More on Bush Power

[ctxkid]

I tried a Lithium one in my Suzi GSX1400.
Great for starting but few Ahs, so if you need to stop with parkers and hazards on, you don't have very long.
Maybe that's also changed now, but very few (none that I could find) would advertise their Ah, only their CCA.

i too have a 1400 and i have one of these in it (not this one) it spins the starter like it has no plugs in ower: ower: ower:
it has the info on it Bigwave :Y:
i cannot recommend Super Sport lithium higher erfect: :heart:

i can supply and post

 

[ctxkid]

here's one i put in a harley

 

[Goldchaser1]

Like the one i threw in our polaris,much smaller then the original,when i put it in last march or april i must of left the ignition switched to on,4-5 days later went to fire it up,mmmm flat,checked it out,0 volts,threw it on a panel for a few days then quad fired and we used it all season,wasnt a problem,its a wonder i didnt do the coil on the motor. :/
Yeah cranks like its on steroids to......

 

[condor22]

So, took the old GEL to the scrap yard, got $12 for it by weight, lol. Then went and bought a new 100AH AGM. (Thumper Redback Extreme R.R.P. $419, I paid $320, so with the scrap value $308 for a reasonable quality battery, 2 yr warranty).

I'm over this hot weather, I get little done in the shed. But here's where I'm at with the solar fit etc.

I have the panel mounting etc fixed to the panel, ready to drill into the roof rack and fit it. Then a little "jigging" round to sort the wiring up top and into the car

Before then, going to wire up the new battery, fit the solar reg and the 10A circuit breaker so the battery is usable as it was before I buggered the old one.

As I'm using an earth into the roof rail, I only have one wire (+) to feed into the rear of the 4x4. It will go to the circuit breaker, which will all be wired up as noted. Then all I need to do is turn it on

 

[Ded Driver]

Condor22, I made telescopic pivoting legs for my solar panel. I can slip a swag in under it for travel, & in camp I can change the angle to better catch the morning sun if I want. Folds down flat normally.
can put some details on paper if you want it
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=476422#p476422

 

[condor22]

Thanks DED, I'd be interested in the details, thanks.

What I've done - My roof basket is 6mm narrower than the panels length, so I'm fitting it across the rack at the back. The back of the basket and panel will be flush and I'm fitting 4 hinges. At the front sides, I've bolted a 50 x 50 plate to the side of the panel and will bolt through it were it drops to the basket with a 5mm bolt either side with wing nut and spring washer.

Then I'll use these 2 points to put a 300 mm leg between them to prop up the panel at an angle when stopped. (MAYBE, lol)

I say maybe because, in my experience small panel output i.e. 100 to 200 W don't get that much benefit form angling with a PWM controller. So I'm confident that flat will suffice for my needs. Reason for the PWM, it came with the panel and cost is a factor, lol. Also.....

My van panels are flexible, glued to the van roof and flat but I have a MPPT controller on them. I use 35-40 AH in the van on average and the panels always do the job no matter the weather, but they are the best available panels.

It will be interesting to see what the Ridge Ryder 110W will do, but there are differences in use and other charging capability. The van battery needs a genny to be fired up to supplement panels if need be. I use a genny for other things most days, so the 240 VAC charger is used when I do regardless. In other words my primary charging is Solar supplemented by genny.

I don't use 240 VAC on the 4x4 AUX, but I do have the Redarc when driving. I drive most days when out there, but often not enough to fully charge. This, I see as, my primary charging is the Redarc and will be supplemented by Solar.

PS. I don't normally carry much on the basket. Once the panel is fixed, I'll be making brackets for the 4 Maxtrax locking pin mounts and they will sit across the front of the basket. The other thing I have carried up there are 3 x 20 lt water jerries (empty). These I use to augment my water supply and carry water from source to the van. As they are empty, tucking them into the shower cubicle is my alternative when travelling. They weigh bugger all empty.

PPS. I'll do the pics are worth a 1000 words of the install when it's done.

 

[condor22]

Got the Solar controller and CCT BKR installed today, all wired up (except panel + wire)

When I install the panel, as previously mentioned, the earth or - wire will go to the roof rail. The + wire will be fed into the rear end and terminate at the CCT BKR. Then just flick a switch when solar is wanted.

While at the car, I checked the battery voltage, the car has not been driven since mid afternoon yesterday, so the new battery has been at rest (no load) for near 24 hours.
Nice to see a decent voltage, the buggered battery was 12.5 V.

THe Engel hasn't been on, so I turned it on and this was the result.

The amperage is high, due to it working hard, but I know from past experience that once the fridge starts to cool down and is running normally, V drop, 2-9 to 3.1.
The other thing to note is that even with a 4.5 A load, Bat V remained the same, gotta luv a new battery.

 

[condor22]

Some pics and explanation of why I did what. When I decided to fit a panel, I considered that for weight I did not carry much on the roof basket, Maxtrax and maybe empty water jerries, which I can carry elsewhere. However as I'm running 3.5 to 4 M of + cable, I want a fuse up top and the ability to reach it. I also wanted the abbility to angle the panel. The Ridge Ryder 110W panel is 6mm longer than the width of the basket and as the wiring is to the boot, it will be installed across the basket and at the rear of it. The frame of the basket is 18mm square tube with approx 75mm radii on the corners. It is made up of 2 'C' forms welded at the centre of the assy front and rear.
I don't want to flush the weld where the panel sits as it might weaken the joint.

There are 4 hinges that fit to the rear face of the basket, the neoprene rubber spaces the panel to clear the weld and will also stop metal to metal rubbing.

I made up 2 plates that sit to the side of the basket, they also have neoprene on the inner face and this will accommodate the 6mm diffferene in panel length to basket width as well as padding. I may use a wing nut here if I decide to angle the panel, but for the first trip, I'll use a Nylock. I also riveted a 25x25x3 Alum Angle on the front of the panel - a. to give the leading edge more strength and b. to space the panel in consideration of the neoprene.

The panel came with a good length of cable and I wanted to minimise how much was cut off, so initially it goes forward from the junction box, has P clips and cable ties to then feed to the rear.

I fed the cable back to the rear edge of the panel, fitted an inline waterproof fuse holder and then near to the rear driver side corner of the panel where a male and female MC4 connector were fitted. I used one of each so that polarity can't be mixed.

The rest will get sorted once it's on the roof. I decided to run 5mm twin core into the rear instead of using a roof rail for earth (-). The 5mm cable is the max dia that will fit in the solar controller or MC4 connector terminals. I got it at my auto sparky's for 2 reasons - a. Jaycar, Supercheap etc only stock 4 or 6mm and, b. he uses good quality cable that is better rated for UV degradation. More..... when it's done

 

[Nightjar]

Coming along very well Condor, feel sure you will get a more reliable set up running an earth instead of connecting to frame.
Look forward t your completed project. :Y:

 

[condor22]

Thanks NJ.

I ran that by the sparky when I bought the cable. I was looking at 4 mm - 15 A cable. I took the solar controller with me as it had the tightest terminals, we tried 4 and 5, both fit. So on the logic that bigger is better and 5 mm is 25 A so less voltage drop, I went that way. He also commented that even though a multi meter showed continuity on the roof rail earth point, he always runs twin cable direct so no argument.

By my calculation I get about a 1% or 0.18 V drop, so happy with that.

I also tried where the cable would run through the tailgate to roof gap to make sure it is loose and not trapped.

Thing I look forward to the most, is not having to plan a drive to charge the bloody battery

 

[Nightjar]

Back in the early days my first car was a 1963 VW Beetle with 6V system, you had to strike a match to see if the headlights were on. :awful:
Being a young apprentice and keen to work on most anything, I fiddled.
The battery was earthed to the side wall under the bonnet which was the length of the vehicle away from the engine in the rear.
Can't remember the exact details but did run a wire from the negative post of the battery or from where it was earthed to the body, back to the generator (I think)
Hey presto, the head lights were dazzling. :100: :idea:

Step forward to the 80's and a stupid set up nearly toasted my Holden ute on second prospecting trip.
Had an extra battery in the tray to run "Old Yella" Engel still have it to this day.
To keep it charged for the long trip to Nannine, until camped and I could hook up the 350 Honda charging, I ran a twin core house wire with alligator clips either end clipped to battery under bonnet and one in tray (no fuse). The wire came out from rear of bonnet, closed the passenger door on it and into the tray under the tonneau cover to the spare battery.
Arrived at Nannine and pulled up at the Government Well and went for a walk to pick a spot to chuck the swag on the ground.
When I walked back to the ute could see the insulation had melted on the twin core where the door was closed on it. Almost :fire:
That wasn't the worst part, when I flipped the cover back the wire ran across the top of a full petrol jerry can. :argh:
Was ever so lucky with that episode, lesson definitely learned.
Don't take short cuts!

 

[Goldtarget]

Develops 15V held up into a moderate wind. Post #69 shows a 12V headlight bulb that illuminated during wind test.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1414/1568678341_wind_generator3.jpg

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1414/1568678712_wind_generator5.jpg

Have to work on a tail next.

Sorry to dig a on an old project post Nightjar but did you ever get this up and working? If so do you have any pics or further info?

Touch difficult to get great solar at a mates cabin especially in winter but that south wind of his would be a nice add on. Was waiting for alternative expo to roll around, and I have little faith in the results of youtube tutorials. Cheers.

 

[condor22]

NJ, you're lucky to have such a modern car in a 63 Dub, my first ride was a 1951 Morris Minor, split windscreen, 850cc Side valve. I could get out and run faster, lol

But it was syncromesh, not double declutch. Well most of the time, those column shifts were notorious for crunching cogs.

But the lights were much the same as your Dub.

(For the younger readers, Google, I'm not gonna explain lol)

 

[Nightjar]

Sorry to dig a on an old project post Nightjar but did you ever get this up and working? If so do you have any pics or further info?

Touch difficult to get great solar at a mates cabin especially in winter but that south wind of his would be a nice add on. Was waiting for alternative expo to roll around, and I have little faith in the results of youtube tutorials. Cheers.

Dicky knee has held up progress but it will be done and will report back here.

 

[bicter]

Develops 15V held up into a moderate wind. Post #69 shows a 12V headlight bulb that illuminated during wind test.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1414/1568678341_wind_generator3.jpg

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1414/1568678712_wind_generator5.jpg

Have to work on a tail next.

Sorry to dig a on an old project post Nightjar but did you ever get this up and working? If so do you have any pics or further info?

Touch difficult to get great solar at a mates cabin especially in winter but that south wind of his would be a nice add on. Was waiting for alternative expo to roll around, and I have little faith in the results of youtube tutorials. Cheers.

There is a 500W off the shelf unit available from Jaycar ($650)..... and if Jaycar sell them, they are probably available on evilbay as well at a cheaper price

https://www.jaycar.com.au/500w-12-24vdc-wind-turbine/p/MG4550

 

[Goldtarget]

Cheers mate, I will have a look. In that particular location there may be other solutions, I was just interested in wind, the trouble is finding real experiences from sources tgat are trust worthy, then using that information to make an informed decision.

 

[pinfire opals]

If you can find an old working jarvis watersnake motor, they make the best units, fully waterproof too which makes it perfect for all weather conditions. Il get mine out this week and check watts and amps produced.

 

[condor22]

Update - Panel is on, wiring still to do

Front bracket

Rear Hinges

Underside showing MC4 connectors

Tis raining, so wiring later, lol.......

 

[condor22]

Panel is on, wiring is almost done, silicone undecided.
1st pic is the cable silicone to the roof, the rear roof rail mount has a P clip under the screw head. (NB - I've just applied the silicone and will hold down to dry )

The cable then goes behind the tailgate wiring, following the rubber door seal.

I cut out an entry to the tail light and fed the cable into the cavity. The cable is actually held in place when the light fitting is fixed back into place,

I then drilled an 8 mm hole in the rubber grommet, but as rubber gives it is more like a 5 mm hole. It stretches around the cable and is a reasonably good seal.

The cable comes inside in the Jack area. I managed to squeeze it through to the boot area between the plastic side wall and the carpeted floor. Then between the OEM floor and the false floor I fitted for the drawer and fridge. (Thanks to a cable feeder, string line, a lot of jiggling and some luck. )

This is the fridge and ambient temp at 1.30 pm a couple of minutes after switching the Engel on.

Battery was 12.9 VDC at rest before I switched anything on. (Car not driven for 2 days) I then turned the Engel on and after 5 minutes this was the monitor reading.

This is the reading when I threw the CCTBRKR on and added solar charging.

So a net 5.7 amps of solar. VDC is 13.2 V under fridge load and bearing in mind the battery is full, so still in FLOAT Mode.

 

[condor22]

Things to do;

I haven't silicone fixed the cable from the top of the tailgate area to the tail light yet. I may not as it seems to be ok as is. It does not foul the tailgate strut or anything else.
I ran out of 5mm cable, so the wiring from the solar controller to the battery is currently 4 mm 15 amp. (Long weekend, so next week.) Will replace when restocked

Next job/s - Replace the cig plug on the Travel Buddy with Anderson. May also do the same with the Engel, to decide.

Tidy everything up. Also looking at screwing a piece of Alum Angle in front of the controller or should I say to the rear, to stop any items in the rear from sliding into it.

Will go out to the car about 7.30pm, to check solar input and battery SOC. So far, I will say "I'm very confident that the panel will do its job." Tongue in cheek as it's bright sunshine today. I'll know better later in the year when the weather is crappy, lol. But, the fridge won't use nearly as much juice either.