SHTF - Cheap Emergency Solar Power - The Ultimate Converter! 2/2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ค. 2024
- If there was one converter I would pack with me during an emergency, it would be this one!
The converter has a 13.8 Volt output and can produce 20Amps at 276 watts. It will accept 18-90V of solar input, making it useable with just about any solar panel. In this video, I show you how you can build a cheap yet versatile 12-Volt solar system with or without a battery.
I will also show you the "USB Anywhere" converter. A super handy converter for converting nearly any DC voltage you might find in a solar system to a suitable 5 Volts to power USB devices.
We will also find out what happens to a charge controller if you connect the solar first instead of connecting the battery first... Exciting!
This is part of a two part series. See below for the original video.
Enjoy!
• SHTF - Cheap Emergency...
See my website for more details, products, and other ways to use this system:
www.natesdiysolar.com/project...
The Ultimate Buck: Directly from AliExpress (not affiliate link):
www.aliexpress.us/item/325680...
USB Anywhere Converter (affiliate link):
amzn.to/44ibiVk
00:00
02:10 - Test With 12V Appliance
05:30 - Test With Lead Acid Car Battery
10:05 - Test With LiFePO4 Battery
11:34 - Test Charge Controller (no battery)
14:43 - Buck VS. Charge Controller Efficiency
16:25 - USB Anywhere Converter
17:18 - Conclusion
** Reputable Companies (affiliate links) **
AmpereTime/LiTime: Great LiFePO4 Batteries
3% Coupon Code: NATESDIY
www.litime.com/?ref=XBwnqBoJf...
Current Connected: Ready-to-Run Solar Kits and Victron Equipment
currentconnected.com/?ref=lbh...
SanTan Solar: New and Used Solar Panels:
www.santansolar.com/?ref=8496...
SFK: Quality DIY Battery Enclosures and Ready-to-Run Batteries:
6% Coupon Code: NATESDIY
www.sunfunkits.com/
Contact Information:
I am not available for personal solar system consult!
Email: nate@natesdiysolar.com
Website: www.natesdiysolar.com
FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers:
This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, which means if you buy something, We'll receive a small commission.
Videos on this channel are for EDUCATIONAL purposes only. Electricity is dangerous and can kill. Please use common sense.
Nate's DYI Solar is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
After testing many DC-to-DC converters and not getting the results I wanted I decided to contact XWST because their 12-Volt buck converter showed the most potential. It just needed a few tweaks, I gave them my specifications and they made it for me! This unit can do everything. It will power USB devices when coupled with a USB car adaptor panel. It can power 12-Volt appliances and be used as a emergency 12-Volt battery charger.
A buck converter is not a replacement to a proper solar charge controller. Lead Acid batteries are not well suited for solar like deep cycle batteries are. They like slow, low current charging.. 10Amps or less or 10% of rated capacity. EG: 55ah 5.5A for maximum life. My UTV charges at 7 to 8A.
You can order the buck converter directly from China on AliExpress. I do not get any commission from AliExpress. I just wanted you guys to have the best option out there!
Buck Converter (not affiliate link):
www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805802656119.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt
See my website for more details, products and other uses for this system:
www.natesdiysolar.com/projects/shtf-emergency-solar-power/
If anyone has used this to built a similar system, feel free to send pictures of your project!
Be sure to check out the "USB Anywhere" converter as well and the "Buck VS. Charge Controller" efficiency test.
Enjoy!
That's so cool they produced a custom unit specially for you. Thanks for making it available to folks.
It's good when companies are responsive to customers
That’s amazing! One to rule them all! Love it!
Awesome info, thanks for sharing!
This is great stuff. Thanks for sharing.
AWESOME!!! Thanks for sharing.
Hello nate
i've seen both of your videos regarding this setup and there is something worth mentioning.
Those converters do not care how many amps you give them as long as the input voltage is within the desighned range ! they will alway take the amps they need.
Im saying this to let you know that it is actually better to way over-size the solar panels (i prefer parallel setup to help with partial shading) to get a consistat out put from the converter !
Good luck !
Yes, good point. Thanks for watching.
all future EV should allow us to reverse tapping the power back to the house
This is true. Would be nice
Love it I need this little confused but want learn
See this video where I explain how to build it as this was a followup video.
th-cam.com/video/IFSVIkmaAtA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=fUU1fP-94-30xfF1
Thanks for watching
Fun and useful project. I’m struggling to make a decision on a Dokio 200 watt aluminum frame folding solar panel (there are mixed reviews regarding quality) or get a big, more powerful panel like you have, with the drawback being less portability.
Yea. I have both lol. Folding are good for mobility but don't last as long as rigid panels.
I love your solar DC videos! Have you ever looked into using super capacitors?
Hi. Not earnestly. I have a few ideas but just haven't had time yet. Ty for watching.
Think you could wire the usb anywhere converter into the junction box on the back of the solar panel? Kind of like the folding “solar generator” panels
Yea .. I don't see why not.
I use a 60V inverter in my garage with two 30V grid tie PV panels in series and no battery to power equipment and chargers. It has 4 USB ports and cost $23 shipped. Nice low cost emergency system.
Wow nice
Very nice. Just wondering about that buck converter. is it getting hot due to its widely variable input range? Also, those start lead acid batteries can't be deep cycled. It's better to use pass thru charging as you use them and never discharge below 15% inorder to maintain the battery.
They can get hot but usually due to when they near there max amps output .. in this case 20a so no it was fine. The large panel is 47voc.
Yes this is not meant to replace a CC. Just showing the versatility compared to a CC
Hey, got my 12-volt converter, oh another converter? I will keep the one I have because I have charge controllers to charge batteries. One slight problem with these converters is the noise they make on the stereo - I have a 12-volt stereo that needs a battery to sound good. I cannot run the stereo on any converter or charge controller as they make noise in the radio. Have you tried this converter on a 12-volt radio, and do you really think you can survive with the sound?
In the original video I powered 2 different radios but they both contain batteries and are usb powered..I did not listen to them. I'll give it a try. What converter do you have and what radio. You could probably use a RF filter or capacitor to clean up the line. My radios have rechargeable batteries so I think it's fine.
@@natesdiysolar The stereo radio (from Amazon) is a Sunbuck Dual channel sound power audio receiver; it won't do 180 watts, the wire needed for the DC is for 12 volts at 5 amps. It fit inside the plastic ammo box with 2 30-amp hour lithium batteries. The answer to the noise issue is simple - run the radio on the battery. The converter is the 12-volt 20-amp model as the 15-amp module was out of stock.
What were you using to determine the SOC of the LiPo battery? How is it calibrated? Where do I get one?
This is really fantastic because I cam and have a small sailboat. This set up can substantially change my world for the better!!!
I used the internal BMS with the Bluetooth app and the little screen that comes with that bms. It's a diy battery. See my video about building that diy battery. 12v or 12v heated diy build. If you plan on using this long-term, a charge controller would be more efficient at gathering solar but will not power loads without a battery co 0:09 nnected. See the part where I compare the two devices. You could also install a shunt to monitor the battery if your battery BMS does not have Bluetooth. Victron makes a good shunt.
I ordered the ultimate Buck Converter. Thank you! Also, I tried to find your little USB light with switch and could not find it. Where do I get one?
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B097BFQWDZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image
any tests on this with a windmill dc input? be great experiment
I have not done any. That would be interesting . I think they produce AC power if I'm not mistaken. Do you know if they produce DC current..
Is there a compromise on this with the wide input voltage range? I’m assuming anything over 48V input is going to be pretty damn inefficient
Not that I know of. They claim a 96% efficiency on these as far as dc conversion goes but no mppt so that's where the inefficiency comes in. These are typically connected to batteries to power loads. With solar it does quite well I do a comparison charging phone off of inverter vs directly off battery using a buck in the "powering home appliances for 1 year" video.
I would have the opposite challenge:
How would it be possible to simply charge a 48V LiFePO4 battery from a 12V or 24V LiFePO4 battery?
And I don't want to use a 12V or 24V DC/AC inverter + 48V charger.
Would it be possible somehow?
I like on portable solar power stations that if you connect a battery in the volt range to the solar input for solar charging, you can charge a portable power station this way (there are many videos about this), but I would use the same option for a DIY solar system.
The goal would be to be able to solar charge a smaller, lighter 12V or 24V LiFePO4 battery somewhere else like the main 48V system and then at night or on bad sunny days charge the main 48V system from the lower voltage battery = transfer enegy from the 12V or 24V battery to the 48V battery.
Victron solar chargers need an input voltage 5V higher than the battery voltage to charge, so they cannot be used. Maybe some Victron DC-DC alternator charger or 12/48 or 24/48 charger, but I couldn't find a video anywhere on how that works, everyone uses it in videos with just the alternator in the car. Or some DIY solution?
How about using the MPPT 100/20 with a boost step up converter?
The MPPT 100/20 can charge all 12/24/48V batteries, so it could charge 12V or 24V battery somewhere else and then use the same MPPT 100/20 together with a boost step up converter with a manually adjustable output to charge 48V battery in the main system. The MPPT 100/20 will think it has a DC output 5V higher than the empty 48V battery up to its maximum solar panel voltage of 100V and will transfer power from a charged 12V or 48V battery to the empty 48V battery just like a Portable Solar Power Stations.
Boost inverter parameters:
Input current: 20A
- rated current of MPPT 100/20
Input voltage: 2.7-29 V
- from discharged 12V battery to a charged 24V battery
Manually adjustable output voltage: 40V - 100V
- discharged 48V battery has a voltage of 40V+5V=where the MPPT should start charging up to 100V, which is the maximum the MPPT can charge. A manually adjustable output voltage would be needed to not bring full power to the MPPT right away, but to simulate gradually increasing sunshine, where it would slowly manually increase from 40V, where it would not charge yet, to 40V on a discharged 48V battery, where it would start charging to the full 100V on both devices.
What are your thoughts on this, would it work like this?
You could get a buck boost converter to do the job
I’m building a 24v solar system I’m going to use one of these converters & a DC sub panel should I use a 12v or 13.8v converter in your opinion?
Go with 13.8.. 13.8 is still within the operating range of any 12 Volt device . When speaking in automotive terms, that range. Is 10v to 14v .. unless you are trying to power something like a PC, which requires percicly 12v, you should be fine, and most things will benefit from that extra 1.8v as some converters tend to sag and under produce, so 13.8v is a healthy 12v.
If you have not seen this video.. this is exactly that. 24v system with 12v sub panel.
th-cam.com/video/rqaX5Sm5iT4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Sjg_V8IJZghNSNOY
@@natesdiysolar thanks that’s exactly what I was thinking most devices would operate better on 13.8v
yesterday i burnt my 13,8 spare 1.5A i had for charge the car from random pack . and i thrilled... i didnt just used more than 13v but forgot to check twice and used 26.5v pack i had for another project,, bad thing is i burned a volt meter i had calibrated for that pack!!!! i didnt mean that progress when i felt i m going to keep UP!!! btw i burned the eco flow 12v plug and doesnt engages... forgot and throwed a 12 to 24v 10 amps and i thing it tried to drow more than 20 amps full needs !!! again i was genius!!!! i throwed a wifi chinese 220outlet on one ac outlet on unit and a ac to dc 12v on wifi outlet and its ok . 20 bucks for a mod because EF doesnt have a trully support
Wow death n destruction all the way lol.. I actally burned my 12v by trying to parallel these 2 with a switch so I could quickly compare the outputs but did not go so well. Thanks for comment
this week was my gift week.. i bought a EYD-DTD20-40S486 20/40v to 48v 6A for 2 x240 panels to charge safely the power station!!! hope it can handle the input 16A of the 2P array
@@natesdiysolar keep up ..
Can I just crimp mc4 cables directly to the usb anywhere converter? Or are the wires too small?
You could use a thin guage pv wire if you will have it outdoors and need UV protection. Otherwise use a thin guage wire automotive hookup wire or just crimp mc4 connectors directly.
The wires are thin by design and do not need to be thick as the unit only draws 3 amps max.
Why 13.8? Max for lithium is 14.6. Would 14 or 14.4 be better?
I’ve seen 30 amp models but same issue, 12 volt actual output so unusable.
13.8 is a safe voltage, 3.45 per cell. It's safe for all batteries. Also you do not want to be to high as it's primary function is powering loads not charging batteries. I talk about this in the conclusion. Thanks for watching and the comment.
13.8V is 100% SOC at rest. So 13.8V that is allowed to absorb for a while is going to be damn close to 13.8V resting if not 13.8V.
The knee starts at 3.45’ish so it’s perfect. Worst case scenario is you’ll lose out on 5% capacity. It also allows you to charge 4 cells without a BMS and still be relatively safe (4.20V is actually the max voltage of LFP but you’re stressing the cell way more than you should and gaining almost zero energy over 3.6V)
whats the cooker you have the eggs in.?
Roadpro Saucepan. You can see it on my website. Link is in description
@@natesdiysolar ok thank you
@@natesdiysolar who is you website host? its nice and simple
@@RomansSeven6 it's just a private VM. It's all manual coded. I do not use any out of box yzwig or anything. It needs work.
The only reason to use more than 300 watts of solar with it, is if there is a lot of time without direct sun. So it can get close to the full output with little sun. Anything over 700-1000 watts , is a real waste, having snother larger battery to connect the extra planels to when in full sun is the best situation,
My mppt chinese mrpow charge controller died when i disconnected battery before solar. Can you try that with your rover?
While it was charging? I'll try it.
@@natesdiysolar Yes, while charging. Im very interested.
Many of the small charge controllers will be damaged is solar is connected first, or disconnected last. By connecting the battery first & removing it last regulates the solar voltage, otherwise the solar voltage is too high for the charge controllers to handle. There shouldn't be that problem with the DC to DC converter, because you can connect the solar to the converter first and I believe he demonstrated removing the battery from the circuit while solar was still connected and the load continued to work.
@@natesdiysolar Also you might try to connect high voltage panels (or series connection) if open circuit voltage of your panel is close to maximum voltage of battery bank input. I killed it with 50V panel.
@5:12 How is that more efficient? Heat is being transferred to the outside air that entire time.
I'm talking about AC vs. DC conversion efficiency.
See here:
th-cam.com/video/6e3dx6qFvX0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=LxTJqhvRXmx3zFrx
Fwd: 14.20
I fully agree that going back and forth on ac and dc is inefficient especially with an inverter with standby draw, but it is essentially the same thing when heating that slow with an element. Not as much standby draw and cook the egg in minutes compared to an hour. Just throwing it out there. We are all here to learn and wanted to post the questions because my experience has been different than yours. @@natesdiysolar
@@natesdiysolar I would like your opinion on this.
@@rharnatkiewicz true.. I mean watts are watts right. up2u how you use them. splitting hairs.. Its just a cheap solution as many ppl cannot afford larger systems.
headache goes a way with a battery... i have 400ah Lithium can power everything for a full day with 2 fridge and all.. best emergency power... u don't even need solar panel... just have it standby.
Nice
SORRY ... BUT NEVER USE PURE DC TO CHARGE A LEAD ACID BATTRY
Why?
Not sure what you mean by "pure DC".... vehicle alternators output pure DC, as in its not AC voltage.
I am going to guess that they mean don't connect solar to a battery without a charge controller because the voltage of the solar module varies and can cause battery damage.
@Fluffywings84 That would make more sense for sure. You definitely shouldn't do that. But I was just confused because in the video he is using a controller, one that outputs 13.8V at up to 20A, which is perfect for lead acid. If this is what he meant, he should've said "never use unregulated voltage to charge a lead acid battery".
I'm guessing he means a straight DC VS. a pulse width modulation of sorts.. Fact is that in solar, the current and voltage can never be guaranteed as PV output is subject to change due to weather conditions etc. The job of the controller or converter is to regulate that voltage. As far as car alternators, they do produce AC but that is then converted to DC via internal rectifier and then passed through a regulator... Hope that helps.