Here’s my solar setup that has been ordered. I can change any part (via returns) so comments are welcome. In addition to the fridge & stove may have StarLink, will have various small low power electrical devices. Idea is to be able to live off-grid for about 3 or 4 days max. Will likely always pre-charge the battery (on controller) and pre-chill the fridge before leaving home via home AC.
From my reading I’ll have 2 connections from each solar panel (6 connections total) and will link them
together in parallel (maintaining about 100W max. generation), then 2 master wires will go to controller stored in truck bed. Solar panels will be taped using VHB tape. Likely will use duct tape on leading edge of panels in addition to 2-sided VHB tape.
In case anyone is interested, went with these components & hopefully all will work together & I’ll have adequate electricity while camping for a few days…will find out, ha ha.
Renogy Solar Panel 100W 12V Lightweight Semi Flexible Monocrystalline Bendable, LTWT-Flex. (3 panels to be installed on top of GFC). These are very thin and should have almost zero wind resistance. 43" x 22.9" x .08" in size. About 5.3 lbs. each
ECOFLOW Delta Max (2000) Portable Power Station, 2016Wh Expandable Capacity with 6 x 2400W AC Outlets, Solar Generator. Will be firmly attached in truck bed. 48 lbs.
Duxtop 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop Countertop Burner. Will be mounted to a sliding drawer.
ICECO VL45 ProS Portable Refrigerator, Multi-directional Lid, about 47 Quarts. Will be mounted to a sliding drawer. About 51 lbs.
Missing a DC to DC charger so any time you are driving it is also charging your system.
I have about 300watts of solar on the roof, a 80AH battery, a DC to DC charger and a cheap mppt controller.
I run a 12v fridge, 12v water pump, charge various electronics from laptops, cameras, drones, Diesel heater, fans, led lights without issues for 5 days with just solar even in cloudy conditions. Could probably go longer but haven’t had the opportunity to test it. But the DC to DC is awesome for making sure I get where I am going with a full charge.
how are you charging the power station with the truck? you shouldn’t need a dc to dc charger it’s all built in but maybe run a dedicated power supply from the main battery?
just as a thought concerning the induction- yes they are epic for not creating excess heat and moisture BUT they do eat a lot of power very quickly at full bore. cooking dinner might kill a bunch of the battery and not leave enough for the fridge to last all night. … I’m just trying to give you a reason to add another battery
ScottH, your setup sounds robust. According to what I read the ECOFLOW Power Station/battery can be charged by “car charging” and they show a cigaratte lighter symbol so I guess that means DC to DC. Then this is mentioned on Amazon for the product, so I think I’m covered with DC to DC charging.
“… Yes, you will receive AC, SOLAR, CAR charging cables. A DC 5521 to DC 5525 cable…”
My plan on charging is to fully charge with AC before leaving home, then permit the solar cells to charge while parked. Don’t believe can charge EcoFlow by both DC & solar at once if driving. I’m not entirely clear on the DC to DC charging while driving for primary (only) battery for EcoFlow but it appears battery can charge while truck is being driven via a connection wire. The EcoFlow, from what I gather is a controller and basically a big battery with a bunch of inputs and outputs.
Right on about the induction stove. I’ve read about that & that’s one reason I’m over-speccing the system a bit. The little cheap induction stove I bought has several levels of power (10), so a person could potentially cook a little slower without burning as much juice but will have to experiment. If it’s way too much of a drain I’ll revert to a gas stove. I really don’t cook much because it takes away from biking, fishing & hiking time, smile.
Looks like the 12v plug in will be really slow to charge that system. May be worth it to have an inverter onboard that you can use to charge at a higher rate with. Wasn’t thinking about the fact that DC to DC charger wouldn’t go with your battery system.
I am just really big on having redundancy as sometimes I am in the middle of nowhere and don’t want to call my trip because all of my food is going to go bad for lack of power.
That’s not how energy transfer works. Cooking slower just means you stretch out your burn time at a lower rate, vs “hotter” for a shorter time. It will equal nearly the same amount of power to cook your meal. Example: Say you cook a steak at 500w and that takes 30 minutes. Then you try another at 1000w and have it done in 15. Both use ~250wh for the same result. Crank it all the way to 1500w and that takes 6 min. Still 250w.
That said, 2000wh is a lot, but like others have mentioned, electric cooktops suck a ton of power. That only allows ~1 hour of cook time on max power, or ~2 hours on medium. A basic meal only takes about 10-15 minutes of pan time, but on medium, that’s like 10% of your battery. The DC-DC/Cigarette plug would be a great to have so you are not worrying about usage if there is no sun. Fun fact: most solar panels stop working if it is partially shaded.
Hoooogan - you’re right…the net energy useage & draw from the battery is likely the same whether high for a little while or low for a low time. I didn’t think that part through well enough. Of course, very high might cause a surge which will blow a breaker or fuse but that’s beside the point.
Why not use a gas stove and not worry about the battery draw? In the winter I use a MSR stove and haven’t killed myself yet. In the summer I cook outside on the fire or a gas cook top on propane. I’ve always been puzzled by the electric cooktop but different strokes for different folks.
Hey I like my electric kettle for making coffee in the morning when my brain is a fog and I don’t want to burn the truck down… but I agree with the stove in general. Those butane stoves you get at the Asian markets are awesome in the back of the gfc
Actual do love my MSR, too. With the mixed fuel it’s very fast. However, trying to simplify and get away from having to buy cannisters. Further, want the ability to run a full sized computer monitor (work capable). The new controller/battery comes with 6 AC outlets so might as well use them.
@jasont Thanks for the link; very good info. The key thing: when running in series your voltage will accumulate from each solar panel. So make sure controller can handle the voltage. In parallel wiring voltage doesn’t add up. Second key bit of info: if you’re approaching a lot of voltage output from panels hooked in series be careful of electric shock - turn the panels over so they don’t produce any juice for safety. Also, I like information at site indicating the need for breakers in at least one or two spots. Having a breaker before the charge controller seems like would be really useful, especially during an installation and in case of a surge.
Solar installation done, for those interested using items above. Used last week in mostly sunny Rockies and it performed better than expected. Ran a larger fridge (47 quarts) 24 hrs per day plus charged other devices and the solar kept battery at or above 85% the whole time; usually before sundown the battery was 100%. Only charged via solar & never needed to charge via 12V cig. lighter or 110 V AC plug. I didn’t use 1800 W induction stove this trip but now that I know the solar cells & EcoFlow inverter/battery can support that much energy use I am including 1800 W induction stove next trip & leaving gas stove behind. Drilled a single hole into plastic underbed of GFC (above cab) and caulked twice on inside & outside; no leaking so far. Wiring is kind of messy on top of GFC and held down with Gorilla tape, electrical tape & some wires convered in plastic conduit. If I had some kind of sheet metal rectangular case with an aerodynamic front it would better protect the wiring but honestly so far no problems. Panels held down with 3M VHB 2-x sided tape. Front (leading) panel also has a line of Gorilla tape on front edge.
Ever run into any issues with your ecoflow randomly shutting off the 12V power with your fridge hooked up? Im wondering if this is because my fridge isn’t drawing power frequently enough causing the battery to idle off.
Twice the cigarette lighter DC connector from fridge to EcoFlow has become jiggled loose; at least I’m pretty sure it was jarred loose by sustained and rough road vibration? When I reset the connecter on EcoFlow it connected to the fridge right away. My next step is to tape a loop on wire connector to remove direct pressure on the cigarette lighter connector where it plugs into EcoFlow; then it should be possible to tell if it’s an idling problem or the physical connector coming loose on back of EcoFlow.
