Ideas needed for Solar Power on Food Truck

[bhudson]

So, I am new to the group, but i have some questions regarding a Food Truck that I plan on building over the winter. I am a chef and have been in the industry for 13 years. I worked on a sustainable farm for a while, and was able to live in a house that was completely powered by solar. I would like to try and use this sort of thing in conjunction with my food truck concept. The only thing is, I dont really know what I could do to use that power for. I need an education in the applications of solar in an automobile. With 200 square feet of space on the roof, i have a lot of area to cover. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

First thing is to define you load. So what do you want to operate, how many watts does it require and how long per day do you want to operate it?

WWW

[Sunking]

The vehicle alternator can do in 30 minutes what a roof full of panels can do in a day.

[bhudson]

Would it be possible for the panels to charge a bank of car bat's and then run an ac converter? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't run all of my ovens, water heaters, etc. Would you all know where I could get some info or technical specs on different types of panels?

First thing is to define you load. So what do you want to operate, how many watts does it require and how long per day do you want to operate it?

WWW

[green]

Would it be possible for the panels to charge a bank of car bat's and then run an ac converter? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't run all of my ovens, water heaters, etc. Would you all know where I could get some info or technical specs on different types of panels?

Good thing you came here before investing. You don't want use regular SLI car batteries for a RE system. You need to read on this forum the stickies about battey types, lots of good info here.

Green

[Wy_White_Wolf]

Would it be possible for the panels to charge a bank of car bat's and then run an ac converter? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't run all of my ovens, water heaters, etc. Would you all know where I could get some info or technical specs on different types of panels?

No, your roof isn't big enough. It would propably take 10 truck roofs to power 1 truck.

[bhudson]

I'm thinking that I could just run a portion of the equipment that I'd be using. I have been looking at converters such as:

http://invertersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=128&cPath=17

It would be enough to power a small fridge, freezer, and heated display unit. I'm not entirely sure how fast this type of unit would run through a bank of batteries, and what the "make up time" for the panels to charge the bat's would be. I have a generator to power the equipment too. I am new to all of this, so I greatly appreciate the responses for everyone! I think this venture would be a good sustainable step in the right direction...

No, your roof isn't big enough. It would propably take 10 truck roofs to power 1 truck.

[green]

I'm thinking that I could just run a portion of the equipment that I'd be using. I have been looking at converters such as:

http://invertersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=128&cPath=17

It would be enough to power a small fridge, freezer, and heated display unit. I'm not entirely sure how fast this type of unit would run through a bank of batteries, and what the "make up time" for the panels to charge the bat's would be. I have a generator to power the equipment too. I am new to all of this, so I greatly appreciate the responses for everyone! I think this venture would be a good sustainable step in the right direction...

See... your thinking about the inverter and not what it will take in batteries to power it. These other guys here are better with the numbers but at 12V.. 5000Watts will require over 400 Amps. A crazy number requiring cables as thick as your wrist and baterries weighing thousands of pounds. You need to be looking at running a 24 or 48 Volt inverter. Like I said before Good thing you came here first.

Green

[inetdog]

5000Watts will require over 400 Amps. A crazy number requiring cables as thick as your wrist and baterries weighing thousands of pounds. You need to be looking at running a 24 or 48 Volt inverter.
Green

Going to 48 volts will cut the cable size by four, which is good. But the weight of batteries needed to deliver 5000 watts to the inverter will be the same regardless of 12 or 48 volts.

The only way to reduce the weight is to go to AGM (allowing a slightly smaller battery bank at twice the cost) or going to Lithium Iron Phosphate at five or more times the cost to get 1/4 the weight.

[Sunking]

I'm thinking that I could just run a portion of the equipment that I'd be using. .

The problem is you would just be spending money that gains you a loss that you have to eat or pass on to your customer.

The ovens, fryers, coolers and whatever else requires commercial power is already available to you for dirt cheap. Whatever you take off-grid to solar battery will cost you 10 to 20 times more than what you pay the electric company for. That would be a horrible business decision to increase your overhead cost needlessly.

[Naptown]

Actually one word is the solution
Propane

[Sunking]

Actually one word is the solution
Propane

You read my mind.

[Naptown]

You read my mind.

Great minds think alike.
Or you taught me well
whatever works

[inetdog]

Great minds think alike.
Or you taught me well
whatever works

That's "Great minds run in the same gutter", or something like that.....

[Sunking]

Well I like this topic and found it interesting. Just so happens a member in our church runs two food trucks and I know him pretty well and gave him a call and chatted with him for about 30 minutes. I was surprised by some of his answer, but even more surprised of the things I did not think of.

There is no real template to what a food truck is equipped with. They can be as simple as a steam table that serves hot dogs, to full mobile kitchen. James Trucks fit the bill of full mobile kitchen. It has a flattop, deep fryer, oven, burners, and steam table all powered with a 50 gallon LPG tank. The one thing that caught me off guard I did not think about and required by the Health Department is a hot water tank that must have a minimum of 140 degree water available at all times while open which is also powered from LPG.

On the electrical side he has a cold table, refrigerator, freezer, 1.5 ton Air Conditioner, exhaust hood, water pump, interior and exterior lighting. He has two Power Sources to power the electrical. One is a 60 amp Breaker panel with a 240 VAC pigtail with 50-Amp NEMA Plug that he uses where power is available like carnivals and fairs. Otherwise an on-board 6500 KVa diesel generator with Transfer to the 60 Amp breaker panel.

So armed with that I think it is safe to say there is no solar option that can be used. It would have to be as big as a 18-wheel tractor trailer carrying 10,000 pounds of very expensive batteries and you would still need a generator if it is cloudy. Perhaps a Hot Dog cart with a Canopy for lighting, but there is just no practical solar solution that makes business sense.

When I told him why I inquired he was interest for about 30 seconds until I told him what it would take to go solar and he said; "Well that was fun while it lasted, and laughed".