Solar setup options for a milk float, no, no come back!!Help!!

[Jason9999]

Ha Ha. If you are going to use this to run a business, you need to plaster all surfaces with PV panels, and park in full sun. The pop open sides, need to have panels on them.
Even using propane for heating, you will need a fair amount of power for the milk chiller, the inevitable blender.......

Check this older thread out. PV panels have improved 0.05% since then ! read response #15
https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...-on-food-truck

Okay well this have given me a lot to think about and I would still like to install the panels maybe just for the electrical system, I was keeping it basic, literally a good mid range coffee machine I see one rated at 1.5kw and the panels are 1.6kw, I'll sort a battery bank out for that setup. As for the battery banks on the float... While reading that thread in the link one phrase jumped out, something about an alternator doing the same job, I looked up and found you can get a 72v 30amp alternator.

I'm thinking I could have a small brushless motor running it to charge the float battery banks, the motor could be powered by a propane gen or petrol gen, is one more efficient than the other, or maybe the coffee machine run off the gen and 1.6kw for a brushless motor should surely be enough power to run the alternator...

would it fry the batteries?

Put a controller in the middle to stop that?

Is there a thread that covers alternator charging?

Can standard ones be linked up in series to increase power like you can batteries?

Thanks again for any input

[Jason9999]

Sorry my mistake, the alternator is 72v 300amp 21kw!

[Jason9999]

I've just realised this is not really solar panel talk, maybe I should find an alternator forum for that haha but engineering is engineering right? Still a chance someone will know something

[Mike90250]

This is really solar panel talk ( also known as the forum of fewer illusions )
solar panels have very little power, and it takes many of them, for a long time, to power things.
The power you get from a little eu2000 inverter generator, is about 5x as much as the roof of a mobile lunch truck can carry. And it goes half a day on a gallon of gas

Food trucks are unique, because they require refrigeration - which requires a lot of energy. Propane is always used for cooking but electric toasters, waffle irons, panni presses dominate other heating uses with electricity. And coffee machines !!

We want you to know what you are stepping into, not a " Just buy this. Now you need that. Oh, you need larger........ $6,000 later, when the truck shuts off at 1pm, you wonder where the power went. Oh, a cloudy day and all the batteries are dead. Get a tow home and plug it in overnight.

This IS what the road looks like. Solar will run some lights and recharge some gadgets. But for a mobile restaurant, coffee shop and whatever, you need a lot of power.

[SunEagle]

This is really solar panel talk ( also known as the forum of fewer illusions )
solar panels have very little power, and it takes many of them, for a long time, to power things.
The power you get from a little eu2000 inverter generator, is about 5x as much as the roof of a mobile lunch truck can carry. And it goes half a day on a gallon of gas

Food trucks are unique, because they require refrigeration - which requires a lot of energy. Propane is always used for cooking but electric toasters, waffle irons, panni presses dominate other heating uses with electricity. And coffee machines !!

We want you to know what you are stepping into, not a " Just buy this. Now you need that. Oh, you need larger........ $6,000 later, when the truck shuts off at 1pm, you wonder where the power went. Oh, a cloudy day and all the batteries are dead. Get a tow home and plug it in overnight.

This IS what the road looks like. Solar will run some lights and recharge some gadgets. But for a mobile restaurant, coffee shop and whatever, you need a lot of power.

Something else to think about if panels are mounted to a vehicle will increae the wind resistance or drag that will limit the distance traveled.

Solar panels also need to be pointed at the sun and not horizontal where you lose a big % of their charging power.

[Jason9999]

Something else to think about if panels are mounted to a vehicle will increae the wind resistance or drag that will limit the distance traveled.

Solar panels also need to be pointed at the sun and not horizontal where you lose a big % of their charging power.

Yes a lot of good points there and yea is just not right for this application if it's going to have a chance of working well the vehicle will need to be a lot lighter for a start... Panels will run equipment from a separate bank.

I will just recon the battery cells and keep the 60-80 mile range and charge up as usual, I can also make an adapter lead up I'm told to be able to connect at EV charge points and charge, I want this to be profitable and as much fun as I would have doing this project I'll have to change it slightly

Could I have a small lpg generator setup? Does anyone have any suggestions for a range extender option, other than change the batteries?

[SunEagle]

Yes a lot of good points there and yea is just not right for this application if it's going to have a chance of working well the vehicle will need to be a lot lighter for a start... Panels will run equipment from a separate bank.

I will just recon the battery cells and keep the 60-80 mile range and charge up as usual, I can also make an adapter lead up I'm told to be able to connect at EV charge points and charge, I want this to be profitable and as much fun as I would have doing this project I'll have to change it slightly

Could I have a small lpg generator setup? Does anyone have any suggestions for a range extender option, other than change the batteries?

Having a way to charge the batteries once the vehicle is stopped (EV plug) or a portable generator will help keep the batteries up.

There are some lpg generators made by generac that might work.

[Mike90250]

I'm fond of the idea of a rear hitch receiver with a cargo tray attached, and a generator chained onto that, run it while driving and it's a range extender

Tray fits into the square hitch receiver on the vehicle
reciever tray.jpg


Generator-Carrier_receiver.jpg