Land Cruiser Solar Power (1 Viewer)

[LandCruiserPhil]

Recently and after the monthly meeting I have had a lot of question on solar set ups and needs. I camped over nite and took some notes on my solar set up and performance.

My set up:
Solar Panel - Grape Solar 100w thin (.12") 20"x40"
Charge Controller - Mornigstar ProStar 30m
Battery - Optima Blue top separated from starting battery when vehicle is off
Load - Waeco CF-50 fridge (1/2full), Net book power supply and GPS dongle

Vehicle off and batteries separate Saturday @ ~6:30 PM
Beginning battery voltage 12.6v
Vehicle pointing Northeast panel at ~30°
Weather, Light rain, low overnight temp 45°
Fridge temp I keep it at 32° during the day and bump it to 38° at nite
7:15 AM Battery voltage 12.4v
7:20 AM Sun pops over the mountain voltage 12.5v Solar amps 2.9
8:00 AM Time to leave battery voltage 13.6v Solar amps 3.6

 

[murf]

Very worthwhile to have the extra juice...I like that the roof mounted solar panel is so thin that it is both unseen and won't catch branches.

 

[Cee Fish]

I'm excited to get this going on my FJC...

 

[Cee Fish]

105 watt panel and controller have been ordered. I already have enough wire from a previous project.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202960...talogId=10053&productId=202960004&R=202960004
http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100660...talogId=10053&productId=100660087&R=100660087

I'm sourcing a bulkhead fitting to make the connection through the roof and I plan on using unistrut to hang the panel from the FJC's factory rack.

I'll add photos and a small writeup when I complete the install.

 

[Chuy]

That setup is really awesome, thanks for posting the stats Phil.

 

[ontopofm]

Where is that camp spot Phil? Thanks

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Where is that camp spot Phil? Thanks

May ROTM 2014 <link

 

[ontopofm]

Thanks

 

[Cee Fish]

Panel and controller are here, still waiting on a few small parts.

Should be punching a hole in the roof weekend after next.

Changed my mind and went with the slim panel like LCPhil.

Talked to Grape solar about install and the decision was made to use 3M VHB tape to stick directly to the roof of the FJC...

Moar pics to come...

 

[GWcruiser]

Looks nice. I can't tell for sure from the photo, but depending on shadow angles and wiring of the panel internals (are any rows or columns in parallel), you may want to consider moving the panel a bit more forward from under that first cross bar. The 2" shadow from the bar on a 4" cell is 50% loss (even one shaded cell normally limits total panel current). If that's on several series elements it might really suck down the total power available from the panel. I tend to be overly conservative about these things, you may want to ask the cell vendor their thoughts.

 

[Stepmurr]

So who is the chick in the posters?

Panel and controller are here, still waiting on a few small parts.

Should be punching a hole in the roof weekend after next.

Changed my mind and went with the slim panel like LCPhil.

Talked to Grape solar about install and the decision was made to use 3M VHB tape to stick directly to the roof of the FJC...

Moar pics to come...

 

[Cee Fish]

GWcruiser, i agree 100%, the panel is not mounted down at this point. I was just getting an idea for placement.

Stepmurr, those are old Dillon calenders...I chose the best month for permanent status in the garage...

 

[puulboy]

GWcruiser, i agree 100%, the panel is not mounted down at this point. I was just getting an idea for placement.

Stepmurr, those are old Dillon calenders...I chose the best month for permanent status in the garage...

What is the difference between these 2 types of panels. Besides the price and the wattage One is monocrystaline the other is polycrystaline

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Grape-So...ERCH=REC-_-ATCModal_rr-2-_-NA-_-204211365-_-N
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Grape-So...-Systems-GS-S-105-Fab8/202960004?N=5yc1vZbm18

 

[GWcruiser]

Generally it's efficiency ... not saying they are these numbers, but just as an example, one might be 18% the other 22%. You can get a good idea by looking at the panel dimensions. If one panel is 40x20 inches the other 36x18 and both are 100W - the smaller panel has more efficient cells. A small change in efficiency is important where you need lots of power and multiple panels to get there, and extra efficiency usually costs more.

Looking at those two panels, one is a 36 cell panel the other a 24 cell panel. You can probably find info out there that explains advantages of either construction -- the HD site doesn't do a good job of providing detailed specs like voltage / current vs illuminance. Onepanel may give 100W at 20v the other at 17v. And depending on charge controller the 17v model may be better for an application.

ps: I did a lot of research years ago when outfitting my sailboat with panels when an 85W ultra efficient panel was $600... things have changed since, but many details are still true.

 

[Rudster]

s

Put my panel and system in last week. Ran wire through the roof from the existing factory roof rack which I took out years ago. Ran wires through the truck and Phil helped with the final wiring hookup - thanks Phil.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

sView attachment 895531 View attachment 895532Put my panel and system in last week. Ran wire through the roof from the existing factory roof rack which I took out years ago. Ran wires through the truck and Phil helped with the final wiring hookup - thanks Phil.

Did you find a fridge to test your set up with?

 

[Cee Fish]

My system is coming together. One final piece inbound. I decided to ditch the factory FJ roof rack and replace with a full length rack from Baja Rack.

This will give me some better options to mount the panel and still have some usable storage on the roof.

Install should be next weekend as UPS managed to LOOSE the roof rack after it left San Diego.

How do you loose a package the size of a twin mattress???

 

[1Louder]

Mark,

I hacked the UPS tracking system so it is headed to my house. So they didn't lose it. Oops should have told you that..... Wish you could have negotiated a 2 for 1 deal!

 

[Rudster]

Did you find a fridge to test your set up with?

No Fridge yet to test system

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

My system is coming together. One final piece inbound. I decided to ditch the factory FJ roof rack and replace with a full length rack from Baja Rack.

This will give me some better options to mount the panel and still have some usable storage on the roof.

Install should be next weekend as UPS managed to LOOSE the roof rack after it left San Diego.

How do you loose a package the size of a twin mattress???

Update it been a week!