The best laid plans of mice and men.....

[WME]

Well the totally awesome plans for this winter were to add 200w of portable solar, to make parking in the shade doable. Got the panels and made a diy suitcase out of them. Got a new MPPT controller big enough to handle 500w total power. Throw in some high amp connectors and 10 ga wire cables and all was good. 

 

THEN WINTER came. It seems I have a phantom power drain somewhere. Normally not a problem as the roof mount solar panels keep everything properly charged. Now there is 2 ft of snow on the solar panels and it's been -40 to +20 for weeks. So now I'm the proud owner of two large popcicles that look suspiciously like GC-2 6v batteries.

 

I'm going Lifepo4 sooner than planned. My battery box won't allow a 200ah battery, but 2 100ah batteries will fit.   The new  MPPT controller is LI comparable. I will still need a DC to DC charger to keep the old convert working and to protect the alternator from overloading. LifePo4 batteries don't do well in cold weather, so next fall they will come out and live in the heated garage for the winter. The fact that they only weigh 24lbs ea make for an easy removal vs the 65lbs of the GC-2s

 

Well good thing I'm getting a tax refund this year.😁