Diy Placer Projects

[HardPack]

Make note of the power station DC/solar input jack size & type. What you are looking for is the ability to use a solar panel of your choice. The EB3A has a female 8mm thin pin barrel input DC 7909 plug. The solar adapter cable has a male DC 7909 that branches to two MC4 connectors. The MC4 connectors open the door for a wider selection of solar panels. The power station DC input jack and the internal charge controller wattage/amperage rating determines the maximum solar panel size & input. The higher the capacity the power station the longer the runtime but also the longer the recharge time. Another advantage of a power station as opposed to a stand alone LFP battery is that must power stations have USB ports that can be used to charge up a metal detector, headphones, headlamps, cell phones, etc. 

[HardPack]

Brief test run of the Bluetti EB3A and SP120. The EB3A power station has a DC/Solar input rated at 12-28vdc / 8.5 amps; The output car-plug is rated at 12vdc / 10 amps. The SP120 folding solar panel is rated at 120 watts, VOC 23.7vdc, ISC 6.66.amps. The bilge pump is rated at 90 watts, 12vdc / 7.5 amps. 

Normally the power station would be placed in the shade of the solar panel.

 

Sky: cloudy. The solar panel provided 69 watts; the pump draw was 85 watts; note the 12.8 hours of remaining runtime. Apparently the smaller Bluetti EB3A is less efficient testing at 85 watts than the Jackery E1500 tested at 73 watts. In full sun the solar panel should provide in excess of 85 watts. 

[Valens Legacy]

12 hours ago, HardPack said:

The SP120 folding solar panel is rated at 120 watts, VOC 23.7vdc, ISC 6.66.amps.

You may want to try Eco-Worthy panels, I have several of them and they are a work horse to say the least over the past 5 years.

 

[HardPack]

7 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

You may want to try Eco-Worthy

Been following the Eco-Worthy solar tracker. Also tested the Jackery 100 watt solar saga panel, it is only two folding panels which makes for an easier setup. Same DC7909 input jack plus when the sun was not behind the clouds produced 90 watts and more. After the next storms past through I’ll take the HB setup out to the claim and run some dirt. 

[moondog69]

4 hours ago, HardPack said:

Been following the Eco-Worthy solar tracker. Also tested the Jackery 100 watt solar saga panel, it is only two folding panels which makes for an easier setup. Same DC7909 input jack plus when the sun was not behind the clouds produced 90 watts and more. After the next storms past through I’ll take the HB setup out to the claim and runs some dirt. 

Just got done building myself a small Liion 12V battery to run the bilge pump on my Boar Box. This is a 4s8p battery using the same batteries that they use for the Tesla battery packs. 3.7v 5000 mah batteries. This battery could run your bilge pump for 4-5 hours. I built it for mine and will run it for a full day. My bilge pump is only 1100 gph and is 3a vs your 7.5a.

I used a cigar travel box as the case and if I have something that needs 120v I also have a variety different size inverters. 

Haven't tested how long it will run that yet as I just finished this battery. The next battery will be lipo4 and run 2x longer. Maybe I'll throw the pump in the tub and let it run to verify runtime before I do actual field testing. 

Premade Liion and lipo4 are still waaay too expensive for me, so I just build my own. 

[HardPack]

56 minutes ago, moondog69 said:

I used a cigar travel box as the case

What is the brand and dimensions of the travel box. Definitely appears more portable, could recharge if needed back at camp. 

[moondog69]

1 hour ago, HardPack said:

What is the brand and dimensions of the travel box. Definitely appears more portable, could recharge if needed back at camp. 

I'll go back up measure it for ya in a little while. It's a medium travel humidor. There was a decent sale last year and I purchased 30- 40 of them in all sizes as they are perfect for batteries.

[moondog69]

52 minutes ago, moondog69 said:

I'll go back up measure it for ya in a little while. It's a medium travel humidor. There was a decent sale last year and I purchased 30- 40 of them in all sizes as they are perfect for batteries.

I've included a pic of the box. It has the brand model # and the like. The case is 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch measuring from the out side. I originally used the smaller box in the picture and it fit fine. But like always I always over engineer everything. I decided it needed an on off switch, a cig accessory and a battery meter besides the terminals. So I moved into a bigger box. And if you are filling the wiring on the inside that is also over done. I wanted to be able to easily unplug the battery to be able to pop in another or to charge with my balancing charger etc. anyway hope that gives you at least 1 idea for inspiration and helps your field work easier.

Rex

[moondog69]

Here is the other reason I used the larger box. The 2 lipo4 batteries that I made are too wide to fit in the smaller narrow box. Now I can use these as a quick replacement or fashion a parallel connector to double the run time. Options always options. I always tease my wife my name should have been "Justin Case" lol

Rex

 

[HardPack]

2 hours ago, moondog69 said:

Options always options.

The box appears large enough for a small mppt solar charge controller if needed. Two separate battery banks would allow recharging of one unit while the other is in use then swapping out batteries. The solar panel(s) could remain back in camp or mounted on a RV roof with charging via a 12vdc carport. This option may require more exploring. Thanks for sharing.