Modular Solar/Electric setup?

[audioviking]

I have a 100Series and an M1101. I am looking at putting the dual 100ah batteries in one Pelican case with the MPPT controller. The other case will have the DC distro and Inverter.
This way the system can be moved between the trailer and Land Cruiser as needed. Already have a second battery in the LC with Anderson connection for Compressor.

Looking at Anderson connections where possible and just found an MC4 feed through for two panels.

Any pros or cons I might be missing by making it modular?
TIA
Travis

 

[GeoRoss]

None really, I do something very similar. I never added the ability to charge with the alternator Is the only drawback of my system. A mild PITA that I’ve dealt with for 4 or 5 years as I do a lot of basecamp style.

 

[audioviking]

None really, I do something very similar. I never added the ability to charge with the alternator Is the only drawback of my system. A mild PITA that I’ve dealt with for 4 or 5 years as I do a lot of basecamp style.

Looking to use the 7-pin to charge the batteries if in trailer. Already have a 4awg routed to the back with a distro planned back there. Am thinking I will probably have more cutoff switches than necessary...

 

[LandLocked93]

Looking to use the 7-pin to charge the batteries if in trailer. Already have a 4awg routed to the back with a distro planned back there. Am thinking I will probably have more cutoff switches than necessary...

If there is no voltage-boost device in play here (i.e. DC-DC charger/BCDC in RedArc-speak), the voltage drop from front to back (w/o load) over that 4ga is already concerning. The 7-pin connector out to the trailer to charge batteries will not provide the current necessary for quick-ish charging w/o a controller/charger).
Agree, there cannot be 'too many controls' (direct, mechanical cuttoff switches). lol

 

[spressomon]

Per above, abort the 7-pin for effective, reliable, controlled & consistent current movement to the trailer for the purpose of charging larger capacity batteries especially LFP that can take large dumps of current that would otherwise be restricted by smaller gauge wires apart of any 7-pin configuration.

I ran 1/0 from the engine bay of my UZJ100 and my LBZ to the rear bumper, added a pair of Anderson Powerpole 175 weatherproof connectors, one on the bumper and one on the trailer side, to keep the LFP charged while driving (in addition to rooftop solar panels atop the trailer) using a Sterling BB1260.

Do it right. Once.

 

[Aifer]

Joining this thread with a question:
I just got the River EcoFlow 600. The idea is to run my car fridge from the EF and charge the EF from the car while the engine is running.
I'm considering using the current infrastructure of 12V cable that I have to charge the EF and use the EF AC socket to run my fridge (Snowmaster 35L).
Would using the AC output of the EF would be less efficient comparing its 13.6 DC output? If so, how much would I waste?
Thanks
Aifer.

 

[gnob]

My rockpals battery cannot charge and run ac at the same time. You may want to make sure your unit can.

Joining this thread with a question:
I just got the River EcoFlow 600. The idea is to run my car fridge from the EF and charge the EF from the car while the engine is running.
I'm considering using the current infrastructure of 12V cable that I have to charge the EF and use the EF AC socket to run my fridge (Snowmaster 35L).
Would using the AC output of the EF would be less efficient comparing its 13.6 DC output? If so, how much would I waste?
Thanks
Aifer.

 

[e9999]

Aifer, I would look into whether the fridge has a true DC or AC motor. If it's DC, as is likely, then going through the AC outlet would involve both an inverter at the EF level and then a rectifier in the fridge as well, which I would think would mean higher losses than going directly with DC out of the EF.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

I have a 100Series and an M1101. I am looking at putting the dual 100ah batteries in one Pelican case with the MPPT controller. The other case will have the DC distro and Inverter.
This way the system can be moved between the trailer and Land Cruiser as needed. Already have a second battery in the LC with Anderson connection for Compressor.

Looking at Anderson connections where possible and just found an MC4 feed through for two panels.

Any pros or cons I might be missing by making it modular?
TIA
Travis

This is almost exactly the approach I took. I have a 3 battery system.

I have a 2nd AGM battery connected to a REDARC 1225D under the hood and a Goal Zero Yeti1500X solar generator which sits wherever it's put. Either can be charged via the alternator or solar using an Anderson SB-50 connector. The same solar panels that charge the AGM 2nd battery via the REDARC also charge the 1500X.

The Goal Zero 1500X primarily runs the Dometic 75LDZ fridge/freezer direct DC and anything else via the inverter and USB ports. I suppose I could have rolled my own like you did but chose not to.

While on the road I charge the 1500x from the alternator (6GA wire through the firewall on the driver's side) via a Victron Orion 12-24-15 charger set up in power supply mode at the rate of about 360W. I use a blower to cool it, otherwise it gets hot and drops the current. NOTE: Goal Zero also makes a car charger that charges at a higher wattage (600) but it wasn't available when I put my system together. This setup has worked very well for us for over 2 years.

There is no downside to the modular approach that I can think of - but I'm biased. The biggest advantages to me are when you're done traveling it all comes off the truck and it can be used for hauling whatever. We don't camp ALL THE TIME after all.
Another advantage to going modular is that the 3rd battery, the 1500X in my case, can be moved to where you need it. Want to run a chain saw or connect it to a blender to make frozen margaritas on the picnic table? Perhaps there will be something unforseen and you want power. It's easy if you can take your battery anywhere and it' not bolted to the truck.

Under hood - REDARC 1225D on SLEE mount, solar hookup circled:

Overall electrical concept:

 

[FrazzledHunter]

Joining this thread with a question:
I just got the River EcoFlow 600. The idea is to run my car fridge from the EF and charge the EF from the car while the engine is running.
I'm considering using the current infrastructure of 12V cable that I have to charge the EF and use the EF AC socket to run my fridge (Snowmaster 35L).
Would using the AC output of the EF would be less efficient comparing its 13.6 DC output? If so, how much would I waste?
Thanks
Aifer.

There are losses with any DC-AC inverter. YMMV.

 

[lx200inAR]

Joining this thread with a question:
I just got the River EcoFlow 600. The idea is to run my car fridge from the EF and charge the EF from the car while the engine is running.
I'm considering using the current infrastructure of 12V cable that I have to charge the EF and use the EF AC socket to run my fridge (Snowmaster 35L).
Would using the AC output of the EF would be less efficient comparing its 13.6 DC output? If so, how much would I waste?
Thanks
Aifer.

I have the same EcoFlow unit and a IceCo fridge. It has a DC motor. I see about 65-70w in “max” mode on DC vs 78-82w using the AC adaptor. If you are going for max efficiency, DC is the way.
The EcoFlow can discharge and charge simultaneously, so no worries there. A feature of the EcoFlow is that the DC charging when in 12v mode rather than Solar (same input) is maxed at 8a (100w). This is also configurable in 2a steps i think, in case you wanted to limit draw.

 

[Aifer]

I have the same EcoFlow unit and a IceCo fridge. It has a DC motor. I see about 65-70w in “max” mode on DC vs 78-82w using the AC adaptor. If you are going for max efficiency, DC is the way.
The EcoFlow can discharge and charge simultaneously, so no worries there. A feature of the EcoFlow is that the DC charging when in 12v mode rather than Solar (same input) is maxed at 8a (100w). This is also configurable in 2a steps i think, in case you wanted to limit draw.

exactly.
I was a bit surprised to see how much my fridge compressor works. I assumes it will be 10 min total every hour by is seems to work 50% of the time when its hot outside.
The charging of the EF (using the max 8A) while the fridge is working was about 10% for 30 minutes of driving. This means that after a night with the fridge the EF will get to around 20% and it will need about 4 hours of driving to get fully charge (while working).

 

[e9999]

The numbers I have in my mind for my fridge are about 1/3 of the time running when normal temps and 1/2 when hot, so yours seems consistent with that.

 

[Aifer]

The numbers I have in my mind for my fridge are about 1/3 of the time running when normal temps and 1/2 when hot, so yours seems consistent with that.

So assuming 5amps draw for every two hours, it's 20amps got the night.
20 * 12v is 240Wh which is 80% of the EF river capacity.

 

[e9999]

yes, 20Ah or about 240Wh for an 8hrs night if running half the time at 5A. Although during the night it might be quite a bit cooler so it'd run less?
TBH, a 300Wh battery is pretty small for this kind of use, so it's not surprising it'd be mostly discharged by the morning. And it's probably best not to discharge it close to flat either, not good for them. So you may be taxing the poor thing a bit.

 

[lx200inAR]

yes, 20Ah or about 240Wh for an 8hrs night if running half the time at 5A. Although during the night it might be quite a bit cooler so it'd run less?
TBH, a 300Wh battery is pretty small for this kind of use, so it's not surprising it'd be mostly discharged by the morning. And it's probably best not to discharge it close to flat either, not good for them. So you may be taxing the poor thing a bit.

Yeah, my napkin math is that you need at least a 500Wh battery for an overnight fridge.