Additional solar system & B2B for compressor fridge

wildebus said:
Have you got any kind of safety strap that will stop a big gust pushing the panels over fully vertical and just over?

EDIT. I just made out a wire in the middle! Phew :D
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And presumably the wire can be used to adjust the angle when less inclination is optimum?
 
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wildebus said:
Have you got any kind of safety strap that will stop a big gust pushing the panels over fully vertical and just over?
I would be very nervous personally of having a near-vertical "solar sail" with just a pair of struts keeping it in position :oops:

EDIT. I just made out a wire in the middle! Phew :D
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I normal have a adjustable strap on David but there is a bit of cord that You carnt quite see it but it’s there.The cord is what they use on a kite for surfing so is extremely strong.
 
Ooh, I do like that. I wonder if rigging up something with yachting hardware would be simpler?
 
A lot of people don’t have spare payload so once you have figured out a workable solution see if you can come up with a lightweight method. There may be an earning potential for you here. A lot of people don’t want to do this sort of stuff themselves and currently I think only options are based on satellite hardware that’s adapted and rather expensive.
 
nabsim said:
A lot of people don’t have spare payload so once you have figured out a workable solution see if you can come up with a lightweight method. There may be an earning potential for you here. A lot of people don’t want to do this sort of stuff themselves and currently I think only options are based on satellite hardware that’s adapted and rather expensive.
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A lightweight frame using 'proper' flexible panels would be nice and light (and expensive!).
Actuatators are pretty heavy things (I have one for a tilted setup and it is quite a heft) so fitting a pair would add a lot of weight. a single central actuator with a pair of gas struts either end to keep things steady and help with the lift would probably work well.
Using just gas struts to push the panels up and a strap to secure and to pull down is probably the best overall option in reality despite it not being the most sexy choice ;)
 
wildebus said:
A lightweight frame using 'proper' flexible panels would be nice and light (and expensive!).
Actuatators are pretty heavy things (I have one for a tilted setup and it is quite a heft) so fitting a pair would add a lot of weight. a single central actuator with a pair of gas struts either end to keep things steady and help with the lift would probably work well.
Using just gas struts to push the panels up and a strap to secure and to pull down is probably the best overall option in reality despite it not being the most sexy choice ;)
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No idea on numbers but there are a lot of folks with onboard compressor Dave so a single air cylinder should be cheaper and lighter than linear actuator (although bulkier). Or some sort of pulley system to raise/lower/lock using boat gear?

Edit: wonder how much I remember from my days using pneumatics, probably not enough and last time I used my contacts would have been 1999 so suspect they no longer exist
 
Sorry to drag us back to the very first post, but I've only just caught up with this thread. Was the general consensus about the EBL 99 that
  • it has very limited capacity for expansion
  • it might not be a good idea to mix other chargers with it?
I ask because I have one on my current van and I was thinking of doing an electrical upgrade to the van as a kind of test bed for the self-build I'm planning. I wanted to add more battery capacity, connect an inverter and install some solar. But I decided that the EBL wouldn't hack extra batteries, nor the panels I wanted to try (VOC well out of range...) and I read about them possibly being damaged by other equipment connected on the load side. So I backed off...
 
It is the inbuilt charger that is the limiting factor. You can bypass the EBL with all charging sources and then use as much as you like. The only downside is your control panel display no longer shows correctly although volts should still be ok
 
Yes - most original control systems have quite limited charging and current carrying capacity.
Schaudt Elotroblock are more capable than many apparently so you may not need to provide bypasses and heavier cables for alternator currents to larger battery bank.
Solar may be better direct from dedicated controller.
There's a firm near colwyn bay that specialises in motorhome and caravan charger repairs - they have some sound advice on their website which is worth reading.
"Mixing" is always a challenge as different controllers will work to different parameters.
 
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MarkJ - it will even depend which variant of the EBL 99 you have as they upgraded some aspects of it. You may have a 16 or 18A charger in your EBL, which will limit your leisure battery capacity to 140 or 160 Ah (leaving some charge for the starter battery). More info about this on the aandn site.

I have a Votronic b2b coming and the manual for that shows one wiring layout with it connected to an EBL, so that could work for you, but the solar is still a limitation I think if connected to the EBL99. I’m not doing that as my ebl99 is an early one and I’ve decided to install a completely separate system (for the fridge).

You could connect your solar direct from controller to leisure batteries (with some EBL’s). Use the Votronic controller and display. I’ve done this (so did nabsim) and the only drawback is the EBL99 is ignorant of the solar system so won’t display the charge going in on the display connected to it, but you use the Votronic one anyway. Nabsim has also used an additional mains charger connected to the EBL (but he has a later one). Pretty sure the EBL99 has a place to do that too, which is likely where the Votronic b2b connects.
 
My Schaudt DT100 control panel does not display solar anyway, when I just had a single 150W panel I did connect to the EBL solar connection socket but bypassed altogether when I upped it to 300W
 
I think there is a code to enable the solar function (on some of the displays). No doubt you would have found it if possible with yours though. Not sure how you input it. The Votronic one is fine - shows amps, watts, totals. The only problem is it's ridiculously expensive. So is all the Votronic stuff, which you wouldn't mind so much if the support was great, but it's not. They are very slow to answer emails (if they even do).

They have a good range and work in with EBL's if required. The starter battery charging from the Duo Digital controllers is a good function, but I wonder if any other brands have that? Otherwise I'd probably consider Epever.
 
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There are some who argue that the inclusion of a starter trickle as well as AES trigger is evidence of a controller designed for motor homes and their specific needs.
 
Yes I would love one of their trio units but out of my price range lol
 
nabsim said:
Yes I would love one of their trio units but out of my price range lol
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I am not convinced about the "all-eggs-in-one-basket" units like this, especially after my experience dealing with a failure on one of the 'bulletproof' Redarc BMS solar/b2b/mains units.
Separate units tuned to your specific individual requirements can be more effective in use and often cost. The only unit I can think of that really is more than the sum of its nominal purpose is the Victron Multiplus, which is promoted as an Inverter/Charger but does a lot more than just that.
 
wildebus said:
I am not convinced about the "all-eggs-in-one-basket" units like this, especially after my experience dealing with a failure on one of the 'bulletproof' Redarc BMS solar/b2b/mains units.
Separate units tuned to your specific individual requirements can be more effective in use and often cost. The only unit I can think of that really is more than the sum of its nominal purpose is the Victron Multiplus, which is promoted as an Inverter/Charger but does a lot more than just that.
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For me the Victron gear is too big and bulky, those inverter chargers look to me made for domestic premises more than mobile. Well I suppose a big boat with engine rooms and such. The Votronic gear is only made for vehicles and boats, so much smaller if you compare units. I have no use for a big inverter and way I use my van I would need a bigger generator to power it if I did have lol
 
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