First timer, very little expiriance, very unique solar project, lots of questions...

[BackWoodsBoy7mm]

Hey everyone, my names Alex. I recently got into solar power and don't have much of a clue about what i'm doing.

Here's ehat i wanna do...
I want every single electrical item in my truck to be powered by solar panels that will be mounted to the truck. I also want to be able to have an on board inverter so that i can power my electric mower, weed whacker, and various other tools(i run a small scale landscaping company that supports the go green movment, no gas burning items if possible). I'd also like to plug in my small camper when i am up to camp whereas it is a 5 acre lot in the middle of no where.

Unfortunately, my budget is kind of tight so for the moment i wanna simply have a solar panel keeping my trucks primary battery fully charged at all times, thus aallowing me to use the radio all day on job sites and not worry about my battery dying.

I'm basically looking for someone to talk to about this project. For starters, how many watts do i need to charge a 12v car battery? I'm gonna make my own panels, can someone reply with a list of items i need? I've already ordered a whole bunch of stuff.

[Sunking]

Unfortunately the Law of Physics is going to rain on your parade. It would take a 18-Wheeler tractor-trailer rig to hold all the panels and batteries required. Lastly would be anything but Green. Anything you take off grid is going to cost you many times more and be a heavy polluter far more than your gas engines. Just not going to happen.

[BackWoodsBoy7mm]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. That's not helpful at all. And i guess all i can say to you is "watch for pictures." I have large supplies of everything that i know i need already ordered and on its way.

[BackWoodsBoy7mm]

I am, however, very curious as to how you came to the conclusion that solar panels are heavier poluters than gas engines. That part left me confused. Why would i need so many panels to charge some batteries? I ordered grade a high powered cells.

[russ]

I am, however, very curious as to how you came to the conclusion that solar panels are heavier poluters than gas engines. That part left me confused. Why would i need so many panels to charge some batteries? I ordered grade a high powered cells.

1) You ordered standard cells - and if they are cells they are most likely factory rejects.

2) You have to figure out how much power your equipment uses - get a kill a watt meter and place it in line with the charger power connection - you will learn much.

3) The above will tell you how many panels you need - come back with the kill a watt readings and someone will help you.

4) You are learning that the "green" really amounts to so much BS - it provides little power at a high cost and is difficult to store.

The topic of a green landscaper has come up many times before - yo just have no idea how much power you consume - lots.

The only "green" landscaper service will have to use push mowers and hand trimmers.

[Sunking]

Let's start with gasoline. 1 gallon of gasoline is equivalent to roughly 30 Kwh of electricity or $3 worth of electricity. That is the amount of electricity that a large luxury home uses in a day. If you had a grid tied system in an area with the national average of 4 Sun Hours requires a 9375 watt solar power system. A 18-Wheeler Tractor Trailer rig would not be large enough to hold all the panels as you would need a horizontal surface area roughly 600/ft2 of 10 x 60. But a off-grid battery solar system is far less efficient and would require 11,250 watts requiring 710/ft2. It would take the system from sun up to sun down to generate the equivalent of 1 gallon of gasoline. Such an off grid solar system would cost you, not including the battery which I will get to in a second, around $16,000 just for the solar panels and charge controllers. For you application you would have to use lithium batteries, and lithium batteries for Power Tools cost about $1/wh. A 30,000 wh battery cost $30,000. Most landscapers I know who are successful with a 3-man crew burn 10 to 15 gallons of gasoline per day.

As for pollution well battery systems are extremely inefficient and you cannot utilize all the power the system could possible generate. Even if you could utilize all the power, the system has no chance to generate more enrgy than it takes to make the system. So in the end of life of the equipment it took more fossil fuel to make the equipment vs just burning in the engine it replaces. So in the end it cost you many times more then the fuel would have, wasted a lot of fuel, and dumped more pollution into the air. There is nothing Green about your idea other than all the cash that will be leaving your pockets. Your project is dead on arrival. If you implement it, you will go out of biz. Your competition will crush you like a bug because they can do the job for less money, faster, better, and CLEANER than you will be able to provide.

[SunEagle]

I am, however, very curious as to how you came to the conclusion that solar panels are heavier poluters than gas engines. That part left me confused. Why would i need so many panels to charge some batteries? I ordered grade a high powered cells.

A major misunderstanding for a lot of people (so don't feel bad) is that it takes very large batteries and a lot of solar panels to generate the same power a small 2000 watt generator can provide using 1 gallon of gas.

Another area that most people do not think about is the energy and fuel used to make those solar panels and batteries was probably from burning Coal or Natural gas so is not really Green.

The best way to go "green" means not using any fuel or electricity. For a landscaper that means a manually powered mower and shears. Not very fast but will do the job and be much greener.

And last tip for today. Just about all of those solar panel "kits" are using reject cells and unfortunately will cost you more to build a solar panel then if you purchased one.

[Sunking]

And last tip for today. Just about all of those solar panel "kits" are using reject cells and unfortunately will cost you more to build a solar panel then if you purchased one.

Not too mention highly likely to fail before the first season is over with. Let him figure it out the hardway. Experience is a great teacher. Especially when it cost you a fortune to learn.

[inetdog]

And, having delivered our warnings, we are perfectly happy to "wait for the pictures" from the OP.

[BackWoodsBoy7mm]

Lol. Thank you guys for the advice. I'm still gonana try to do it. Expiriance is the best way to learn so if i fail then i fail. Either way it should be fun and now i'm expecting to fail so the blow won't be so bad. What about powering all my trucks electrical parts and not running my electric equipment? I never thought of what was used to make the cells as far as going green goes. I just didn't get how something with no emissions is a heavier polutter than something that burns gas. I was thinking of greenhouse gases. Also, is voltage the main thing i need to worry about for charging a 12v system? Thats the impression i got from youtube videos.

[Sunking]

Lol. Thank you guys for the advice. I'm still gonana try to do it. Expiriance is the best way to learn so if i fail then i fail. Either way it should be fun and now i'm expecting to fail so the blow won't be so bad. What about powering all my trucks electrical parts and not running my electric equipment? I never thought of what was used to make the cells as far as going green goes. I just didn't get how something with no emissions is a heavier polutter than something that burns gas. I was thinking of greenhouse gases. Also, is voltage the main thing i need to worry about for charging a 12v system? Thats the impression i got from youtube videos.

No its both voltage and current called Power or Watts. Watts = Volts x Amps. 1 Horse Power = 746 watts.

Not sure what size batteries you are talking about or what chemistry. I know Black and Decker has one of the better battery operated mowers and it uses a 36 volt 20 AH LFP battery. It takes 3 hours to recharge and 15 minutes to discharge. To charge it requires 250 watt hard supply, so in solar panels you are looking at a 400 to 500 watt panel just to recharge the battery and it will take more than 3 hours. Do you see a problem? A 400 watt panel is about as big as your truck and will take 3 or more hours to charge for 15 to 20 minute run time. You cannot make a living with those numbers.

Other thing that is off the chart, is the electric lawn power tools are consumer grade, not commercial grade. You cannot run them all day from sun up to sun rise like a commercial grade SCAG, TORO, JACOBSON, or GRAVELY with up to 56-inch decks. The electric onnes are 19-inches and no real power to speak of. I wish you luck.

[BackWoodsBoy7mm]

Sorry for takin a while to reply. Had to stray from the solar project and take the time to replace my rack & pinion. At this point i've given up powering my lawn tools and now just wanna mount a solar panel and keep my trucks battery charged in hopes that i can play music on certain job sites while i work for the day and still be able to start my truck at the end of the day. Maybe run a dual battery set up so i can use my lights/ radio at night time.

From what i was reading i'm gonna need deep cycle batterys cause the regular truck ones will die. Would i be correct to assume that it would be alright to switch the trucks battery with a deep cycle and naturally use a deep cycle one for the 2nd battery as well? How many volts and watts would i need for one? How many for 2? Just about all the solar cell stuff has arrived so i'm eager to begin but wanna know what i'm doing in full before starting.

Thanjs again for the help guys.

[BackWoodsBoy7mm]

Would also like to know what gauge wire to use. I didn't order wire or in line fuses because it seemed pointless. I live in a town with plenty of places to choose from to buy wire.