When hooking up to the battery, disconnect the negative first, and reconnect it last. That's so if the back end of your wrench hits the body or other ground while installing on the positive terminal, it won't put all your batteries current through the wrench and melt it, probably burning your hand. Great video.
I'm doing the hurricane clean up down in Bradenton Florida. Living in my Jeep right now, I also have the dual battery setup from Genesis for my JL. I let my Jeep sit without running with the flashers on because that is part of my job and it killed one of my batteries. I need to get this
I ordered this. Make sure to test fit the panel on the hood before putting the vinyl. Good thing I did, because the panel does not fit with the Bushwacker hood bug deflector on. You have to remove it.
I have the exact same setup but I’m using using the redac system with the cascadia solar panel....I’ve been thinking about the same thing to run a extra solar panel, good video
Those Redarc systems look awesome. If I was starting over from scratch, I’d probably go that way. I’m loving my Cascadia panel. It’s perfect for fit and function. I hope you’re enjoying equal results 👍🏻
Great video. I’m looking to add the Cascadia panel on my gladiator. But I like the idea of parking in the shade when out camping so the portable panels would work great too. Do you have 2 different controllers or you use just the Victron for both set ups?
I love it. I installed a house battery which powers all of my accessories in the Jeep including my fridge and it is almost 100% dependent on the solar 👍🏻
Couple thoughts. When you wire both panels together like that you pull them both down to the specs of the weaker panel. Not a big deal here but something to think about in the future. Also, I was told when I did my install to always make sure you power the MPPT from the battery then the panel. This is better for the MPPT and less chance of smoking it. Did you fuse the MPPT? Highly recommend doing that close to the battery and some recommend fusing on the panel side as well. Nice set up! You will probably never have to turn off your fridge now!
The charge controller has a built in fuse, but I think you’re right I should put a fuse at the battery terminal end. The hood panel is 100 watts and the fold out is 105, so I’m thinking that should be ok? Yeah my plan was to keep my fridge going 24/7 and I think this will offset that. Time will tell. I may do an update later on 👍🏻
@@KramerJunction ya you are fine. Looks like you saw a gain. Depends on the voltage rating of the panels too. If one is 18 v and the other 24v you won’t get a great gain. But looks to be working on yours. Just sharing info I’ve gained. Are you wired parallel or series? If parallel and in good conditions you may max out the 15 amp MPPT. 200 watts divided by 12 v is 16.6 amps. But it’s very rare to get 100% production. I added a 175 w panel to my RTT and haven’t turned off my fridge in months. I have 120 AH of lithium however.
is this compatible with a jackery battery? I mean will it plug into it? I have one for my jeep and I want to get a solar panel like yours but want one that is compatible with the battery. thanks mate
I just installed my Cascadia jk solar panel today. I used the auxiliary port on the mppt charger to charge the Jackery 240 with a fridge attached. The idea is when the crank battery gets to 11.4 The cascadia mppt charger stops delivering power to the auxiliary port. The Jackery starts to use its own battery to keep my fridge running for the rest of the night till solar kicks in.
Yeah I really love it. Solar is the way to go when you’re stationary for extended periods. Along with my suitcase solar panel it should be more than enough to keep up with my fridge and anything else I might run 🙌
body of the car is ground or negative so if you connect negative first and it is under power and touch positive to the body.... oh well u gonna get a sparkle
There is a brand called Merlin Solar who make a very similar adhesive backed solar panel. Justin Pitcairn has one on his UM top. I have considered it, but I’m not willing to drill the top for wiring and I plan to add a roof rack with cross bars which would shade the panel.
Have you any problems with your solar panel? I reaching out to anyone with one of these on there jk because I’m on my 3rd one due to defects. Please respond thanks Mike
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having issues with yours. Mine has been working flawlessly since I installed it. I’ve actually made a bunch of IG posts about it’s performance. What is your setup like? If you like, message me on IG and we can talk more about this 👍🏻
a little pricey for what it is, also if they are making it vehicle specific it makes no sense not to utilize original holes in the hood. I would be expecting it to end up on my windshield as I drive at 90mph...
It is pricey, but also the only product on the market if it’s kind. It isn’t for everyone, but for me, it’s part of what makes doing what I do possible. Mountains a solar panel on the roof isn’t an option for me and this was the only plug and play option on the market. I have barely thought about it since install, people are often surprised to find out what it is lol and it flying off has never crossed my mind. As I’m typing this, it is charging my house battery, which is powering my fridge and other accessories 24/7. I still 100% recommend.
I haven’t personally done so but I imagine it would be fine, depending on the type of brush or bristle. If it’s loose strings, like a mop, I could see things going wrong. I’m sure it would be fine, under most circumstances, but I don’t want anyone to say I recommended it lol so I’m gonna say no. The material itself is super strong and resilient, it’s like a super hard epoxy. It looks very hard to damage. My concern is something stringy getting under an edge or wrapping around the cord at high speed
@@KramerJunction I've gone through 4 of these panels for some reason they keep developing bad cells from the heat. The company has been really good about replacing them and I am currently waiting for them to send me a 4th panel. I have a spod system and genesis dual battery plus a ARB air compressor under my hood but I didn't have the heat shield on the under side of the hood and I think that's what caused the others to go bad too much heat. But there website says "heat is not a factor" plus even though I had so many go bad they still claimed heat was not a factor lol. Now I think there singing a different tune. I live in Arizona and we get some pretty hot temps in the summer. Since I have installed a new heat shield under the hood and am waiting for them to send me another panel. I 'm also thinking of installing some vents in both sides of the hood to let heat out. Can you tell me what you are running under your hood and do you still have the heat shield?
@@physicalstarfighter2131 I also have a genesis system and arb dual compressor. My hood didn’t come with the heat shield. I’m in southern Ca, it doesn’t get like az hot, but 110 in the summer is pretty normal. I’m a nerd about solar so I check it all the time and it produces consistently. A few months ago I was getting like 78 watts outside mammoth
@@physicalstarfighter2131 it’s great to know they have stood behind their product and keep sending replacements. It gives me confidence if it does ever fail someday. Of course I have no affiliation or endorsement from Cascadia4x4. I just like their product lol
Kinda dumb. It's a polycrystalline panel so is low output and I kinda like shading my rig when parked so what's the point? On the road my 160amp alternator quickly charges the 'fridge battery and I have a genuine 100w foldable panel with cables so I can shade the rig but deploy the panel in open sun for maximum recharge when camped. Unless you park your rig 24/7 outdoors it seems not worth it.
Bahahaha mate! Kinda dumb...??? You like shading your rig??? Before making such rude comments on someone's informational video, try to think Before you speak, you know like your pappy told you when you were a little lad. First off nearly most of off-roading, adventuring, outbacking, camping is in direct sunlight, desert or low shade areas, second off most of us are in a dry desert location like Australia, New Zealand, United States like Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Southern California, Texas, New Mexico....hummmmm shade??And third and most important, this is set up specifically for his lifestyle of outback and applications to his needs not yours mate. Cheers
