Commuication, Information Technology and Automation > Tech/Electronics
Vehicle based solar generator
husker77c:
So I've had the idea of doing something along the lines of what Square D has with an auxiliary battery and solar panels. I'm thinking about taking it to another level though and my reasoning is simple. My RV has both 12 volt and 110 volt systems, as does all other RVs. I was thinking about a solar system for the RV to be able to run the 12 volt systems off grid continuously. This would give me lights and as long as I had propane my furnace. But then I got thinking about the solar generators people advertise which is essentially a battery bank on a dolly with a solar panel.
Then I got thinking why not incorporate that into the ford. When I'm sitting next to the camper I can hook it up to the RV battery to charge it either with the panel or with the engine. So I'm thinking of putting two batteries in the tool box run a solar charge controller and put a 100w panel on the future roof rack. This would also allow me to run an ARB 12 volt fridge in the truck indefinitely. In a grid down scenario having a portable fridge/freezer would be worth it's weight in gold. I'm dropping super hard hints to my girl that's what I want for Christmas and if I don't get one then I will buy one next year anyway.
I have run into some questions though.
My batteries in the ford are about 1.5 years old. I know when you replace the batteries in the truck you should replace both at the same time if I add two identical batteries would I need to replace the two in the truck as well? So they are all the same age? I plan on running a solenoid to charge the back battery bank from the engine when the ignition is on. If I should replace all 4 then I wonder if I should skip hooking them to the truck batteries and run them strictly off solar. I'd rather hook them up so I can have a redundant system for charging but if I didn't hook them up I could use golf cart batteries or some strictly solar batteries.
I think this would be better than a dedicated solar system for the camper because if I ever had to ditch the camper I would have the capability to charge all my small electronics and run the fridge for years without grid power. Or at least until the batteries go out.
Thoughts?
TexasRedNeck:
I like the idea. Not sure about the solenoid to separate. The newer duramax trucks have battery isolators that you might be able to use for that purpose. Another trick is what we used to do with very large auto stereo installations. A very large diode between your set up will keep you from draining your main truck batteries from the secondary batteries.
Wilbur:
I know enough about this stuff to be (very!) Dangerous.....but I know a lot of folks use a device in their systems that allows charging of the entire system but limits drawdowns to the "backup" battery so they are never stuck without a charged battery to get the vehicle started. I will go check some sites to find the name of what I am thinking about but I want to say it's a "smart charger" or something like that.
I also just read part of a thread at expo portal about a guy who's alternator failed and he was able to run a decent amount of miles off his solar panel charging his battery. Granted it was in the desert and thus I'm sure he had plenty of sun, but still a decent thing to have in an "uh oh" moment. It's in papawheelie's build thread in the fullsize section if you go there. I had never thought about solar panels from a "safety" perspective before (meaning help me get home) so definitely made me see them in a different light.
TexasRedNeck:
This is what I was thinking of. Isolators are just a big diode, which allows current to flow one way only. In this case to your aux battery but not from your main battery. So if you leave your fridge or what have you on it will only drain your secondary battery and not leave you stranded.
https://www.batterystuff.com/battery-products/switches/Bi303303.html
husker77c:
--- Quote from: Wilbur on September 10, 2015, 05:23:47 AM ---I know enough about this stuff to be (very!) Dangerous.....but I know a lot of folks use a device in their systems that allows charging of the entire system but limits drawdowns to the "backup" battery so they are never stuck without a charged battery to get the vehicle started. I will go check some sites to find the name of what I am thinking about but I want to say it's a "smart charger" or something like that.
I also just read part of a thread at expo portal about a guy who's alternator failed and he was able to run a decent amount of miles off his solar panel charging his battery. Granted it was in the desert and thus I'm sure he had plenty of sun, but still a decent thing to have in an "uh oh" moment. It's in papawheelie's build thread in the fullsize section if you go there. I had never thought about solar panels from a "safety" perspective before (meaning help me get home) so definitely made me see them in a different light.
--- End quote ---
Expo Portal is where I got the idea for the solenoid to isolate the batteries. Do you see any issues with just adding the two batteries to the back without them being the same age as long as they were identical specs?
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