What type of solar power and how many watts would you need to maintain a 12 V battery as well as use for soft washing. Links would be great thanks!
Get the kind of solar that you use outside, itâs the best.
If youâre asking for the panel to power the pump, youâd need at least 200 watts for that, about a 5âx2â panel. But thatâs if you got peak efficiency (clear sky, full sun at noon with panel aimed perfectly) which you wouldnât.
If youâre just asking it to recharge the battery while the setup is outside, it would take a panel that size about 9 hours to recharge a 675ah battery from half.
I decided to check my math on that recharge time, since I was just sort of back-of-napkin figuring it out. Went to this charge time calculator and it was closer to 20 hours of direct sun with an efficient charge controller
Why would you bother?
You talking to me or him lol
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And they want to get rid of fossil fuelsđ
Elon musk up top. Solar charging a 12v softwash system is a waste of time and effort, an alternator provides you with all the free energy you need driving to the job site, tap into the alternator add an isolator, job done.
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Whoâs âtheyâ lol
Iâve never been able to keep a deep cycle fully topped off with just the alternator. I still have to put a battery tender on it every other week or so. And thatâs only using it to power a wfp pump and some reels.
I can see the possible advantages of a rooftop solar array. It could extend runtime during the day a bit, and probably top the battery off completely over the weekend (assuming you take weekends off). This would be especially effective if used in conjunction with the alternator charging.
I couldnât even tell you what my battery charge state is to be honest never even bothered to take notice, Iâve never run out of juice, In saying that I donât wash homes 8 hours a day with my 12v, mainly used on roofs, stucco and concrete treatments, as long as the vehicle is on itâs charging.
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