Putting power in the blind - ideas?

[kmack]

For those that have added 12V battery power with a solar panel to your blinds, was it pretty straightforward? Easy? How'd ya do it?

I'm looking to add some simple LED light strips & 12V charging power in a current single blind, and also in a future blind to be build this year.

I'm looking for some ideas.

From a simple standpoint, I figure, decent-sized 12V battery, solar charger, hook it up to lights, and one or two USB ports for charging stuff.

[Passafist]

I have a 12v feeder battery/panel set up I got a cigarette lighter plug/USB charger and fan from a auto parts store to wire it I run the fan and charge phone by on it

[kmack]

I was kind of thinking of adding something along these lines:

Linkstyle 4 in 1 Charger Socket Panel





Although, it would be nice if the USB ports had higher Amp ratings.

[Kong]

I have a 100-150 watt panels on top of the blinds with marine deep cycle batteries under them hooked up to solar chargers and I have interior lights, usb charging ports as well as green off-road LED lights mounted to the outside of a few of them hooked up to dimmer switches so we can pig hunt at night. It’s simple straight forward stuff and if your simply wanting an interior light with a charging port or two you can get by with much less. All you would need for that is a 25-50 watt panel and a small lawn mower sized battery and a $10 solar charger, I’ve got 2 stands that have ran this way for 6 years now and the batteries are still going strong.

[ShoootLow]

We have to replace batteries every year. They don’t get enough regular discharge, and even using a controller it seems like it kills the batteries over time. We have marine terminals like pictured, USB for fans, phone chargers, and lights. In the end it’s easier to bring a larger portable battery bank that will make it through two hunts and charge it overnight.

[Kong]

We have to replace batteries every year. They don’t get enough regular discharge, and even using a controller it seems like it kills the batteries over time. We have marine terminals like pictured, USB for fans, phone chargers, and lights. In the end it’s easier to bring a larger portable battery bank that will make it through two hunts and charge it overnight.

You have an issue somewhere, I’ve got 8 blinds with power and I havnt replaced a battery in 5 plus years. It sounds like your solar chargers aren’t working properly to me but I’ve never had an issue unless someone left lights on and then they charged right back up after they were turned off.

[Leddy]

Used same plate

Here is what i did with same front plate as you are considering. I just ran to solar panel on outside of the Blind.

Pretty sure I used someone’s idea off here but can’t remember.

[kmack]

^^ Looks good!

[IDFWU]

Here is what i did with same front plate as you are considering. I just ran to solar panel on outside of the Blind.

Pretty sure I used someone’s idea off here but can’t remember.

Mine are similar to that except I used the plastic ammo boxes you can get from Academy. Make sure you have a controller. My batteries are going on their 4th year. I’ll try to dig up a picture.


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[Smart]

Mine are similar to that except I used the plastic ammo boxes you can get from Academy. Make sure you have a controller. My batteries are going on their 4th year. I’ll try to dig up a picture.


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How about a link to said or similar controller as well?

[Smart]

Putting power in the blind - ideas?

Sorry to hijack op ….

Is this similar to what you folks with controllers are using? I have two blinds with 12v feeder batteries and similar solar panels and they don’t draw unless I have my cell booster hooked up to them …and depending on what blind I’m hunting for a specific deer that could be 0-20 times a year in a 3 month period…. I burned up one battery in 1.5 years so I stopped keeping them hooked up unless I was there. Wanted something I could hook up in September and disconnect in January and not worry about damage to a battery due to non-use.

Renogy 10 Amp 12V/24V PWM Negative Ground Solar Charge Controller Compact Design w/LCD Display for AGM, Gel, Flooded and Lithium Battery, Wanderer 10A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NPDWZJ7...8TS21QK0JH7TEZ

[kmack]

No worries about the hijack! I put this out there as a sounding board for ideas.

On the issue about controllers, I thought it wasn't necessary to use a solar panel charge controller if the system itself was under a certain number of Amps, like say a feeder battery, be it 6V or 12V. I read that some where, but I don't remeber what the total was.

Now, I did see something last night about using a diode in the wiring from the solar panel to the battery, so that the battery doesn't back-feed the solar panel at night. I think this was a problem I had with a 6V feeder setup last year. The battery lasted 1.5 months on the solar panel, but lasted almost 3 months w/o the panel.

[doug]

I know NOTHING about electricity but built a nice 6 x 6 stand and installed a system earlier this year. Only been going 5 months but has worked great. Probably oversized but runs a charging system for phones or lights. I also have a DVD player in there but don't really use it. The best thing it runs is a small 12 volt ceiling fan! Don't think I've ever seen it posted on tbh but it's a game changer on hot days! I meant to do a build thread and share all this but didn't.

Please don't take anything I did as the "right" advice because I really don't have a clue about this stuff but its what I did. Here's the links to what I used. I can get some pics this weekend if anybody wants to see them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GYPSLNQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/pop/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_pop?_encoding=UTF8&gen=canonical&lineItemId=mnppssptrnrnony&orderId=114-7789277-8065033&packageId=1&returnSummaryId=&returnUnitIndices=&returnUnitMappingId=&shipmentId=UHHsxXDvM

https://www.amazon.com/SUNSUL-Maintainer-Waterproof-Controller-Accessories/dp/B0956QFKVY?pd_rd_w=N8N5f&pf_rd_p=fa602f5a-9bb2-4470-9137-ba5fba954279&pf_rd_r=3RGRHR0THXDV4NFTBHJM&pd_rd_r=7d09b002-92ee-467a-893f-e75578db5ff6&pd_rd_wg=5w2d8&pd_rd_i=B0956QFKVY&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_rp_26_sc

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Ceiling-Disumos-Hanging-Camping/dp/B08DV3NFJY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=3QYR5364XDX7W&keywords=12+volt+ceiling+fan&qid=1642604280&sprefix=12+volt+ceiling+fan%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-4

[doug]

Forgot to list but I got the smallest lawn mower Battery from Walmart. Not sure how long it will last but doing great so far.

One other thing I would probably not use the led light strips I listed or get a smaller version. They are just too bright! The little controller box has a light on it the glows enough for me to see when I get in the stand in the morning so I don't use them.

[kruppa24]

Man that’s cool idea. May have to add this setup to my blind