Small scale Solar...

[Meyou]

Now I'm sure you've all heard of FreeLoader, great lil Gizmo's...

But have ya seen these? A lil bit less portable, but still pretty cool! Same company I believe...

http://www.solartechnology.co.uk/shop/f ... -panel.htm

£25!

Opinions? Good? Bad? I'm not an expert on Solar, so I kinda need some advice on whether this is worth the dosh?

[preppingsu]

I am not at all techie minded but am very interested in the solar options of power. What else could be charged from this panel apart from batteries?
I would be looking at running my fridge and freezers vis a solar route if possible.

[the-gnole]

http://www.maplin.co.uk/12v-2w-solar-briefcase-348075

Only 2watt though, but under a tenner each, so two for £19.98 will give 4 watt

I am not at all techie minded but am very interested in the solar options of power. What else could be charged from this panel apart from batteries?
I would be looking at running my fridge and freezers vis a solar route if possible.

Forget it Su, unless you are getting a full solar set up costing several thousand, you would need an inverter of at least 2Kw and a bank of 110Ahr batteries and a huge rooftop solar array. Cheaper to get a diesel generator and a store of Diesel and run it up a few hours a day to keep the fridge and freezer topped up with coldness.

I bought a 60watt array of panels and a couple of 115Ahr batteries for my shed, that's just for the lights and it was over £300, I have a gas fridge/freezer, which also runs on 12v.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/60w-solar-power-kit-223250

http://www.maplin.co.uk/13w-solar-briefcase-99760

[Carrot Cruncher]

I agree with gnole sue, I looked into doing something similar a couple of years ago and while I cant remember the maths now, it worked out very expensive. You can charge smaller electronic devices with solar relatively cheaply but as soon as you start looking at big appliances the costs just rocket. It's not just covering the expected watts that these things use to run, the power usage of some of the bigger items also spike when turned on so you need to have the capacity to cope with the spike as well

[preppingsu]

Thank for the feedback gnole and cc, back to the generator then
I'm not too fussed about charging small items up when tshtf as mobiles probably won't work, internet will probably be down and the kids will not have time to play on their gadgets
I'm more concerned about keeping food cool (or frozen) and being able to power small USEFUL electrical items eg dehydrator if I ever get one.

[hobo]

We've a couple of panels we bought off eBay for around £50 each (half price) - see http://www.solarequip.co.uk/acatalog/so ... arger.html
They are on our balcony and are used to charge up a couple of Wezas -
http://www.uk-surplus.com/consumer-elec ... d_213.html

The Wezas are then used to recharge lanterns like these which we prefer to use around the house rather than mains electric light (we love indoor and outdoor camping!) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gelert-Double-U ... 584&sr=8-1
or AA/AAA rechargeable batteries, ipods, radios etc.

Su,
We keep lots of ice blocks in the freezer for use in our coolbox (which can run off 12v from the car or from the Wezas if we really needed to).

Hobo

[Carrot Cruncher]

Opinions? Good? Bad? I'm not an expert on Solar, so I kinda need some advice on whether this is worth the dosh?

Unfortunately i'm no expert either. Pricewise I have a couple of 1.5W panels that I use to maintain the Leisure Battery and the Auto Battery in the Camper which cost £10 each from Maplins. They wont charge the battery from empty but they supply enough power to replace the power that is lost while they are standing idle. I think I would stick to something like the freeloader if I just wanted to charge phones/gadgets etc

We've a couple of panels we bought off eBay for around £50 each (half price) - see http://www.solarequip.co.uk/acatalog/so ... arger.html
They are on our balcony and are used to charge up a couple of Wezas -
http://www.uk-surplus.com/consumer-elec ... d_213.html

How do they cope with charging the Weza's Hobo ? a Weza is on my wish list at the moment

[allan]

I have a similar panel that I use to keep a 12v battery topped up. Most days its tops up the battery enough to run a few small lights and a 12v cool box witch is part of my car camping set-up.

[hobo]

[How do they cope with charging the Weza's Hobo ? a Weza is on my wish list at the moment

A good sunny day they do just fine. I have some 25w suitcase panels if I need a faster charge!

I bought a Gazelle quite recently - similar capacity to Weza, more compact,I like it!
http://www.windup-products.com/wind-up- ... od_71.html

or how about the bigger http://www.eco-2.co.uk/portable-power/elephant

H

[SW_pheonix]

Don't underestimate the humble 12v cordless drill. With a little bit of soldering you can add a DC output lead and a diode. Take out the battery, Stick a home made handle in the chuck and wind it up. You can get 16v and a few Amps with a little effort. Easily enough to charge 12v batteries much quicker than little solar panels. Or use it to power 12v flurescent lights like an inspection lamp.
And it works at night too!