Portable Solar Generator.

[Brambles]

I have made a portable solar generator to not just have for emergencies, but to have power at the allotment and to charge smaller stuff at home.

I did a bit of research and decided on a 20w solar panel, 22ah golf trolley battery, 300w inverter and 20a charge controller.

Here it is.

The cost?

20W Bosch solar panel = £39.99
Ring 300W Inverter = £22.89
PWM generic 20a charge controller = £8.25
22ah Lucas golf trolley battery = £35.70
Sundries (cable, fuse holder etc) = £15.00 (ish)

Total. £92.08

So, for under a £100 I have a generator that will power most tools I want to use away from the house. I can charge all the small electronics and my laptop and I can run a few things at home as well. It can also run things as the charge is created. The Inverter has a normal plug socket and a USB socket.


You could easily scale this up or down to suit your own needs and pocket.

My son is going to (eventually!) make a suitcase type box for this to go in to make it completely portable.

One lesson learned the hard way. DON'T BUY A CHEAP CHARGE CONTROLLER! The one I had originally bought allowed the battery to overcharge and then it blew up.

Next on the agenda is to make a small wind turbine.

[izzy_mack]

awesome, you make it look like even an idiot like me could have a go, cheaper than I would have thought too.

[Deeps]

That looks really useful. I think I'm going to have to read up on this stuff. From what I've seen, to buy something like this would cost a lot more than it set you back. Thanks for posting the picky.

[Hamradioop]

I have made a portable solar generator to not just have for emergencies, but to have power at the allotment and to charge smaller stuff at home.

I did a bit of research and decided on a 20w solar panel, 22ah golf trolley battery, 300w inverter and 20a charge controller.

Here it is.

DSCN1280.JPG

The cost?

20W Bosch solar panel = £39.99
Ring 300W Inverter = £22.89
PWM generic 20a charge controller = £8.25
22ah Lucas golf trolley battery = £35.70
Sundries (cable, fuse holder etc) = £15.00 (ish)

Total. £92.08

So, for under a £100 I have a generator that will power most tools I want to use away from the house. I can charge all the small electronics and my laptop and I can run a few things at home as well. It can also run things as the charge is created. The Inverter has a normal plug socket and a USB socket.


You could easily scale this up or down to suit your own needs and pocket.

My son is going to (eventually!) make a suitcase type box for this to go in to make it completely portable.

One lesson learned the hard way. DON'T BUY A CHEAP CHARGE CONTROLLER! The one I had originally bought allowed the battery to overcharge and then it blew up.

Next on the agenda is to make a small wind turbine.

Hi Brambles, that is a neat set up, i suspect that the battery is a bit light weight with that inverter.

my set up is a Biard 100W Black Frame Solar PV Panel £115.00.
Lidl 300W Inverter = £25.00 ish
PWM generic 20a charge controller = £30.00
110ah solar rated battery = £89.00
Sundries (cable, fuse holder etc) = £25.00

this will give me a available 55 amp hours before I risk damaging the battery.
I intend to add a vertical axis wind turbine to the set up in due course for those days like to day with a lot of cloud and very windy.

I currently use it in my man cave for LED lighting and it will be fitted into a large stanley wheeled tool box when I get round to it. I will post some pix in the next couple of days. It is designed to provide emergency lighting and charging and as a luggable power supply for my Ham radio station

[Arzosah]

Thank you! I've looked at this time and time again, and the information just doesn't stick in my head ...
So, its a solar panel, a battery, an inverter and a charge controller.

And a wind turbine, that can be connected up to the same charge controller/inverter/battery set up?

[Brambles]

For my needs H, the set up works. The criteria for mine is portability and I mean portable for one person to carry. If I had gone any bigger on the battery I would need transport to move it about.


Eventually when I make the wind turbine I will have to get a different charge controller as there will be two power sources producing energy at different rates.

Yep, just a solar panel, battery, inverter and charge controller. It's been great fun building it. I've learned a few new skills and come out with a really useful something at the end.

[Arzosah]

Right, thanks Brambles. I'm copying the thread into my Electric Power folder, so that I *know*, this time, what to shop for.

[dangerman]

Outstanding work mate, I love it. I'm in the middle of planning my next project so this is good inspiration.

I need to build something just like yours, but smaller and more personalised to my needs. I want what I have in my nomad 7 adventure kit but cheaper and more practical for everyday use. I want something that I will be able to leave out and forget without worrying too much about it getting nicked or the weather damaging it. I'm also aware that the type of panel that it is will not last all that long - 5-8 years apparently. Others on eBay are promising 25 years of 80% performance. I would like a panel that will work efficiently for longer than that and something I can repair if it's wears out or is damaged.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Outstanding work mate, I love it. I'm in the middle of planning my next project so this is good inspiration.

I need to build something just like yours, but smaller and more personalised to my needs. I want what I have in my nomad 7 adventure kit but cheaper and more practical for everyday use. I want something that I will be able to leave out and forget without worrying too much about it getting nicked or the weather damaging it. I'm also aware that the type of panel that it is will not last all that long - 5-8 years apparently. Others on eBay are promising 25 years of 80% performance. I would like a panel that will work efficiently for longer than that and something I can repair if it's wears out or is damaged.

these any use to you?

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=11070

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=10935

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=8297

[Brambles]

Outstanding work mate, I love it. I'm in the middle of planning my next project so this is good inspiration.

I need to build something just like yours, but smaller and more personalised to my needs. I want what I have in my nomad 7 adventure kit but cheaper and more practical for everyday use. I want something that I will be able to leave out and forget without worrying too much about it getting nicked or the weather damaging it. I'm also aware that the type of panel that it is will not last all that long - 5-8 years apparently. Others on eBay are promising 25 years of 80% performance. I would like a panel that will work efficiently for longer than that and something I can repair if it's wears out or is damaged.

If you want something smaller(in size?) have a look at running 2 or more smaller wattage panels in parallel or is it series? You could also have smaller batteries. I'd like to splurge on some Li-ion batteries eventually, but that's way in the future.