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Social media is set up to remove comments that are not in line with the desired opinions and feedback in general. Once you post a sufficient number of logical and educated comments that do not fit the desired outcome, then people get banned. I have seen it happen on linkedin, IG, twitter, FB...

Seems optimistic given that this area has had 90 mph winds in the last 25 years. You can always just have a truck come in and pump the concrete over to the footer location instead of dealing with all of those bags. It is so much easier and cheaper. Mixing bags is kind of a pain and it always...

Either chemistry can work, it is a matter of understanding the limitations and benefits of each. One of the challenges of LiFe batteries is that it is possible to trip the BMS on one in a parallel setup and not be able to re-set it unless there is a switch or breaker on each battery to cut it...

Take a look at the size of the panels that you are interested in - and cut out a similar size sheet of plywood. Now take this and try to lift it up on top of your RV without risking damaging the vehicle, yourself or things around you. This test only costs about $30 - 40 and will allow you to...

The only thing that I would consider to change is that I personally like to mark the solar (+) wires with yellow tape - because it reminds me of sunshine. :) I am less likely to make wire errors when I have yellow tape on all wires with this path - and I definitely have made errors. Hey -...

I am not a big fan of that breaker. Perhaps something from the midnight solar product line ?

I think the difference in our perceptions has more to do with the occasional nature of his cabin use and what voltage the loads will be. My perception is that the use case is more like 2 each, long weekends per month vs continuous use, and mostly 120 vac loads but I could be wrong. The Li...

Hi, I am continuing to add to that thread on the trailer. The part that isn't completely obvious regarding your diesel heater is that when just running, the power draw is small, but there is a glow plug / igniter inside that pulls pretty hard during the warm up to light it up. When the...

I did a trade with a guy for some mobile electrical work in exchange for a non working cnc wood router. Took it apart and flipped it upside down so that it can do drilling and machining. Still a ways to go, but progress. It will be used at my off grid work shop running on a small DIY solar /...

There is a pretty wide range of values for AGM internal resistance for lower end vs higher end batteries. The higher end ones are pretty close but the cheap ones are not even in the same category. I mostly use the Lifeline 27Ts for a variety of reasons (including space and ability to lift them...

We can make some early estimates about your power system operation from your general description. Let's use kW and kW-hrs to help make it easier to estimate, and you can also improve on these numbers by taking some measurements on your existing power use by looking at the meter or using some...

Well, anyone that can build a 12 volt system can build a 24 volt system with essentially the same components. Really anything from the bluesea or any marine store will support 12 or 24 volt. If you go 48 volt, then it requires changing to completely different components that are a bit harder...

This is a photo that I found - not complete but you can get the idea. This is a Transit 148 MR standard length / not extended - looking toward the front of the van. We were experimenting with various rail lengths because she wanted to get as much up there as possible. In this photo you can...

I did at one time but I was in a pretty bad auto accident 2 years ago so now I mostly just help people occasionally and of course offer my suggestions on forums for anyone that would like to listen or not. I have built a number of 24 and 48 volt mobile power systems and really tested things on...

Where will the power come from to run this battery heater? Certainly not from solar under these conditions. That is the main challenge in vans parked in fairly cold areas. The ones with Li battery based systems will eventually get cold enough inside to not be able to turn on the diesel or gas...

I like pretty much anything electro - mechanical in nature, especially if the person designing and building it has put some thought into it. Just because I would build something in a different way than you did for a particular project does not mean I don't respect your work or approach. I get...

You will want to wire the panels 2S 2P rather than 4P like you have now. Just like @HRTKD mentioned. The victron solar charge controller will not start up until the panel Vmp hits nearly 35 volts in that setup and with the the low solar intensity that time of year, in parallel like that it...

A gel battery is similar - but still different than an AGM. Not criticizing, just letting you know that you can't make the same assumptions about flooded, cheap AGM, higher end AGM, deep discharge AGM vs marine type AGM. Each is a different entity, nearly as different as AGM vs LiFe. I am...

Buy the version with 12 fuses and 12 ground connection points built in, not just 6 fuses and no grounds. It sounds strange but you will end up using more grounds than you think.

As an example, post #163 and on has some example solar output curves. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/socially-negative-impacts-of-solar.63237/page-9 and another starting point for info: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/funny-story-about-the-east-west-panel-spread-out-idea.63318/

That makes total sense. In the winter you won't need to heat them, so you can just have the solar trickle charge them as available when you are not there. When you arrive, then the battery bank will be topped off under most conditions. Often there is at least one location on the side of the...

I use that battery all of the time for customer projects. One of the important things is to make sure to not stress the discharge current too high - really on any LiFe battery. I set the systems up so that when the inverter is running full power, the battery will be discharging at around 50 -...

It depends a little bit on the van. As a practical matter, one of the limitations is what you can physically get up there with the resources that you have. I have a small van electrical shop in Livermore, CA and we use 2 each, 12 ft electricians ladders to work on van roofs / install solar...

I do understand why people like to build their own battery. The part that I am not so convinced about for this is that it can take a lot of time to pull it off, and if you go to sell the trailer, then the DIY battery aspect is a negative value to the trailer price vs using an off the shelf...

A good quality MPPT controller will convert the (volts ) x ( amps ) = watts from the panels into the "correct" ( volts ) x ( amps) = watts for the battery pack. In overcast conditions, the panel Voc can hit a high enough voltage to trigger the controller "on", but then the Vmp of the panel...

Out of curiosity, was the BL unit in the garage and subject to low temperatures? Just in general, for use in temperatures that are less than 40 F routinely, an AGM based setup is a lot better option. I know that people don't want to hear that but it is reality.

The total battery capacity is not that unusual, but it is a lot. Building a van power system this sophisticated and powerful in 12 volts is kind of old school and probably not ideal but can be made to work if the person doing the work really knows what they are doing in great detail. Keep in...

This is the breaker type that I use in 24 volt systems. https://www.bluesea.com/products/category/14/30/Circuit_Breakers/187-Series It is a bus 187 type. It is marine rated and has a fairly high amp interrupt rating - plenty for those batteries. The marine rating should be good for your...

I would use a different solar charge controller with more flexibility. As far as poly vs mono - I have some test stands at my shop that I use for my own personal comparison and my "data" is not at all perfect or documented well enough to hold up to scientific review. It is good enough that it...

That is interesting. Note that the max rated charge current is 50 amps for the BBs and they have one of the higher charge rates of batteries on the market for size 27s commercial batteries. Many LiFe batteries on the market have max charge rates of 1/2 of that. For the stuff that I build, I...