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I pretty much got it all from Amazon, except a few things I bought from ebay. Where are you? I would look into three options: a) Amazon lockers b) General Delivery through the USPS c) find someone with an address in the place you're at. I'm sure lots of people would be willing to accept...

i just found this site that auctions off items the government no longer needs. maybe stealing panels is a lot cooler, but it looks like this is a complete setup and the bid is currently only $300? https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=1831778

yeah, i set the charge controller to 14volts. we'll see if it works and doesn't blow up! having solar is really magical. being able to watch movies in the middle of a national forest, completely disconnected from civilization...there's nothing like it ; )

the battery came with no instructions. : \ on the battery itself it says cycle use is 14.5-14.9V and standby use is 13.6-13.8V. what is float voltage?

Thanks for asking. I've been living in my van since last Sunday (the 9th). The solar panel was mounted that day and we've been tweaking the configuration since. Today, I figured out how to adjust the output voltage on the charge controller. I set it to 12.8 volts (Previously it had been set to...

okay, so, translation for me: 12.8V is the most voltage I should expect to read from this battery? I currently have everything wired up and I just made a smoothie and charged my phone using energy from the sun! I've been double checking the voltage with a multimeter as well, but I'm worried...

woooooo! i got the cheap charge controller to light up! not completely sure what most of this means or how to manipulate it to work efficiently (or at all?) but at least it lights up. another question: on the battery, it says cycle use is 14.5-14.9V and standby use is 13.6-13.8V. my...

Wow, for not having a picture that is a very useful and creative diagram. Thank you so much! How do i figure out which fuses to use where? i read somewhere that it is based on wire size, but won't it also be affected by the load or the components i want to protect?

so i bought 10-12 gauge butt connectors to splice the 10 wire with the 16...is this safe or will it be too loose? i figured since its heat shrink, it could shrink enough to fit a 16.

is that for AGMs too?

thank you! how do you monitor the state of your battery(s)? i had assumed i could just do it with a multimeter, but i read somewhere that it isn't accurate...

also. is it possible to splice two wires together of different gauges? the mc4 connectors are 12 and my wire is 16. i need the 16 to make it into the terminals of the charge controller, as pictured above.

these terminals look like they only fit 16awg and smaller. good thing my inline fuses are coming Monday. this is by far becoming the most expensive part of my van build. oh well. : )

hey Drew, if i get those butt connectors that you posted an image of from amazon, do i need a special crimping tool? or can i use a wire stripping tool? i watched a video on youtube and he used a special tool and i'm so tired of buying new tooooooooools.

yeah, that's a good way to think about it! get some rest! i saw a video of a guy attaching wires together with a wire nut. is that not advisable?

i don't follow...

turns out i'll have to splice wires together anyway if i'm going to be using inline fuses...

mmmm if i'm going to have to buy more things to splice wires, i might just buy the $6 mc4 extension. i've been doing too much DIY lately and it keeps delaying my start date for traveling. : P

hmm yeah, i was wondering about that. i've never spliced a wire tho. first time for everything? i think i'll take the battery to the LAPS or hardware store and find something that fits vs. ordering blindly on amazon/ebay (after the ball joint thing magically solves itself and i have a...

why didn't y'all tell me i needed mc4 connector things? : P got all my stuff today. i paid a bit extra to get my battery in two days vs. a week, cause i'm hoping to hit the road sometime next week. (if i ever finish this ball joint replacement on my van. ughhh) are all battery terminal...

it's in the works :)

GREAT thanks! i hope to do some sort of write-up on my blog or something when i'm finished. there aren't a lot of good in-depth resources about solar that talk about cost AND all the little things you might need. traditional solar "kits" are such a misnomer. they don't come with everything...

thank you! does that have any affect on the charge controller, battery, and inverter i'm able to use? also for mounting: do people use z brackets for vans? it is my understanding that a z bracket would mount it flush to the roof, which wouldn't allow airflow which would cause heat to interfere...

can someone tell me what the voltage is for this panel? i'm looking into wire gauge size and the specs say Peak Circuit Voltage(Voc):22.82V Max Power Voltage(Vmp):29.2V does that mean it's 24V? the title says 12V...

ok, i'll go without then ;)

okay. i think i have my panel, inverter, and charge controller picked out. all for ~$150 where could i find "cheap" batteries? i think i'm looking for around 100amps. then i need wires, fuses, and one of those tool things AnOldHope mentioned. can anyone think of anything else?

part of the alternative energy bourgeoisie over here... how about for a 12v panel? i found one that i like better for $112 + free shipping. neat! too bad it's from canada. shipping costs $200, haha. i've also heard of people buying broken panels and soldering them together. it doesn't seem...

thanks, Drew! I've been using this site: https://www.renogy.com/calculators to try and calculate my energy needs. i'm pretty sure i'm going to go with a 100W panel, 5A MPPT/10 PWM charge controller, a 80-100ah deepcycle battery (haven't looked too much into this. i just know they're...

i like this guy. he debunks fake MPPT controllers (of which there are many) and has a fun accent

me: can i just turn my raspberry pi into a charge controller? :this appears: there is a serendipity

if you click on the image, you'll get a link to the amazon page. it says: "5A constant current and voltage non-isolated buck module, compact design, small size and high conversion efficiency, up to 95%. " i'm also pretty sure i see more components than a simple LED screen would require. could...

would this work for a charge controller? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LYW3EAP/

that's just the sort of adventure i'm looking for, really.

cooooooooooooooool. literally. i'll just be using a cooler and buying ice i guess. we'll see how that goes. i plan to do lots of diving, so i want to be able to store what we find for at least a few days.

Yeah, there's a part of my brain that's like: "nooooo 100w is too small. get more. run a fridge and a blender and a luxury water heater" that part of my brain needs to get the hell away from me and my wallet. i really just want to make sure my phone stays charged and i can use my laptop from...

anyone ever seen one of these? i kinda like the look of it. doesn't automatically look like a solar panel. adds mystery. OoooooooOOOooOO. i wonder if the black color adds more heat. :p @AnOldHope, is this the tool you were speaking of?

yeah, i've heard that. however, i've seen people with flex panels who don't seem to have many problems... is the heat really that different? anything attached to the roof is going to get hot, i just wonder if adding some extra air space really does all that much

hey thanks for the response! good to see you're still around. does it require anything extra to use 18v with a 12v system? so the only reason to have a higher rated charge controller is to wire in multiple panels/use it with larger panels? i don't think i'll expand anytime soon do you have...

So I'm in the market for a cheap 100W solar panel to put aboard my van. i've been looking at the Renogy kits, which are around $160 for 100W mono. then i found this cheap 100W semi-bendable panel with a 10a charge controller for $120...