Little job completed today

[Wheelie]

I was going camping this weekend but as the weather is not going to be very good I thought I would set myself a task and complete a job that has been outstanding for a few months

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[Davey Boy]

Very smart...
you can do mine as well now!:augie:thumb2

 

[Wheelie]

Yeah no problem

Very smart...
you can do mine as well now!:augie:thumb2

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[jims-terrano]

That would look far better on a 3litre Terrano :augie

Looks great does that.

 

[don simon]

Excellent, and of course you can do mine too...

 

[Wheelie]

At this rate i could start up my own solar install business lol

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[macabethiel]

Okay its a solar panel what is it for ?

Forgive my ignorance but what is it for, a solar stove or something??

 

[solarman216]

Trickle charge your battery, at best, Rick

 

[Wheelie]

Forgive my ignorance but what is it for, a solar stove or something??

It's to keep my battery from draining when in one place for a few days. Saves running the truck to charge battery

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[solarman216]

It's to keep my battery from draining when in one place for a few days. Saves running the truck to charge battery

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Depends on if there is any current draw during that time, if yes then what is that draw? and for how long, if it is more than the solar output then it will not work, more complicated than it first seems, Rick

 

[Davey Boy]

What wattage/amps output is your panel Neil?

 

[Wheelie]

Depends on if there is any current draw during that time, if yes then what is that draw? and for how long, if it is more than the solar output then it will not work, more complicated than it first seems, Rick

Yes I know it depends on what I'm drawing amperage wise, to cover all the devices in the truck I would need at least 360w panel. The water pump will only be used for short bursts a few times a day and my external lights very rarely get used so it's only the fridge I'm concerned about. My fridge draws 3.6A and my panel is an 80W which gives me at best 4.5 A so on a nice sunny day the solar panel should cover my usage for a 2 or 3 days of not running the truck. It was cloudy and overcast yesterday and I was getting 1.2A.
I will get a better idea of what I'll get when we have a nice sunny warm day.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[jims-terrano]

I reckon it’s a great idea, maybe not powerful enough to recharge the battery as said but seems like your idea is to just slow down the discharge of the battery which sounds fair enough to me.
Wouldn’t mind that sort of kit myself but still not too sure of the future of the 3 litre.

 

[Wheelie]

Davey if your interested
I have just worked out the energy consumption of my fridge. Maths was never my strong point but correct me if I'm wrong. Bear in mind this is all a rough estimation. In a 24hr period my fridge will run for 5 mins every 20 mins so total run time is 15 mins every hour, x4 hours = 3.6Amp hour. 24÷4 =5 x 3.6 = 18 A hours per 24 hours.

Solar panel Max output 4.5 A hour. Assuming 8 hours of decent sun per 24 hours 8 x 4.5A 36 Amp hour.
So by my reckoning I'm covered for my fridge.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[solarman216]

Mmm you might have it covered with the numbers, but I will be very surprised if it works out that way in practice, when we had our narrow boat, we found that the fridge was the biggest single user of power, which needed around 50 Ah per 24 hours, to cover that with Traction Batteries for two days not running the engine we needed 200 Ah which gave a margin of safety, if using ordinary batteries then you would need at least 400 Ah capacity to last the two days, Rick

 

[Wheelie]

Mmm you might have it covered with the numbers, but I will be very surprised if it works out that way in practice, when we had our narrow boat, we found that the fridge was the biggest single user of power, which needed around 50 Ah per 24 hours, to cover that with Traction Batteries for two days not running the engine we needed 200 Ah which gave a margin of safety, if using ordinary batteries then you would need at least 400 Ah capacity to last the two days, Rick

Well we will have to wait and see when we get some sunny days, I think next week is supposed to be good. The battery is quite low at the moment as I've not used the truck for a while so I'll see how it charges it.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[Davey Boy]

Thanks for that Neil!
Number crunching isn't my strong point either.:lol
I craft stuff, and I'm interested to see your new addition to the truck.
It'll be interesting to see how it performs for real over next weekend.:thumbs
Davey