Solar-a-fication of a 1996 LX450

[rhyary]

I wanted to maintain the two batteries fully charged as my LX450 set in my driveway for a week at a time. Also while camping.

After studying the subject for awhile I started to accumulate components.

I first bought monocrysteline 100W panel and PWM charge controller. Returned the PWM and replaced it with MPPT

After temp configuration, did a more permanent install. At least for the wires

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[rhyary]

Routing the wire from roof to inside

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[rhyary]

Using same quick connect through out my electrical connections.
The terminals are tin coated copper to help with resisting corrosion.

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[1973Guppie]

nice work, what kind of "putty" is that?.....

also, can you list all the parts you used?

thx,

Noah

 

[rhyary]

On inside quick connect, just plugging the terminals into the gray housing allow for easily un-plugging the terminals from the grey housing if the need arise

But you can see the large gap between the housing and the wire. Not good for outside

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[rhyary]

For outside, I filled the back with RTV blue silicon

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[rhyary]

Inside of the truck gets busy with:

1. Refrigerator
2. 2M radio
3. Ham Radio 2X for 200W Kenwood 480HX
4. Solar

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[rhyary]

MPPT solar charge controller with temperature compensating charge

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[NLXTACY]

Subscribed. I've always wanted to do this and have a hundred ideas.

 

[ab1985]

Looking good.

 

[rhyary]

Now solar charger mounted on the wall in the dead space between the refrigerator and side wall.

I hate dead spaces

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[wearsabrowncoat]

Been planning on doing the same thing for a while. In fact when I deleted the port installed roof rack I plugged up a few of the holes with heyco glands with wire pre-installed. I didn't want to ever have to pull the headliner down again.

 

[george_tlc]

Doesn't matter if you never have to interop with other powerpoles.... BUT... YELLOW is what you should use for 12V if you want to 'conform'

And, yes, you do want to seal the back of them to prevent water collecting and over time corroding the contacts.

I run a solar panel when camping in oz, but prefer to have it portable so I can position it where the sun is, so I can park the 4wd where it can get some shade which helps the fridge efficiency.

An mppt controller is a nice thing to use - I found a good one on ebay that is in the $100 range and is a true mppt controller versus most Made in China ones being just junk/fake. I couldn't justify the $$ on a Blue Sky etc unit when folding mono-crystalline 120/140W panels are only ~$180 in oz.

cheers,
george.

 

[rhyary]

Hey George,

I was sure you already blazed the solar path.
The MPPT has been the real magic in my experiments.
Blue Sky made in America is milking the non-sunny days of NY.
This isn't the Outbacks.

Check out the Internals. Sexy.

 

[rhyary]

nice work, what kind of "putty" is that?.....

also, can you list all the parts you used?

thx,

Noah

Hey Noah,
Here is what I used:

 

[landcrshr]

nice work, what kind of "putty" is that?.....

Noah

That looks like the stuff they use for sealing windshields.



The local windshield shop just gave me 5 feet of this for the asking.

 

[george_tlc]

Here's a review of the made in china one I'm using. It has video of the inside. I opened up my unit to add a bit more sealing/weatherproofing and confirmed it indeed is a true mppt design. There's a few technical errors in the review - but mostly informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Okm50rgAWg

It's a good design, all surface mount and conformal coated (the blue sky pics you posted are thruhole and archaic versus modern implementations - especially the uC being in a socket). I also like that the made in china unit uses ceramic caps (a whole bunch in parallel) to provide the filtering for the DC : DC converter, they are much more stable and reliable than electrolytics. I found links that show that the design was originally of US or European origin (can't remember which) so I'm assuming that the the ones for sale now are based on the original product (since it looks exactly the same and the manual is the same).

Anyhow, mppt (real ones) do a great job of extracting whatever is possible from a panel and definitely help in less than optimal solar conditions. All helps to run the fridge to keep the beer at perfect drinking temps while out in the bush.

I'll let the thread return to its original direction now

cheers,
george.

 

[rhyary]

Remote monitoring installed.

As you can see, a cloudy day with refrigerator on produce negative amps.

I hope for a more cheerful picture when the sun comes out

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[rhyary]

Added 50W facing west

Built a Y quick connect

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[rhyary]

Results:

Condition: Sunny.
First refrigerator off
Then refrigerator on

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