I did a thing

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scott schmerge

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GREAT MOD! Pics on the underside too please - Promise no judging on your wire mgt

I took off the hood/bonnet gas struts long ago and just use the hinge locks. Love how much more it opens (Vertical now). Hope you have enough slack in the wire.
Will do! Sorry for the delay...was doing this

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scott schmerge

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So you apply the vinyl onto the hood and then tape the solar panel to that? I'm surprised by how thick the panel is, a 1/2 inch? I have an Overland Solar panel taped to my glass roof on my LR3 with 3M vhb tape and it's only about 3-4 mm thick total.

Problem with the roof mount is when I put my roof rack on it's not charging due to all the stuff I carry on my rack so I'm looking to add the hood mount to get power no matter what. I only put my rack on when I do a big adventures which is a couple times per year, and the solar really matters in the winter when I'm not driving as much.

I've contacted Lensunsolar about their panel (thanks for that @djkaosone), very similar to the Cascadia in size, but Lensunsolar was able to get more output due to the array layout and it's advertised as 2.5mm thick, also slightly lower cost.

this panel seems very well made and durable. I’m guessing also there’s very little heat transfer on the back side. It’s a pretty thick rubber type mat with what looks to be some sort of carbon fiber type cover over the actual solar cells. I would not be concerned about running this through the car wash.
 

djkaosone

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@scott schmerge You inspired me to get one on my hood, DARN YOU!!! :beer: I'm going with Lensun solar, I was sold on better monocrystalline panels, 110W, and 21.5% efficiency.

Thanks to @DiscoNels for contacting and doing some homework for me!
 

scott schmerge

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Will do! Sorry for the delay...was doing this

View attachment 11719

here are photos. It’s just a wire that comes down from the hood and connects to the box (which I affixed using double sided tape to the passenger side air intake cover). There is a positive and negative charging wire that connect to the battery terminals. The indicator lights on the box light up as soon as they connect to the battery terminals.

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avslash

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@scott schmerge You inspired me to get one on my hood, DARN YOU!!! :beer: I'm going with Lensun solar, I was sold on better monocrystalline panels, 110W, and 21.5% efficiency.

Thanks to @DiscoNels for contacting and doing some homework for me!

@djkaosone

Did you get the Lenasun panel yet? Curious on your thoughts, as well as how it attaches. Does it include a backer sheet like the Cascadia, or does it just adhere straight to the hood metal.

Thanks.
 

djkaosone

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Get it installed yet? Wondering about fitment and use of an overlay, etc. Details please.

I guess I was the test subject for Lensun. They sent me the first panel and it was completely off. I sent them pictures and details on how to fix it, and they did a great job fixing it.

Unfortunately, they didn't include the 3m vhb tape nor instructions. Based on this video,
. I got the LPPT vhb tape to mount the panel to the hood. I cleaned it the best I could. Looks clean, BUT I should have stuck with my gut and went with the 3m vhb tape. The video doesn't account for temp. During the sunny days it's fine, cooler weather at night I think the adhesive doesn't stick as well. We'll find out. Output is phenomenal, 26.6V on a shady day.
 

DiscoNels

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I guess I was the test subject for Lensun. They sent me the first panel and it was completely off. I sent them pictures and details on how to fix it, and they did a great job fixing it.

Unfortunately, they didn't include the 3m vhb tape nor instructions. Based on this video,
. I got the LPPT vhb tape to mount the panel to the hood. I cleaned it the best I could. Looks clean, BUT I should have stuck with my gut and went with the 3m vhb tape. The video doesn't account for temp. During the sunny days it's fine, cooler weather at night I think the adhesive doesn't stick as well. We'll find out. Output is phenomenal, 26.6V on a shady day.

Ok thanks, makes sense. I used 3M vhb tape to tape my solar panel to the roof/glass. I used about 25 ft of tape so that thing is NEVER coming off. I live in Minnesota so it gets -25 F in winter and still sticks well, no lifting after almost 2 years. Which MPPT controller did you end up using?
 

scott schmerge

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I guess I was the test subject for Lensun. They sent me the first panel and it was completely off. I sent them pictures and details on how to fix it, and they did a great job fixing it.

Unfortunately, they didn't include the 3m vhb tape nor instructions. Based on this video,
. I got the LPPT vhb tape to mount the panel to the hood. I cleaned it the best I could. Looks clean, BUT I should have stuck with my gut and went with the 3m vhb tape. The video doesn't account for temp. During the sunny days it's fine, cooler weather at night I think the adhesive doesn't stick as well. We'll find out. Output is phenomenal, 26.6V on a shady day.

26.6v? Isn’t that a bit high? I have not checked my output, but I’m guessing it’s 13-14V
 

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