Multi use power idea

[Jcknorr]

Hi folks,

I am looking for advice on my choice to go with a 24 volt house battery over a 12 volt system. I know there are alot of threads around this but I have a very specific setup I am building and wanted to bounce this around and see if im missing anything. Here goes....

I have a 2015 toyota tundra sr5 that I am fitting with an MSJ vanguard camper system. I plan on doing moderate length off grid camping (probably 1 week without power at most) but also some fishing trips with my boat where I would stay for the weekend at a campground.

I have not bought any of the following yet but this is my thought on setup for power:

- renogy 12/24 volt 50 amp dc/dc charger and solar controller

- A 24 volt lifepo4 battery (not chosen yet but probably 100ah)

- at least 1 200w 24 volt solar panel fixed on camper

- one 200w foldable 24v solar pannel

- bluetti elite 100v2 power station (open to other suggestions)

So how i would use this system is for the truck or fixed solar to charge my 24 volt battery while driving. Once stopped I would switch to the portable solar panel if needed. The 24 volt battery would then in turn be used as a continuous charge for my bluetti, essentially using the bluetti as my inverter. The 24 volt batyery would give me a quicker more efficient charge from what i understand when plugged into the power station solar port. I would also at times remove the 24 volt battery if on a fishing trip and use it in my boat as a trolling motor battery.

I like the idea of the bluetti or a power station in general because there are times I may use the power station outside of the truck for other power needs.

I am not sure everything i will be powering yet since camping for long stretches with more than a tent is new to me. But right now I am planning on a hcalory diesel heater, electric cooler, camp lights, a radio and maybe some camp cookware possibly down the road but im fine with propane and fires for now.

I am open to any and all feedback on what you all use and if you think this setup will be sufficient. I feel like I have done all the math and planning and it should be more than enough but I may have missed something.

 

[grubworm]

ive built several solar systems for my camp trailers and even a smaller system to go in the camper shell of my Tundra. its hard to give exact advice on this because things are always going to be changing. I've upped my power numerous times over the years and currently have 600w of panels on top of our bigger camp trailer with 2 LiPO batteries of 280ah each.

just keep it scalable. the 24v is really nice because you can use smaller gauge wire since your amp draw will be half of that of a 12v system. I'm running 12v components, but really wish I went with 24v and eventually I'd like to go 48v just to keep the amps down. the electric cooler will be a decent size draw and depending on the size and ambient temp its working against, you might end up using around 20ah overnight. we use 12v fans and they will draw a good bit on higher speed. the diesel heater pump doesn't pull much, but its fan will pull a decent bit. I run my diesel heater off of its own 35ah battery and its been enough to run the heater all night with power left.

what you have sounds good and you can always add panels and up battery size if needs be. id recommend getting a good terminal block, like Blue Sea, (stay away from the cheap Chinese import stuff when dealing with this...they have a lot of junk that will overheat and cause problems) and have it set up where you can easily add circuits. you will want your electric cooler on its own circuit with a decent size wire gauge feeding the outlet for it. you can always add panels or go with 300w panels that will take up less space.

our last trip was very overcast and I had a hard time fully charging batteries, so that is also why I like to have the bigger capacity...never know when it will be cloudy and you cant get a good charge. I do have all my panels mounted to the roofs so that I can charge when traveling. some folk only go with folding panels and if you drive all day and set up at night, not sure when you are going to be able to charge batteries. I take a folding panel for just in case and I can use it while at camp to speed things up.

the power stations are nice...I have 2 I take and they are great for setting up on a picnic table or away from your rig and have power for lights and fans or for charging phones and laptops, etc. I take cordless tools with me and the power station has the built in inverter for 120v so I can plug in my battery charger for 18v batteries.

sounds like you have a good set up. you will grow and use more power over time, its pretty much inevitable, so just keep it scalable where its easy to up your panels and batteries and don't go with any cheap import components...DC is low voltage, but very high amps and crappy cheap components will not last and might even cause a fire.

also, not a bad idea to get a battery monitor. they use a shunt that will wire to the negative terminal of the battery and basically everything goes thru the shunt so it can monitor the power leaving as well as the power coming in to give an accurate reading of the battery. I highly recommend one of these added to your system.

 

[Kent R]

ive built several solar systems for my camp trailers and even a smaller system to go in the camper shell of my Tundra. its hard to give exact advice on this because things are always going to be changing. I've upped my power numerous times over the years and currently have 600w of panels on top of our bigger camp trailer with 2 LiPO batteries of 280ah each.

just keep it scalable. the 24v is really nice because you can use smaller gauge wire since your amp draw will be half of that of a 12v system. I'm running 12v components, but really wish I went with 24v and eventually I'd like to go 48v just to keep the amps down. the electric cooler will be a decent size draw and depending on the size and ambient temp its working against, you might end up using around 20ah overnight. we use 12v fans and they will draw a good bit on higher speed. the diesel heater pump doesn't pull much, but its fan will pull a decent bit. I run my diesel heater off of its own 35ah battery and its been enough to run the heater all night with power left.

what you have sounds good and you can always add panels and up battery size if needs be. id recommend getting a good terminal block, like Blue Sea, (stay away from the cheap Chinese import stuff when dealing with this...they have a lot of junk that will overheat and cause problems) and have it set up where you can easily add circuits. you will want your electric cooler on its own circuit with a decent size wire gauge feeding the outlet for it. you can always add panels or go with 300w panels that will take up less space.

our last trip was very overcast and I had a hard time fully charging batteries, so that is also why I like to have the bigger capacity...never know when it will be cloudy and you cant get a good charge. I do have all my panels mounted to the roofs so that I can charge when traveling. some folk only go with folding panels and if you drive all day and set up at night, not sure when you are going to be able to charge batteries. I take a folding panel for just in case and I can use it while at camp to speed things up.

the power stations are nice...I have 2 I take and they are great for setting up on a picnic table or away from your rig and have power for lights and fans or for charging phones and laptops, etc. I take cordless tools with me and the power station has the built in inverter for 120v so I can plug in my battery charger for 18v batteries.

sounds like you have a good set up. you will grow and use more power over time, its pretty much inevitable, so just keep it scalable where its easy to up your panels and batteries and don't go with any cheap import components...DC is low voltage, but very high amps and crappy cheap components will not last and might even cause a fire.

also, not a bad idea to get a battery monitor. they use a shunt that will wire to the negative terminal of the battery and basically everything goes thru the shunt so it can monitor the power leaving as well as the power coming in to give an accurate reading of the battery. I highly recommend one of these added to your system.

Good stuff in this reply, thanks.