Looking for someone with info expertise on 12 volt/solar and led systems. Want to run my auxilay power supply on solar powered 12 volt system and run my lighting using leds. Any help or info would be great!
Thanks,
Josh
posted by:
Uncle Jhish
Chicago
  • Re: 12 Volt Solar Led System Questions? Help!

    Fri, February 9, 2007 - 2:41 PM
    What do you need to know?

    You can get a basic setup from mrsolar.com, or harborfrieght.com (cheaper but of questionable quality, tho a lot of people say great things about them). You need a solar panel, some kind of charge controller, and a 12v deep cycle battery, or two 6v batteries wired in (um, series?) which seems to be better if you want to store larger amounts of power.
    • Re: 12 Volt Solar Led System Questions? Help!

      Fri, February 9, 2007 - 3:12 PM
      I've never really worked with it before. Planing on being in places with no power and need to be supplied with enough power for heat at night in the winter. Although whenever I wil be near power I would want to hookup my auxilary battery and recharge it that way too. Would that be possible recharging through solar and 30?
      • Re: 12 Volt Solar Led System Questions? Help!

        Tue, February 13, 2007 - 7:59 PM
        Yes, and you should also hook it up to your alternator with either a battery isolator or solenoids so that it doesn't draw power from your starting battery. That way it will be charged by your alternator while you're driving.
    • Re: 12 Volt Solar Led System Questions? Help!

      Sat, February 10, 2007 - 11:05 AM
      It's not too hard to deal with.

      I have the setup from Harbor freight. It's not too bad. I used it at burning man last year and was more than satisfied. The controller is cheap and should probably be replaced with a solid-state controller, but otherwise it did the job. It's a pretty simple plug-and-play setup that can illiminate lights, run an inverter and act as a battery trickle charger. It puts out 45 watts of power.
      It's a bit fragile so it's probably not appropriate for rigorous use, but it's not too bad.

      For a more durable and transportable, but more expensive and less efficient per swuare foot deployed, check out this one:
      www.affordable-solar.com/gse.s...el.htm
  • Re: 12 Volt Solar Led System Questions? Help!

    Fri, April 6, 2007 - 9:40 PM
    Hey Josh,
    There is a TON of info out there that'll help you to design a system to fit your needs. One book I've found VERY useful is "Managing 12 Volts" "How to Upgrade, Operate, And Troubleshoot 12 volt Electrical Systems" It's by a Harold Barre and I believe it's still avaliable from Summer Breeze Publishing out of Redwood City, CA.
    Found my copy at a Camping World store.
    The book takes you through the basics and gives you the info you need to figure exactly what you'll need to run the load(s) you want.
    Did I see in your post that you wanted to run some type of heating system? If you're thinking of trying to run some type of electrical resistance heater off of a battery system....UH UH! you'd need MASSIVE amounts of battery capacity AND generating capacity to re-charge such a system, impractical is the word that comes to mind. If you want to run a circulating fan for a propane fired heater, that's a whole other ball game...FAR more practical. Look at propex heaters, they make a compact, propane fired, thermostacially controlled heater that'll fit just about anything.
    For the LED lighting...I picked up a set of LED lights at Advance Auto parts. It was a set tthey had in their "Bling" section. It was a string of single LED's made to go under the rocker panels outside of the vehicle. I set them up inside my 82 VW Westfalia Camper. Nice mellow light, you can see by them and the string of 8 draws under 1 amp! They had "sticky" backs so I was able to place them without drilling. That was 2 years ago and they're still in place.
    Also, don't skimp on the battery(s) ! get the best one(s) you can afford that'll suit your needs. Read the book(s) that'll give you some ideas about which type(s) of battery is best suited to your particular needs and system.
    Marine supply stores are another good source. Some items can be pricier, but a lot of items made for marine use are better quality and will last longer than something coming from the typical RV supply store.

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