Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Solar charging station question

Any one ever build a small solar charging station ? I’m looking for something to run an inverter to charge my Milwaukee batteries, a battery charger to charge up a trolling battery.
Something affordable in case of a small power outage , got a generator to run my freezers and fridge
I have a small solar battery tender for the little boat now

Easy to do with a good battery and inverter..These solar generators are selling like hotcakes and all they are,are Lithium NMC batteries(Most of them) with a charge controller/lighter socket and inverter and some other small perks,nothing you can't do on your own build..I have both,a home made and a Jackery..


Jayco

If it were me, I'd look into an RV system but it will really depend on your definition of affordable and small.

I can reccomend using this:

https://pantherrvproducts.com/01556...hraJCXCb3B5xvp8af3JXM6c9Q1IaAry5EALw_wcB



Pair it with as many solar panels as you like and as many deep cycle/golf cart batteries as your demand requires.

This system let's you KNOW the state of charge on your batteries and how much life you have left as well as current draw and current going back into the battery bank.

You can expand your system if you feel you need more capacity.

Pair it with any quantity of solar panels you see fit.

100 watt panels are a reasonable size to manage.. but you can go much larger depending on your location and how you want to mount it up.

There are all flavors.... this is just one.

solar panel

Jackery 1000 running a window AC in my truck camper..



It runs my coffee pot also along with my Instapot..




Jayco

I have seen guys put a small solar panel on top of an outboard to keep the battery topped up from bilge pump draining.

If you have a really low amperage panel you don't have to worry about over charging (it just works like a trickle charger)

If you go with more juice then you need some sort of charge management brain.

https://www.solar-electric.com/

Lots to chose from. Good company

A solar controller is necessary to use solar,it regulates the voltage going in and it won't over charge,these solar stations have them built in..I have 200 watts of portable solar because I'm usually in the shade...Works great,charges the battery back up in a couple hours of sun...No generator needed..


Jayco👍

We have a 200 watt setup for our camp trailer. Home Depot for about $300. We can add up to 2 more 100W panels with the same controller. SOLAR KIT 200W will fully charge our 2 golf cart batteries from 50% in about 2 hrs on a sunny day.

It comes down to 1 thing: the more power you need, the bigger the setup has to be. Each panel in this kit is 31x42" and outputs 100W. This kit comes with 2 panels. You can add more panels or buy a larger kit to start with.
With RV's many people mount them on the roof. That has 2 problems. 1, lying flat they're not at the optimum angle for the highest output. 2, you always have to park in the sun. I'd rather park in the shade. I used some aluminum angle and made a portable stand that holds them at about 45 degrees. I can easily turn them as needed and I made an extra 50' cable so I can set them in the sun away from the trailer.

There are 2 types of controllers. The cheaper one is called a PWM, whatever that means. It'll handle 400W with no problem. The other one is an MPPT. They're more efficient and will handle a larger load but you'll pay a lot more for one. Your choice. This kit comes with a PWM and it works fine for my purposes.

Technology has increased.

Get a 400 watt array and an EcoFlo Delta1300

https://ecoflow.com/

The funny thing is,you'll never get 100 watts out of a 100 watt panel even with a mppt controller..Best I have got is 82 watts for one and 172 for two,and my panels are 23%+ which is higher than the normal 15-18% efficientcy..Cheap panels are not as efficient...


Jayco 👍

+1

A 12v panel of 50-70 watts can be directly hooked to a Group 27 or larger battery. Point the panel towards the sun and it will charge up your batt just like the trickle charger, 2-4 amps. No controller or inverter needed.

Put/bolt some legs on if wanted:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018BLW1R4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Accessories:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PTHKMG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JA627KU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-300Watt-Inverter-Modified-Adapter/dp/B07YZ87H4N

Portable panels have there advantages especially in the mountains...Understanding solar as I do now,I would never hook a panel to a battery without a controller unless it was an emergency..There as cheap as $15 on Amazon..Cheap insurance not to fry your battery..




Jayco