My DIY 200 Watt Solar Suitcase

[Trailmanor George]

I have been wanting to install solar on my TM for awhile now but I did not want to put holes in my roof or have a system that I can only use for camping so I decided to build a portable system. You can buy these systems already built but you are going to pay more than double what it cost me to build if your handy you can also put one of these together. The 2 - 100 Watt monocrystalline panels, charge controller and the 2 - 20 amp circuit breakers came out to $250.00 thru E-bay. The rest of the parts were available locally thru Home Depot and Harbor Freight and the total came out to around $300.00. The nice thing about this system is that you can move it around to get the best coverage no matter where you park it has 25 feet of 10 gauge wire. The 2 breakers serve two purposes, one for protection and also as on and off switches so you can turn the battery and solar on and off as needed. I used all stainless hardware and riveted wherever possible including all the hinges. The legs are fully adjustable to get the max sun angle. The 2 solar panels are wired in parallel and when I first tested were putting out 10 amps of course with the charge controller in place it will only put out what the battery requires. I used this system to charge a dead battery in my car this morning and it worked great...this system weighs about 42 lbs. 2 - 100 panels are heavy but still portable enough to carry with the handle, living in south Florida it might come in handy during hurricane season with my inverter to run a few things in the house if needed. Enclosed are some pictures of the suitcase...

[wrenchami]

Nicely done. That is a solar power option I had not considered.

[Larryjb]

Yes, nicely done!

I did a quick search and came across this site. It has a video on the home page which is pretty good as an introduction to solar panel types for newbies like me. The first thing I learned is that you pay a higher price for mono solar panels, but they're more efficient and better suited where space is limited. I still have lots to learn. A few members, such as Padget, have much more knowledge about solar and I have a lot to learn from them as well.

https://www.wholesalesolar.com/9433270/solarland/solar-panels/solarland-slp190s-24-silver-mono-solar-panel

[klpauba]

Excellent execution, George! Your panel assembly looks very professional. What range of angles are you able to reach?

[Trailmanor George]

Thanks for your comments guys...hello klpauba with the adjustable feet I can go between 55 to 70 degrees angle. The optimal year round angle for my area is 64 degrees angle so I can hit that one with no problem. The best winter angle is 49 degrees and the best summer angle is 79 degrees, I can get pretty close to those angles with this setup but not really necessary...

[Trailmanor George]

The easiest thing to do with this setup to get the maximum sun is to put a paper cup on the panel and move the panel around until you get no shadow from the cup...that would be the max you will get at that time....

[Trailmanor George]

Decided to make a cover for my solar suitcase today to protected it while not in use. I used a free heavy duty tarp that I got from Harbor Freight for the cover and since I don't have a sewing machine I used 1/2" grommets to hold it together and I used Velcro for the flap. Not pretty but it does the job total price for the grommets and Velcro about 12 dollars...

[B_and_D]

Very nice!

[Bobbyte]

That's both innovative and fantastic!