• Have you tried out dark mode?! Scroll to the bottom of any page to find a sun or moon icon to turn dark mode on or off!

diy solar

diy solar

Solar Kart V3... with a twist.

drdolan1

New Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2024
Messages
8
Location
Upstate NY
Hello, I'm trying to set up something like the solar kart... but in the back of a travel trailer instead of a kart. this trailer will never move with the equipment installed, I am using the trailer as a home base on our off grid property while my wife and I work on the land. I already have the following:

EG4 6000XP
EG4 48v LIFEPO LL batteries (2)
17KW of 565W bifacial solar panels
3500W inverter generator

I'm obviously not planning on hooking up ALL of the solar panels... I'm going to mount 4 of them which will give me all the power I need.

I must also mention here that I'm in a wheelchair and have some medical issues that makes me need 110v power 24/7... I won't die (right away) if I lose it, but running a generator all night long is NOT an option... thus the batteries and solar panels.

This equipment will eventually be re-purposed to power our shop/home/whatever once we get something built, but I figured why not get some use out of it now?

That said, I figured I could put the inverter, one and maybe both of the batteries if there is room into the rear storage compartment of the trailer using the setup that Mr. Prowse set up on his "Kart V3" but since my shore power is a 30amp 110v, I would, I am assuming, not be able to just put a 30amp cable on the inverter instead of the 50 amp that he uses... I'm thinking that wouldn't be safe.

So, I'm thinking I'll also put a small load center in there with a 50 amp breaker to connect to the inverter and a 110v 30amp breaker connected to the shore power connector. My generator also has a 30amp 110v plug so I'd do the same for the input to the inverter for if we don't get enough sun. I would then connect up the four 565w panels, use 8awg wire to bring it to the inverter. All done and I have all the AC power I could possibly want.

So... am I going to burn my trailer down with me in it or does this sound OK?

Thanks!

Donald
 
Problem. The 6000xp is a 240v split phase inverter so you'll have 3kw of 120v output on two legs, not 6kw of 120v. On top of that the 6000xp REQUIRES 240v input to use the AC input for charging, your 30a shore power plug won't work on it.

There are 4kw, 5kw, and 6kw single phase units out there that can take that 30a 120v input and give you all the amps on a single 120v leg, just none by EG4.

The 30a 120v shore power plug is only good for 3600w, so anything more than that is just gravy and surge overhead.

The mounting and battery plan will probably be fine, factor in some padding to absorb vibration from the road, but the 6000xp isn't the inverter for this project.
 
Hello, I'm trying to set up something like the solar kart... but in the back of a travel trailer instead of a kart. this trailer will never move with the equipment installed, I am using the trailer as a home base on our off grid property while my wife and I work on the land. I already have the following:

EG4 6000XP
EG4 48v LIFEPO LL batteries (2)
17KW of 565W bifacial solar panels
3500W inverter generator

I'm obviously not planning on hooking up ALL of the solar panels... I'm going to mount 4 of them which will give me all the power I need.

I must also mention here that I'm in a wheelchair and have some medical issues that makes me need 110v power 24/7... I won't die (right away) if I lose it, but running a generator all night long is NOT an option... thus the batteries and solar panels.

This equipment will eventually be re-purposed to power our shop/home/whatever once we get something built, but I figured why not get some use out of it now?

That said, I figured I could put the inverter, one and maybe both of the batteries if there is room into the rear storage compartment of the trailer using the setup that Mr. Prowse set up on his "Kart V3" but since my shore power is a 30amp 110v, I would, I am assuming, not be able to just put a 30amp cable on the inverter instead of the 50 amp that he uses... I'm thinking that wouldn't be safe.

So, I'm thinking I'll also put a small load center in there with a 50 amp breaker to connect to the inverter and a 110v 30amp breaker connected to the shore power connector. My generator also has a 30amp 110v plug so I'd do the same for the input to the inverter for if we don't get enough sun. I would then connect up the four 565w panels, use 8awg wire to bring it to the inverter. All done and I have all the AC power I could possibly want.

So... am I going to burn my trailer down with me in it or does this sound OK?

Thanks!

Donald
You are on the right path with the load center and 30 amp breaker hooked up to you power cord. However, you can not hook up the generator to the inverter. Your best bet would be to get a chargeverter and hook up the generator to the chargeverter. You also want at least 6 panels hooked up to the inverter. Good luck on your endeavors.
 
Problem. The 6000xp is a 240v split phase inverter so you'll have 3kw of 120v output on two legs, not 6kw of 120v. On top of that the 6000xp REQUIRES 240v input to use the AC input for charging, your 30a shore power plug won't work on it.

There are 4kw, 5kw, and 6kw single phase units out there that can take that 30a 120v input and give you all the amps on a single 120v leg, just none by EG4.

The 30a 120v shore power plug is only good for 3600w, so anything more than that is just gravy and surge overhead.

The mounting and battery plan will probably be fine, factor in some padding to absorb vibration from the road, but the 6000xp isn't the inverter for this project.
Thank you. No worries on the vibration, we won't be moving the trailer at all with this stuff installed. The generator hookup isn't likely going to be needed. My power needs are pretty low and so even a few days in a row of rain/snow etc. shouldn't kill the batteries. Either that or I'll get a chargeverter which looks like it'll take the 110v and charge the batteries. Thanks again!
 
You are on the right path with the load center and 30 amp breaker hooked up to you power cord. However, you can not hook up the generator to the inverter. Your best bet would be to get a chargeverter and hook up the generator to the chargeverter. You also want at least 6 panels hooked up to the inverter. Good luck on your endeavors.
Thanks for the idea on the chargeverter! Why do I need 6 panels instead of 4? Even 4 panels should give me WAY more power than I'll actually use.
 
Thanks for the idea on the chargeverter! Why do I need 6 panels instead of 4? Even 4 panels should give me WAY more power than I'll actually use.
AS I do not know what your actual usage is, but I was saying that if you are using 2000 watts of power then the inverter will only be able to put 260 watts into the batteries and that is only if the panels are orientated correctly and are producing 565 watts each. You need enough solar to take care of your usage as well as have enough power to recharge your batteries and as Brucey stated there is a minimum operating range voltage for the mppt trackers.
 
AS I do not know what your actual usage is, but I was saying that if you are using 2000 watts of power then the inverter will only be able to put 260 watts into the batteries and that is only if the panels are orientated correctly and are producing 565 watts each. You need enough solar to take care of your usage as well as have enough power to recharge your batteries and as Brucey stated there is a minimum operating range voltage for the mppt trackers.
Ah, thank you. I hadn't realized that there was a minimum voltage. I actually only need a couple of hundred watts continuous power (24/7), but there will be times that I pull a couple thousand, not often, but it'll happen. Either way, thank you, I'll plan it with 6 panels instead of 4.
 
Not anymore, a firmware update has added 120v only operation mode to it. But yes you can only use half the output rating.... actually to around 4kw I think.
I heard about that. It seems silly to spend money on a 240v 6kw inverter then have to nerf it down to a 3kw 120v unit. If so, just get the 3kw 120v unit for half the price and not have to worry about it.

I also seem to remember something about the EG4 3kw units will take in 120v generator, but if you parallel them you have to do 120v into both units, it won't let you charge with just 1 unit.
 

diy solar

diy solar
Back
Top