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Portable 100 Watt Solar Power Generator Kit, I'm building for $680.00 for SHTF or WWIII
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reply to post by AlchemistSwami
I understand what you are saying.
I would like some day to be completely off the grid. One of my goals before I kick the bucket, is not to have any utility bills.
My setup is used for ehen the power goes out. It feels good when you are the only one with a light on when the power goes out.
I have mainly shopped ebay for dirt cheap panels that no one bids on. I have several 5 watt panels and a 10 watter that was on sale.
I think I paid 15-20$ for each of my small panels and like $25 for the ten.
It's a measly set up but it's a start, and sure better than nothing.
I hope your quest goes well and I cannot wait for spring myself.
I understand what you are saying.
I would like some day to be completely off the grid. One of my goals before I kick the bucket, is not to have any utility bills.
My setup is used for ehen the power goes out. It feels good when you are the only one with a light on when the power goes out.
I have mainly shopped ebay for dirt cheap panels that no one bids on. I have several 5 watt panels and a 10 watter that was on sale.
I think I paid 15-20$ for each of my small panels and like $25 for the ten.
It's a measly set up but it's a start, and sure better than nothing.
I hope your quest goes well and I cannot wait for spring myself.
reply to post by AlchemistSwami
Double post sorry.
Double post sorry.
edit on 6-3-2014 by liejunkie01 because: (no reason given)
reply to post by AlchemistSwami
Please may i request a how to pdf file with parts list and cost, pictures and information how your you put everything together.
When this great pdf put together i would be honored as the first recipient. Great work and I look forward to making one.
The Bot
Please may i request a how to pdf file with parts list and cost, pictures and information how your you put everything together.
When this great pdf put together i would be honored as the first recipient. Great work and I look forward to making one.
The Bot
reply to post by dlbott
A PDF of it all when done would be a good idea, I'll be more than happy to put one together along with the results. You all contributed a great deal with your thoughts and comments, and I have learned much.
And look now HEY we're on the front page LOL
A PDF of it all when done would be a good idea, I'll be more than happy to put one together along with the results. You all contributed a great deal with your thoughts and comments, and I have learned much.
And look now HEY we're on the front page LOL
edit on 7-3-2014 by AlchemistSwami because: photo
AlchemistSwami
reply to post by liejunkie01
If anyone knows of links to discussions about this topic, tutorials, supplies, etc. I would be interested in them. In reality I think having a plan to be prepared and ready for any tragic situation gives me peace of mind and makes it easier to go on about my daily life with all this madness going on in the world.
I'll raise my hand at this point and say that in the real world I run a camping store.
I deal with all this survival gear all day, every day. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask away.
My favourite 'cool' invention at the moment is this;
It's an extremely efficient woodburner that also charges your phone while cooking your dinner.
reply to post by markosity1973
I anticipated this item when news came out about it a year ago. Have seen one in action. It has an attachable grill top too. The thing is, you have to constantly add sticks to keep it running hot, and so it didn't seem useful to me for cooking, and I already have a solar Brunton charger for small USB devices, as well as an Eton hand cranking solar radio that can charge a USB device like a phone too. I was really excited for this until I saw one in use, and realized the way I like to cook, I'll take a dutch oven any day. Excellent comment and suggestion though in my opinion, thanks!
I anticipated this item when news came out about it a year ago. Have seen one in action. It has an attachable grill top too. The thing is, you have to constantly add sticks to keep it running hot, and so it didn't seem useful to me for cooking, and I already have a solar Brunton charger for small USB devices, as well as an Eton hand cranking solar radio that can charge a USB device like a phone too. I was really excited for this until I saw one in use, and realized the way I like to cook, I'll take a dutch oven any day. Excellent comment and suggestion though in my opinion, thanks!
reply to post by markosity1973
An excellent post. Try to remember before you go hog wild spending money on a solar system that there are other ways that are much cheaper and more reliable. It has been cloudy here for the last 5 days-so my system has produced nothing. That little stove produces power regardless.
Try not to get caught up in the media frenzy about solar power and wastefully spend money on a product that is way over hyped.
Yes, my system is nice, it produces all the charging power I need. However I know it's limitations. Remember the specifications on solar panels are drawn from peak performance-something the average user will ever be able to duplicate.
An excellent post. Try to remember before you go hog wild spending money on a solar system that there are other ways that are much cheaper and more reliable. It has been cloudy here for the last 5 days-so my system has produced nothing. That little stove produces power regardless.
Try not to get caught up in the media frenzy about solar power and wastefully spend money on a product that is way over hyped.
Yes, my system is nice, it produces all the charging power I need. However I know it's limitations. Remember the specifications on solar panels are drawn from peak performance-something the average user will ever be able to duplicate.
reply to post by spooky24
The first thing I ask at work before selling solar panels is 'what are you trying to run off it and how big is your battery'
I always try and talk people out of trying to run large invertors in particluar I am of the belief that you have to be realistic with what you want out of a battery, given the long recharge times they require. (You'd be amazed how many people want to run things like an electric kettle of them!)
The other thing most people are not aware of is that there is an approximately 10% loss in efficiency when using an inverter. i.e. If your appliance is a 200 watt device, you will be drawing approx 220w off the battery.
The first thing I ask at work before selling solar panels is 'what are you trying to run off it and how big is your battery'
I always try and talk people out of trying to run large invertors in particluar I am of the belief that you have to be realistic with what you want out of a battery, given the long recharge times they require. (You'd be amazed how many people want to run things like an electric kettle of them!)
The other thing most people are not aware of is that there is an approximately 10% loss in efficiency when using an inverter. i.e. If your appliance is a 200 watt device, you will be drawing approx 220w off the battery.
edit on 8-3-2014 by markosity1973 because: (no reason given)
reply to post by markosity1973
I have never put a number to it but 10% sounds right for what some call bleeding or line absorption. Almost all generators sold today come with a 12v output for quickly charging deep cells. The slotted plug attaches directly to the battery and running at full speed can completely charge a discharged deep cell in about an hour.
Conversely my solar array-working at peak performance-it takes about 170 hours to recharge a completely discharged deep cell.
That should give you some perspective on solar trickle chargers.
A solar system will never replace a generator.
I have never put a number to it but 10% sounds right for what some call bleeding or line absorption. Almost all generators sold today come with a 12v output for quickly charging deep cells. The slotted plug attaches directly to the battery and running at full speed can completely charge a discharged deep cell in about an hour.
Conversely my solar array-working at peak performance-it takes about 170 hours to recharge a completely discharged deep cell.
That should give you some perspective on solar trickle chargers.
A solar system will never replace a generator.
Donkey_Dean
reply to post by AlchemistSwami
Wood gas can be used. That seems high for 100 watts. A cord a week would run a home I bet. Dry saw dust would be idea. If you have ever seen a match burn you will notice the flame does not touch the wood, but rather burns above it. The wood produces gas which burns and in a low oxygen environment you can capture this gas and run any engine on it even diesel I think.
edit on 6-3-2014 by Donkey_Dean because: (no reason given)
here is an old fema doc on how to re the wood gas genny
back in the day when fena was what it was supoosed to be
couple garbage cans, some pipes, and some wood...the gas goes straight to the carb of the genny
www.soilandhealth.org...
and you folks might want to note the epsome salt desulfinationg proccess that reclaims baft out batteries in my previous posts
batteries only last a certain amount of charges and then you are in the dark
reply to post by markosity1973
so...its an electronic cooler heater circuit in reverse?
using temperature differential to generate instead of using electricity to generate temperature difference?
or is it mechanical?
so...its an electronic cooler heater circuit in reverse?
using temperature differential to generate instead of using electricity to generate temperature difference?
or is it mechanical?
reply to post by spooky24
No, a solar system won't entirely replace a generator
To give people an idea of what's possible on the shop floor, I quote the following example trialled by my company.
Using a 100 ah battery, an 80w solar panel and a 50l compressor fridge set to 2 degrees, the system will run for about three months before needing a charge from a generator or battery charger. This is based on the assumption that the panels will get between 6 and 8 hours of sunlight per day. The battery will slowly go flat because its getting charge 25 - 33% of any given day, but the fridge is running 100% of it more or less. (it does switch on and off, so ambient temp does make a difference and can extend/ shorten the battery run time)
No, a solar system won't entirely replace a generator
To give people an idea of what's possible on the shop floor, I quote the following example trialled by my company.
Using a 100 ah battery, an 80w solar panel and a 50l compressor fridge set to 2 degrees, the system will run for about three months before needing a charge from a generator or battery charger. This is based on the assumption that the panels will get between 6 and 8 hours of sunlight per day. The battery will slowly go flat because its getting charge 25 - 33% of any given day, but the fridge is running 100% of it more or less. (it does switch on and off, so ambient temp does make a difference and can extend/ shorten the battery run time)
edit on 9-3-2014 by markosity1973 because:
(no reason given)
reply to post by Danbones
Sorry, I'm not 100% sure I understand your question. If you're asking about the loss of energy in using an invertor, the simple answer is resistance and voltage drop.
Because say 300w = 25 amps you lose efficiency to heat in the wiring. The inverters also heat up and have fans in them to cool them, so that's where your 10% goes. The bigger the inverter the hotter your wires will get, so the more loss of energy. This is another reason why I am against using big inverters.
If you are realistic, you will find that a propane powered stove (or a simple camp fire) will do all your cooking. Beyond that all of the basic appliances you use at home other than things that heat like hair straighteners, irons etc can be purchased with wattages below 300. Believe it it not, vintage appliances are usually pretty good for having low current draw and are usually built simple and to last. So if you get and old appliance that's in great condition, you'll save money, have a zero carbon footprint because you are recycling and get a high quality appliance ideal for this sort of setup.
Here's a list of what I've got in my caravan and the current they draw; all these values are for 240v except for the tv.
LCD TV with inbuilt DVD player 60 w (12v)
Hand held mixer 120w
Slow cooker 120w (only use when plugged into car and towing caravan to cook dinner on the move)
Blender 250w
Laptop charger 60w
Small evaporative cooler 120w
Sorry, I'm not 100% sure I understand your question. If you're asking about the loss of energy in using an invertor, the simple answer is resistance and voltage drop.
Because say 300w = 25 amps you lose efficiency to heat in the wiring. The inverters also heat up and have fans in them to cool them, so that's where your 10% goes. The bigger the inverter the hotter your wires will get, so the more loss of energy. This is another reason why I am against using big inverters.
If you are realistic, you will find that a propane powered stove (or a simple camp fire) will do all your cooking. Beyond that all of the basic appliances you use at home other than things that heat like hair straighteners, irons etc can be purchased with wattages below 300. Believe it it not, vintage appliances are usually pretty good for having low current draw and are usually built simple and to last. So if you get and old appliance that's in great condition, you'll save money, have a zero carbon footprint because you are recycling and get a high quality appliance ideal for this sort of setup.
Here's a list of what I've got in my caravan and the current they draw; all these values are for 240v except for the tv.
LCD TV with inbuilt DVD player 60 w (12v)
Hand held mixer 120w
Slow cooker 120w (only use when plugged into car and towing caravan to cook dinner on the move)
Blender 250w
Laptop charger 60w
Small evaporative cooler 120w
edit on 9-3-2014 by markosity1973 because: (no reason given)
edit on 9-3-2014 by markosity1973 because: (no reason
given)
reply to post by markosity1973
Good explanation. How about this. I have always been told that inverted power from a 12v deep cell is still considered dirty power. When I run it through my super line conditioner the yellow light pulses and the green stays lit-meaning it is conditioning something.
Would you consider inverted 12v dirty power that needs conditioning for peaks that are harmful to some electronics?
Using a 100 ah battery, an 80w solar panel and a 50l compressor fridge set to 2 degrees, the system will run for about three months before needing a charge from a generator or battery charger. This is based on the assumption that the panels will get between 6 and 8 hours of sunlight per day. The battery will slowly go flat because its getting charge 25 - 33% of any given day, but the fridge is running 100% of it more or less. (it does switch on and off, so ambient temp does make a difference and can extend/ shorten the battery run time)
Good explanation. How about this. I have always been told that inverted power from a 12v deep cell is still considered dirty power. When I run it through my super line conditioner the yellow light pulses and the green stays lit-meaning it is conditioning something.
Would you consider inverted 12v dirty power that needs conditioning for peaks that are harmful to some electronics?
spooky24
Would you consider inverted 12v dirty power that needs conditioning for peaks that are harmful to some electronics?
This is a good question and I do get asked it at work from time to time.
From what I see come through at work, there are two main types of inverter on the market; Modified sinewave and pure sinewave.
Modified sinewave inverters produce power that is not stable (I believe that they suffer from voltage fluctuation) that makes them unsuitable for use with sensitive electronic devices. The plus side is that they are cheaper to buy than pure sinewave ones.
Pure sinewave inverters on the other hand provide a very stable power that you can safely run electronics off. They do cost quite a bit more though.
Real world solution;
You can use a modified sine inverter with caution. You will notice that all the appliances I listed in my last post are fairly simple. I have deliberately chosen devices without any fancy LCD displays and other electronics in them. This is where vintage appliances are great - no electronics to be seen anywhere. They are all fine to run on modified sinewave power.
For items like phones, tablets, LCD TVs etc be smart and buy the ones that either have 12v car chargers availabe as an accessory or have a 12v socket built into them. I run my TV directly off 12v because it's already optimised for it. I'm not going to lose efficiency to an inverter and I don't have the need to pay more for pure sine wave. The one thing that will get you though is if you want to use a laptop with a computer. Most models don't have a 12v powerpack available, so in these cases unfortunately you do need to cough up the extra for the pure sinewave model.
Do you know if it will supply a 150 psi air compressor ? Because my gas generator is too loud for what I do at work and I need it every day. Not sure
what the wattage is on the a/c
reply to post by lotusfoot
In theory, yes. However, there are done fairly big caveats that come with that yes;
1) Current draw. To be honest if you are looking at anything over 1000w I'd recommend sticking with the generator in your case.
2) How many hours run time the motor averages per day. If you are say a contractor who uses it all day every day and it runs say 50% of the time, you are asking a lot from a battery pack. The big problem is you need to replace all that electricity you have used, so you are going to need a serious charging rig to look after it. We've got a battery powered forklift at work,so it is possible, but it has a lot of batteries in it and the charger is a seriously heavy duty unit.
3) Cost. It's not likely to be cheap to put together a rig that will meet your needs. The generator may work out to be more cost effective from a business point of view. Remember that batteries don't last forever so they will eventually need replacing too.
All in all, from what you have asked, I would estimate that here in Australia, it would cost at least as much, probably more for your kind of setup that you need as it would for a good quality branded generator. And that's just for the batteries. You'd still need a charger and an inverter on top of that. I am basing all of this on your air compressor being one of the types with a tank on it, not one of the baby ones.
Battery packs and inverters are best suited for light to moderate loads. To use my caravan as an example yet again, the lighting only draws around 18w when all turned on thanks to led technology. The other appliances except the tv are only run for a few minutes a day when I use them and the tv draws 60w. This kind of usage is fine for a solar powered battery pack as it gives it plenty of time to recharge during the day and is only putting fairly light loads on it
In theory, yes. However, there are done fairly big caveats that come with that yes;
1) Current draw. To be honest if you are looking at anything over 1000w I'd recommend sticking with the generator in your case.
2) How many hours run time the motor averages per day. If you are say a contractor who uses it all day every day and it runs say 50% of the time, you are asking a lot from a battery pack. The big problem is you need to replace all that electricity you have used, so you are going to need a serious charging rig to look after it. We've got a battery powered forklift at work,so it is possible, but it has a lot of batteries in it and the charger is a seriously heavy duty unit.
3) Cost. It's not likely to be cheap to put together a rig that will meet your needs. The generator may work out to be more cost effective from a business point of view. Remember that batteries don't last forever so they will eventually need replacing too.
All in all, from what you have asked, I would estimate that here in Australia, it would cost at least as much, probably more for your kind of setup that you need as it would for a good quality branded generator. And that's just for the batteries. You'd still need a charger and an inverter on top of that. I am basing all of this on your air compressor being one of the types with a tank on it, not one of the baby ones.
Battery packs and inverters are best suited for light to moderate loads. To use my caravan as an example yet again, the lighting only draws around 18w when all turned on thanks to led technology. The other appliances except the tv are only run for a few minutes a day when I use them and the tv draws 60w. This kind of usage is fine for a solar powered battery pack as it gives it plenty of time to recharge during the day and is only putting fairly light loads on it
edit on 10-3-2014 by markosity1973 because: (no reason given)
reply to post by lotusfoot
I have a dual tank air compressor unit that I use with my SureBonder (nail gun) and to get to 100-110psi it really pulls in the juice from a 110v. I know it couldn't run off my system. Generators are loud and cumbersome however here they are a must as it is so much simpler to got to the site and blow up a tire, or jump start a battery than it is to bring it back to the shop.
I have a dual tank air compressor unit that I use with my SureBonder (nail gun) and to get to 100-110psi it really pulls in the juice from a 110v. I know it couldn't run off my system. Generators are loud and cumbersome however here they are a must as it is so much simpler to got to the site and blow up a tire, or jump start a battery than it is to bring it back to the shop.