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Will Prowse and others have numerous videos on diy LiFePo4 battery builds. Will's videos are geared towards beginners, and he is very good at details. Biggest issue is finding good LiFePo4 cells and mating them with the proper sized BMS. I think constructing a container to hold the LiFePo4...

33 watts at 46 Volts??? Didn't see any panels at this low a wattage putting out 46 Volts. I must assume that these panels are 330 watts each instead. Almost any MPPT controller, with a wattage rating of ~25% greater than the output of your panels, would work. I had planned to do a...

Harbor Freight is OK for a number of items, but with vendors like HOME DEPOT, LOWE's. & Northern Tool selling newer and better quality Solar Panel Kits, I would believe it that you are finding that somebody have "gifted" you with additional HF panels. Only question is - do you have enough...

Claim is that old solar panels never totally "die". May lose some of their output, but still puts out some juice. Think that a set-up like those used to charge game feeders, is a great use of "old" panels. Mounting on a swing set, with some type of tilt adjustment, sounds like a great...

Does anyone know if military surplus cases are still available? Saw some 20mm metal ammo cans, (about 17 x 14 x 9), but understand that there are now also plastic versions on the open market.

Please post pictures when you are done. Interested in seeing how your finished battery box looks. Think that many folks would also like to see the finished battery box, with details.

Thanks to the virus, local recycling center is shut down. Got me thinking about what to do with empty gallon milk jugs. As these are made from High Density Polyethylene, (HDPE), remembered that during WWII that HDPE was a "classified material" because of it's use for electrical (RADAR...

I also like the golf cart set-up. Plexiglas cover over the terminals is a nice touch. Only comment is to add a 1x2 strip to the plywood on either side so as to have a place to mount the plexiglas. Drill the pilot holes in the 1x2's and the plexiglas together to insure that the screws will...

A "Battery Box" should be easy, if you need one other than your typical #24 or #27 box they sell at Walmart. 1.) EASY - 1x2 boards and 1/2" Plywood. Use Wood Glue and Screws to build your basic box, allowing extra space to add some cut up floor mats (Harbor Freight, LOWE's, etc.) to absorb...

Like your set-up. Had hoped to get some help building a small electric powered pontoon set-up, with no luck. Hope somebody helps you.

Saw that HOME DEPOT has a NATURE POWER 180 watt panel with a 12 amp PWM Controller on sale for a lot less money. Anybody have feedback on the #50180 panel???

I had worked with several foundries before I retired, and they use a special sand for castings. Best way for a "home caster" is to get a large block of candle wax, and carve out a pattern. Be sure to add a "pour sprue" and an "overflow vent" to your pattern. People have used sand from a...

Won't it be easier/smarter to purchase a single higher wattage 48V panel??? Appears that a single Canadian Solar or Mission Solar 300 +/- watt 48V panel would be smaller and lighter than 3 - 4 100 watt panels.

Sounds like a great rig. Are you plan to use solar power for recharging the battery?? Assume that your charging station would be a "fixed" set-up, instead of panels mounted on your boat. Would like details about your layout.

Did you remember to hook up your battery to the controller before hooking the controller to your panel? "Live" panel hooked up to the controller without the battery already attached can damage your controller. At the amps you are reading, voltage would be only about 22V. That is one of my...

Looks great. I still think for a first attempt at a frame that 3/4" sch. 80 PVC pipe should be OK. Once you have the bugs worked out, then look at building an Aluminum or other type metal frame. Mounting the Battery may require some type of plywood or "Duckboard" (Cedar 1x2 boards) to...

Assuming (8) panels at ~$125 each, and $250 for a good MPPT Controller, it does appear to be costly. My goal was to use a typical 12 volt trolling motor of about 55 lb. thrust. With the smaller (12' - 14') size pontoon boats, should have enough room for (3) 100 watt panels, and get enough...

To get 48 volts, assume you should use (4) "12 volt" panels, in series. Typical "12 Volt" panel specs shows about 18 - 20 volts and ~5 1/2 amps at optimum conditions. Always have to allow for system losses, so with a good MPPT Controller, (8) "12 Volt" panels, in two banks, first wired in...

Great boat! Some poor guy didn't know what he had. For your first attempt at a solar panel frame, try some PVC sch. 80 pipe. Any hardware store should have 3/4" pipe and the "TEEs" and ELBOWs you would need. Glued up PVC pipe won't damage your hull, and you can modify your frame until you...

Great idea - How hard would it be to collect data from various current vehicle mounted solar panel users, that have fixed flat mounted panels? If the data could be collected a number of times over the daylight hours, and then compared to the manufacturers' specs, then that data would be...

New Minn Kota 40 lb Trolling Motor & Deep Cycle #29 size Lead Acid battery =~$275 from ACADEMY. Guess #29 size battery box would be less than $30. Jumper Cables and heat shrink tubing from Harbor Freight should be less than $30 on sale. Leaves about $350 for a canoe, and about $200 for a...

Did a quick internet search, and saw that the Twin Troller X10 (@ www.freedomelectric.com) is still in production. Just buy one, and just add a simple solar power supply kit (Harbor Freight???) to replace one of the seats. Won't be able to put it on the roof of a car, but should fit in the...

MARS - Any RV solar set-up will work if you are just recharging a battery after using it. As repeatedly stated, I used a square stern canoe with a 100 AH trolling motor battery, and a standard 6 Amp "dumb" Western Auto charger for many years. 30 years ago, didn't have LiFePo4 batteries, and...

OKAY Folks - Reason for this thread was to come up with the design for a Solar powered pontoon boat. Pontoon boat to have the room to mount two or three Solar Panels to run everything. Mitey Toon, Logoboat, Pond King, etc. - all these folks build 12' - 14' pontoon boats that normally use a...

A small pontoon boat with a 55 lb trolling motor (Minn Kota) set at power level #2 would draw ~12 amps at 12 volts. With a fully charged 100 amp hour battery and using typical 100 watt panels, 3 panels should constantly provide 9 amps of recharging power. How fast/how long do you want to run...

Earlier, I started another thread as I wanted to get help/info to build a small solar powered pontoon boat. Leaning towards a 4 person MITEY-TOON. Problem is that while the pontoon boat can be purchased complete with an electric trolling motor, nobody has any plans for a mount for the solar...

If you have the funds, get either an aluminum or fiberglass square stern canoe. As example, an OLD TOWN aluminum canoe, if not used in salt water, can be handed down to your grand kids. If you want cheap, check directboats website. They have poly, fiberglass, or aluminum canoes.

So upgrade to a LiFePo battery when or if you get sufficient funds. Sealed Lead trolling motor batteries are heavy. Moving such batteries in and out of a canoe is work. And at my age, every ounce counts. To get what you want, (3 mph) you'll need about 12 amps from your panels to run a...

Starting with a fully charge LiFePo battery, and a 100 watt panel, should be a no brainer. I think I was only using the #2 setting on a Minn Kota 35 lb motor, and cruised steadily at speed (2 - 3 mph) for about 5 hours. LiFePo batteries have a greater capacity, and with ~3 Amps from a 100...

Don't know if Coleman still makes the Scanoe square stern poly 15 ft canoe any more. Bought mine about 30+ years ago. Check the internet to see who makes a inexpensive (poly) square stern canoe. If you find an Old Town or Lowe aluminum model, they are one of the better ones to have. If...

If you haven't got the canoe yet, and wanted cheap, try a Coleman SCANOE with a 35 lb - 50 lb trolling motor. Used such a rig for many years, with no issues. For a single person, I made "duck boards" to fit in the middle of the Scanoe. Mounted the battery box on the "duck boards", and use...

That is why I am thinking a small pontoon boat, as stability and capacity are important. Even found a paddle boat, with an electric assist motor, to which it should be easy to add Solar Panels. If I was looking for a single/dual person rig, and a CRAIGCAT was out of my price range, would...

The smaller (MITEY-TOON, PONDKING, etc.) pontoon boats are light enough that a ~75 lb. trolling motor should work fine. Thought was to use Solar Panels and home built mount in lieu of a bimini top. 15 kv @ 48 volts is a lot of Amps. How fast do you intend to go???

Trolling motors are measured in pounds of thrust. @12 volts, Minn Kota - 75 pound thrust motors have a max draw of ~55 amps.

Considering getting a small size (12` - 14`) pontoon boat with a small (75 lb.) trolling motor. Thinking about having a ~200 watt solar array to provide power for the motor. Has anyone put together a similar rig? Tried to get a discussion going several months ago, but appeared to not be...