Landracing Forum
Misc Forums => How To Section => Topic started by: donpearsall on August 10, 2011, 01:27:02 AM
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All the times I have gone to a race, both Bonneville and El Mirage, I have wished that my trailer have some sort of battery power. It lacked lighting, AC and DC power, and I was not even sure if the breakaway battery worked. So in the last few weeks I have fixed all that.
Now the trailer has a deep cycle marine battery charged by 45 watt solar panels as well as the truck alternator, a 1000 watt DC-AC inverter for the coffee maker, and interior LED lights that really light up the inside. It was quite a wiring job. Along the way I also replaced the truck receptacle, the trailer connection cord, the breakaway switch and wired in a battery charger.
Here are some pics of my progress:
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image002.jpg)
I started with the Harbor Freight 45 Watt 3 panel Solar Power kit. It comes with the panels, and a solar controller to provide battery charging. Even in the murky Seattle area weather, it still provides enough voltage to charge a battery. The Bonneville sun should turbocharge it!
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image003.jpg)
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image004.jpg)
Next I had to build a battery holder to hold my deep cycle battery. The battery that came with the trailer was just a little motorcycle battery that was just for the breakaway function. I am sure it did not work.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image006.jpg)
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image007.jpg)
I mounted it on the tongue, but I have seen some that mount beneath the trailer floor. I wanted to use the original wiring, so this is where it went.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image008.jpg)
Next I mounted the 3 solar panels to the roof of the trailer. I was really nervous about drilling holes in the roof, but I made sure I siliconed all the holes I drilled. The panels are soft mounted and free floating with weather stripping providing cushioning for vibration and bumps.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image011.jpg)
Along the way, I decided to replace the trailer connector wires and add a new breakaway switch as well as a charger for the vehicle charging system. Now the battery gets charged by the solar panels and the truck when it is connected. The wiring took a little while to figure out since nothing I bought came with a wiring diagram. I also had to get a bigger battery box to hold the rats nest of wiring. I used 4 gauge jumper cables for getting the battery power to the inverter.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image012.jpg)
I mounted the solar controller and the 1000 watt inverter on the wall of the trailer under a shelf. The controller takes the power from the solar panels and maintains the battery. It also has an output plug for USB charging, and 3 volt and 5 volt outlets.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image013.jpg)
Next I wired 4 LED RV lights to the ceiling. These LED lights put out a lot more than the incandescent lights and use much less wattage. I could leave these lights on for a week and not discharge the battery.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image001.jpg)
So that the project I have been working on. Now back to getting the bike ready for BUB.
Don
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Nice, Don. Thanks for the write-up. What voltage are those RV LED and where did you get them? Wish you were at SW, I would come by and test out that coffee maker! :-D
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The LED RV lights are 12 volt. I got them from an online trailer parts place. They are only about $15 each.
Don
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Very nice Don, I've been thinking about adding an "idle time" solar system to my house on wheels, and this was just the ideas and inspiration I needed. Thank you!!! :cheers:
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Very nice, thank you!
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Very nice. If I could make one suggestion to really finish off your system would be to run at least two (and even better) four 6 volt deep cycle/golf cart batteries (2 in series=12 volts) will give you a lot more amp storage and will work better with solar systems.
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Observations at SpeedWeek:
The AM-FM radio in the pit trailer draws just a bit more than one (of the three) solar panels in the Harbor Freight kit. Two panels made a tad more than enough -- the voltage in the system slowly increased during the day. I never did hook up #3.
I run a deep-cycle battery with about 3.1 zillion amp-hour capacity (approx.). At WoS I know we'll draw a heck of a lot more with the audio set-up all set up, but between all three panels and the little generator -- I'm not worried about running out of energy.
Final note: I had the trailer parked facing east (sorta) and the angle panel-holders, while working fine, kinda slanted the wrong way (easy to notice, not easy to change). Sure enough, the charge rate dropped as Mr. Sun wound his westward way during the day. One night I didn't take the panels down, but instead just lay them flat on the roof (worried about windstorms I didn't want them all the way up and exposed overnight). The next morning I did NOT put 'em back up on the angle -- and sure enough, they did better when just flat on the roof. Lesson learned: They really do want to be aimed at the sun (or at least not away from Sol).
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Harbor Freight 45 watt solar panel kit on sale on Labor Day for $179.99 ($70.00 off)
http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3511c&utm_source=0000 (http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3511c&utm_source=0000)
Mike
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There might be a further discount. Remember me saying that Don had tipped me off to another 25% off for 4th of July? I tried calling on that holiday -- and sure enough, there was a human at the other end, and sure enough, I did get the whole shooting match (so to speak) for about $135. Give it a try.
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Happy Thanksgiving, boys and girls. I'm resurrecting this old thread -- because I'm in the process of installing a solar-powered bunch of Christmas lights for the front deck bannister. While I'm nearly complete -- there's one issue that maybe one of you can help figger out.
I've got it all set up -- panels on the uprights, wires run through to the inside walkway and hooked to the controller and from controller to big 12V battery, right? But -- I now need to make 110VAC out of the 12V from the battery. It's easy, you say -- with a store-bought inverter. Since I'm running only LED lights - I only need about 10 watts. But the inverter has a built-in cooling fan that takes way more than the little bit needed for the lights. So - got a non-cooled inverter that'll make an amp or two of 110VAC? Maybe it doesn't exist - in which case I'll try some surgery on the little inverter to see if I can disconnect the fan for this project. It is in near-ambient temps (indoors, but unheated) so I know that the temp, in conjunction with the very low draw, won't heat the thing up.
But where's that no fan inverter?
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Nothing at Radio Shack, ditto at Harbor Freight. Fan-ectomy surgery on a cheap one looks like a good option.
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Fan-ectomy complete! :cheers:
(http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii147/SeldomSeenSlim/IMG_0600.jpg)
(http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii147/SeldomSeenSlim/IMG_0599.jpg)
And - it works!! :-D :-D
(http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii147/SeldomSeenSlim/IMG_0598.jpg)
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All the times I have gone to a race, both Bonneville and El Mirage, I have wished that my trailer have some sort of battery power. It lacked lighting, AC and DC power, and I was not even sure if the breakaway battery worked. So in the last few weeks I have fixed all that.
Now the trailer has a deep cycle marine battery charged by 45 watt solar panels as well as the truck alternator, a 1000 watt DC-AC inverter for the coffee maker, and interior LED lights that really light up the inside. It was quite a wiring job. Along the way I also replaced the truck receptacle, the trailer connection cord, the breakaway switch and wired in a battery charger.
Here are some pics of my progress:
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image002.jpg)
I started with the Harbor Freight 45 Watt 3 panel Solar Power kit. It comes with the panels, and a solar controller to provide battery charging. Even in the murky Seattle area weather, it still provides enough voltage to charge a battery. The Bonneville sun should turbocharge it!
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image003.jpg)
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image004.jpg)
Next I had to build a battery holder to hold my deep cycle battery. The battery that came with the trailer was just a little motorcycle battery that was just for the breakaway function. I am sure it did not work.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image006.jpg)
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image007.jpg)
I mounted it on the tongue, but I have seen some that mount beneath the trailer floor. I wanted to use the original wiring, so this is where it went.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image008.jpg)
Next I mounted the 3 solar panels to the roof of the trailer. I was really nervous about drilling holes in the roof, but I made sure I siliconed all the holes I drilled. The panels are soft mounted and free floating with weather stripping providing cushioning for vibration and bumps.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image011.jpg)
Along the way, I decided to replace the trailer connector wires and add a new breakaway switch as well as a charger for the vehicle charging system. Now the battery gets charged by the solar panels and the truck when it is connected. The wiring took a little while to figure out since nothing I bought came with a wiring diagram. I also had to get a bigger battery box to hold the rats nest of wiring. I used 4 gauge jumper cables for getting the battery power to the inverter.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image012.jpg)
I mounted the solar controller and the 1000 watt inverter on the wall of the trailer under a shelf. The controller takes the power from the solar panels and maintains the battery. It also has an output plug for USB charging, and 3 volt and 5 volt outlets.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image013.jpg)
Next I wired 4 LED RV lights to the ceiling. These LED lights put out a lot more than the incandescent lights and use much less wattage. I could leave these lights on for a week and not discharge the battery.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image001.jpg)
So that the project I have been working on. Now back to getting the bike ready for BUB.
Don
it seems like very effective project.. Can you provide brief review on this..If it works I will love to have similar solar system
-
All the times I have gone to a race, both Bonneville and El Mirage, I have wished that my trailer have some sort of battery power. It lacked lighting, AC and DC power, and I was not even sure if the breakaway battery worked. So in the last few weeks I have fixed all that.
Now the trailer has a deep cycle marine battery charged by 45 watt solar panels as well as the truck alternator, a 1000 watt DC-AC inverter for the coffee maker, and interior led lights (http://www.niceledlights.com) that really light up the inside. It was quite a wiring job. Along the way I also replaced the truck receptacle, the trailer connection cord, the breakaway switch and wired in a battery charger.
Here are some pics of my progress:
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image002.jpg)
I started with the Harbor Freight 45 Watt 3 panel Solar Power kit. It comes with the panels, and a solar controller to provide battery charging. Even in the murky Seattle area weather, it still provides enough voltage to charge a battery. The Bonneville sun should turbocharge it!
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image003.jpg)
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image004.jpg)
Next I had to build a battery holder to hold my deep cycle battery. The battery that came with the trailer was just a little motorcycle battery that was just for the breakaway function. I am sure it did not work.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image006.jpg)
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image007.jpg)
I mounted it on the tongue, but I have seen some that mount beneath the trailer floor. I wanted to use the original wiring, so this is where it went.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image008.jpg)
Next I mounted the 3 solar panels to the roof of the trailer. I was really nervous about drilling holes in the roof, but I made sure I siliconed all the holes I drilled. The panels are soft mounted and free floating with weather stripping providing cushioning for vibration and bumps.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image011.jpg)
Along the way, I decided to replace the trailer connector wires and add a new breakaway switch as well as a charger for the vehicle charging system. Now the battery gets charged by the solar panels and the truck when it is connected. The wiring took a little while to figure out since nothing I bought came with a wiring diagram. I also had to get a bigger battery box to hold the rats nest of wiring. I used 4 gauge jumper cables for getting the battery power to the inverter.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image012.jpg)
I mounted the solar controller and the 1000 watt inverter on the wall of the trailer under a shelf. The controller takes the power from the solar panels and maintains the battery. It also has an output plug for USB charging, and 3 volt and 5 volt outlets.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image013.jpg)
Next I wired 4 LED RV lights to the ceiling. These LED lights put out a lot more than the incandescent lights and use much less wattage. I could leave these lights on for a week and not discharge the battery.
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv85/donpearsall/Bub2011/image001.jpg)
So that the project I have been working on. Now back to getting the bike ready for BUB.
Don
it seems like very effective project.. Can you provide brief review on this..If it works I will love to have similar solar system
Still waiting for reply
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Hi Douglas, the solar system still works great. All the components still work and the battery is kept charged up. I check it every week or so and the battery is always at 12.5v and the charging system is at 13-14 volts depending on the sun. My DC > AC convertor works fine too. By far the best thing is that the interior of the trailer has a lot of lighting. So I can go out there at night, flip the switch, and it is like daylight.
I recommend this project for anyone who has a big trailer.
Don
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I am just following up on this project. Four years later the solar panels, solar controller, AC/DC converter, and even the battery are still working 100%. The battery always has a charge. I did make the mistake of leaving the lights on for several weeks while I was gone and the battery was very low, but not drained. Once I turned the lights off, the battery has had 12.5v all the time.
I see that four years later the Harbor Freight solar kit is still the same price - about $150 with the 20% off coupon you can get anywhere.
Don
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I have seen those kits before and thought about trying one out. I picked up one of the small battery tender ones from harbor freight to hook to my battery on the bike when needed on the salt just to try it out. The thing I was wondering about on yours is how does it do over the winter in WA? I park my trailer outside in the winter and the dang thing is always green come spring. Any issues as far as that is concerned?
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No issues at all with keeping the battery charged during winter. But I hardly use the battery power except for turning the lights on and off. Every once in a while I turn on the DC/AC converter to see if that works. It has no problem powering tools like saws, grinders, work lights.
Don
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Nice job on the install Don. :cheers: :cheers:
Of note is that now there are much better places to buy panels and controllers than Harbor Freight. For Instance I've bought all my panels for both boats, 560 watts on one and 480 watts on the other from Solar Blvd....
https://www.solarblvd.com/index.php?cPath=1_25_42
and you could get a 40 watt panel from them for $58 ....
https://www.solarblvd.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_25_40&products_id=1401
and a PWM controller for $50....
https://www.solarblvd.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_48_100&products_id=191
The controller above could work with up to a little over 175 watts if you wanted more.
You could get the controller and a 100 watt panel for less than the HF 45 watt system.
Other reputable sellers have pricing similar to Solar Blvd.
Sumner