Solar Set Up

i built a portable solar generator from a pelican 1650 case. The battery is a VMAX Extreme 135ah battery. It has 2 inverters, one of which is a Krieger 3000 watt modified sine and the back up (not wired in) is a Reliable 2500 watt pure sine. It also has 2 opposing LED work lights as well as 4 - 110 plugs with GFCI protection and USB capability. A voltmeter and 12v cigarette lighter and 2 additional USB outlets are available. It has ability to charge via AC power and integrated trickle charger or the sun of course. 2 100 watt Renogy panels are mounted on the underside of my bed cover and slide in and out with 25ft extension cable.

 

That setup is awesome, I really like that it's portable.

 

??? Do the panels turn over???

 

Mirrors in the bed?

 

I guess you have to take the panels out of storage to do a charge. I have a similar setup, 2 optima's wired up to a 2000 inverter and a trickle charger, I have them in a heavy duty tote, and just use it for a short trips and then charge it when I'm back on the grid. The overhead of the panels is just a step too far for me at this time. Love the setup.

 

Glorious

 

Also what solar controller are you using?

 

@Perfuseme
Very impressive solar set up! You could go off grid indefinitely with something like this, ah... I like that

 

Yeh the panels slide out and can be put just about anywhere with the 25' plug in extension.

They won't be stored face down like shown. That's only for demo sake. In-fact it's unlikely that I will store them there. I don't think the vibration and road terrain will be good for them to be stored there.

 

This one. Il probably get another as a back up.

 

Very cool....

 

Super slick OP

 

I made this out of a costco ammo can and keep it behind the seat in the truck. 12V lithium battery squeezed in so I don't have to worry too much about it tipping over.

 

How are the panels held to the cover? I have a solar setup wired into my truck and I am looking to mount the single 100w flexible panel to the roof of my cap in such a way that I can slide it in and out, while it is still able to handle the vibrations of travel on and off road. I was thinking of just using nylon webbing 2 inches wide, bolted to the underside of the roof rack mounts (somehow)...

 

Mind sharing the cost of a set up like this? Well done

 

I just used some U brackets wide enough for the panel to slide in. Regular old Home Depot stuff. Screwed them in with a dab of construction adhesive.

I think a roof rack would have given better options but the parking garage I use at work is pretty low so I don't think I want to mess with it.

The only other thing that I considered was industrial Velcro.

 

Not bad at all. That will keep small items charged for a while. How many watts is that panel??

 

that red 4ga (looks like 4ga) is absolute garbage. it's not rated for anything other than audio. you want welding cable. i don't mean to troll you, but I learned this the hard way.

 

Sweet!

A trick I learned from pulling all kinds of data and power cables into all kinds of unnatural places... Build the connectors from "Shoe Goo Boots and Gloves". Every place that you don't have a connector hood (or the one you have won't fit), you can build up a very nice hood by layering up goo. Every place you've got electrical tape, I'd do a goo build-up.