crusaderJK

I have a solar system to power my fridge and some small devices while I'm out camping, and was asked to provide a parts list of my solar setup.
I bought a complete solar kit and some extra parts to build my battery box.

Here are the parts the solar kit contained:

-80W solar panel (with short cables with MC4 solar connectors)
-75Ah gel battery
-15A Solar charge controller
-Battery cables (10AWG) with a 15A in-line fuse
-Cables (10AWG) with MC4 solar connectors

These are the other parts I used/bought:

-Battery box
-Wires 14&16AWG
-Fuse holder for 4 automotive fuses
-Different size fuses
-Hella/DIN 12V power outlet
-Cig lighter 12V power outlet
-USB power outlet
-Cable shoes and shrink tube

Here's what I did with all these parts:

Unpack them of course


Mounted the charge controller to the outside of the battery box, drilled holes for the power outlets and installed them, and mounted the fuse holder on the inside of the battery box.


I drilled a hole right beneath the charge controller to route the battery cables to the inside.


The wiring...

White are the 10AWG battery cables
Green are the 14AWG wires
Yellow are the 16AWG wires

crusaderJK

A friend equipped the solar panel with some brackets...


...so I can mount it onto the hood.


I routed the solar cables through that famous location under the cowl.

The cables then have to be connected to the charge controller, but unfortunately I don't have a picture of that.


Feel free to ask if you have any questions or want some other pictures.

ronjenx

Brand, part number, source, for the panel and controller?

crusaderJK

The source I got mine from was a shop in Germany (no english website).
The panel is a chinese cheapo type# "MP-80WP" (Just realized I have an 80W panel, not 100W)
The controller is the Steca PR1515

ronjenx

Looks like a nice setup.
Have you had a chance to see if it will keep the battery charged, running the fridge and replacing what the fridge uses at night?

crusaderJK

Thanks jenx
I've had this setup for almost a year now and am pretty happy with it.

My fridge - a WAECO CFX35 - draws about 3A but since the compressor doesn't run all the time the consumption is maybe 0.7Ah. Without any sun the battery lasts 4 days.

In bright sunlight the panel produces over 4A, even when it's not angled towards the sun.
In light rain I still got 1A out of that panel, in heavy rain it dropped down to about 0.2A.

crusaderJK

I updated my battery box.

Things I did:

-Wire the loads/power outlets to the charge controller instead of directly to the battery. That way I can get an SOC reading of the battery and I can view the current draw.
-Add an Anderson connector for a faster connection to the solar panel.
-Add a dual USB socket.
-Made the single USB socket switchable to just leave the LED light in there and switch it on and off.


Battery box with the additions. Display mode: SOC


Charge controller display modes:
A - Voltage
B - Amps from solar panel
C - Amps to battery
D - Amps currently drawn
E - Total Ah gained
F - Total Ah used

DJ1

I really like that display on the controller. Think I found my next project. I've got a spare AGM battery and a spare Pelican case looking for attention. Already have some folding solar panels.

crusaderJK

Do it! Fun project and totally worth it.

fultonromero12

All together ,how much would you say this setup ran you$? I'm experimenting with solar since doing a project in school to convert my whole house to solar. Thinking I would start off small..