Solar Trickle Charger Setup (with Black Friday deals)

[hemiarch]

Thanks for the suggestion, @hemiarch!
I decided to grab three of those 400W Allpowers since they are a LOT cheaper than the 350W Bluetti and did a comparison. Despite my confirmation bias really wanting to come up with a good reason to pay the extra for the Bluetti if I had it all to do over, I would have only bought the Allpowers and saved my money. That said, if money is no object and you don't mind paying double for a miniscule improvement, the Bluetti are slightly better in terms of durability and ease of use. If they were the same price or maybe only a $50 difference, I would favor the Bluetti.
Side by side:

Bluetti fit a little better. Here's four - could easily stack six.

Unfortunately, the Allpowers were just a little too wide to fit landscape:

Also too tall to fit two portrait:

The Bluetti did come with a longer cable which is really useful connecting them in parallel (but you can get an extension for $10 so hardly justifies the price):

Those look nice. Never used the 400w ones. I use the 600w flat version of that panel.
https://a.co/d/dzA4CW3
On a per watt basis they are a smoking deal IMHO and are awesome for overpaneling a lot of stations.
They really do make every bit of that 600w too.
When my apex 300 shows up I’ll get a pic of how they will fit.

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[TickTock]

Or set scheduled charging.
Then you can have Truck wait X hours before doing full power charging.

So I tested this out yesterday and it does look like a viable work-around. I set the charge rate to 15A and programmed it to charge for an hour every three hours. Was getting 85% efficiency.
The first charge at 9:30 got interrupted when I went in the truck to look at the settings. I had to run an errand so shut it down before the 3:30 charge but I think I would have gotten over 20 miles total added.

My test setup below. Three Bluetti panels in the foreground. Three Allpower panels on the other PV input peeking out behind the Moringa tree

 

[hemiarch]

So I tested this out yesterday and it does look like a viable work-around. I set the charge rate to 15A and programmed it to charge for an hour every three hours. Was getting 85% efficiency.
The first charge at 9:30 got interrupted when I went in the truck to look at the settings. I had to run an errand so shut it down before the 3:30 charge but I think I would have gotten over 20 miles total added.

My test setup below. Three Bluetti panels in the foreground. Three Allpower panels on the other PV input peeking out behind the Moringa tree

That awesome man. So how many mph are you getting at 15 amps?

 

[mongo]

That awesome man. So how many mph are you getting at 15 amps?

Looks to be around 8-9.

 

[hemiarch]

Thanks for the suggestion, @hemiarch!
I decided to grab three of those 400W Allpowers since they are a LOT cheaper than the 350W Bluetti and did a comparison. Despite my confirmation bias really wanting to come up with a good reason to pay the extra for the Bluetti if I had it all to do over, I would have only bought the Allpowers and saved my money. That said, if money is no object and you don't mind paying double for a miniscule improvement, the Bluetti are slightly better in terms of durability and ease of use. If they were the same price or maybe only a $50 difference, I would favor the Bluetti.
Side by side:

Bluetti fit a little better. Here's four - could easily stack six.

Unfortunately, the Allpowers were just a little too wide to fit landscape:

Also too tall to fit two portrait:

The Bluetti did come with a longer cable which is really useful connecting them in parallel (but you can get an extension for $10 so hardly justifies the price):

So I got you a photo. The proportions of the 600w panel are different and I like that it goes flat on the ground and can be staked.
I have 6 of them and they have a Voc of 52.8v.
Since the solar inputs accept up to 60v (1200w each), I’m running three in parallel on each input for some significant overpaneling without exceeding the 60V limit. 1800w for each 1200w input. That will produce a very consistent 2.4kw for most of the day (it’s what I do on my delta pro 3 also) .
Since the battery on the ac 300 is very small by EV charging standards, it’s important to keep a consistently high input.
I have the cybertent out of the truck here but it all fits very nicely under it.

 

[TickTock]

So I got you a photo. The proportions of the 600w panel are different and I like that it goes flat on the ground and can be staked.
I have 6 of them and they have a Voc of 52.8v.
Since the solar inputs accept up to 60v (1200w each), I’m running three in parallel on each input for some significant overpaneling without exceeding the 60V limit. 1800w for each 1200w input. That will produce a very consistent 2.4kw for most of the day (it’s what I do on my delta pro 3 also) .
Since the. Battery on the ac 300 is very small by EV charging standards, it’s important to keep a consistently high input.
I have the cybertent out of the truck here but it all fits very nicely under it.

Do you just lay them flat on the ground? I agree the output voltage is better optimized for the latest PV power stations like the AC300 (60V is the new standard) but I couldn't figure out a good way to deploy them at a good angle.

 

[hemiarch]

Do you just lay them flat on the ground? I agree the output voltage is better optimized for the latest PV power stations like the AC300 (60V is the new standard) but I couldn't figure out a good way to deploy them at a good angle.

Yep. That way they are also not really visible from a distance which makes them less of a theft target if you set up and go for a hike for example. I stake the corners down through the corner loops.
Theoretically in mid summer that’s better than angled and south facing over the course of the entire day. Not in the winter, but when you over panel like I do by about 50% it doesn’t matter and the ease of use and idiot proof nature of it makes it worth whatever loss that amounts to. You just unfold the panels pointing straight up anywhere and hook them up, then stake.
I'm sure there are better setups but I usually don’t feel like messing with panels and repositioning all day.

 

[RM Rilke]

Great thread and I appreciate the expertise and testing! . Looks like this is a legitimate way forward for getting lost in the desert. I better check the couch cushions.

 

[TexasRaider]

Oh wow! The worlds most expensive “on sale” trickle charger haha
(I say that because a typical 12v trickle changer is less than $100. And yes, I realize it’s Apple and oranges.)

 

[TexasRaider]

No doubt, solar is not the cheapest option. I just can't bring myself to run a generator at my campsite, though. I'll pay the difference to only hear nature and the crackle of the fire pit.

Maybe the GoSun Ev charger a good match for you.

 

[TickTock]

Maybe the GoSun Ev charger a good match for you.

I considered GoSun - even put $100 down for one a year or so ago - but the price for the wattage was too high and I didn't like how it was semi-permanently attached. As expensive as my setup was, it was still cheaper and more capable than the GoSun.

 

[TexasRaider]

I considered GoSun - even put $100 down for one a year or so ago - but the price for the wattage was too high and I didn't like how it was semi-permanently attached. As expensive as my setup was, it was still cheaper and more capable than the GoSun.

Oh ok. The price I have on the table is less than $3700 but I guess that’s because I put down the $100 back on day 2 or something.
Keep up the thinking outside the box for solutions.

 

[CYBERTRUCKco]

What interest would the group have in a perminant 320W on the moonroof, 400W panel set you can drive with and then on a removable when opening the tonneau? Combine with the hood panel for 900W potential? Cost would be $1700 with a forum discount.

 

[hemiarch]

What interest would the group have in a perminant 320W on the moonroof, 400W panel set you can drive with and then on a removable when opening the tonneau? Combine with the hood panel for 900W potential? Cost would be $1700 with a forum discount.

Love this idea. How will the tonneau one fold up and how many watts is that one on its own?

 

[CYBERTRUCKco]

Love this idea. How will the tonneau one fold up and how many watts is that one on its own?

Tonneau is 400W stand alone and it folds in 4 sections so about 16" each if you remove it, will fit in the bed.

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