Engel Md14f power supply

CampStewart

Observer
Solar doesn't work for me when camping, I am in the deepest woods I can find. I would like to try using my engel md14f in my car during the week with a solar panel. As this is an experiment I am not looking to go all out and spend a lot on this. My initial plan is to use something similar to the 50 dollar relay setup discussed in a thread here when driving an hour each way to charge a group 38 starting battery to and from work and then use a solar panel during the day. Can I just hard wire the solar panel in all the time even when charging from the car? The published specs on the md14f are 2.8 amps at full draw which I believe is about 33 watts. What size panel would I need? What panels would you recommend? It will be mounted on the shelf behind the rear seat of a subcompact car.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
With a reasonably high capacity LFP battery you will get all the charging you need from your driving, no solar required. Say 50-80AH?

Even with a high-CAR lead bank like AGM, but then for longevity you should plug it into mains to get back to 100% Full at least most cycles. 100AH should be enough.
 

Bbasso

Expedition Leader
Mounted in the car behind glass and the structure will have in very diminished results.

a cheapo SCC, long MC4 cables and a 100wt deployable panel in the sun would help your battery greatly. Less than $200 and you can have a simple solar system (minus battery)
 

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