Solar Generators

[Schuster]

We presently use a 100 AH liFepo4 battery to run our portable ICECO freezer. The battery is charged by a Honda eu2000i generator when at the dock (if no electricity available) or plugged in to boat 12V when underway. It seems to me that it used a lot of battery overnight when keeping thing frozen. When at dock I run the generator for about 4 hours to charge the battery back up. A Ranger Tug we met up with had a Jackery 1000 and was pretty hi on it with solar panels. So I am looking to possibly get a Jackery 2000 with 2 200 w solar panels to add an alternative to running the generator at the dock. I really don't like running the generator at all.
So looking for suggestions for increasing my storage and charging with solar.

 

[robhwa]

We presently use a 100 AH liFepo4 battery to run our portable ICECO freezer. The battery is charged by a Honda eu2000i generator when at the dock (if no electricity available) or plugged in to boat 12V when underway. It seems to me that it used a lot of battery overnight when keeping thing frozen. When at dock I run the generator for about 4 hours to charge the battery back up. A Ranger Tug we met up with had a Jackery 1000 and was pretty hi on it with solar panels. So I am looking to possibly get a Jackery 2000 with 2 200 w solar panels to add an alternative to running the generator at the dock. I really don't like running the generator at all.
So looking for suggestions for increasing my storage and charging with solar.

Simple matter of math. My ICECO 45 qt will draw 3.7A at 24VDC when running, watt equivalent to 7.5A at 12VDC. That would mean about 13 hours for a 100AH 12VDC battery running from full to zero, though the freezer doesn't run all of the time except when its very hot and set at the lowest setting. I have a 230AH 24 volt battery, 300 watt solar, and a 30A 12VDC DC/DC boost to 24 VDC charger that charges the batteries when the Honda 100 outboard is running. That usually means I don't have to run the Honda EU2200 to charge batteries. In sun the batteries are kept pretty much fully charged and a few hours of motoring tops the battery off quickly.

 

[Schuster]

Thanks Rob. That looks like quite a system that would keep you out for as long as you want to be. I'm going to make the assumption that you power all your electrical needs with this system ie house lights, refrigerator, etc, as well as your freezer and that it is a built in system with solar panels mounted to the roof and battery and controller mounted in the boat. My thinking on a portable unit is that I would have the ability to take it on the road in the 5th wheel in winter months as well as supplement my system while boating.

 

[Tom Hruby]

I checked out the ICECO website and their model 45 claims to use only 0.4 kWh/24 hrs. To be on the safe side I would use about 0.6 kWh/24 to do the calculations. A 12V 100AH battery stores a maximum 1.2kWh of energy and a lithiumFePO4 has about 1 kWh of usable energy. So the battery would last about 1.5 days before needed recharge (if the fridge is the only drain on the battery).

Here in the Pacific Northwest one cannot assume that a solar panel will provide the rated power. In my experience over the last 20 years, flat, flexible, panels on my cabin top provide at most 60% of their rated power. Theoretically solar panels provide about 20 watts/square foot. Actual measured on my boat is about 12 watts/sq.ft. for about 6 hrs/day. This is 72Wh/day/sq.ft. in bright sun; no cloud cover. So to recharge your battery for the fridge you would need at least 8 square feet of solar panels (~160W) when the sun is shining. If it's partially cloudy my experience is that the power averages about 1/2 that of a sunny day. I am now experimenting with CIGS panels that are considered to be more effective in cloudy weather, but I don't have any good data yet.

These data are for the summer time. In the winter the solar power is significantly reduced because the angle of the sun is much lower.

I hope this helps you figure out your needs.

 

[gregariousford]

We presently use a 100 AH liFepo4 battery to run our portable ICECO freezer. The battery is charged by a Honda eu2000i generator when at the dock (if no electricity available) or plugged in to boat 12V when underway. It seems to me that it used a lot of battery overnight when keeping thing frozen. When at dock I run the generator for about 4 hours to charge the battery back up. A Ranger Tug we met up with had a Jackery 1000 and was pretty hi on it with solar panels. So I am looking to possibly get a Jackery 2000 with 2 200 w solar panels to add an alternative to running the generator at the dock. I really don't like running the generator at all.
So looking for suggestions for increasing my storage and charging with solar.

I just purchased a Bluetti Elite 200 with 2 200w solar panels on sale for about $1100. it has great reviews.

 

[Schuster]

I checked out the ICECO website and their model 45 claims to use only 0.4 kWh/24 hrs. To be on the safe side I would use about 0.6 kWh/24 to do the calculations. A 12V 100AH battery stores a maximum 1.2kWh of energy and a lithiumFePO4 has about 1 kWh of usable energy. So the battery would last about 1.5 days before needed recharge (if the fridge is the only drain on the battery).

Here in the Pacific Northwest one cannot assume that a solar panel will provide the rated power. In my experience over the last 20 years, flat, flexible, panels on my cabin top provide at most 60% of their rated power. Theoretically solar panels provide about 20 watts/square foot. Actual measured on my boat is about 12 watts/sq.ft. for about 6 hrs/day. This is 72Wh/day/sq.ft. in bright sun; no cloud cover. So to recharge your battery for the fridge you would need at least 8 square feet of solar panels (~160W) when the sun is shining. If it's partially cloudy my experience is that the power averages about 1/2 that of a sunny day. I am now experimenting with CIGS panels that are considered to be more effective in cloudy weather, but I don't have any good data yet.

These data are for the summer time. In the winter the solar power is significantly reduced because the angle of the sun is much lower.

I hope this helps you figure out your needs.

Thank you Tom, this is very useful information that you have compiled. By the sounds of it 2 200 w panels may be what is needed. Now to figure out how to configure everything in limited space.

 

[Schuster]

I just purchased a Bluetti Elite 200 with 2 200w solar panels on sale for about $1100. it has great reviews.

I will be most interested to hear how that works out for you. I saw about the same set up in the Jackery for the same price. I will definitely give Bluetti a look and make some comparisons.

 

[Tom Hruby]

The cabin top of my 22' cruiser has about 12 square feet of space. I have been able to put two 80 watt panels on each side and one 200 watt panel on the top. All are flexible CIGS but of different brands (two Rich Solar 80watt and one Allpower 200W). The two Rich Solar panels provide power to my starboard motor battery and the Allpower to my port motor battery. I had to chose the panels based on their footprint to maximize the space on the cabin top. Even then I had to cut about 1/2" off the panels on the sides to make them fit. Luckily this was within the space allocated for the grommets so it did not affect the area that collects the sunlight.

To maximize your solar input I would suggest looking for panels that best fit your space available and buy a battery/power supply separately. Most of the power supplies I have seen will accept input from different solar panels as long as the voltage and amperage of the panels meets the specs of the battery. They all have an internal solar charger.

 

[Tom Hruby]

I should add that all the panels are glued to 4mm corrugated plastic before attaching to the roof. This provides significant air colling under the panels, keeps the cabin cooler, and increases the efficiency of the panels (efficiency drops by 0.3% - 0.5% for every degree C above 77F). I have not had a chance to measure the actual temperature on a hot sunny day to estimate the loss in efficiency. I do know that a solar panel, without any air circulation, in my backyard did reach 150 F (an efficiency loss of about 12% - which means the panel was only capturing about 8% of sunlight energy instead of 20%).

The top panel had wide grommets in it, so I could attach it to the top with webbing to the handrail. The sides were attached with 3m mounting tape and the bow and stern edges with butyl rubber repair tape to provide an even airflow during trailering. The side were left open to let the air circulate through the corrugated plastic.

 

[-Waypoint-]

I use EcoFlow brand solar generator batteries. I like how the charge rate can be regulated using the phone app. I use the River 2 Pro and the Delta 2. Both have a combined battery capacity of 1.7 kwh. I have a Calsun 100watt 16bb solar panel and two BH40 outboards that charge each bank at 100watts per engine. I'll use the EU2200 to top everything off in under an hour if needed. I run two Engel 27 fridge/ freezers, electric kettles, and hair dryer on this set up. Love the portability of it.

 

[Schuster]

I use EcoFlow brand solar generator batteries. I like how the charge rate can be regulated using the phone app. I use the River 2 Pro and the Delta 2. Both have a combined battery capacity of 1.7 kwh. I have a Calsun 100watt 16bb solar panel and two BH40 outboards that charge each bank at 100watts per engine. I'll use the EU2200 to top everything off in under an hour if needed. I run two Engel 27 fridge/ freezers, electric kettles, and hair dryer on this set up. Love the portability of it.

Holy smokes, I'm impressed with amount of stuff you're running with your set up. I'll have to look up all of your equipment and see if I can figure out how its all put together. I'll probably be private messaging you for more info. Sounds like a pretty cool set up.