Second battery and solar

[BroncLander]

So I use my BroncLander for overlanding and Ive found that using the starter battery for charging batteries and phone while I'm camping can be a bad thing if I don't remember to run the vehicle once a day.

The battery in it is a tiny little thing obviously way too small for the application. So what I'd like to do is install a way bigger battery platform that holds 2 batteries and add a lithium 100ah. And then on top of that, have a 50 watt panel on the roof charging the house battery independently from the starter battery and alternator system.

There's also a way to tie in the house battery to charge off the alternator once the main starter battery is full. And while not totally necessary, it would be smart to do all at the same time and just be done with it, and then wire up a nice little panel box with a decent inverter and fuse panel.

By next season I definitely want the Bronco to be a bit more organized for camping and fishing. A roof basket of some sort is a definite must. I thought about a sealed cargo container up top, because it would keep things dry and sit to one side allowing my kayak to live on the other side, but I may just design a basket that has provisions for the kayak to one side.

If I was any taller I couldn't make this all work without a micro camper trailer or something, but I just fit if I'm at a bit of an angle, which is great for the overlanding I like to do.

Currently I'm searching for some solar panels. I've thought of flexible ones, rigid ones. Still undecided. If I could find 2 30 watt panels that were the size of racing stripes, I might put them on my hood and just glue them down with silicone.

Solar Panels on a Bronco2?

youtube.com

 

[BroncLander]

So I ultimately went with a panel that will glue to my roof just in front of a basket, where a sunroof would usually go. 55 watts, and a 20 amp charge controller with dual USB plugs. I have used 2 of these controllers before and they do just fine.
I will cheap out on the battery for now as I do have a deep cycle battery I can use for the short term. It'll be here Friday and it'll be a perfect weekend project.
Now off to the metal pile to find some materials to make a basket with. I already bought some 6mm bolts, in 2 different lengths, washers and lock washers to hold a basket to the securing slider thingys in the roof rails.

 

[RonD]

First, you wouldn't mount solar panels on a vehicle for the purposes you want it for
If the solar panels are on the vehicle then you MUST ALWAYS PARK in the sun..................not the greatest thing when camping
Carrying the panels with extra wire so you can put them in the sun is better
Also some locations just don't have sun exposure where you can park
So think portable panels

Do the math
See how many watts/amps you will use daily, i.e. phone, music, lights, battery chargers, ect......
Get an average daily use

For watts:
100watts at 12volts = 8.33amp/hours
100 / 12 = 8.33

If device has amps listed then that's the amps it will use per hour
i.e. 2.3A uses 2.3amps per hour

50watt 12v solar panel only does 50watts for a few hours a day, watts slowly come up and then drop off, i.e. dawn and dusk, mid-day is when its 50watts
same math, 50watts at 12v = 4.15amps, so adds 4amps per hour

If you are using 30amps a day and replacing say 20amps(solar) then usage is 10amps a day
So a 100amp/hour battery would last you 10 days until battery was dead, you need a Deep Cycle battery for this, they are made to be fully discharged

You want a Battery Isolator, this allows the Deep Cycle battery to be drained without effecting Primary Battery, but when engine is running the Isolator allows alternator to charge Deep Cycle Battery

 

[ericbphoto]

A lot if good info in what RonD said.

A lot of overlanders ARE mounting solar panels on vehicle roofs, trailer roofs, RTT roofs, etc. Just keep in mind that if you are traveling primarily in wooded areas with shade, you will not reach full charging capability. Same on cloudy and rainy days. Out west in the desert, great. It's all wonderful. East coast and Pacific Northwest, performance will be less.

 

[Josh B]

You might check some of the old computer back-up battery boxes. You'll have to understand electrical circuits and such but they have chargers in there that are 12V and adaptable to any number of uses

 

[BroncLander]

First, you wouldn't mount solar panels on a vehicle for the purposes you want it for
If the solar panels are on the vehicle then you MUST ALWAYS PARK in the sun..................not the greatest thing when camping
Carrying the panels with extra wire so you can put them in the sun is better
Also some locations just don't have sun exposure where you can park
So think portable panels

Do the math
See how many watts/amps you will use daily, i.e. phone, music, lights, battery chargers, ect......
Get an average daily use

For watts:
100watts at 12volts = 8.33amp/hours
100 / 12 = 8.33

If device has amps listed then that's the amps it will use per hour
i.e. 2.3A uses 2.3amps per hour

50watt 12v solar panel only does 50watts for a few hours a day, watts slowly come up and then drop off, i.e. dawn and dusk, mid-day is when its 50watts
same math, 50watts at 12v = 4.15amps, so adds 4amps per hour

If you are using 30amps a day and replacing say 20amps(solar) then usage is 10amps a day
So a 100amp/hour battery would last you 10 days until battery was dead, you need a Deep Cycle battery for this, they are made to be fully discharged

You want a Battery Isolator, this allows the Deep Cycle battery to be drained without effecting Primary Battery, but when engine is running the Isolator allows alternator to charge Deep Cycle Battery

I have a battery isolator kit around here somewhere. And a deep cycle battery. I disagree about the vehicle mounted panel. I had my Jeep setup with the same setup I've described and I never once had any issues. If I had high load all the time, I have a stack of other panels I could bring along and add in. But I like to just mount it and never fuss with it. The trick is having more capacity than you need. And it just stays adequate.

In my experience, a 100ah deep cycle battery can't be fully discharged unless it's lithium. The lead based types can't go less than 10 or 11 amps for too long and then it's flirting with being given a low amperage memory.

I'm looking at a Renology 100ah or dual 50ah. (Leaning towards dual 50s because redundancy).

I like these charge controllers. I mounted my last one to my dash among the guages and I watched my solar uptake a lot. Definitely did affect where I'd park if it was low, but for the most part, it was just so much power I could never use it all. And in the Jeep it was just on an AGM deep cycle that also started it up.

I even have a 30w panel that's just for charging a stack of 35000mah backup bateries (they also have solar panels but they're slow to charge). I love redundancy

 

[BroncLander]

A lot if good info in what RonD said.

A lot of overlanders ARE mounting solar panels on vehicle roofs, trailer roofs, RTT roofs, etc. Just keep in mind that if you are traveling primarily in wooded areas with shade, you will not reach full charging capability. Same on cloudy and rainy days. Out west in the desert, great. It's all wonderful. East coast and Pacific Northwest, performance will be less.

Northern BC here. Definitely not as good in cloudy conditions, but with the isolator kit, there's always the engine/alternator. I like the charge controller for the digital readout. Easy to see where I'm at. I had the Jeep dialed in pretty good. Never once ran out of power. I don't run a fridge or anything. Just charging cellphone, tablet, laptop and 18650 batteries for my vape and flashlights

You might check some of the old computer back-up battery boxes. You'll have to understand electrical circuits and such but they have chargers in there that are 12V and adaptable to any number of uses

I've seen those. I think it was Will Prowse on YouTube who did a video on them. It could have been another guy. Still, there's components there well worth looking at if one comes available

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Let me start off by saying batteries should be researched carefully. Don't buy cheap lithium batteries. Lithium also will not charge below 30 degrees F. They do make some with built-in heaters. I went AGM. Yes they are heavier but work real well and less than half the price.
Second battery isolators are nice idea but they don't limit the charge pulled from your alternator. Not saying it will but could cause premature failure of the alt. I would suggest a DC to DC charger set up. Mine limits the consumption from the alternator to 25 amps. Plus it has hook ups for alt and solar. Most also have a built in isolator to protect you from draining your start battery. That being said I have ran u to problems with the flexible solar mounts through the years. They don't have protection over all the little panels that make it up. The solid ones usually have a glass like or plastic cover to protect from debris on the trails. Besides that just make sure you fuse everything and use correct size wiring to insure no melt downs haha. I've repaired too many systems that the original installer used too small a gauge of wire with no type of fused protection.

 

[BroncLander]

Let me start off by saying batteries should be researched carefully. Don't buy cheap lithium batteries. Lithium also will not charge below 30 degrees F. They do make some with built-in heaters. I went AGM. Yes they are heavier but work real well and less than half the price.
Second battery isolators are nice idea but they don't limit the charge pulled from your alternator. Not saying it will but could cause premature failure of the alt. I would suggest a DC to DC charger set up. Mine limits the consumption from the alternator to 25 amps. Plus it has hook ups for alt and solar. Most also have a built in isolator to protect you from draining your start battery. That being said I have ran u to problems with the flexible solar mounts through the years. They don't have protection over all the little panels that make it up. The solid ones usually have a glass like or plastic cover to protect from debris on the trails. Besides that just make sure you fuse everything and use correct size wiring to insure no melt downs haha. I've repaired too many systems that the original installer used too small a gauge of wire with no type of fused protection.

I have a bag full of inline fusible links. I use th

Let me start off by saying batteries should be researched carefully. Don't buy cheap lithium batteries. Lithium also will not charge below 30 degrees F. They do make some with built-in heaters. I went AGM. Yes they are heavier but work real well and less than half the price.
Second battery isolators are nice idea but they don't limit the charge pulled from your alternator. Not saying it will but could cause premature failure of the alt. I would suggest a DC to DC charger set up. Mine limits the consumption from the alternator to 25 amps. Plus it has hook ups for alt and solar. Most also have a built in isolator to protect you from draining your start battery. That being said I have ran u to problems with the flexible solar mounts through the years. They don't have protection over all the little panels that make it up. The solid ones usually have a glass like or plastic cover to protect from debris on the trails. Besides that just make sure you fuse everything and use correct size wiring to insure no melt downs haha. I've repaired too many systems that the original installer used too small a gauge of wire with no type of fused protection.

I only plan on buying a Renology battery. They have a good reputation and ship from in Canada. I have a lot of their wire as well from all my house wiring. I also considered a yellowtop because of the cold. It gets to -45C here. But I don't do much in the winter anyways and would probably just bring the battery inside for the cold months and leave the system dormant or swap to an older deep cycle.
I'm off grid and have been since 2002. I have solar panels coming out the yin yang lol. The house is on a 60amp system and a seperate secondary system. I use different inverters for different purposes and always try to use the smallest one possible to eliminate parasitic drain.
Even all my outdoor lights are solar. Christmas lights have their own panels and batteries.
Some house lights have their own panel, water pump has its own 12v system too.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I have a bag full of inline fusible links. I use th

I only plan on buying a Renology battery. They have a good reputation and ship from in Canada. I have a lot of their wire as well from all my house wiring. I also considered a yellowtop because of the cold. It gets to -45C here. But I don't do much in the winter anyways and would probably just bring the battery inside for the cold months and leave the system dormant or swap to an older deep cycle.
I'm off grid and have been since 2002. I have solar panels coming out the yin yang lol. The house is on a 60amp system and a seperate secondary system. I use different inverters for different purposes and always try to use the smallest one possible to eliminate parasitic drain.
Even all my outdoor lights are solar. Christmas lights have their own panels and batteries.
Some house lights have their own panel, water pump has its own 12v system too.

Sounds like you have a good grasp on things. I would look into a DC to DC chargers. Just too eliminate or at least decrease the possibility of an alternator failure. I run the CTek one and it's been awesome for the last 2 years. It has inputs for the solar panel and the alt. Only connects when a charge is applied and isolates them when it is removed. Plus is set up for the charge rates of the aux battery system. As your probably aware all different types of batteries have different charge characteristics. So just make sure the DC to DC charger is setup for your battery system. A lot of them say they work with multiple types but when actually researching them most are only for flooded or agm batteries.

 

[BroncLander]

Sounds like you have a good grasp on things. I would look into a DC to DC chargers. Just too eliminate or at least decrease the possibility of an alternator failure. I run the CTek one and it's been awesome for the last 2 years. It has inputs for the solar panel and the alt. Only connects when a charge is applied and isolates them when it is removed. Plus is set up for the charge rates of the aux battery system. As your probably aware all different types of batteries have different charge characteristics. So just make sure the DC to DC charger is setup for your battery system. A lot of them say they work with multiple types but when actually researching them most are only for flooded or agm batteries.

I will do some reading on them. It's new to me. I know in my Jeep I put in a whopper of an alternator. I know the one I have in the Bronco is putting out 14.7V under load. I use a USB plug that sits in the cigarette lighter port. It charges a phone and measures voltage and temperature inside the vehicle. With the engine running or not. It's handy so I can glance over at night and see what's left in the main battery. If I see it getting down towards 11v I either run the truck a while or just unplug any devices