , crimped , lugged etc...Quote:
Originally Posted by Brissieboy
With smaller stranded stuff , which is softer and has the ability to flatten under a crimp providing a more intimate connection , more strands in surface contact with the lug / crimp.
This in turn helps reduce V loss.
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Never buy cheap Ebay Solar controller as I installed this one a week ago and my car battery was down to 10.4 v. not happy Jane. So look for this Fake " MppT " scam on ebay and don't buy. I'm leaning as I go. cheers Alex . p.s. the cheap PWM controller when I started this project , did charge the battery. just saying :-)
Attachment 78203
Hi Guys, did some searching for a better MTTP charge controller, found that EPEVER brand have good feed back on them. found this WA company that sells them and they are waterproof too. win win . So I ordered the 5206 BP 20A & Bluetooth module to talk to it. from link below cheers Alex
https://offroadliving.com.au/collections/solar-charger
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Attachment 78205
A couple of things:
- A lot of controllers sold as MPPT are actually PWM. The difference in efficiency is not huge, but they are definitely more efficient. To get the best efficiency they should to be designed for a particular panel as these vary fairly widely in the maximum power specs (ie max power voltage and max power current) so they are usually just a compromise. And it is not easy to tell the difference.
- Almost all controllers will drain some power from the battery if left connected when there is no input from the solar panels. This varies from a few milliAmps to several hundred milliAmps in the ones I have checked, so it is definitely best to disconnect from the battery when not in use for some time.
- Most controllers require the battery to be connected before the solar panels, and disconnected after the panels.
BTW almost all solar panels on fleabay will never achieve their stated power output regardless of the type of coltroller - basic rule of thumb is 1,000watts per square meter max from the sun multiplied by the panel's efficiency (currently around 17% but some better ones are a little higher) or about 170w per square metre of actual panel, not including frame.
100% agree ^^^^
Rule of thumb for a layman to check if a Controller really is a true MPPT...
Does it cost around $100 or upwards of $200 for a "name brand" AND does the max input voltage spec exceed 30 Volts?
If the answer is Yes then it is almost def a true MPPT, if the answer is No then it most likely is not.
Do you "need" an MPPT or will a PWM do the Job?
PWM is equal or in some cases better than MPPT if:
- the panels are of similar voltage to the load IE "12 Volt" panels and 12 volt battery bank... (if you run MPPT it is often cheaper and more logical to run "48 Volt" house panels instead of "12 Volt" panels)
- you have good solar irradiance IE direct sunlight and panel facing the sun (MPPT is better if cloudy, off angle, etc)
- panel temp is 40 ish to 80 ish deg (MPPT is better at very low or very high temps).
When all things are in its favour MPPT can be 25 to 30% better but if the above applies the difference can sometimes be barely noticeable between a $20 PWM and a $200 MPPT.
That means in many cases if you keep the same array and upgrade the controller you may get little change but if you keep the PWM controller and spend the money on increasing the array wattage you would be much better off.
Hi Guys, the Big and bloody heavy battery arrived today, hmmm did I mention heavy lol. Did some improvements / upgrades to the battery wiring. Now waiting on the real MPPT charger to arrive. keep you posted regards Alex
Attachment 78214
Attachment 78215
Where I work we sell household / commercial solar equipment for off grid , grid tie solar etc.
We only use Morningstar controllers as they work. Yes they cost a lot more than most but when you need a controller to look after 600 volts of solar input, you want the best there is.
My camper is set up with 2x 130 watt 12volt in parallel , Suntech panels and controlled by a Morningstar PWM Prostar 30 amp controller. It charges 2 x 120 ah agm batteries without any problems and been set up that was since 2005
It doesn’t pay to buy cheap sometimes.
Think how much is my car/ caravan worth to you?
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Looking heaps better mate. Well done on taking advice. Nice job mate.Quote:
Originally Posted by altech
I have a few Questions.Quote:
Originally Posted by altech
How did you crimp the larger cables?
What the go with that figure 8 cable to the the Negative and what size is the main negative?
1/ Soldered in like you would a Anderson plug. 2/ 8 gauge wire is neg and it's connected to second battery from that to my rear electric cargo barrier frame work which is grounded to the body of car.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben-e-boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TceKoWcsjY4
Ah ok. That's why it doesn't look like they are crimped
Hi Guys, Installed my Real MPPT controller today and works great, it does have a add on Bluetooth receiver that connect's to my phone. in the pic I have changed the wiring again lol regards Alex
Attachment 78301
And Yes I have MT50 receiver too.
Wow the Cargo Barrier is pretty kool mate. What glass did you use? Assume it is profiled right? Well done mate. Fair effort indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by altech
Can you post a pic zoomed out a little so we can see it up and down and maybe half up?
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...2019/04/68.jpg
You have got to fix that though mate, thats junk. You can do much better than that bud. Just say'n
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Not Glass, but 10mm plastic . went to dealer, he had a off cut $50 bucks, then I cut it to sizeQuote:
Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD
Yes did see this after the photo was taken, cheers AlexQuote:
Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD
im sure i have seen the equivalent on your beast? come on mate, not everyone is perfectQuote:
Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD