Solar Trickle Charger Setup (with Black Friday deals)

[TickTock]

Took advantage of a Black Friday sale on a 2.8kWh power station and solar panels to trickle charge the CT while on extended hunts. With four panels I can charge at about 4mi/hr which should allow me to get back home w/o having to stop.

• Bluetti Apex 300
• Bluetti 350W panels (X4) [update: much cheaper compatible panels can be found elsewhere like ALLPOWERS]
• Bluetti Solar Charging Cable (X2)
• Y splitter (2 pairs)
• Solar Extension cable (X2) - not necessarily required but in shady camp sites they should make it easier to find the sun.
• Neutral Bonding Plug - I made my own

The Tesla charger will not start unless you have the neutral bonding plug in one of the 120V outlets. This works for both the 120V (L1) and 240V (L2) outlets on the unit. There is some speculation that L2 is more efficient than L1 so I am running with 240V but with the max current limited in the CT charging settings.

Testing in my driveway with two of the four panels (other two are on the way but I am using only one of the two solar inputs on the charge station below so still have other input to add two more when they arrive):

I used the Tesla App to limit the charge rate to the same as the solar input so I can just leave it and not worry about it shutting down when the power station battery depletes.

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[MiamiPokerGuy]

How much did the whole setup cost after the Black Friday deal discounts?

 

[mongo]

Took advantage of a Black Friday sale on a 2.8Wh power station and solar panels to trickle charge the CT while on extended hunts. With four panels I can charge at about 4mi/hr which should allow me to get back home w/o having to stop.

• Bluetti Apex 300
• Bluetti 350W panels (X4)
• Bluetti Solar Charging Cable (X2)
• Y splitter (2 pairs)
• Solar Extension cable (X2) - not necessarily required but in shady camp sites they should make it easier to find the sun.
• Neutral Bonding Plug - I made my own

The Tesla charger will not start unless you have the neutral bonding plug in the 120V outlet on the same circuit. No point using the 240V plug since the fastest charge rate will be 1400W (limited by solar production).

Testing in my driveway with two of the four panels (other two are on the way but I am using only one of the two solar inputs on the charge station below so still have other input to add two more when they arrive):

I used the Tesla App to limit the charge rate to the same as the solar input so I can just leave it and not worry about it shutting down when the power station battery depletes.

You may have better results if you use solar to charge the Apex, then charge the truck at the maximum power possible via 240V. The truck being on to charge can be 500W or so.

 

[hemiarch]

You may have better results if you use solar to charge the Apex, then charge the truck at the maximum power possible via 240V. The truck being on to charge can be 500W or so.

That’s true but seems crazy. Surely they can software modify that.
Question, has anyone tried to quantify this while in the new “low power” mode?

 

[TickTock]

You may have better results if you use solar to charge the Apex, then charge the truck at the maximum power possible via 240V. The truck being on to charge can be 500W or so.

Good point. I'll see if I can minimize that. Thing is, I am away from camp most of the day so won't be around to restart the charge if the power station shuts down when it depletes. However, I just learned in this video at time 8:43 that there is an advanced feature I didn't know about that solves this. Unlike prior products, this one can be made to automatically restart once solar has recharged it. So yeah, maybe I can go ahead and charge at a higher rate while away from camp. Definitely will test this out soon.

 

[HaulingAss]

You may have better results if you use solar to charge the Apex, then charge the truck at the maximum power possible via 240V. The truck being on to charge can be 500W or so.

If the truck is drawing 500 watts above the charge current then either it's frickin' cold out or you haven't turned off all the ancillary features that use electricity.

That said, charging faster is a bit more efficient. On the other hand, charging from solar without having to store the generated electricity saves the round-trip loss into the battery and back out. Some power banks will deliver more AC current when you are drawing down the battery *and* have active solar inputs. In most camping-type scenarios, while tending a solar setup, the truck is not going to be going to sleep much anyway because you will typically be opening doors occasionally, etc. Probably best to just be charging whenever the sun is shining (and drawing down the battery while doing so). When the solar output drops off near the end of the day, stop charging and just get as much into the power bank for the remainder of daylight and through the morning hours until solar generation is strong again, and then turn the vehicle charging on again.

Best solution is to Supercharge before entering the backcountry and not having to mess with solar (unless you want it for cooking, lighting and other electronics on a more extended camp out).

 

[hemiarch]

If the truck is drawing 500 watts above the charge current then either it's frickin' cold out or you haven't turned off all the ancillary features that use electricity.

That said, charging faster is a bit more efficient. On the other hand, charging from solar without having to store the generated electricity saves the round-trip loss into the battery and back out. Some power banks will deliver more AC current when you are drawing down the battery *and* have active solar inputs. In most camping-type scenarios, while tending a solar setup, the truck is not going to be going to sleep much anyway because you will typically be opening doors occasionally, etc. Probably best to just be charging whenever the sun is shining (and drawing down the battery while doing so). When the solar output drops off near the end of the day, stop charging and just get as much into the power bank for the remainder of daylight and through the morning hours until solar generation is strong again, and then turn the vehicle charging on again.

Best solution is to Supercharge before entering the backcountry and not having to mess with solar (unless you want it for cooking, lighting and other electronics on a more extended camp out).

Hope you’re right about that but not so sure. Not sure if you’ve seen this but he has some interesting points to make.

 

[hemiarch]

Good point. I'll see if I can minimize that. Thing is, I am away from camp most of the day so won't be around to restart the charge if the power station shuts down when it depletes. However, I just learned in this video at time 8:43 that there is an advanced feature I didn't know about that solves this. Unlike prior products, this one can be made to automatically restart once solar has recharged it. So yeah, maybe I can go ahead and charge at a higher rate while away from camp. Definitely will test this out soon.

That is a WAY cool feature

 

[TickTock]

How much did the whole setup cost after the Black Friday deal discounts?

With 4 panels and all necessary cabling : $3700
I also got a $250 Handsfree2 power-station "free gift with orders over $2500"

 

[HaulingAss]

Hope you’re right about that but not so sure. Not sure if you’ve seen this but he has some interesting points to make.

He has the wrong equipment and doesn't know what he's doing. I don't think the Ecoflow unit can even charge using 240V! Does it even have pass-through solar like the Bluetti? Also, it was recorded before the Cybertruck had a low power mode and I have no confidence he turned off things like cabin climate control, Sentry Mode, cabin overheat protection, etc. The Cybertruck should not be heating the battery before level 1-2 charging (unless it's really cold out) so he's doing something wrong if it's pulling 600 watts (not counting any charge current). Plus, he doesn't have enough solar for EV charging. His expectations were too high, you always have to account for losses due to power conversion, storage, etc.

TL;DR: Most people simply don't know what they are doing, so don't take their results as gospel.

 

[HaulingAss]

With 4 panels and all necessary cabling : $3700
I also got a $250 Handsfree2 power-station "free gift with orders over $2500"

The real steal there is the Bluetti Apex 300! Hard to believe how much prices have dropped and capabilities/features have increased. Just awesome! Just don't expect it to charge your Cybertruck back up in any reasonable timeframe, it's best for eliminating vampire drain, adding a few miles if you miscalculate how much you will need, and providing additional camp power during extended camping trips.

 

[IIIEnforcerIII]

With 4 panels and all necessary cabling : $3700
I also got a $250 Handsfree2 power-station "free gift with orders over $2500"

I've tried to make it make sense many times too, and have watched as Power Station prices come down over time. But it still doesn't pencil out. For half of what you paid, you can get a nice, big inverter generator and charge at 2-5X of what the solar can do. In my hunts this fall, I took a Harbor Freight 4750 with me. After hunting, came back and ran it in the evening for 2-3 hours and put about 15 miles in it that way. The cold nights would then eat those away, but at least I was keeping it steady and not loosing range. Then on the day we left, I ran it for another 4 hours that morning until we packed up and left.

Using cheaper, rigid panels would help with the cost, but then you take up more space and they are more fragile, etc. Just not sure solar will ever pass a simple gas generator setup. But like many, I keep dreaming about it since its passive and works when I'm away from the truck. But even at $3700, its not better for my situation than my little generator.

 

[mongo]

If the truck is drawing 500 watts above the charge current then either it's frickin' cold out or you haven't turned off all the ancillary features that use electricity.

Accessories on (so no sleep) is around 10kWh per day including recharging, so that's more like 400W. Then add in charging efficiency and pack thermal control.

In winter, 1200W barely moves the needle when the pack is warm enough to charge.

 

[Mini2nut]

Maybe Tesla will offer a factory solar roof option in 2026 that would fall under the factory warranty. Any free juice is good juice

 

[TickTock]

I've tried to make it make sense many times too, and have watched as Power Station prices come down over time. But it still doesn't pencil out. For half of what you paid, you can get a nice, big inverter generator and charge at 2-5X of what the solar can do. In my hunts this fall, I took a Harbor Freight 4750 with me. After hunting, came back and ran it in the evening for 2-3 hours and put about 15 miles in it that way. The cold nights would then eat those away, but at least I was keeping it steady and not loosing range. Then on the day we left, I ran it for another 4 hours that morning until we packed up and left.

Using cheaper, rigid panels would help with the cost, but then you take up more space and they are more fragile, etc. Just not sure solar will ever pass a simple gas generator setup. But like many, I keep dreaming about it since its passive and works when I'm away from the truck. But even at $3700, its not better for my situation than my little generator.

No doubt, solar is not the cheapest option. I just can't bring myself to run a generator at my campsite, though. I'll pay the difference to only hear nature and the crackle of the fire pit.

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