Solar dolly take 1!

[Rednecktek]

So I figured now that I've made a battery before, it's time to step it up to a solar dolly.

Utilizing a MPP 1012LV as the core system, a battery monitor, and a whole boatload of USB, USB-C, 12v car port, and a pair of regular 12v terminals, I figure it should be able to feed pretty much anything you can throw a plug on*.

Now granted, it's not going to fire off your chop saw or weld up the truck frame, it should be plenty for a light jobsite where you need to recharge your cordless tools, charge up the phones, power the party speaker, feed some work lights, etc.



Plenty of USB and small power points. I accidently left one of the USB-C ports at the shed along with my testing solar panels so I'll probably get those in and finalized tomorrow.



All this is fed from a stack of the Eve 280K's and a 120a SmartBMS. Physics was NOT my friend trying to get everything in there, but I managed to deal with the really short wires pre-attached to the BMS.



Tomorrow I'm hoping to get that last USB-C plug in and am planning on throwing another breaker in for the 12v screw terminals... once I can find one in the right size locally. It's on the To-Do list! Sheesh!

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Luscious

 

[Rednecktek]

So evidently I only ordered one of the USB-C units, so the last one will be here on Sunday along with the breaker for the 12v lugs. Got it all mounted up today and did some testing.



Actually started pulling from the solar panels once there was a load too. The battery was fully charged when I assembled everything so I wasn't sure it was going to work until I could drain some of that capacity.



On to the testing:

USB -> Phone
USB-C -> Phone
12v car -> Jackery 240
120v AC -> Jackery 240
120v AC -> Angle grinder (220w)
120v AC -> OLD steel drill (410w) I did get a warning on start about overload, cleared about the time I recognized what the flashing [7] alarm meant.

And the HUGE surprise:
120v AC -> OLD skill saw through 2x4 (984w) Got the overload warning on start again but once it was up to speed it went through the 2x4 with no problem. Wattage went up as I got deeper into the cut but IT HELD!!! I was NOT expecting that to work.

So yeah, more capable than I thought it was going to be. Maybe when I can afford a battery I'll dig out the 24v parts I have for sale (since nobody seems to want them in my area) and make a 3Kw cart with all the 12v and the ability to handle a chop saw.

 

[monochromatic]

This is great and helpful for a novice like me! A couple questions:

1. What kind of fuse are you using on the negative wire from the battery? I saw you recommend a class T fuse in a different thread for the MPP 1012 but that one looks like an ANL or MEGA or something.
2. For the positive wire from the battery, it looks like you're using one of the fuse/breaker combos. Is this effectively your battery disconnect switch?

Thanks!

 

[Rednecktek]

I'm using a decent quality DC breaker for the positive line as I've had 3 of my orders for Class-T's cancelled and the other one has been "Shipping Soon" for over a month now. That thing you see on the DC line is the shunt for the meter on the right hand side.

 

[dahluwalia]

So I figured now that I've made a battery before, it's time to step it up to a solar dolly.

Utilizing a MPP 1012LV as the core system, a battery monitor, and a whole boatload of USB, USB-C, 12v car port, and a pair of regular 12v terminals, I figure it should be able to feed pretty much anything you can throw a plug on*.

Now granted, it's not going to fire off your chop saw or weld up the truck frame, it should be plenty for a light jobsite where you need to recharge your cordless tools, charge up the phones, power the party speaker, feed some work lights, etc.

View attachment 116158

Plenty of USB and small power points. I accidently left one of the USB-C ports at the shed along with my testing solar panels so I'll probably get those in and finalized tomorrow.

View attachment 116160

All this is fed from a stack of the Eve 280K's and a 120a SmartBMS. Physics was NOT my friend trying to get everything in there, but I managed to deal with the really short wires pre-attached to the BMS.

View attachment 116162

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get that last USB-C plug in and am planning on throwing another breaker in for the 12v screw terminals... once I can find one in the right size locally. It's on the To-Do list! Sheesh!

12v did you say ? What is the amp hour =? Do you know what is the idle draw is? Do you charge it with panels ? What do you use it for ? Great job looks nice !

 

[Rednecktek]

12v did you say ?

Yup, it was easier to find all the USB chargers and cig lighters and oddball 12v stuff rather than having to calculate and spend money on a buck converter capable of handling the loads.

What is the amp hour =?

Up until last week it was a 280Ah, but I had to steal that battery for another project. I've got a set of 304Ah cells to drop into it.

Do you know what is the idle draw is?

2.2a according to the Aili shunt strapped in there.

Do you charge it with panels ?

Yup, I slapped some hinges and stuff on a pair of 100w panels to make a solar suitcase a couple times so I've got 400w now between the 2 sets that I throw on there.

What do you use it for ?

It was handy when building my shed to charge some tools, power a couple other tools (I can't believe it held down the old circular saw still!), powered a bluetooth speaker and charged our phones. It was easier to wheel that out and throw the panels out than it would have been to run enough extension cords to get to the other side of the property.

Great job looks nice !

Thanks!