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I needed to power a pump at a remote pond for a few minutes an hour and was surprised to find that the load switch on Renogy charge controllers didn't have any auto modes that could be used in the day. Here's a screenshot from the manual showing the available modes of the load switch: I needed...

Here in America I've had great luck with Craigslist. Also try calling around to the various solar installers in your area, they often have panels they pulled from old jobs or replaced for one reason or another. They need to use all the same panel for a given job, so they often have odd panels...

I'm using one of these cheapie chargers, which so far works great: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779RQ4Z4 Not exactly that one but same specs. I switched everything (the battery and the charger) over to XT60 jacks, which I love working with. I had an old tackle box lying around so I installed...

Just a quick followup: I bought these cells: https://www.gobelpower.com/eve-32v-280ah-rechargeable-lifepo4-battery-cell_p6.html They delivered them quickly, packaged well. Great cells. Couldn't have been a better experience. And I got this BMS...

I was recently given two 36 volt lithium ion batteries that were previously powering electric bicycles, and I'm wondering if there's some clever way to use them to boost the batteries in my RV? My RV has 4 Trojan T-105 6 volt batteries wired for 12 volts. Currently I'm stepping the 36 volts...

Are you married to those panels? If not, I've had much better luck with house style (~300 watt panels) than those little guys, especially flexible ones. For one thing they're higher voltage, more like 36 volts instead of 19 volts. They're also dirt cheap if you get older ones. I just picked up a...

Also, about this advice: In my opinion you have an under powered pv array, so I'd use fatter wire to give yourself room to grow. The hassle in doing the wiring for an RV or van isn't the expense of the wire, it's running the wire and waterproofing the wire entry points. So go fat so you don't...

Good point. I set up a system for him using two 36v lithium ion electric scooter batteries I had from an old project, each about 300 watt hours. They have XT60 connectors, and he uses one at a time (they both connect to the same plug). They're connected to a step down adaptor to make 12v. And as...

I respectfully strongly disagree. Which I bother to mention because I hate generators with a passion and hate to see them promoted on a forum like this, especially for a use case that's so easily accommodated with solar. There's no way in which a noisy and stinky generator and hauling around...

I love solar generators, but they're pretty pricey at about $1/watt hour: https://www.bluettipower.com/products/ac200max-power-station Building it yourself is less than half that including the inverter and everything else, and is easier to expand.

I'm helping a friend build a 12v LFP battery that's something in the 3000 watt hour range, ideally a bit more. When I last looked at this, before he pressed snooze on the project, I was planning to use 4 280ah Grade A Eve cells. It's been a little while though, is that still a good way to go for...

Would be nice if they'd drop ship them to SFO or wherever. I don't need them delivered the final 10 miles, glad to pick it up to save $100 or so.

I'm looking for a 1000-ish watt 12v inverter for a friend's installation. I've always used Xantrex inverters, but I havnt looked for alternatives in probably 5 years and guessing a lot has changed. The most complicated thing he's planning to use it for is a TV, which I *think* is 400 watts...

Thank you! And @Northernchateau, that 8ga wire and is temporary, we ran out of wire lugs so couldn't trim that or make another. There will be two 8ga wires in final form that are a bit shorter than that. I hope 8ga is beefy enough. As far as fuses, he made that box (the 2x4's) without leaving...

Great idea to use that in an RV, I should install one in mine. Now that I've used lithium batteries a bit I really miss having something protect the battery when I go back to lead acid. And I see a lot of pwm charge controllers on Amazon with "load" terminals, but they give oddly little info...

I'm working on a project that uses the load pins on a cheapie Renogy 10 amp PWM charge controller to power a bilge pump for a minute an hour whenever the battery has sufficient power, but I can't find the rating of those load pins anywhere. I'm using this charge controller if it matters (Renogy...

Yeah we go there every year. Just north of la paz is one of my favorite surf spots on the planet.

I always go flat, especially if tilted requires me to do anything. Flat mounted panels are about 15% less efficient than those mounted at the right angle for your lattitude (or so I've been told, maybe someone here can correct), but I'm way more than 15% more likely to have them in place, ha. I...

Interesting. How has your experience been with the B cells? Any issues? And do you know off hand how much they cost? And thanks everyone for the tips.

Why are you using 12 volt solar panels? If you have the room I'd highly recommend using two house style (300 watt-ish) panels. That will give you much much much more power, since your battery voltage and panel voltage are currently the same. You want your panels to be higher voltage than your...

I'm talking about the Pacific ocean just north of la paz. Super fun on south swells too, but it picks up everything else too.

I'm helping a friend put solar on his trailer, and he's got a limited budget. I found these "Rec" brand 260 watt solar panels for $65 each, any reason I should steer clear of them? We're looking to pick up 3 of them...

Aha, sorry, I thought I read that you had just a couple of sub 200 watt panels. 800 watts is in the ballpark for sure. Mind if I ask why you're not using house style (60 or 72 cell) high voltage panels? They're dirt cheap (under $200 for 300+ watts) and tough and high quality. I see 12 volt...

I'm testing these 260 watt panels: Doing the usual test of connecting to an amp meter set on 10 amps. Getting 8 amps and 35.5 volts, which is 284 watts... I'm guessing short circuiting the panel like ths isn't a good measure of the actual expected watt output of the panel? If not, is there a...

Good advice, thank you.

Is that what typically happens with grade b cells, they have less load potential? Guessing there's also a chance of lower capacity? If so does anyone have any theories about how great the risk is to capacity? My friend is trying to keep things as cheap as possible, but on the other hand if he...

I'm building my first LiFePO4 battery bank, and considering these cells: https://www.evcomponents.com/eve-3-2v-280ah-prismatic-lifepo4-cell.html (280 ah eve cells for $118 each). Any thoughts on those cells? And any thoughts on that supplier? Anything else I should consider with similar or...

Thank you!

I'm helping a friend who has a battery bank with two 12v batteries wired in parallel. He needs to run an occasional 24v load from them. Is there any danger to adding a wire to series them, and using the battery bank as both a 12v and 24v bank simultaneously (with different connecion points...

No, you want your panels to be higher voltage than your battery bank. The MPPT charge controller will adjust the voltage to your battery bank (as long as the panel voltage is higher). If your panels are the same voltage as your battery bank you lose a whole lotta watts especially when the sun is...