Have made several of these in different flavors. Basic recipe houses houses a 35Ah AGM Battery and Solar Charge Controller in a Plano Medium Ammo Box making it weatherproof.
Single 35Ah battery fits nicely with a piece of foam to keep it from sliding against the charge controller. Standard Red 20A 12AWG automotive fuse holder and Black wires terminate to Anderson Powerpole 15/45 connectors for easy removal.
Simple Solar Charge Controller also fits well and provides load control with a couple USB outlets. The settings are mostly default, the important one to check is battery type.
Weatherproof SAE Bulkhead Connectors with 12 AWG pigtails provide Solar Panel input and Solar Charge Controller load output. A small application of Dielectric Grease or Silicon Spray will keep moisture out of mated connectors for long term deployment.
Tried several enclosure, battery, connector combos before the current Plano Ammo Box. In addition to weatherproof it’s easy to modify and holds up well to PNW weather like the Dry Box. The 35Ah AGM seem to work better than several UPS (7-9Ah) batteries and makes wiring simple. The SAE connectors are common on most battery chargers making it easy to charge without solar. There are also many SAE adapter cables available such as Y cables, extension cables, MC4 solar panel connectors and other common connectors.
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