How To Construct A DIY Portable Solar Generator
In a current podcast I did with Ken from the Prepper Podcast we talked about grid down situations and what we are able to do about them. Right after that podcast I decided to build my own DIY portable solar generator. My plans are to construct a photo voltaic generator that may run my nicely pump in a grid down event, and while this generator doesn't have the ability to continually run it, I have set it up to be able to scale up fairly simply. Keep in thoughts as you learn this I am no knowledgeable, as a matter of reality I had little or no knowledge aside from photo voltaic panels collect energy, ship it to the battery and you may activate a mild. Now that I've finished this I have a greater thought about watts, amps, volts and what makes all of it work together. There are quite just a few article about how electricity works, and sometimes it’s an excessive amount of data for my mind to absorb (repercussions of a misspent youth I assume), so I'm going to maintain this text a simple as possible and hopefully all of it makes sense to you at the tip.
Don’t neglect to obtain the power needs cheat sheet at the end, it would assist you figure out how a lot saved vitality you need and use each day. If you want extra data on this you may listen to the Podcast Ken and i did, or you'll be able to take a look at a couple of of the podcasts ken has done prior to now about battery banks. A fast facet be aware earlier than we get into this: Ken will also be on the next SPTV episode speaking about alternative energy. Enroll right here to get updates about the present. Here is the video explaining my DIY Solar Charger. How Much Power Will My Solar Panel Produce? Minn Kota Trolling Motor Power Center: The rationale I purchased this box is as a result of it had a pair 12 volt ports already wired in and ready to go. I’ve seen a few videos the place people add equipment, however this appeared easier… 30Amp/400Watt Solar Panel Regulator Charge Controller: A cost controller retains the battery from over charging and there are a lot of sizes and styles.
Like I state in the video you don’t want your photo voltaic panels to push more power than the cost controller can take. My 13 watt solar panel only puts out about .5 Amps/13 Watts, that means I can (and can) add a couple of a hundred watt photo voltaic panels. That might bring me to 4.5 Amps and 13 Watts, properly below the rating of the solar charger. Thunderbolt Magnum Solar 13 Watt Briefcase Solar: Like Ken mentioned in the Podcast begin small, be taught the process and then build greater, so that’s what I did. Everything I bought for this photo voltaic generator was bought with price in mind, I wished to get this performed for round $300. I additionally wanted the flexibility to scale up when the time got here, so every thing else I purchased was a bit larger. These photo voltaic panels run about $80 on harbor freight, but I got these on eBay for $45.
At .5 amps per hour in full solar these would take about 20 days to charge my one hundred Ah battery. I wanted to make sure it worked before I spent a lot of money on solar panels. Cobra 800 Watt Power Inverter: Like I mentioned, I needed the ability to add photo voltaic panels to this generator hu.velo.wiki so I bought an 800 watt inverter. This was just a little more expensive than a smaller one however it will run most of my small appliances and CyberHeater.com most of my energy tools. Here's a chart that shows how many watts a typical equipment makes use of. Milwaukee a hundred and fifty lb. Capacity Folding Hand Truck: This was about $25 at Home Depot and that i obtained this to make it somewhat easier to maneuver around. I don’t know if I shall be utilizing this to go up and down stairs or drag across the dirt as a result of batteries ought to stay upright, but it does help moving it across the house because the battery weighs round 75 pounds.
