Solar set up (on a budget)

[ticky]

I understand the necessity for doing things on the cheap, but for $245, you can buy a Projecta IDC25 DC-DC Charger.
This will enable you to Charge from the Alt and Solar simultaneously, or independently.

It can step up the input voltage from as little as 9 volts and is a 3 stage charger. It has Over Charge protection, Temp Protection and even Reverse polarity protection.

To me. It seems like better solution than relying on Solar alone.

JMO

Steve

[littleriver]

Have a question for all what temp are yous running in the fridge/freezer"s as seems like alot of amps being drawn ?
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[ticky]

Have a question for all what temp are yous running in the fridge/freezer"s as seems like alot of amps being drawn ?
...

Mine is set at +3 but some of the Amp calculations in this thread seem to be based on the fridge running all the time, which they don't

Steve

[Ian H]

Freezer minus 14

Fridge 2 or zero in hotter climates

[littleriver]

Freezer minus 14

Fridge 2 or zero in hotter climates

Can I ask why minus 14 .. (As I am still a camping fridge beginner) still learning the ropes ...

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[Dicko1]

Can I ask why minus 14 .. (As I am still a camping fridge beginner) still learning the ropes ...

..

Freezing should be at least -10. If you can get down to -18 or -20 then do it. Once on the road and your only away for a week or two -10/-8 is about the highest you,d want to run your freezer. You should have gone through most of your frozen food if only out for a week or two. Traveling any longer then keep frozen food at the lowest you can. Big difference between -1 and -20 degrees for the killing of bacteria.
I dont believe the temperatures from my Engels. I go buy feel for the fridge that has beer and milk and for the Engel freezer...I turn it to its lowest setting and leave it there. I have a good multi meter and it has shown that the temp gauges are not very accurate. oN A WARM DAY YOU KNOW WETHER YOUR BEER IS COLD OR NOT!

[Ian H]

Can I ask why minus 14 .. (As I am still a camping fridge beginner) still learning the ropes ...

..

I tried minus 2 and all the food wasn't frozen. A friend who had a fridge for a while longer than me told me to turn it to max which is minus 18. I found -14 ok but when up north, full. Depending on the fridge, they say they will go 50 below ambient for example. That means if you leave it in s hot car which could be 60 degrees when locked up in the sun, it needs to be on full or it will struggle.

[littleriver]

I tried minus 2 and all the food wasn't frozen. A friend who had a fridge for a while longer than me told me to turn it to max which is minus 18. I found -14 ok but when up north, full. Depending on the fridge, they say they will go 50 below ambient for example. That means if you leave it in s hot car which could be 60 degrees when locked up in the sun, it needs to be on full or it will struggle.

What fridge are you running? We have the waeco cf50 .. put frozen food in pre trip. . Had fridge on 240v -4 .. then hooked up 12v .. food kept beers and diary in extra compartment. . Kept adding beers in freezer compartment none frooze .. but was only for 4 days ..

Ambient temp was only 25 deg c

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[Ian H]

It's a Waeco cf 40. I use that in the tug as a freezer on long trips. The Tvan has a EvaKool 47 which is a much better fridge all round.

[paul77]

Where do you guys get your wiring from the roof into the cab? At the moment I have the panel and regulator on the roof, cable down the A-pillar, to the main cable from the starter to auxiliary battery. From there it goes all the way to the back into the boot. So total cable length after regulator is about 9 meters....
There isn't anything coming through obviously because of voltage drop.
So I would like to put a good regulator right next to the auxiliary battery in the boot. Is there another way to get the cable into the cab of a second generation pajero so I don't have to go first all the way to the engine bay and then back? I don't like a dodgy cable in the door...

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[Dicko1]

Heres how I ran my wires from my 80 watt panel on roof to rear tub on a 2014 NW. wENT UNDER RUBBERS OF ROOF RACK AND THEN DOWN REAR DOOR AND THROUGH RIGHT HAND REAR LIGHT ASSEMBLY (REMOVED THE LIGHT WHILST i INSERTED WIRES THROUGH RUBBER GROMMET AND THEN THROUGH INTERNAL PANELS INTO TUB WHICH HOUSES MY REGULATOR/BATTERY SET UP.

[paul77]

Thanks for the reply. I ended up mounting the regulator right at the thick cable that runs to the battery in the back. The fridge is running constantly and even through 3 days off constant rain it kept the battery full.
In full sun it charges at 13.7v. when it's raining I still get more than 13v as long as the sun is up.
Really happy with it!
(I know it doesn't look beautiful. I can't be bothered to build a waterproof fuse and tech box at this point. The regulator claims to be waterproof so it should be good enough)



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[Dicko1]

Thanks for the reply. I ended up mounting the regulator right at the thick cable that runs to the battery in the back. The fridge is running constantly and even through 3 days off constant rain it kept the battery full.
In full sun it charges at 13.7v. when it's raining I still get more than 13v as long as the sun is up.
Really happy with it!
(I know it doesn't look beautiful. I can't be bothered to build a waterproof fuse and tech box at this point. The regulator claims to be waterproof so it should be good enough)



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Mount the regulator next to your battery in the rear. Regs do not like heat and the further from the receiving battery the greater the regulators in inefficiency. Just by moving it you could pick up an extra amp or two (depending on solar panel size). Heat also effects performance and longevity of the unit. Always place regulator as close as possible to receiving battery/ies.

[paul77]

Have been using my 120w solar panel for some time now. It is big enough to keep the fridge going but if I use much more I lose charge on not super sunny days.. good enough for me though as I am on a road trip and drive every 3-4 days anyway.

I had one of those "cheap" jaycar circuit breakers in my dual battery setup and the other day it started to trip every 10 minutes or so. So I took it out and put a fuse in instead to rule out a faulty breaker. Turns out it was the breaker and since I have a HQ fuse in there the voltage drop is greatly reduced! I get way better charge for my second battery from both solar and alternator.
I thought this would be worth posting as I'm sure I'm not the only one who uses this kind of circuit breaker. Don't trust them! Use a fuse or good breaker instead!

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