BOV Solar Installation

I could not find the type of Solar Panel needed for our BOV Solar installation in Taiwan but managed to get one from China instead. I needed a Semi-Flexi 20W Solar Panel which is lighter and more durable unlike those glass reinforced with Aluminium frames that are much heavier.  

Delivery took less than a week and the package was well packed. Also included was a 2 metres cable with connectors and that save my effort to hunt for more cables and connectors. Currently I got only one Solar Panel to test it out, if it is good, I will get probably 2 or 3 more to ran in parallel for more Amperes for BOV camping and survival.

Base on the calculation a 20W Solar Panel only produces 1.2 amp current. It is definitely insufficient if we were to use for self sustain BOV camping. 

Based on our need, estimated ampere hourly ampere usage calculation what we will use are the;

• Cool Box 3amp 36Watt hourly and if on it for 8hour and off it during the evening, we would consumed 288Watts 
• LED x 3@ 0.12amp = 0.36amp = 1.44watts x 3 = 4.32Watts hourly and for 8 hour in the evening = 34.56Watts. 

Mobolo PWM Solar Charge Controller Modification

Got this Solar Charge Controller locally made in China by Mobolo Electronic Technology Co. Ltd. It came with a 3 page Mandarin user instructions and the Solar Charge Controller. This model is EPOW-PS10 10amp PWM Solar Charge Controller, on their website you can download the User Instructions but it is in Chinese. PWM, Pulse Width Modulation are one of the most sophisticated technology as it is able to monitor, adjust and control the charge going into the battery.  

Mashin KS-1210 Intelligent Battery Charger

For the whole last one week, we been having problems with our vehicle stater battery. The vehicle was left too long not running and the battery was totally discharged. Checked the battery it was 11.9V, managed to jump start and drove around for 2 hours. Next day, it was not able to start again the battery reading was 12.1V.

Just the other day when our friends from Singapore came to visit us, the battery was dead again. Decided to use the Aux Battery through Joeypa Battery Isolator to boost the starter battery and it started the engine. After travelling in the vehicle for 4 to 5 hours. The next day the battery reading was 12.38V.

Suspected the battery was not able to hold the charge well, the sulphuric acid might have coated the battery plating inside causing the battery failing to hold charge. From many information on the internet, they would recommend to change the battery if it falls below 11.9V.

Found new information on rescuing battery, apparently they claimed they can resurrect a dead battery provided there is no internal plating damage. This new technology is called Pulse Charging. A Taiwanese company Mashin Electric Corp, they manufacture Battery Chargers and they have the Pulse Battery Charger. I contacted the supplier and they recommended to use their latest product just released in 2012 to try it out. So I did

Rear Storage Upgrade

The last time I had the rear storage carpeted. Since we have our dog in 2010, we had a problem with his fur dropping around and stuck to the carpet. It made cleaning nearly impossible. I have decided to remove the tile carpet and used lamented flooring instead. This will make cleaning much simple.