Nice build. Only one suggestion. After spending 23 years in the inverter repair industry, I would suggest losing the cheap, high frequency, transformerless inverter and spend a little more money and invest in a low frequency, transformer-based inverter instead. Unfortunately, Chinese made, high frequency inverters on the market simply don't last. Especially when powering inductive loads like refrigerators, microwave ovens, portable air conditioners or power tools. You may be able to start some of these loads when your high frequency inverter is new, but over time, typically after less than a year, after repeated use, the MOSFETs in this high frequency inverter will fail. They simply are not designed for powering inductive loads. That's why the big name brand inverter manufacturers like Schneider Electric, Outback Power, Magnum Energy and others, all use a low frequency topology in their design.

Out of all the videos I've been watching, this was the most clear and easy to understand, so thank you!

Not everyone gets gifted two of the most important parts of the system. Expensive parts!!!!

photovoltaic/solar thermal technician here: i have a beef with your video 😤 it was too good 😁👍

We have used the kzfaq.infoUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!

Nice setup. Only one glaring flaw. After spending 23 years in the inverter repair industry. I would highly recommend spending a little more money and investing in a low frequency, transformer based inverter instead of that cheap high frequency unit. High requency, transformerless inverters are not designed for powering inductive loads like refrigerators, power tools and microwave ovens. And can actually be damaged by these types of loads leading to a much shorter life expectancy for your system.

Great video for explanation. For a Van or RV I would have put in a fuse panel for each circuit so everything does not go down if one item pulling current burns out I still have everything else working. The fact you can double that for the cost of an extra battery is the real bonus. Its the scalability that is powerful here.

I have been living off-grid for ten years and can certify that your information is fantastic for anyone wishing to get started. I have a number of systems including one identical to yours. I even charge my Tesla model 3 as the closest =Tesla charger is 135 miles from me.

Install an automatic transfer switch! I found this video and another one from Will Prowse showing the transfer switch and i'm totally doing this! Great video

Thank you for clearly and concisely explaining all the components needed AND additional videos on each components details. Your videos are an excellent resource for my son who is just learning about electronics and myself who is just an avid pop up camper who needs a fan sometimes!

A trick for drilling your hole bigger without a drill press: drill the bigger hole in a piece of scrap. Clamp the scrap to your panel centered over the smaller hole. Use the scrap to guide your hole saw so it does not walk.

The best solar explanation I’ve seen, ever! Thank you.

First time after so many videos that this makes sense. Thank you.

Good info! Awesome build! NOW things to consider and for Safety, Do the research and figure out what your wires and fusing must handle. A fuse or breaker from the solar panels which can double as a disconnect switch. Fusing for your Source (Battery) is recommended to be no more than 7 inches from the POS Post. As in your AC system EVERYTHING must be Fused and switched so it can be separated safely. DC power can and will cause a fire (even a little 9V battery). As in your AC system ALL the POS wire ends and connections are recommended to be covered to prevent accidental shorting and a possible fire (SHIT Happens)! Just a recommendation! keep all your fusing (except your source fuse) on the front of your little panel so you can quickly see and replace them if you need to. In a Grid down situation, you want it to work. MOST of these DIY projects on here are lacking the necessary fusing and short prevention. DO IT RIGHT don't just make it work!

Been looking at a few DYI builds and this one is pretty much the best in explaining it simply enough that a novice who has very little experience can make one. Going to be trying to make my first one and the only thing I can think of in doing differently is using a old ice cooler with wheels and extending handle as a frame to place the battery and other components mounted to it to make easier to transport.

Instant like when he said, "as an excuse to buy more tools". LOL Love it

Nice build. Simple and it works. I used that battery with Renogy 3000W for my portable power station. Chainsaw works great running off it. Thanks for sharing.

This video was extremely helpful, thank you. I am currently in correspondence with Renogy UK about supplying the components I need for a 400w array, 200amp Lithium battery, MPPT controller and 2000w PSW inverter and associated fuses and cabling. I want to put in a simple system to allow me to run a household fridge freezer should we experience any power outages this winter, but also to run my radio shack off grid. I am looking forward to this little project and your video clearly explains the layout, thank you.

This is one of the best Solar DIY videos. Thank you!

You answered so many questions I have about my off grid system. I have watched many many videos trying to figure this very type of solar system and was always left with questions. You hit the nail on the head. Thank you. Thank you!!

Thank you I've been wondering where I went wrong with mine, and this has cleared up some of my questions. Cheers

Would it be better to connect the charge controller directly to the battery not via the inverter?

Awesome build. Looks simple and doable. Thanks.

That simple set up could fit into a nook in my minivan. Thanks

I run a very similar system at my ranch, much larger battery bank and inverter but the basic principal is the same. Nicely done.

Simple and yet extremely well explained. Hello from South Africa. I want to consider building one in the next few weeks so the guidance helps.

5 years offgrid. This solar technology is going BOOM 💥 ! I am on a good system now . Moderate . Its mine . I will add as i can. Solar works y'all

id love to try one of these ive used traditional ones for years when the power is out due to snow storms

This is one of the best explanations for building a small solar system that I’ve come across. Thanks! I’ve got all the components ready to put my system together. One bit of confusion I’m having is, what is the gauge size of the wires between the battery and inverter? I have some standard battery cables that appear to be almost twice the thickness of your wires.

Thanks for explaining the 100ah battery equates to 1200 watt hours. I had not know that until now. I'm currently building a small (4) Renogy 100watt pannels and a renogy 30ah charge controller setup. I also purchased one of those cheapie charge controllers just to put away for the just in case situation, but honestly, I may just pick up a spare quality controller. I'm learning as much as I can for my small off grid setup with intentions on building a larger setup. Thank you

Great video!! I was considering getting the bouge charge controller, but seeing that it’s inaccurate makes me feel I should look to another source. I’m like you that I don’t want to use a cheap one because of the harm it could do. But I do feel it should be very accurate Thanks for the very thorough video

I have this eetup in my truck. To save more money you can use LEad battery. the panel is on my roof top and the whol system keeps a fridge and freezer in the back of my truck, Cold beers on demand!

This video is simply one of the best I have watched so far, great job.

Thanks, I appreciate this video. Exactly what I needed.

Gave you a bit of a hard time on your shoes/lack there of, but that comes from 42 years of PPE training as a professional tradesman in a large corporation. You lived through the video so it wasn't important after all. Beyond that, this was actually a very simple straightforward and easily understood instructional video that I will earmark for my own future reference when I build one of these systems for myself. Really well done and I think you accomplished what you were trying to do.

Brother, you are my new favorite channel. Found your channel yesterday, and im loving all your content. Keep up the good work!

lol.... "what a coincidence, so am I...." that was funny! Greg (garden grove, CA)

Wow, you made it simple and understandable. Thanks !

The only concern I have here is you're using the posts on the inverter as a sort of defacto bus bar. Current coming in from the panels is going through those to reach the battery. I have seen others do this and I can't help but wonder why. The solar charge controller sends current to the battery. The battery sends current to the inverter. I kept those runs separate from one another in the portable power station I built. This was easily accomplished using a proper bus bar configuration. Not saying what you did was wrong, but I didn't want the DC voltage (~24v?) from the solar panels connecting to the same lugs on the inverter where the battery is supplying 12.8 volts.

I have finally found a good how to video. I think. Ima try this.

Thank you very much. From SriLanka.

Great video great battery box power 👍 great show

Thanks brother for the info, I'm just starting and I was afraid to build a system, u gave me confidence Thanks again

You should use the plywood you cut to form a right angle to the mount, scoot the charge controller closer to the inverter, and use the opposite side of the plywood that forms the angle for the faces of your plugs and breakers. Even as a one-third box enclosure, you can slide it into any corner if you don't have another two boards to enclose it so you don't have to see the parts and still have access to your plugs and breakers. Paint the boards a neutral color and it'd be portable, convenient and aesthetically compatible almost anywhere.

nicely done! appreciate your detailed explanations & rationale behind the build choices. subscribed and checking out your previous vids -- looking forward to more content along these lines, thanks! -chris

Thank you very much it is fantastic demonstrating how do you use solar panel battery inverter I’ve been watching lots of KZfaq but never as simplifies as you are on program thank you🙏

Thank you for this!

This was really helpful. I have 2 400w panels that generate 90v and 11a in series and I was looking for an inexpensive system and this fits the bill I think. Not sure about the 90v but I’ll do some research on that. Many similar videos demo much more expensive equipment for higher capacity systems so this is a great alternative

Great tutorial. Thank you for your time and effort to make this video and share it with us. Greetings from Croatia.

Very nice job, greeting from Cape Town, South Africa.

Great presentation! I learned a lot. Thank you.

Thanks, very useful information and great details. I think the only thing I would change would be who you wired the charge controller. I apologize if that's already explained but I would connect the charge controller directly to the battery with it's circuit breaker. That way you can isolate the inverter and still charge the battery. Also, would the 100amp BMS on that battery cut out at 1280 watts (100 amps)? Thanks again for all the great videos!

From 8:15 for about 20 sec. your info. is SO important . You are correct about protecting your LiFePO4 battery however think about what your battery is inside of ... your home . Very good video , thank you .🙂

I am starting to get a grasp for the basics, thanks for this video. If I can ask [I own no solar , just starting my shopping list to make my 1st setup] in regards to the 50a & 200a breakers. I do understand what they breaks will do, but I am not clear why the 50a for the charge controller and 200a for the inverter. If you have the time, would you mind an overview?

Brilliant!! Thank You So Much!!

Thank you it looks really nice and I think this would make a really good high school science fair project if they still have that sort of thing

Great video! Thank you!

"I look at these types of projects as an opportunity to buy tools" Thats what I do too!!

I have been looking at what pv generator to by but now after watching your video I’m thinking I can just make my own!

I like your videos . I just subscribed. One of the main reasons I did was to prove once and for all to my good friend that impulse buys is not practical. This way I will demonstrate the power of research before you decide to buy a solar power generator.

thanks buddy, you made it look so easy

Great video. Thank you!

Very good explanation. Thank you.

Nice project and thank you for sharing!

Great info i wished i could see more clearly where the wires were hooked up

Excellent!! Thank you

Thanks for this. Just what I need at just the right time

It a great and simple set up for beginner like me and i like to see multiple connectors, i just wonder how to do it right?

Thinking about setting up one to run my pool pump and equipment… this might be the way to go…

I got the 12v 300 ah version, 60 amp MPPT controller, and 2000 w inverter. I`m really nervous about messing something up. It was so expensive and I spent the last of my meager savings on it but felt like it would be a wise investment with the crazy insanity happening everywhere. Plus I`m in a hurricane zone. We had long power outages and damage from two direct hits in 2020...Laura & Delta...several near misses too. I have a lot of small and medium sized solar power stations, my two largest Bluetti EB70s for my freezer, power banks, and all sorts of solar rechargeable batteries for radios, etc. I ran my 6 tabletop hydroponic salad greens gardens from them after one power outage. The day I got my first small Rockpals` power station I wondered if I`d wasted my money. That night we had a 9 hour power outage which is common here due to damage to the grid. I ran my WIFI and charged my laptop. That convinced me to get more. I want my own guaranteed electricity. Can`t afford to run a gas generator for weeks after a storm.

The Newpowa 2000 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter in this video is Excellent and a very good investment.

Thank you. Great. This is better than buying a solar generator

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing.

well explained at a not crazy to follow pace 👍

Very nice build and this channel has given me some good ideas. I am using a Lifepo lithium battery and was told that those cheaper PWM chargers don't do as good a job in properly charging lithium batteries unless they have adjustable settings? Something about PWM's float charging them too low. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.

really like the video 📹 👌! You should do another video with extra battery and two solar panels!

I have been using heat shrink with solder built inside from wish that work excellent for small to 12 g wiring. Simple lighter or small torch works and they don't melt or flame up easy at all, they just work. My 10 year old can use them they save crazy amounts of time and super super cheap. Like 15 bucks for 300 in assorted case. I ordered several

Thanks! Will look what you did once I get the basic stuff as I am doing exactly this right now (went on a spending spree last night on Amazon), just to learn how it all works (money wise if nothing goes wrong, it will take me 7 years to get even haha). I did buy a smaller inverter as they also consume power. Didn't think of the breaker box, but was thinking about shutting it down with a relay linked to my domotica so it doesn't consume energy when it doesn't need to. For now I want to run my 120watt hue setup on it to see if the Dutch weather can sustain it with solar energy (I have my doubts), but when it does, I might upgrade and place a fridge just like you did, good idea. I subbed!

Awesome video. Very informative & really helpful 👍👍👍

Best video on this content. Thanks

Nice job. Great video.

Good build and information to build.

100% agree on the Charge controller - I have one of those $20 ones that came with a Renogy 100w panel “bundle”. I’m using it right now as a temporary solution to charge my pop up camper battery, but the terminal connection ports are crappy (shallow) and the whole thing is pretty junky. I need to upgrade!

Also if you use a nylon cutting board you can use your 2-inch strip where you put the black controls on the bottom of your plywood there you could also build that up for the nylon put screws through it to where when you mount it in there it's away from the backboard just a bit to where your wires can come underneath there you can wire it all through the outside of your surface and nothing going underneath

Do you have any tutorials or videos that discuss expanding capacity of this set up (I.e. running 2-3 12v batteries in parallel)?

What a great video! Everything, every part, explained clearly and in depth, making quite a complicated and involved subject perfectly understandable. you have a talent for teaching, thankyou! Best wishes from England.

Good work!

Nice set up and walk thru video.

great video!!!

Helpful. I’m just starting to tinker with a solar project starting small with 100w panel and a 1000w dev power converter. I don’t like working with electricity of any kind so this should be interesting lol.

I started with a simple 614 wt-hr system with a all in one LiFePO4 power station. My original intent was to use two 100 watt panels but the power station has a 100 watt input limit so I can only use one of my panels unless my efficiency drops below 50 watts output.

FIRST OF ALL, GOD BLESS YOUR FAMILY, KEEP IT UP MAN

Nice to know what you have bought....

Thank you very much.

Very nice build. Really appreciate the way you explained the finer details, as in the reasoning for the fuse ratings etc. great job 👍

This is amazing! I was searching a way to charge my laptop and keep producing music even in remote situations, but this covers pretty much everything in case of emergency! I'm very glad to have found your channel, just subbed!!

In all fairness, the cheap pwm charge controllers work will with smaller applications and small batteries i.e. garden irrigation or yard lighting. I think different sized systems will get differently priced components based upon safety and use.

That's a nice SCC, I wish I could own someday if budget permits :(

Thanks

Thank You Sir !