diy solar

diy solar

I'm tired of unreliable 'all in one' systems to power my fridge!

Probably the absolute cheapest way to get alternator charging (that will actually charge the LFP to full and not just to alternator voltage) is to get a 12 to 24v step up converter slightly bigger than your MPPT (example), wire it to a source that is only active with the key on or engine running, and feed the 24v output to your MPPT in parallel with the solar panels. Any time the solar panel is exceeding 24v the converter will be ignored, but when the solar is making less than 24v the MPPT will treat the converter as the solar panel and charge from that.
The referenced 12V-24V step up converter will NEVER create sufficient voltage to FULLY charge any type of 24V battery bank. Simple lead-acid batteries need AT LEAST 26.4V (closer to 28V) to charge. LiFePO4 require about 29V. These really need a "smart" charger to fully either type of battery bank.
 
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