Coming up with a solar charging system.

[uglyblue66 113]

Please understand I am NOT real smart on this solar stuff and doubt i will ever be able to keep up with all the tech.BUT I bought these 2 items and it gives a steady  1/4 amp charge to my golf cart or electric tractor on a average sunny day. It would probably allow a person to keep a small yard maintained using the machine once a week and let it charge.

Still learning.And I decided to post this to perhaps get suggestions and pointers to improve the idea or whatever.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133819426634

https://www.harborfreight.com/100-watt-monocrystalline-solar-panel-57325.html

I caught the solar panel on sale for 99 bucks.

There is a learning curve to "programming" the green box.

But it does work.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,847]

 

 

I'm in...

 

I have HF solar trickle chargers on my E141... 

[Jeff-C175 7,203]

49 minutes ago, uglyblue66 said:

  1/4 amp

 

That's all?  If that's a 100W panel, you should be able to charge at least 5 Amps with it.

 

Of course, if the battery is being floated (maintained) rather than charged, 1/4 A is about right.

[oliver2-44 9,831]

Sometimes I use one of these Deer Feeder Solar Chargers on my Horse that lives at the farm, where there is no power.

https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Battery-Charger-Mounting-Alligator/dp/B08L7HJF5B/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2PQBQRIGUXK48&keywords=deer+feeder+12v+solar+panel&qid=1667139623&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjIyIiwicXNhIjoiMS44MiIsInFzcCI6IjEuMDYifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=deer+feeder+12v+solar%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

[squonk 41,287]

Can't help but here's a funny story.

 

Worked at an auto parts store. We had a tool line that sold " Solar" brand battery chargers. Old fella came in and wanted to order a solar battery charger. So one of the guys gets out the catalog and shows him all of the "Solar" brand chargers. They pick out one that looks like the correct size for his needs. It comes in and the guy picks it up. Week goes by and he bring's it back and heads right to the guy who sold it to him. "I left this out in the sun and it does absolutely nothing" says the guy. My co worker says "You have to plug it in" They go back and forth not really figuring out the main issue. I'm standing on the opposite end of the counter trying not to split my guts open laughing. I let them go at it for 10 minutes before I walk over and say to them ."This gentleman wanted a solar charger that uses the sun. You sold him a "Solar" brand charger." They look at me and say "OOHH!" 

Edited October 30, 2022 by squonk

[uglyblue66 113]

On 10/29/2022 at 10:22 PM, Jeff-C175 said:

 

That's all?  If that's a 100W panel, you should be able to charge at least 5 Amps with it.

 

Of course, if the battery is being floated (maintained) rather than charged, 1/4 A is about right.

Well the panel is only putting out about 19 volts peak,and the box is "upping" the voltage to charge the 36+ volt battery set so,i just assumed it was amp loss due to voltage increase.Like I said,still learning.

[Jeff-C175 7,203]

1 hour ago, uglyblue66 said:

Well the panel is only putting out about 19 volts peak,and the box is "upping" the voltage to charge the 36+ volt battery set so,i just assumed it was amp loss due to voltage increase.Like I said,still learning.

 

Ohhhhh... My bad, I thought you were charging a 12V battery!  

 

You might do better with two panels in series.

 

 

[RandyLittrell 3,885]

3 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

Ohhhhh... My bad, I thought you were charging a 12V battery!  

 

You might do better with two panels in series.

 

 

 

Might as well do 3 panels in series and that should charge the 36 volt system pretty well. 

 

 

Randy

[Mickwhitt 4,702]

This is the electrical equipment in my loft space for our new solar panel array.

The inverter turns the DC into AC and feeds it to the house or batteries. 

we have 20 panels each producing 320 kW. So its a pretty big system all in all . 

no idea how it works, but it does. 

[Sailman 1,294]

Have been doing some experimenting and research on the solar charging. I have the HF 100 watt panel with its own controller that's connected to a simple 12 volt marine battery (deep cycle). Panel keeps the battery topped up (charging at 13+ volts). Then I connect additional supplied connector to keep my 2 tractors and dirt bike batteries charged (move from one to the next periodically). Battery also runs a 12 volt light set so I can use the barn after dark. Works great for small system.

The bigger systems like mickwhitt take a much more sophisticated set up but still basic parts are;

1. Solar panels

2. Controller between panels and batteries (moderate charge to batteries, limit overcharge and draw down)

3. Batteries (need multiple lithium or other high amp storage capacity batteries....$$$

4. Inverter that takes the battery DC and coverts it back to AC for household outlet use.

5. Multiple solar panels and multiple batteries can be configured in series AND parallel to increase efficiency and reduce the size of wire needed. ( Do your own research on this one....)

 

Things to keep in mind; Your electrical consumption will be limited by the amount of power stored in the batteries. The solar panels simply keep the batteries charged. Bigger batteries, more usable power to your AC outlets and bigger $$$.

Couple other things;

Monocrystalline Solar Panel cost more and typically have higher output but have reduced output in less than full sun.

Amorphous Solar Panel costs less and has lower output but they amazingly work in low light situations too.

 

Bottom line is Solar is affordable for small applications like charging batteries, power outage backup for a few essential electric appliances, etc but trying to power lots of house appliances can run into big bucks for the system.

 

The newest option I highly recommend for small applications (portable AC power, camping, etc) are the Jackery Portable Power Stations. Great because they combine the battery, controller and inverter all in one package. Just add solar panels for charging (other charging options included) and its a small self contained unit.

 

Hope this adds some insight for folks.