Solar Power Generator

[@JustinRamos83]

One of the cleanest builds I’ve seen. Thank you for sharing! Do you have a list of parts? How much does the setup weigh? Looking to do a very similar build but with 18650’s and a pure sine wave inverter.

[@Tumbleweed5150]

If you use 100Ah Battle Born or equivalent batteries, you can save weight...up to 1/3 of lead acid batteries. BB batteries cost a bit more than some out there, but have a 10 warranty. That inverter also adds a lot of weight. It would have been nice of Mark to have put in a Description with the data you, (and many others, I'm sure), would like to know, along with links to the websites he mentions where he got some of those specialty connectors, etc.

[@jimthvac100]

Regarding those two 100AH 12 volt batteries you can't get 200AH from them total because you can only use 50% of the capacity of Lead acid batteries else they get ruined. So you can only use 100AH total.

[@johnrackley1903]

Great Build, looks like a professional job. Lots of protection for the circuits, nice. Awesome video, thanks for sharing.

[@positivelyportugal]

Wow! What a clean build. Thanks for posting this. I'm guessing at $2000?

[@thewatcher611]

Bravo on the cabling job! Did you crimp or solder? I'm a mechanic on light duty and med duty gas, diesel, automotive. I can say that is super clean! Make sure you check all your fans, ventilation, and airflow, to make sure it gets dusted regularly. The dust will coat the heat sinks, and fan, and reduce cooling efficiency. Thank you, this is pretty cool! Can you charge it from AC voltage?

[@PBS-nm1uu]

material list would be nice, also was hoping to see how you wired it ,

[@kerron_]

Very nice. I made one using Lead Acid Batteries & Super Capacitors. I am going build one similar to yours mostly supercapacitor banks

[@billytran179]

Please build an updated version of this for 2023! Amazing build. Thanks for sharing.

[@stacey_kelley]

Very impressive build. Thanks for sharing

[@jameskelly143]

Omg. I love this setup. I want to make something very similar!!

[@TRS-Tech]

Very nicely built box with a lot of thought gone into it. Nice one.... :-) Am I the only one that can see two blatantly copied Victron products ??? I hope they are a licenced re-seller as that looks very much like a 12/24v mppt victron charge controller and a BMV-700 or 712 without the bluetooth by the looks of it. If you don't mind me asking how much did the battery monitor and solar charge controller cost you ? It it a lovely looking unit and you have clearly thought long and hard about safety and monitoring. As I say a great job done. If you are not already aware you can only use half of each of the batteries capacity so if you have two 100AH batteries installed in parallel you actually only get 100AH of usable power. Discharging the batteries below 50% will shorten the life span and other limitations come into play to. Have you considered building a lithium-ion or lithium-ion phosphate battery pack. You can extract far more power and they will recharge hundreds if not thousands of times before wearing out. You can also pull far higher currents from it and reduce the weight of your unit drastically ! Just a thought :-) Note - Make sure you use a grounding rod or your GFCI's will do nothing for you. I would have thought you had a ground for your radio kit anyway.

[@skepticalmechanic]

If you hook the panels up in series you won’t have much loss in the wiring...

[@jaxta86]

should have a solar panel mount on it

[@robertculliver9120]

Nice clean setup but won't the outgassing from the batteries destroying the electronics overtime have you seen any of that since you has made this

[@thewatcher611]

The vents from the fans, and the fans running should be sufficient ventilation for this.

[@twothesstwoone]

Hi. I live in the Uk. Are you able to provide a contents list with some links? Thanks

[@ryanbrown3334]

How does it generate energy?

[@lenardgutierrez7570]

How much would you charge to build one? Just curious.

[@markusmc7]

My cost to build was about $3500. If I had a business and could buy components wholesale, it would make them easier to sell at a more reasonable cost.

[@transformed613]

Thanks your amazing :)

[@kevinmiller1646]

I see you have a GFI on it how does that work with out a ground. Please let me know

[@mkestamper]

Kevin, a GFI works by sensing different wattages between grounded, and undgrounded conductors. In other words, if wattage coming down the hot side doesn't match what is going back on the nuetral it trips. So ground on plugs has nothing to do with the GFI function. If plug is not grounded that means tools plugged into will not be grounded. Luckily most tools these days are double insulated.

[@MrKmallia]

mkestamper yes unlike what tv shows tend to say a ground is not needed for GFCI to protect.

[@DeliberateNRandom]

I have a question about using two of them. Wouldn't it be considered redundant? You could just daisy chain the second one.

[@RichCompMan]

Upgrade those batteries to lithium and you’re set. Used AGM batteries is the weak spot of this unit. Like the other guys said, you only have 100AH of battery life, with all that pretty work you kind of shot yourself in the foot with AGM. Too heavy too for a solar gen IMHO. Good thing is that its easy to swap out! Good work.

[@JeffeysMom]

I'm adding my sentiments too many others we need a parts with and prices would be great

[@TimYorty]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4u8cnSXqcmfo8U

[@jameskelly143]

A parts list would be great

[@DavidMBebber]

Nice setup... but I still despise how everyone is calling their battery boxes with solar charging ports "Solar Generators". Diesel or gas generators convert chemical to electric... that's the generation part. These "Solar generators" just store electricity from various sources for later use, just like a rechargeable AA battery does. we wouldn't call a rechargeable AA battery a generator though. I get the big names in the business started it as marketing an alternative to diesel or gas generators, but I wish more people would push back against the misuse of terms.

[@V4suki]

PRO TIP: Never use lead acide or agm batteris for solar generators, they are heavy, they have low energy dencity, true they have hight curent but teht is onley good thing about them tehy cant last long. LiPOFe4 batteris are much better in every way and you can get them for cheap.

[@CommonCentsRob]

Nice looking diy build. Can you post a parts and price list?

[@YouLookinAtMe-Bro]

Very clean build! I bet this would have a million views if there was a parts list.

[@defjamsgreen]

Wonderful DIY unit . The Magnasine rules . May the solar be with you .

[@cesziek4731]

Hello Mark, Thank you very much for this video, you encouraged me to build one like yours. May you please provide the viewers the parts list? Thanks a lot.

[@jasonbroom7147]

That's a really impressive build! You could update that with LiFePO4 batteries, dramatically increasing capacity and/or reducing weight. Do you have a video showing the build process? This is something a lot of folks are interested in, these days.

[@GalloPazzesco]

Very nicely done for six years ago. How has all of this held up over the course of the past six years?

[@MikeS29]

Best one I’ve seen yet! I’d love to see parts list and costs. Thanks for sharing.

[@yvesgougeon1149]

Can you add source of the material you used in the comments.

[@ziplock4711]

nice job. I would definitely add a 30amp camper plug though

[@defineaffordable]

Great result! I ended up using the smaller 25 gallon Husky job box (should have watched this video first!). Attempt 1 has a 2000 watt DC inverter with a single 100 amp hour battery. Attempt 2 has a 3000 watt DC inverter with a single 100 amp hour battery. Both are using inverters from Krieger and (Renogy) charge controllers. How do you ground the inverter?

[@impatientmaker8469]

I am wondering why he went with a modified sine wave inverter. I am likely going to go with the Krieger (1100 watt) for my first one, eventually get the 3000w.

[@DylanFowler]

Everything gets grounded from the earth wire connected to the mains switch, just connect it to any metal part of the vehicle it's on or to an iron rod and buried in the ground when you are stationary.

[@Tumbleweed5150]

@@impatientmaker8469That inverter sould be pure sign wave, as all the one's I've looked at are. My nieghbor has a 48V version of the MagnaSine inverter. Has taken the heat in this desert, (up to 130F in the shade, more inside the Power shed he built that has the solar panels on it).

[@jackrodgersjr]

This is perfect for the RV customized. Most mount components on wall and can lose their investment with the RV. Also this is portable and you can take it elsewhere adding value to your investment. Create a set of plans and instructions and sell them for nominal fee. Also scalable for smaller and larger units. Send me a free copy for idea.

[@PhiLeo7973]

Clear, concise video presentation. Excellent components, particularly the Magnum inverter. A parts list would be great, time permitting ,and an update on the Fangpusan's reliability. Build is so sweet, it deserves a Battle Born, Relion, Kilovault, or other premium Lithium Ion battery ,even if you have to open a lemonade stand.;) Fellow ham here. Great job.phil

[@Pieman16]

Can you make a full list of parts?

[@Brian-co2xh]

Thank you for sharing an awesome build! I would like to construct a similar project, since it’s hurricane season here in Hawaii. Any way you can make a list of all components you used? Again, thank you for a great video. Subscribed!

[@DylanFowler]

Fantastic build, but that inverter deserves life po4 deep charge batteries 100ah you can get on Ali Baba for 4 to 5 hundred bucks.

[@sun-sea-solar]

Love any solar project

[@MrMegacoffee]

dang and wow

[@jchancalifornia]

Well done! Plenty of good ideas and component sources to design my own. Thank-you.

[@sheriemcclelland8014]

Im in awe of this diy power source, im a diy in crafting, and jewelry kind of stuff, and im watching some vids a.ong these lines to see if i cou,d make my own power bank at a fraction of cost, then buying suaoki, jackery, and son on, i finally have a 10p watt solar panal coming, i have a couple of those 6 in 1 and 8 in 1 powerbanks, but im looking to add more additional powers sources in case of power outages, my mom lost her power just a coup,e weeks ago due to the tropical storm we had in ct, i had purchased a 19 inch flat tv, an air antenae, and some of my power banks just to get her through with having tv, lights a small fan, but im looking to add some more without paying the big bucks of the brand name types,, i a.so have escooters swagtron swagcycle pro, and razor metro echosmart scooters, that in event of power loss i cou.d recharge batterys, although now i have solar, i might beable to rechage this way,, anyway sorry about lenghty comment, i maynot beable to do such a big build, but this sure is inspiring, and ill try to do a small beginners untill i am able to work my way into these larger builds, if i can teach myself how to design and create some of the jewlery, macrame and other tgpes, suncatchers dreamcatchers, wire work as well, im sure my ha ds could work out trying to do a starter build,, thanks for the great vids

[@michaelhardy2803]

Electric EMP Shield proof

[@Scat.original]

a parts list would be nice

[@marktheunitedstatescitezen185]

Great Job , I did not look do you have a parts list ? You are very specific in the parts you wanted 👍🏼 ! Looks great

[@honestinsincerity2270]

Awesome video. Not to be an annoying dick but those are SPST toggle rocker switches on the end, right?

[@mkestamper]

Mark, Very nice set up. I noticed on your solar input line that your using #6. I am assuming that your paralleling your panels. If your put your panels in series, that would double the voltage and keep the amps the same. Higher voltage coming into the mppt would be more efficient, and you will be able to use smaller cable. The higher solar input voltage would allow you to have a longer cable if needed and smaller size too. I have six 255 watt panels. 3 in series and the two sets in parallel. I use a 10 ga wire running at about 60 feet. I use a midnite solar classic 250. Full sun my input voltage is close to 90 volts at about 22 amps. I have a 24v battery bank and it will push about 45 amps into the batterys. Just thought I would give you my $.02 worth. Thanks for posting the video.

[@DavidJJJ]

mkestamper great point, it’s always better to series connect for more volts if you can.

[@impatientmaker8469]

I am trying to build a "cheap" generator for my first one, and was going to go with a PWM charge controller, but I think you convinced me to upgrade to MPPT and go in series.

[@DocsInTheDesert]

Have you considered switching the battery’s over to LiFePO4 batteries? That would save you quite a bit of weight. Downside being cost.

[@markusmc7]

Cost is the ONLY reason I haven’t gone to LiFePo4 batteries.

[@markusmc7]

Yes. Considered it... until I saw the cost! I had to build this a little at a time over about a year because I didn't have the money to buy everything up front. LiFePO4 just isn't in the budget.

[@marktheunitedstatescitezen185]

Very very good job

[@flipperbear9]

AGM? Seriously?

[@srserpicol]

Wow, very impressive... are you making these to sell??? I’m interested!!!

[@markusmc7]

Sorry. This was a personal project. But, thanks for the interest.

[@thomasbeach498]

@@markusmc7 please take orders on custom solar generator builds. Its something we need desperately in the solar market. They havnt reached the lebel they should for a decent price. please text me . 647 972 1988

[@skepticalmechanic]

Only 100 amp hours as you can only use 50% of the battery capacity with out damaging them...

[@fibre17]

Nice work.

[@sillyboy32]

That is a crazy insane set up.....wow. I'm looking to build a setup like this to use as a dual battery system for when I overland/camp as as a portable for when the poo hits the fan at home. Though I do have a gas generator system at home. Awesome build. I will have mine tied in to the car system with the Redarc BCDC.....but lots more to look at.......

[@bartondavis3107]

Holy Cow. You should start manufacturing those guys.

[@JohnAnderson-df2wk]

Wow, you did some really nice work. Can you note the total investment cost?

[@markusmc7]

Due to limited funds, I gathered all the components over about 1 year. Total cost was around $2500.

[@ecocharged5338]

Fangpusun? Looks like a Victron knock-off...

[@ekoms108]

I think the company was bought?

[@derekanderson4412]

Awesome job! Where did you source the fangpusun meter from?

[@markusmc7]

I don't remember the name of the company, but I found it on Alibaba.com

[@DeliberateNRandom]

They're a knockoff of Victron. They have even made a full exterior clone, selling as an original.

[@thearizonarobb2137]

Niceeee. I am process of making one. Thank you

[@Indigenous_Patriot_1175]

That’s awesome I wish I had the knowledge and the skill to put sometime that together. Great work

[@luiemo4218]

Can I buy it??, let me know the price, thanks

[@LiveToTrainInc]

rockin job!! Fanatstic job!! WOW!!

[@bigdave471]

Please provide links to acquire these parts. Thanks

[@JT-mo3yd]

nice

[@reamtm1]

Aee KZbin Dell this product

[@cavusbarnss2]

one hell of a professional job..

[@mattdrake6381]

This is awesome.

[@KyleHu]

Excellent build!!

[@mrtruth81]

I just wanted to say thank you. I have been looking for these terminal knobs for about a month now. Great job on the build.

[@markusmc7]

No problem. I had the same problem. That's why I included the information. Good luck!

[@anthonymarino4260]

nice build

[@deezlpwer07]

Great build thanks for sharing

[@jackrodgersjr]

How about using external battery?

[@markusmc7]

You can add an external battery by using the negative and positive through panel battery terminal connectors at the DC end of the box. By connecting the positive terminal of my box to the positive terminal of the external battery and the negative terminal in the same manner, using the appropriate wires with ring terminals, you can wire an external battery in parallel thus increasing its capacity beyond the 200 Ah that I have.

[@johnbuenaventura1]

Is the box the 26 in. Connect Mobile Tool Box Black? How does it hold up to the weight?

[@markusmc7]

Hi John! This is the 37 in Mobile Job Box Utility Cart. It was rated for 200 lbs and it seems to do well for these components.

[@johnbuenaventura1]

Awesome, thank you sir...

[@PA6640]

@@markusmc7 Mark, great design. Do you happen to have an electrical schematic for this design?

[@PA6640]

@@markusmc7 On the electrical schematic, My email is [e-mail]. This is Phil.

[@lorimolyneaux4446]

awesome

[@kylebishop6233]

Shame the wiring is extremely messy, inside. At least you have all your wiring well protected on the fuse board. Not too bad a job well done. Is the plastic box strong enough? I built a 1380Watt hour unit, in a big flight case. Can be seen on my channel somewhere.

[@kevinmiller1646]

It looks a lot like the one I built a year ago did you use any of my ideas please let me know.