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diy solar

Maxed Out Milk Crate Build!

penrow

New Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2022
Messages
58
I finally found a Milk Crate that is 12"x12" interior dimensions. I had previously built a crate system with 100 Ah Battery, 600 watt inverter, and 20 amp controller. I had to use a file crate which was 15"x12" . The file crate wasn't all that sturdy and I couldn't really see display on the charge controller. My battery measured 12" wide and most milk crates were only 11 7/8" and wouldn't work until I found a true 12"x12" crate. I now have 1000 watt inverter, and 30 amp controller with Bluetooth in a smaller , stronger case. I can access charge controller easily, and I cut out two areas so I can access inverter plug ins and battery connection terminals , and added some wheels! Also nothing protrudes or extends above the top of crate allowing other crates to still be stacked on top of it. Only thing that disappointed me is not being able to see the gorgeous display on the Inverter but with the Bluetooth app from battery it tells me all the info I need.
 

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Heres some pics, still have to wire it up but its looking good.
 

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Wanted to add some pics of Finished Crate. I also removed from Dolly and set it up on a small hand truck , which works well with the crate. I really didn't like mounting charge controller on top of battery but had no choice, at least the heat sink aligns with handle in crate for more air flow. I have been testing it running a small insta-pot and a large fan (around 900 watts) with all my panels connected and nothing was getting hot, barely felt any warmth.
 

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Made some changes. I removed the AC battery charger and also I am using a smaller solar charge controller. Since its mounted above battery, I wanted the smaller version and have it sitting on 1" blocks of wood. It is supposed to be mounted vertical but it has to be horizontal, the smaller 15 amp controller may be a better fit since it should generate less heat. I like the fact that it has an integrated 20 amp fuse that you can change without opening it up, it is accessible from the exterior and I feel no need for an inline fuse.. I also beefed up the inverter cables and I am using a terminal fuse at the positive terminal. Looks a lot neater, I also built a wagon version where I learned a few things and acquired some new tools and parts and revisited my crate to make it better, lighter, and less things to malfunction. 100 ah/hr battery with 1000 watt inverter in 12x12 crate with bluetooth battery and charge controller, only thing I may add is a top to prevent wires from being pulled out of charge controller from pegboard to still allow plenty of ventilation .
 

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Do you have a meter and/or on-off switch connected in your system?

Also, would you be able to share the schematic diagram used in this build?
 
Do you have a meter and/or on-off switch connected in your system?

Also, would you be able to share the schematic diagram used in this build?
No Meter or on/off switch. Only power switch is on/off on inverter. No schematic basically you can see all the parts. Battery has bluetooth so you can monitor state of charge and power coming in or out. The battery, crate, and inverter are exactly 12" which is important as most crates aren't . I got my crate from Uline and its a true 12"
AO Lithium battery 100 ah
Terminal fuse Blue Seas 150 amp (Has the little red rubber cover on it)
Victron 100/15 charge controller
Voltworks 1,000 watt inverter
2 awg wires to inverter ( Overkill but I had them , so I used them)
10 Awg wires from charge controller to battery
 
So question about these milk carton builds. Are they simply for great storage and portability of the system? Would love to build one. What are the advantages to the milk crate builds?
 
So question about these milk carton builds. Are they simply for great storage and portability of the system? Would love to build one. What are the advantages to the milk crate builds?
The milk crate builds are a substitute for the retail portable solar generators such as a Jackery, Ecoflow ,Blueti etc.. I like the fact that you can customize to your needs, have quality parts that you could swap out if one component fails, and it was fun building and a way to get introduced to solar.
 
Awesome I have been wanting to do something similar and perhaps someone could answer a question or two.

If there is a 24/7 load on the inverter will the charge controller be able to still top off and keep the battery in a healthy state of charge or does the controller assume that there will be periods of no load?
 
Awesome I have been wanting to do something similar and perhaps someone could answer a question or two.

If there is a 24/7 load on the inverter will the charge controller be able to still top off and keep the battery in a healthy state of charge or does the controller assume that there will be periods of no load?
The inverter has an on/off switch. Only turn it on when it's needed. The solar charge controller will charge the battery when power is coming in until the battery is fully charged. Think of the solar charger as a standard battery charger, while its getting power from panels (it's turned on) when there is no power from panels its basically OFF and when battery is full it stops charging. It will keep battery charged and healthy as long as you have enough watts coming in to replace what's going out , I would get a good controller MPPT for 24/7 use of inverter and a good inverter also. I don't know what you are powering 24/7 but if you can run it using DC power from battery, Inverter won't have to be on. They have dc lights, dc coolers and all sorts of things.
 
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Made some small adjustments to my crate. I added an accessory port with Anderson connector. I can use this to plug in my victron battery charger (I added Anderson connectors to it's adapter cable) and for a female cigarette lighter plug that I use to connect my iceco dc cooler. The cooler has an AC plug but with the cigarette adapter it can run without inverter being on and uses less power. The Anderson plug on the left is for accessories and the one on the right is for solar panels. I also painted the wood blocks under charge controller victron blue and squared up the cutouts in the crate to access inverter. It was fun building , tweaking and refining it but now it is as good as I can get it and I am happy with every component in it and hope to enjoy it for years to come.
 

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A VARIATION ON A THEME

I made a VERY similar "Crate" Solar Generator several weeks ago. I agree; fun build, cheaper than a commercial suitcase Solar Generator of similar capacity, a very useful & quiet portable 120v power supply. By putting the separate parts together, you can change them out if they fail. Just like anything else, there are limitations; battery size being one of them.
I used a Lion Energy LiPo4 105Ah battery, an ePever20a charge controller, (I'm partial to them), and a 1500w pure sine wave inverter. Since placement of the charge controller in the crate prevented being able to view the screen on the charge controller, for monitoring purposes, I used a MT 50 remote monitor. I have too much trouble with the blue tooth phone aps, so I went this way. I had the crate, the battery, 30a breaker, Anderson connectors, wires and the inverter in the shop, so I just bought another charge controller then put them together.
This inverter sticks above the top rim of the crate, so stacking isn't possible, but the outlets are very accessible. The gray component is the MPPT Charge Controller and the MT50 is mounted to the top of the Lion battery. I didn't want to mount it to the battery either, but it was screwed to a piece of 3/4 pine, then only double backed taped on to the battery. Guess I should paint the piece of pine ePever gray, huh?? :{)
Right in the middle is an easy trip circuit breaker that shuts the entire system off, eliminating parasitic draw. I also mounted an Anderson connector to the lower side of the crate as seen in picture #3. The cigarette lighter "adapter" is seen just hanging over the top edge of the crate, and it plugs into the Anderson plug. I ran MP4 connectors for the solar charging out one of the side holes of the crate. During transport, I can just tuck them inside.
I am using a 100w single solar panel. I'm still playing/experimenting:{)
You might think that I used PENRO's example as a template, but I had not seen his post before doing my build. They turned out very similar. PENRO, they say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
I used some different components:
105 Ah Lion battery= $700 from CostCo on line.
ePever 20 a charge controller w/MP50 monitor = $115 - Amazon
1500w Pure Sine Wave Inverter = $160 Amazon
Assorted other connectors, breakers, wire etc =$25?
(replacement) crate - Amazon - $24
I used this system camping a few weeks ago. Ran the coffee maker, microwave (800w) and charged all phones, camp lights, and when I left the key on in my truck, charged 2- 12v batteries up enough to start the diesel, with a separate charger. I just charged the crate system with several different 100w panels. I was changing them out during the experimental phase. The Renogy suitcase 100w panel worked out the best, in case you were wondering:{)
Fun project and it is a good learning experience in the solar arena. Better deal than a similarly powered suitcase system, just NOT AS PRETTY!
DesertDave
 

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Made some small adjustments to my crate. I added an accessory port with Anderson connector. I can use this to plug in my victron battery charger (I added Anderson connectors to it's adapter cable) and for a female cigarette lighter plug that I use to connect my iceco dc cooler. The cooler has an AC plug but with the cigarette adapter it can run without inverter being on and uses less power. The Anderson plug on the left is for accessories and the one on the right is for solar panels. I also painted the wood blocks under charge controller victron blue and squared up the cutouts in the crate to access inverter. It was fun building , tweaking and refining it but now it is as good as I can get it and I am happy with every component in it and hope to enjoy it for years to come.

Of course the Victron is excellent but the Genius wasn't good enough?
 
Of course the Victron is excellent but the Genius wasn't good enough?
I got the Victron to charge my Wagon ( its in this forum section, "My Green and Yellow Wagon build") because of the larger batteries the 10 amp charger was taking too long to charge them. Even the 15 amp Victron was too slow on the Wagons batteries so I ended up getting the 30 amp victron and repurposed the 15 amp Victron for the crate. I took my genius charger and put it in a vacuum sealed bag to store in my spare parts crate. It's in good company with a few charge controllers ( one victron, one Rich Solar) and a spare 600 watt inverter (Giandel) The Genius charger worked great and there wasn't any problems with it.
 
A VARIATION ON A THEME

I made a VERY similar "Crate" Solar Generator several weeks ago. I agree; fun build, cheaper than a commercial suitcase Solar Generator of similar capacity, a very useful & quiet portable 120v power supply. By putting the separate parts together, you can change them out if they fail. Just like anything else, there are limitations; battery size being one of them.
I used a Lion Energy LiPo4 105Ah battery, an ePever20a charge controller, (I'm partial to them), and a 1500w pure sine wave inverter. Since placement of the charge controller in the crate prevented being able to view the screen on the charge controller, for monitoring purposes, I used a MT 50 remote monitor. I have too much trouble with the blue tooth phone aps, so I went this way. I had the crate, the battery, 30a breaker, Anderson connectors, wires and the inverter in the shop, so I just bought another charge controller then put them together.
This inverter sticks above the top rim of the crate, so stacking isn't possible, but the outlets are very accessible. The gray component is the MPPT Charge Controller and the MT50 is mounted to the top of the Lion battery. I didn't want to mount it to the battery either, but it was screwed to a piece of 3/4 pine, then only double backed taped on to the battery. Guess I should paint the piece of pine ePever gray, huh?? :{)
Right in the middle is an easy trip circuit breaker that shuts the entire system off, eliminating parasitic draw. I also mounted an Anderson connector to the lower side of the crate as seen in picture #3. The cigarette lighter "adapter" is seen just hanging over the top edge of the crate, and it plugs into the Anderson plug. I ran MP4 connectors for the solar charging out one of the side holes of the crate. During transport, I can just tuck them inside.
I am using a 100w single solar panel. I'm still playing/experimenting:{)
You might think that I used PENRO's example as a template, but I had not seen his post before doing my build. They turned out very similar. PENRO, they say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
I used some different components:
105 Ah Lion battery= $700 from CostCo on line.
ePever 20 a charge controller w/MP50 monitor = $115 - Amazon
1500w Pure Sine Wave Inverter = $160 Amazon
Assorted other connectors, breakers, wire etc =$25?
(replacement) crate - Amazon - $24
I used this system camping a few weeks ago. Ran the coffee maker, microwave (800w) and charged all phones, camp lights, and when I left the key on in my truck, charged 2- 12v batteries up enough to start the diesel, with a separate charger. I just charged the crate system with several different 100w panels. I was changing them out during the experimental phase. The Renogy suitcase 100w panel worked out the best, in case you were wondering:{)
Fun project and it is a good learning experience in the solar arena. Better deal than a similarly powered suitcase system, just NOT AS PRETTY!
DesertDave
Looks great! How wide is the battery you are using? I used my battery because at the time it was the only one that was 12" wide and would fit in the 12" milk crate. It was a lot more expensive but I do really like it. I know now there is one from Renogy that is under 12" wide also. I just got 2 folding 100 watt panels from Harbor Freight. They produce power great and are nice , the only thing I don't like is the latches are trash and I don't expect them to last but they were on sale for $149 a piece!
 
What's your use case for the milk crate? Trying to see if it's useful enough to build one. Also on Will's video he uses a voltage input that has a rotary knob.. it seems dangerous that the input voltage could be bumped and adjusted accidentally. Any thoughts?
 
I use my crate for when we take trips to a lake that's near us, we grill on charcoal but have milk crate for using an instant pot and running a fan, dc cooler , and of course charging iPads , phones etc.. I plan on using it camping as soon as weather cools a bit more. I also use it at home sometimes to do things instead of using an extension cord. I love just knowing that I have it for emergencies. I opted to remove the charger from the crate to make it lighter and neater, I can still use a charger without having it mounted in the crate.
 
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