A list of the products we’ve tried and tested during our various projects at Rally Creek.
| Product | Rally Creek USA Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | View our Choosing A Solar System Battery article. | |
| 12 Volt 100Ah AGM Lead Battery 50% max usable ah capacity, 5Y max average lifespan | ||
| Weize 100ah LP12-100-W AGM M8 terminal, 68 lbs, 2Y warranty | Our first battery array used these. Could only get to maximum 38% discharge before shutdown. | $155 at Amazon |
| 12 Volt LiFePO4 Lithium Battery, various capacities | View our 12V LiFePO4 Battery list. | |
| 48 Volt LiFePO4 Lithium Battery , Various capacities | View our 48V LiFePO4 Battery list. | |
| Battery Cable | ||
| iGreely 8 8AWG 2ft | $10 at Amazon | |
| Voltworks 4AWG 2ft | $19 at Amazon | |
| Voltworks 2AWG 2ft | $19 at Amazon | |
| Battery Charger | ||
| HTRC P20 – Smart Charger for Lithium, LiFePO4, AGM 5/10/20 Amp | Works well for mid-power charger. Using this for our initial charge testing on LiFePO4 batteries. | $63 at Amazon (na) |
| Victron Blue Smart IP67 12V 17A | Our second charger for charge testing our LiFePO4 batteries. No on-screen display. Built-in bluetooth communicates with mobile app that shows total charge, charge state, etc. | $140 Amazon (na) |
| Battery Monitor / Shunt | ||
| Renogy Battery Shunt 300A No display, Bluetooth (requires One Core) for DC Home app. | 300A Shunt Easy to use, nice display. Wish display showed total Ah discharged/charged 24 hour or since last 0Ah reading. Pairs with app. | $150 Renogy (na) |
| Renogy 500A Battery Monitor with Shunt LCD Display on device, 10 – 120V | 500A Shunt No external data monitoring/connections. | $77 Amazon (na) $107 Renogy (na) |
| Victron BMV-712 500A | 500A shunt Includes bluetooth and Ve.Direct connections. Pairs with app. | $160 Amazon (na) |
| Breakers | ||
| Red Wolf 200A 12-48 Volt DC Inline Breaker | Inline breaker between the battery array and inverter. | $25 at Amazon |
| Breaker Box | ||
 Connecticut Electric CESMPSC74GRHR Power Panel80A Outdoor RV Panel Outlet with Breakers and GFCI Duplex 14-50 , TT30, 110 outlets | Installed at Blue Skies Cabin for RV (TT30) connection. Split phase 240 is unused at the moment. Good quality, like the lock out option. | $210 at Amazon $210 at Home Depot (na) |
| GE Powermark 125A Indoor Main Breaker Kit | $65 at Home Depot | |
| GE Breaker Box Grounding Kit | $10 at Home Depot | |
| RVGuard Outdoor Power Panel With Breaker 14-50 , TT30, 110 outlets | $130 at Amazon | |
| Bus Bar | ||
| DAIERTEK 12V Bus Bar 6 x 5/16″ (M8) | Battery array bus bar simplifies battery connection and distributes power evenly. | $25 at Amazon (no af) |
| Cables | ||
| Cables, various | View our Cable list. | |
| Charge Controller | ||
| Solar Charge Controllers, various | View our Charge Controller list. | |
| Electrical Wire | ||
| Southwire 13058323 100ft 12/3 Underground Feeder Cable, Gray can be use indoors, also UV protected, flame retardant, and can be used in wet locations | $88 at Amazon | |
| Southwire 13055926 100ft 12/2 Underground Cable | $90 at Amazon (na) | |
| Southwire 63946828 Romex Simpull Solid 14/3 W/G NMB 100ft | $84 at Amazon | |
Southwire 63947628 Romex Simpull Solid 12/3 W/G NMB Yellow 100ft | $125 at Amazon | |
| Fuses | ||
| Blue Sea Systems 12 Circuit Fuse Box | Connect up to a dozen hard wired DC devices to a DC load output like those on many charge controllers. | $40 at Amazon |
| EP Auto 120 Piece Blade Fuse Set | Extra fuses for our DC fuse box and Victron Orion-Tr DC to DC converter | $10 at Amazon |
| Inverter | ||
| Giandel 3000W 24 Volt Pure Sine Wave Inverter | Our latest inverter for Blue Skies Cabin. This allows us to upgrade from a 12 volt to 24 volt system and increase our PV input. | $400 at Amazon (na) |
| Renogy 2000W 12 Volt Pure Sine Wave Inverter | Our first inverter for Blue Skies Cabin. Wish it had a much larger grounding connection as the little baby screw terminal cannot handle a reasonable guage grounding wire. | $260 at Amazon |
| Renogy 48V 3500W Solar Inverter Charger RIV4835CSH1S-US | Only 48 volt inverter option from Renogy. Includes charge controller, inverter, and battery charger in a single unit. Should allow up to 4400W of solar input (vs 520 from our Rover 40A). If grid-connected it can charge batteries if solar is not enough on a cloudy day. Not a grid-tied setup, should not push power back toward the grid as far as we know. Note: Renogy “in stock” does not necessarily mean in stock and ready to ship. After 10 days no tracking could be provided and customer services confirms it has not shipped yet continues to ask for “one more day” to get a Tracking number. Very likely that the product is not available in the USA. | $580 at Renogy (na) |
| Inverter / Charger | ||
| LiTime 3000W | Inverter and AC charger in a single unit, allows the batteries to be charged from a grid source as needed. | $570 Amazon (na) |
| Mini Split Air Conditioner Heater | ||
| Senville LETO 90CD 3/4 Ton (9,000 BTU) 110V Heat Pump Mini Split SEER 21.5 720W 6.26A | Our first minisplit at Blue Skies Cabin. Uses very little power, about 1kW when heating including the inverter losses. That is as much power our our tiny test-unit space heater for battery tests. | $750 at Amazon |
| Klimaire KSIV009-H119-S(W) SEER 21.5 780W 6.8A / 925W 8A | $720 at Amazon 10 day delivery | |
| Power Cords | ||
| Liesure Cords 90 Degree 15′ 30A RV Power Cord With Twist Lock | $40 at Amazon | |
| Power Converters | ||
| Victron Orion-Tr 24 | 12-20 | 24 volt DC to 12 volt DC 20 amp converter. | $40 at Amazon (na) |
| Power Ports (Exterior To Interior) | ||
| PAULINN 125V 15A AC Power Inlet, Y Adapter | $20 at Amazon (na) | |
| RVGuard 125V 30A RV AC Power Inlet | $20 at Amazon |
(na) – no affiliate, we do not earn commissions on these links