LENSUN SOLAR 60 WATT HOOD-MOUNTED SOLAR PANEL INSTALL & FIRST IMPRESSIONS | 5th Gen Toyota 4Runner

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Follow along with me as I install a complete, three-panel, 60 watt HOOD MOUNTED solar system on Bruce...my 2018 5th Gen Toyota 4Runner. This is a COMPLETE beginning to end install.
This system is from Lensun Solar and so far it seems to be the real deal. I'm currently pulling 40% efficiency from the panels and I hope they live up to my expectations as I prepare to take Bruce on the road full time. I'll be using this system to power my secondary battery setup.
You can find more information about this solar panel system with my links below. And if you decided to try it for yourself, purchasing through these links gives me support to keep all this nonsense running!
And yes, I purchased this entire system with my own money at a discount from Lensun Solar in exchange for an installation video and my thoughts in the panels.
The 60 Watt Three-Panel 4 Runner System in the Video:
bit.ly/60WPANELS
The waterproof/heat-resistant MPPT solar Controller from the Video:
bit.ly/10ASOLARCONTROL
Not a 4 Runner person? Lensun Solar has an ENOURMOUS selection of solar-related gear for almost any vehicle. Visit their main page and see if they have anything you need.
bit.ly/LENSUNADAM
Here are the things I used to install the panels. You can likely find these things locally but I've linked to the EXACT products on Amazon:
2 inch 3M mounting tape amzn.to/3FCu3qY
99 Isopropyl Alcohol amzn.to/37Er5Wu
As I said, I STRONGLY urge you to just acquire the pre-cut vinyl from Lensun Solar but, if you want to cut it yourself, here is the auto vinyl I use for other projects....you'll need quite a bit, likely at least 25sqf:
amzn.to/3w4CEzt
The Bluetti Power Bank I use/show in the video:
amzn.to/3L5jyxq
------------------------------------------
Aside from using my links above, here are some things that really help keep this whole wheel rolling. I always appreciate your support!
MY TRADITIONAL SILVER-GELATIN DARKROOM PRINTS:
bit.ly/DARKROOMPRINTS
MY HANDMADE CYANOTYPES:
bit.ly/CYANOTYPES
MY BOOKS:
ON THE LEFT: Photographs from the Edge of California
amzn.to/3q3STtK
FACES OF GRAYSON (wild pony book):
bit.ly/FacesOfGrayson
THE PHOTOMAKER'S JOURNAL (personal notebook):
amzn.to/3GntVek
CAMERAS IN THE WILD (eBook/ adventure photography guide):
bit.ly/CamerasInTheWild
A MODERN APPROACH TO PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION (eBook):
bit.ly/MODERNCOMP
LIGHTROOM MASTERY (eBook/complete guide to Lightroom Classic):
bit.ly/LRmastery
CAMERA JOCKEY CLOTHIERS (custom stuff for photographers)
bit.ly/CAMERAJOCKEYCLOTHIERS
MY LIGHTROOM VIDEO COURSE:
bit.ly/DECODINGLR
CONNECT:
My Website: www.aphotographist.com
Instagram / adamwelch.photographist
Facebook / adamwelchphotographist
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Опубликовано:

10 май 2022

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Комментарии : 28

@4gedcarbon537 3 месяца назад

Fantastic narration and description of the process. Please make more 5th gen 4Runner content!

@AdamWelch 3 месяца назад

Thanks a lot and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Funny you mention this because I've quite literally just created another channel called @4Runner_Nomad to house nothing but the vehicle/nomad stuff. It's blank now but I'll be adding soon.

@4gedcarbon537 3 месяца назад

@@AdamWelch Great! Just picked up a 2023 ORP (before the “new” 4cyl) so I’m eager to see more content.

@AdamWelch 3 месяца назад

Oh very cool. I'm sure you're going to enjoy it!

@ericdelmar2618 2 года назад

Nice looking install, and love the tech-elevated enhancement to the 4Runner. Curious if you'll hear much wind noise from the panels on the hood. As you mentioned, a bead of silicone, esp on the leading edge, might keep that lip down and suppress some noise. Regarding moisture, as long as you retain an open seam on one edge (such as the trailing), I think moisture will quickly dissipate, especially in light of how warm a dark hood gets all day long. Agree that the 24 watts of output is pretty terrific for a small set of panels. Twenty-four watts can be a lifesaver, or at least, a worry-suppression system. Congrats!

@AdamWelch 2 года назад

Absolutely, Eric! About the lifesaver I mean. I've got a couple of redundancies in place as far as off-grid jumping of my crank battery but it'll be great to have this little trickle charger in place even if I never actually hook it up to my secondary. I was actually wondering about the road noise before I took it on the first test drive but it appears to be zero, even at interstate speeds. I think I mention in the video my only real concern is running into a hail storm. I'm going to get a yoga mat and cut it down to size and glue on some magnets so hopefully I can just throw that over the panels in the even of any hail...or at least that's the theory ha

@Festgriff 2 года назад

Did you have the crocs with you when you bought the tape? The color matching is incredibly scientific and professional. :)

@AdamWelch 2 года назад

Even if I'm not wearing the Crocs...they're always with me 😁

@iamdustinjames Год назад

Hey Adam, I did this install on my 2020 TRD Pro. Wondering if you adjusted the battery setting on the app at all? I’m experiencing an issue where over time, the battery won’t hold as much charge. I replaced the battery 3 months ago, can I can see the min voltage slowly dropping over time. Did you experience this at all? Ps: I also have 3 Blackvue cameras, which draw from the battery slightly which is why i got the solar setup. But for some reason, I’m still ending up with dead battery lol

@AdamWelch Год назад

Hey Dustin sorry for the delay on getting back to you man. I'm about to write a book here so strap in. I ABSOLUTELY changed the parameters in the app. That was one of the biggest issues with my entire solar setup. It took me forever to figure it out. As simply put as I can, you'll want to go by the suggested setting for your particular battery and that varies greatly from company to company and battery to battery. Especially make sure you have the battery type set correctly (AGM, Gel, Lithium, ect). I am currently running a JITA 12V 100Ah LiFePO4. When I first started it drained so quickly that I thought I had some sort of defect. Of course I learned as I went (still am) but I finally realized I had the completely wrong charge settings for lithium. I'm going to give you what I have set now but I can't stress enough that you'll need to go by your your batteries suggested settings. If you can't find them just email or call (which is what I did) to find out. Here's what I've currently got set. Battery Param... Battery type LI LVD 9.0 LVR 9.6 CVT 14.4 CVR 14.0 Load Param... 24H Like I said this is for LITHIUM and came directly from the manufacturer. It could well fry something different so make sure you find out before you change anything. The difference was immediate and insane once I changed everything. I run the Lensun's 10amp waterproof MPPT that I show in the vid but I'm likely going to upgrade soon because I've changed so much with so much more power. I'll (eventually) do a dedicated episode on the currently electrical with all this stuff spelled out in more detail because honestly they make it extremely difficult to find what is essential info. I'll also add that if you're running any kind of inverter that will have its own battery dependent settings as well. As for the slow drain on your battery I really don't know what might be happening. Temperature is a big factor in discharge but it's hard to say. If you have those cameras directly connected to the battery the only thing I would suggest is unhooking them an see if the problem goes away. If it does then I would pick up a cheap battery disconnect and just switch them off when you're not needing them or wire them through something like the ignition fuse which is what I did with my DC to DC charger. That way they're instantly disconnected whenever the engine isn't running. All batteries slowly discharge to some extent no matter what but from what you're saying there's got to be a bleed off coming from somewhere if it's draining that quickly and you've essentially ruled out a factory defect by replacing the battery. Hope this helps man.

@fatcatlures Год назад

So if that is actual vinyl you should have been able to use a heat gun to get out minor bubbles and proper vinyl should also let air out. Using the heat gun would allow you to re apply the vinyl as well. I know this is old but for future use.

@AdamWelch Год назад

I carry so much nitroglycerin and absinthe in here that I don't dare use a heat gun. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

@fatcatlures Год назад

@@AdamWelch don't get me wrong your method is also a very good and old method especially for applying tint Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo works. Best for that.

@aaronwilcott4561 Год назад

@Fat Cat Lures Gotta make that "slip solution".

@graysailor Год назад

Can you explain where the wiring goes. There seems to be two extra wires. 1black and 1 red

@AdamWelch Год назад

Sorry for the late reply, John. Without rewatching the video I might not be sure exactly which wires you mean but everything feeds from the panels down through the engine bay and into the vehicle to the MPPT controller inside the cab, which then runs to the house battery. There might have been a clip where I didn't have everything connected but the only wires coming from the panels to the battery are those simple cables that you see there. No extra parts or anything. Hope that helps.

@philsorah990 Год назад

Hi John. I dont see the extra wires you refer to but if it helps, having just bought the Lensun kit for my Nissan Patrol (I'll be stalling it in the next day or so) there are two short 'extra' wires (red and black) on the Lensun charge controller that I have. Having done some reading- I'm no auto electrician- these are apparently for connecting to anything eg lights, that you might want to wire directly from the controller itself ie any 'load' ( light bulb symbol). That said, I'm not sure why you would necessarily want to wire directly from the controller. In short and in terms of wiring, the controller I have, has red (+ve) and black (- ve) cables which go to the battery, a single thick black cable which subsequently splits into two for connection to the panel.....and the two I referred to above. (Oh, and not forgetting what looks like some sort of short aerial / signal wire which I presume is for Bluetooth connectivity)

@Reverend1776 Год назад

I placed an order with Lensun for this exact thing and haven't heard anything from them, nor will they answer the phone. Did you have any issues receiving your order or customer service?

@AdamWelch Год назад

I didn't run into any issues with shipping/communication but then again I was working with a rep there. I'm not in contact with them anymore but I did run into a problem during their switch over from "Lensun Solar" to "Hoodsolar" where there was a lot of confusion with websites and email addresses. Case in point, I ordered the original hood system and MPPT from their Lensun site then I needed those vinyl decals which ended up needing to be ordered from Hoodsolar even though it was the same company. I'm not really certain but I THINK that Hoodsolar is now their hood-mounted division where Lensun is staying the same. It got confusing at the end. Did you order from Hoodsolar or Lensun site?

@Reverend1776 Год назад

@@AdamWelch through the Lensun site

@AdamWelch Год назад

@@Reverend1776 I just went and looked at both sites and they apparently have different phone numbers so maybe it would be worth a shot? This is the site that I'm talking about www.hoodsolarpanel.com/ Maybe if they did reshuffle things in their company it somehow affected your order. It's not much to go on but I suppose it's something. At any rate I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

@Reverend1776 Год назад

@@AdamWelch it's crazy...I just tried the phone number on the other site and it too goes to a "Google subscriber" voicemail. I will try patience. Thanks for you replies.

@AdamWelch Год назад

@@Reverend1776 Sorry Craig I never got a notification for this. I just tried the number myself and got the same thing. It's extremely strange because that area code races back as a Wyoming prefix.... If you don't mind, keep me updated on this because I'm literally about to hit the road at the end of October and I'll be doing an update video on the performance of the panels thus far. I'll definitely include your experience in the review.

@smallnuts2 2 года назад

The only thing about this is in the city, someone would still it. So I would put on roof.

@AdamWelch 2 года назад

Each of the panels is EXTREMELY adhered to the hood. I figure the only real way to remove them would be to peel the vinyl up from the hood which would in itself be a chore. And believe it or not the panels are all linked together and connected at multiple points beneath the hood so to remove any of them without cutting the cables would be virtually impossible. While I'm leery all the time about theft these panels really aren't a concern for me :)