only affective on a reflective surface, like a metal roof top. It's neat for what it is. I built my own out of rigid tool boxes. Looks like a great project, and congratulations on your build.
I looked up the SMRMPPT150 charge controller and found it requires a remote IR control the read and change charging parameters. It appears to be made for solar street lamps. The supported battery types are Lithium, Liquid, Gel and AGM. The default is Gel. I found a remote from newpowa on their website for $20.00 and was able to use it to change the type to lithium. I agree that an external controller is the way to go. I bought a 40A bluetooth from HQST.
This is very practical idea. The weak point in this box is the MPPT controller at 10 amps. I wonder if it is possible to find a larger MPPT controller at say 30 amps and install it into the box. This would ensure you could recharge it with solar not matter where you wherever you went with it.
I got one of the Licitti dc power boxes. It works great. I got it for 40 or 45 dollars with 5 dollars off a few months ago on sale. It is the same thing as the timeusb one for 120 dollars, just without the timeusb sticker on it. It did take about 2 or 2.5 weeks to arrive and I did not get any updates after the order processed email from them. After a week i emailed them and after a few days they let me know it was shipped. Also they have a 3000 wh power station with a 3000 watt inverter for about 1900 dollars on sale, might be more now, I had to get a quote for one to find that out.
Brian A few things. 1) even the panels are "bi" now. 2) it may work better laying cross ways instead of length ways- my renogy does that. 3) tell your home owners association to quit calling me, I didn't do it. Lol. BTW, why you outside? It's hot out there man! Get back in the house. Lol, jk.
1) lol. Good point 😂 2) I’ll have to give the sideways form factor a shot next test👍🏻 3) I’ve already sent the HOA president an email, so you’re good 4) no kidding! Only out there for just a few minutes and I started stinging. I’m ready for winter
I like this box , I seen part 1 as well. This is 8mos later and with the Mini rage going on now, Do you think you could put 2 minis in that box (hook up parallel)?
What about adding a external 100ah battery thru one of the 50A ports (since they are in/out) Is that possible? I assume the external battery would only discharge thru the inverter and would not charge like the internal does.
I gave si very little solar knowledge & I'm wondering- Would adding a second external battery in a since make the power station 200ah so 200ah x 12v= 2400wh verses 100ah x 12v = 1200wh? Am I thinking correctly on this? And if using a second external battery in addition to an external charger control like you hooked up - would the external controller charge both the internal & external batteries at the same time & can both be accomplished via 2 of the 50a Anderson plugs? Or would I have to just somehow connect the 2nd battery directly to the internal battery? Any wisdom that you could share would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
It’s just the way the MC4 connectors ended up being lined up. I will eventually reverse the connectors so the red/black line up with the mppt terminals👍🏻
So in theory, with so many Anderson plugs on this unit, could I hook up multiple MPPT charge controllers to the additional plugs to hook up more solar panels and charge my battery faster? So many of these videos sing the praises of units that can provide the high AC output wattage needed to run a fridge, an ac unit or portable heater, but they don't tell you that it will only do that for 45-90 min until your battery is drained. Then you are back to blackout conditions. If you're only running 200 watts of solar into that, it might take 2-4 hrs to fully recharge the battery before you can use it to run your appliance again. I want to be able to pull in as much solar wattage as the AC wattage that I am using from the inverter to run at least one of those appliances continuously, so that I can use the full capability of the inverter as long as I have sunlight(at optimum conditions), and not be restricted by my battery capacity of 30 to 90 min of drawing that higher wattage. Obviously, the battery is going to make up for some of the fluctuations of that solar wattage coming in, but at least I stand a better chance of running any of those units, individually, for the day instead of 90 min using a 200 watt solar panel. If I am being offered 1000-2000 watts of power from an inverter, it stands to reason that I should be able to take in at least half of what I am using(500-1000watts). That's like building a car that has great acceleration and can reach high speeds, but has very poor breaking ability, so you can't use it's full potential for fear of not being able to stop. I find this to be a limitation of the larger power stations as well requiring the need for an additional battery pack for extra running time. Am I alone in this thinking? Also, if I limited to only 100 watt panel using the built in MPPT unit at 10 volt max on this unit, how many solar panel watts can I bring in using an external 30-40 volt MPPT?
I have the same setup except for the charge controller. I put a battery monitor in the licitti box. Go to my channel and look up that video. Love the jjn solar panel and the battery box. The onboard charge controller works fine for now this is what I use.
No, I don’t. The inverter that’s in there is already taking up almost all of the available area. Anything larger/more powerful I’m afraid would not fit.
Since you never got above 7 amps, could you technically use the 10 amp port? A 200 watt panel would be less than 12 amps at peak conditions, what would happen if it was in the 10 amp port during that?
Technically, yeah. I could have probably used the existing input. Licit I did manage to tell me to stay below 20v, and I was right around there the whole time. In a pinch you could, but I’d probably only use the existing port for a 100w panel to be safe and not risk burning up the MPPT
Warning: I just want to make sure everyone knows that, even though Licitti charges you $55 for 7 day UPS shipping it has been my experience that it may take several weeks, or more to receive your order. I’m not sure how long it will actually take, as I have not received my order yet and it has been a few weeks. The worst part is they have not responded to any of my emails requesting order updates and their web site chat does not seem to work either. Make sure you use a payment method with this company that will allow you to recover your funds if the product does not arrive. Has anyone out there, besides the reviewers, actually received these units and/or been able to communicate with the company? I am posting this on all of the sites I viewed before making my purchase to let others know to be careful. It seems like a good deal for what they offer, but it’s only a good deal if they are actually shipping products.
