anyone start bringing some panels out to a planting camp? any thoughts, reviews, etc.?
I saw a nice line of stuff designed for mountaineering expeditions originally, "Goal Zero" I think is the brand. pricey, but looks pretty rugged. would be a nice system of interchangeable pieces to add more panels or batteries or accessories. also their batteries are new tech lithium-ion rather than old-school lead acid that wear out a lot, lot quicker.
in somewhat related thoughts, I had the worst camping experience ever the last few weeks. stayed at a campground just a mile or five from my worksites; only $14 US / night for indoor running water, large paved parking for my work trailer, and the peace of mind of being able to leave my kitchen/coffee/propane stuff set up without having to lock it up all the time. but this campground didn't have any electric sites at all.....and was then stuffed with people in RVs who came in and ran the things off of portable electric generators. (probably the first campground I've used this year that didn't have a section with electric). a horrible racket almost 24/7, some of these assholes would get up in the middle of the night and turn on a generator for heat! even more astounding were the groups that would come back from fishing and sit around their campfire just feet away from their loudly running generator....for hours at a time! I should have just manned-up and dug a latrine and hauled water and built my own camp, but most people that work for me can't handle that.
solar power
Re: solar power
here is the system I have been dreaming of:
unfortunately it turns out that the generally impressive battery there is actually a lead-acid variety, so the amount of re-charges would be more limited than the newer-tech lithium-ion. but I don't think the lithium-ion ones have scaled up to the point of being affordable for me yet. I mostly want to run this ridiculously good sounding Harman Kardon portable boombox I have that includes a subwoofer, but draws 320 watts. so hard to go back to some other cheap speakers now. the inverter attached to that battery above has a 400w output, so you could run things like a flat-screen LCD TV off of it, though I would never plan to do that. a small electric cooler though, quite possibly.
the website for that picture above is:
http://www.goalzero.com/
their stuff would be pretty nice in that you could add as you go, daisy-chaining batteries and solar panels, but it is pricey up-front. I think. Maybe they are very competitive, I'm not sure yet; I need to start figuring out watts/$ costs on these things, along with how possible it is to add components from different manufacturers.
I did already pick up one panel from Brunton, the major French manufacturer of outdoor gear that I have generally had good success with. It is only 2'x2', but that creates an output of only 5w; enough to charge a cell-phone pretty quick actually, but not enough to interest the one inverter I have to bump it from about 20v of output up to the 110v several battery chargers I have want as an input. you can add their panels together, but then you need to buy a controller for that, and after that an inverter....
a lot of research to go. I am pretty interested in some of the roll-up panels that I could put on top of my cargo trailer...
unfortunately it turns out that the generally impressive battery there is actually a lead-acid variety, so the amount of re-charges would be more limited than the newer-tech lithium-ion. but I don't think the lithium-ion ones have scaled up to the point of being affordable for me yet. I mostly want to run this ridiculously good sounding Harman Kardon portable boombox I have that includes a subwoofer, but draws 320 watts. so hard to go back to some other cheap speakers now. the inverter attached to that battery above has a 400w output, so you could run things like a flat-screen LCD TV off of it, though I would never plan to do that. a small electric cooler though, quite possibly.
the website for that picture above is:
http://www.goalzero.com/
their stuff would be pretty nice in that you could add as you go, daisy-chaining batteries and solar panels, but it is pricey up-front. I think. Maybe they are very competitive, I'm not sure yet; I need to start figuring out watts/$ costs on these things, along with how possible it is to add components from different manufacturers.
I did already pick up one panel from Brunton, the major French manufacturer of outdoor gear that I have generally had good success with. It is only 2'x2', but that creates an output of only 5w; enough to charge a cell-phone pretty quick actually, but not enough to interest the one inverter I have to bump it from about 20v of output up to the 110v several battery chargers I have want as an input. you can add their panels together, but then you need to buy a controller for that, and after that an inverter....
a lot of research to go. I am pretty interested in some of the roll-up panels that I could put on top of my cargo trailer...
Re: solar power
my mom always used to say "at least when you're talking to yourself, you know someone is listening"
I've been through some lead-acid batteries over time, and am currently learning about the different battery types. Found a good website for the basics today:
http://www.affordable-solar.com/store/s ... rid-remote
I've been through some lead-acid batteries over time, and am currently learning about the different battery types. Found a good website for the basics today:
http://www.affordable-solar.com/store/s ... rid-remote
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Tupperfan
- Replant Forums Highballer
- Posts: 270
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- Location: Somewhere in the bush...
Re: solar power
Nice, three posts, one poster! That said, I'm definitely stealing your mother's saying...
I've been thinking about the possibility of using some solar power in camp next season. It would be quite useful if we install the panels atop a cook shack(they are probably too fragile to stay there while moving camp, though) and would be amazing, even for minor needs, in a fly-in camp (where supplies are in limited quantities and hard to get), but flying them there would be a bitch...
That said, I thought the costs were still too prohibitive for the limited use I could make of them (power up a laptop and charging equipment while the genny is out, late at night or during the cook's nap, for example), but the Goal Zero site you linked to has very interesting options...
I've been thinking about the possibility of using some solar power in camp next season. It would be quite useful if we install the panels atop a cook shack(they are probably too fragile to stay there while moving camp, though) and would be amazing, even for minor needs, in a fly-in camp (where supplies are in limited quantities and hard to get), but flying them there would be a bitch...
That said, I thought the costs were still too prohibitive for the limited use I could make of them (power up a laptop and charging equipment while the genny is out, late at night or during the cook's nap, for example), but the Goal Zero site you linked to has very interesting options...
Re: solar power
no personal experience, but check this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=64062&hilit=solar
there's a guy on there that rigged up a panel to an old car battery. looks like an inexpensive set-up, but you'd have to ask him if it would be appropriate for your needs.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=64062&hilit=solar
there's a guy on there that rigged up a panel to an old car battery. looks like an inexpensive set-up, but you'd have to ask him if it would be appropriate for your needs.
Re: solar power
all the goal zero packages are $200 off for Christmas ... I'm getting closer to pulling the trigger ...
when you use solar power, you have to become an expert on batteries more than the solar. but there are different kinds of solar panels made with different technologies.
I tried using an old truck battery with the one Brunton panel I have so far. But it was an old wore-out battery, experiment failed. I am also looking into putting a pair of deep-cycle batteries in the bed of my truck and harvesting bonus power coming off the engine whenever I'm driving.
also when you use solar power, you learn that you need more than some panels and a battery - you also need a controller to regulate the voltage coming off the panel, cuz that varies with clouds and position of the panel relative to the sun, which moves all day of course.
still a fair amount to learn.....but it does look like my summer job next year will be building solar-powered glow-in-the-dark disc golf courses. Which is good for me, cuz playing disc golf in the daylight is like too totally boring now.
when you use solar power, you have to become an expert on batteries more than the solar. but there are different kinds of solar panels made with different technologies.
I tried using an old truck battery with the one Brunton panel I have so far. But it was an old wore-out battery, experiment failed. I am also looking into putting a pair of deep-cycle batteries in the bed of my truck and harvesting bonus power coming off the engine whenever I'm driving.
also when you use solar power, you learn that you need more than some panels and a battery - you also need a controller to regulate the voltage coming off the panel, cuz that varies with clouds and position of the panel relative to the sun, which moves all day of course.
still a fair amount to learn.....but it does look like my summer job next year will be building solar-powered glow-in-the-dark disc golf courses. Which is good for me, cuz playing disc golf in the daylight is like too totally boring now.