Recent content by Arbee

What do people think of those Cascadia 4x4 and Lensun Solar vehicle hood (bonnet for our friends across the "Pond") based, vehicle specific panels? I'm not expecting rave reviews. I know Will wasn't much of a fan of them (flexible panels that is--and not necessarily, worse, those situated on...

Thanks Mike. I'm not sure if in your reference to "vehicle electronic standby power," you mentally intended to include parasitic draw; which I'll loosely describe as power lost by the battery that doesn't serve legitimate purpose, that purpose even including keeping vehicle electronics in some...

Ok, sure, longitude, weather, the angle of the panel (which if on some vehicle roof is horozontal)....length of day, there is no one setup... But that said, is there a basic rule of thumb regarding how big a solar panel in watts a person needs to, with an MPPT controller, trickle charge an AGM...

Thanks. The Solarlife accompanying smart phone app doesn't seem to have a battery chemistry setting. Also, as it regards the flexible panels, I was just as much interested in their durability, Will P. pointing to them cracking and overheating with time, as I was with them living up to their...

Two products from the Lensun Solar catalog motivate my questioning here. The first is one of their MPPT Charge controllers. This one: https://www.lensunsolar.com/Products/Solar-controller?product_id=534 It claims, with what appears to be no user configuration, to be able to charge batteries...

For all its limitations, the Renogy DCC30/50S will prioritize solar power to first charge a house battery and supplement that power with the vehicle's alternator if the engine is cranked. This got me thinking that maybe I could connect something to the alternator inputs on the device, that at...

I'm sorry. I think I found my answer in this product's voltage boosting capabilities: a what seems to be relatively common feature in RV house battery charging from alternator components, given today's potentially lower voltage smart alternators and higher voltage LiFEPO4 house battery...

Given that my vehcile is equipped with a smart alternator under the hood, that, as the name implies, won't delivery one constant higher voltage like was the case in the days of a non-smart constant alternator's voltage output, but regulate that voltage, presumably saving gasoline, based on the...

Thank you for giving terminology to my problem set. From your description it is an isolater I seek. :)

I think I sought something like this...

I'm sure that many of you are familiar with RV 120VAC transfer switches that, for example, will allow an RVs 120 VAC appliances to be run from a shore power hookup over, say, an inverter connected to a house battery in the absence of such shore power availability. Ok, sorry for the stupid...

Ok...your living in an RV with a nice size house battery bank that solar panels for the most part are able to charge, but there's those less than sunny days, that seem to always come in a stretch. So, lucky enough, to have access to shore power so mabe you charge your rig's batteries by...

So Mike--and BTW thanks--the notion of two different charging algorithms from the house to starter battery, as per the manual, based on whether you do or don't have a smart alternator and corresponding smart alternator cable hookup is complete B.S. when the engine is not cranked, as any time the...

Take a device like this: the Renogy Rego. It features the ability to hook up an optional Smart Alternator cable if the vehcile into which you are installing this product has just such an altenator. And on page 54 of the linked manual, the logic the device will use to have the house battery...

I'm gettiing the sense that the Renogy (boo) Rego might permit me "continual" starter battery trickle charging as long as (page 54) https://store-fhnch.mybigcommerce.com/content/RCB1260DO-100506PR/RBC1260DO-12B_UserManual_A0.pdf my house battery is greater than 12.7V and the starter battery is...