Total beginner here at Solar, I have nothing purchased at this time but I know what I want out of the system and what my current and future load could be.
Idea is to have batteries in the bed of my truck that will be weather proof, have the ability to plug either a solar panel into charge them or a portable generator if needed, depending on the camp site and if there is sun or a cloudy day.
The planned load on the system will be as such:
- I have an eBike battery that is the following: 36V, 700Wh, 19Ah Lithium Ion.
- Roughly 4-6 LED lights mounted on the Bed Rack being built for lights at night for cooking and such. Will only run for short periods of time. LED lights I can go either with the inverted of directly to a battery wired through a switch so
- Future use, 12V fridge, approx 48watt usage for a 24 hour period, at least that is the estimate that I have from the web site on the model I am looking at.
- charging camera batteries occasionally if needed on longer trips.
- small electronics like iPhones or Garmin bike computers
Requirement that I know I need:
- I will need to have an inverted for the battery charger and the camera batter chargers.
Planned usage for the system: 2-4 day trips biking and landscape or wildlife photography. Bike trips will be the biggest demand as I will usually need to recharge the battery after a full day of riding. At home, this usually takes 2-3 hours to fully charge from an almost dead battery.
Knowns:
- Plan is to have the system charged before I leave by having the batteries plugged into the power at the house for a trickle charge. When I am at the camp site or trail head, use a combination of solar or generator to charge the batteries back up again so that they will be able to charge my bike battery a number of times during the planned trip. So assume that I will be on a 3 day trip, I will need to fully charge the bike at least twice during this time.
- When I get the 12V fridge, assume that it will be cold before it connects to the system
Location of system:
Compartment in the truck will be roughly 14"L X 20" W X18" H, it will be located at the back of the truck bed. Plugs for recharging ebike, camera gear, phone or the fridge, will be located towards the front of the truck bed, of back of the truck next to the tail gate.
Questions that I have, I know I will possibly need to have a min of two batteries, I have a supplier where I can get wholesale pricing on the batteries, make, model, Amp Hours unknown at this time. That is one piece of the puzzle that I am a little confused on. Trying to figure out the batteries I will need to give me the ability to charge my ebike battery. what size batteries, number and type would be best for a system like I want to have? They will not be left outside in the winter but brought indoors.
Two, will a small solar panel really give me enough of a power return into the batteries to worry about or should I just look at recharging the batteries with the generator at this time until I can look at getting a better solar panel solution? Or could I possibly get one panel now and then connect a 2nd panel down the road in series? I think that is the way that it would work.
Equipment I am assuming I need:
Batteries: # and type and size unknown
Inverter: Not sure if the kind matters, was going to pick up one from my local store
Solar controller: ??
Portable Solar Panel: Size, model, number?
Anything else that I am missing?
Or if somebody can point me to some threads where I can read some more and come back with some additional questions? I have been watching Will's videos, which is what has brought me here. Just looking for some advice on how I can achieve what I would like to do.
Thank you for your time and knowledge.
Pat
Idea is to have batteries in the bed of my truck that will be weather proof, have the ability to plug either a solar panel into charge them or a portable generator if needed, depending on the camp site and if there is sun or a cloudy day.
The planned load on the system will be as such:
- I have an eBike battery that is the following: 36V, 700Wh, 19Ah Lithium Ion.
- Roughly 4-6 LED lights mounted on the Bed Rack being built for lights at night for cooking and such. Will only run for short periods of time. LED lights I can go either with the inverted of directly to a battery wired through a switch so
- Future use, 12V fridge, approx 48watt usage for a 24 hour period, at least that is the estimate that I have from the web site on the model I am looking at.
- charging camera batteries occasionally if needed on longer trips.
- small electronics like iPhones or Garmin bike computers
Requirement that I know I need:
- I will need to have an inverted for the battery charger and the camera batter chargers.
Planned usage for the system: 2-4 day trips biking and landscape or wildlife photography. Bike trips will be the biggest demand as I will usually need to recharge the battery after a full day of riding. At home, this usually takes 2-3 hours to fully charge from an almost dead battery.
Knowns:
- Plan is to have the system charged before I leave by having the batteries plugged into the power at the house for a trickle charge. When I am at the camp site or trail head, use a combination of solar or generator to charge the batteries back up again so that they will be able to charge my bike battery a number of times during the planned trip. So assume that I will be on a 3 day trip, I will need to fully charge the bike at least twice during this time.
- When I get the 12V fridge, assume that it will be cold before it connects to the system
Location of system:
Compartment in the truck will be roughly 14"L X 20" W X18" H, it will be located at the back of the truck bed. Plugs for recharging ebike, camera gear, phone or the fridge, will be located towards the front of the truck bed, of back of the truck next to the tail gate.
Questions that I have, I know I will possibly need to have a min of two batteries, I have a supplier where I can get wholesale pricing on the batteries, make, model, Amp Hours unknown at this time. That is one piece of the puzzle that I am a little confused on. Trying to figure out the batteries I will need to give me the ability to charge my ebike battery. what size batteries, number and type would be best for a system like I want to have? They will not be left outside in the winter but brought indoors.
Two, will a small solar panel really give me enough of a power return into the batteries to worry about or should I just look at recharging the batteries with the generator at this time until I can look at getting a better solar panel solution? Or could I possibly get one panel now and then connect a 2nd panel down the road in series? I think that is the way that it would work.
Equipment I am assuming I need:
Batteries: # and type and size unknown
Inverter: Not sure if the kind matters, was going to pick up one from my local store
Solar controller: ??
Portable Solar Panel: Size, model, number?
Anything else that I am missing?
Or if somebody can point me to some threads where I can read some more and come back with some additional questions? I have been watching Will's videos, which is what has brought me here. Just looking for some advice on how I can achieve what I would like to do.
Thank you for your time and knowledge.
Pat
