Builds Workingman's Troopy - 1995 HZJ75

[Tennessee Jed]

i have an ARB50 and ran an 80 watt panel when i first got into this, it would extend the runtime while parked for a few days depending on sunlight, but it wasnt enough,,, 100 watts is enough to completely power indefinetly under good sun and the 200 Jed is running will give him a supply of cold beer to drink while he's ripping plywood with a table saw

Yep - I'm the guy in the campsite with the table saw! But seriously, I would have expected complete float charge 14+ volts every day with 200 watts - so we'll see how this all progresses.

 

[RHINO]

the controller you have is prolly a fixed pre-set 13.4 or something,,,, the redarc, and others like it have the ability to sense the battery and charge accordingly, but since you run lead acid you still wont see a 14.7 float because they dont like that, you'll most likely see 13.8 or similar.

 

[Tennessee Jed]

Wow - OK, did not know that. That makes sense. It's set on "flooded" but this explains a lot. Thanks.

 

[svsisu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7

See, this is what I thought. Skies were bright sun, but I live in a little bit of a "hole" in the forest, and the sun doesn't hit the panels until about 9 and is off of them by around 4 or so, so limited full sun. Thing is, overcast days seem to charge just as well - had a very overcast day and it also charged what I would consider pretty well. But getting back to 14+ volts? Have not seen that.

The charge controller is a no name Chinese import with problematic connections (have had to reattach the cables several times) so there may be voltage drop issues. The instructions don't quite match the actual readouts on the screen. It's a lot like the original Renogy controller I had on my sailboat that melted - replaced with a big metal EPEVER that weighed a good 4 pounds I think.

I anticipate the Redarc will solve any issues that might be related to the charge controller, period. I will also try to see how much voltage is coming from the panels and how they're wired - series or parallel. While I'm checked out with this on batteries, frankly series/parallel on solar panels has always eluded me. If I have a dead panel I'll be on a search for a matching one because they fit perfectly into recesses welded into the roof rack, as shown in an earlier photo. I need to see if they fit Renogy panels, which have worked great for me in the past.

That 9-4 charge period is very little time, and during that time your panel is probably not ever perpendicular to the sun (especially this time of year and given your location), couple that with a cheap Chinese charger, and I'd say you are actually doing quite well with keeping your battery charged. Since it's nearly impossible to have a panel perpendicular to the sun when it is mounted on a vehicle, having a good MPPT charger will make a huge difference.

 

[Rigster]

the controller you have is prolly a fixed pre-set 13.4 or something,,,, the redarc, and others like it have the ability to sense the battery and charge accordingly, but since you run lead acid you still wont see a 14.7 float because they dont like that, you'll most likely see 13.8 or similar.

This.

14+ is for AGM.
13.7 is for flooded.

Also, the 13.7 is what is being applied to the battery via the solar panels through the charge controller. If you disconnect the charge, then test your battery, it will likely show the 12.9v. You could also verify this at night with no load.

With what you are running off that, you should be just fine. I had your exact setup, but added 200w, and one more battery, but I was dealing with multiple days at a time with no direct sunlight, a 75L fridge, heater, inverter to charge batteries (radios) and run whatever appliances, saws etc. My tests this year have proved this is efficient enough now.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Hi Jed ,

lookie what found me last night ........

Finally a OEM PLANT A-11 original installed & in-place too photo ... !

now , we are certain how and where it was affixed to



your still the only person that knew about this besides me , well sorta besides me :

i saw the RED / 1HZ decal in a original Toyota genuine parts bag along time ago , long before i had ever heard about a Toyota 1HZ engine , maybe 15-20 ish. years ago in-fact cira era range approx. ..

this was before the term screen-shot was invented for sure ,

thanks again for reminding me about something i long since had forgotten for sure ...


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