Enthusiast III
After picking up an Iceco vl45 on there black Friday sale, I finally decided it was time to break down and finish the "battery ina'box" that I had been using. Last year sometime I had picked up a Victron Mppt solar charge controller and some other parts. but it was a low priority project and I just kept using a quick and dirty hookup for the shower pump.
Well, Today I finished making it neat and much more functional.
45amp Anderson bulkhead fitting for solar input, the other fitting goes direct to battery.
Blue Seas panel with a 12v socket for the fridge and dual USB ports for small electronics
there is no built in inverter for 120v. If I decide I need more power than what I already have on golabs power pack I can hook one up to the extra Anderson connector port
Charging is done by a 140w flexible solar panel or by the the 80w panel on the roof the truck.
Did some crude testing, and the panel makes a small amount of power even on a heavy gray overcast day.
8 watts is not a lot of power, but over several hours it can add up to keep a small battery topped off. most of the time my golabs power station only charges at 15 watts or less. (usually in the shade or cloud cover)
in full sun today the panel was doing MUCH better and I am pretty pleased with the output
both readings are through the charge controller so as battery state of charge increase it is going to cut back on the power going into the battery.
Still need to add a label to let me and anyone else know the TOP port is for solar input , bottom port is straight to battery.
Bluetooth might be overkill, but it is nice to check the battery from the app.
the battery was free from work, it was replaced in a critical equipment so it was replaced halfway through its 10 year warranty, if I need more power I will get a bigger box and add the other 4 batteries, strike that... I will just spend the money on a new 100ah lifepo4 and save weight and gain the other benefit's. but this was free and it works well for now.
bit snug with everything, but I was able to keep the cables neat(ish).
Well, Today I finished making it neat and much more functional.
45amp Anderson bulkhead fitting for solar input, the other fitting goes direct to battery.
Blue Seas panel with a 12v socket for the fridge and dual USB ports for small electronics
there is no built in inverter for 120v. If I decide I need more power than what I already have on golabs power pack I can hook one up to the extra Anderson connector port
Charging is done by a 140w flexible solar panel or by the the 80w panel on the roof the truck.
Did some crude testing, and the panel makes a small amount of power even on a heavy gray overcast day.
8 watts is not a lot of power, but over several hours it can add up to keep a small battery topped off. most of the time my golabs power station only charges at 15 watts or less. (usually in the shade or cloud cover)
in full sun today the panel was doing MUCH better and I am pretty pleased with the output
both readings are through the charge controller so as battery state of charge increase it is going to cut back on the power going into the battery.
Still need to add a label to let me and anyone else know the TOP port is for solar input , bottom port is straight to battery.
Bluetooth might be overkill, but it is nice to check the battery from the app.
the battery was free from work, it was replaced in a critical equipment so it was replaced halfway through its 10 year warranty, if I need more power I will get a bigger box and add the other 4 batteries, strike that... I will just spend the money on a new 100ah lifepo4 and save weight and gain the other benefit's. but this was free and it works well for now.
bit snug with everything, but I was able to keep the cables neat(ish).
