Solar Power 101

Ratkity

Ok.. the Solar System Lunchbox - MPPT water resistant system with bluetooth dongle for phone app has been launched! Unplugged 110V and flipped off battery via switch.

I had about 5 ft of cable between a 30W glass panel and thought that was enough to catch sun in my driveway... nope. Ok, new plan. Get out the 25' extension cables - no problem (strangely enough, it wasn't). Caveat, 25' isn't all that much. I imagined much longer cables.

Ok, connected the 30W panel and saw voltage on the bluetooth phone app. Victron app for the 100/30 Solar MPPT... works for about a 14 ft distance between dongle and phone. I saw voltage, but no panel wattage designation. Hrm. I saw battery voltage sorta moving, but no amps (battery was topped off, but I should see float). Ok... new strategy - sun positioning. The 30W panel liked full sun, but not laying flat at noon, it liked being slightly propped at about 20 degrees.

I flipped the battery switch to allow power to the camper and the Maxx fan moving air at 10%. The 30W panel showed a max of 15W of panel use with ~17.5V. The battery alternated between Bulk charging (14.4V) and Absorption (13.2V) with appropriate amperage. Man, that 30W panel has a black metal frame and it was too hot to touch.. ow ow ow... finger scald. Had to use gloves to position. My theory is that I only obtained 15 usable watts because of the heat. It's 86F out, it's a black frame and in full sun. My theory could also be totally wrong and my math may be borked. 

The app is fun, but too bad I can't use it inside the house while working. Going to keep the Maxx fan on at 10% air out (Jensen power is off, no lights) and see how the battery does on 30W. 

The Harbor Freight battery maintainers are 5-15W, so a nice 30W panel should handle a little load and keep the battery topped off.

More to come as my experiment continues!!

Ratkity

I must add, my other phantom powers are CO/propane detector and 2 USB ports. The rain sensor on the Maxx fan is one too, but the fan in the bathroom is manual.