In a current podcast I did with Ken from the Prepper Podcast we talked about grid down situations and what we can do about them. Right after that podcast I determined to construct my own DIY portable solar generator. My plans are to construct a solar generator that may run my effectively pump in a grid down event, and whereas this generator does not have the power to continually run it, I’ve set it up to have the ability to scale up fairly easily. Keep in thoughts as you learn this I am no skilled, as a matter of fact I had very little information apart from solar panels acquire vitality, ship it to the battery and you may activate a gentle. Now that I have performed this I have a greater thought about watts, amps, volts and what makes it all work together. There are fairly just a few article about how electricity works, and typically it’s an excessive amount of info for my brain to absorb (repercussions of a misspent youth I suppose), so I am going to keep this article a simple as doable and hopefully all of it makes sense to you at the top.

Don’t neglect to download the ability wants cheat sheet at the tip, it can help you figure out how much saved energy you need and use every day. In order for you more info on this you can listen to the Podcast Ken and that i did, or you possibly can take a look at a few of the podcasts ken has achieved in the past about battery banks. A fast aspect note before we get into this: Ken will also be on the following SPTV episode talking about various power. Sign up here to get updates concerning the show. Here is the video explaining my DIY Solar Charger. How Much Power Will My Solar Panel Produce? Minn Kota Trolling Motor Power Center: The explanation I bought this field is as a result of it had a pair 12 volt ports already wired in and able to go. I’ve seen a few videos where folks add accessories, however this appeared simpler… 30Amp/400Watt Solar Panel Regulator alpha heater price alpha heater discount alpha heater discount Charge Controller: safe home heater A charge controller retains the battery from over charging and there are various styles and sizes.

Like I state within the video you don’t need your photo voltaic panels to push more power than the charge controller can take. My 13 watt photo voltaic panel solely puts out about .5 Amps/thirteen Watts, which means I can (and can) add a couple of 100 watt photo voltaic panels. That might bring me to 4.5 Amps and thirteen Watts, effectively below the rating of the photo voltaic charger. Thunderbolt Magnum Solar 13 Watt Briefcase Solar: Like Ken stated in the Podcast begin small, learn the method after which construct greater, so that’s what I did. Everything I purchased for this photo voltaic generator safe home heater was purchased with alpha heater price in thoughts, I wanted to get this completed for around $300. I additionally needed the ability to scale up when the time got here, so the whole lot else I purchased was a little larger. These solar panels run about $80 on harbor freight, however I received these on eBay for $45.

At .5 amps per hour in full sun these would take about 20 days to charge my 100 Ah battery. I wished to ensure it labored before I spent some huge cash on photo voltaic panels. Cobra 800 Watt Power Inverter: Like I mentioned, safe home heater I wanted the flexibility so as to add solar panels to this generator so I purchased an 800 watt inverter. This was just a little more expensive than a smaller one but it is going to run most of my small appliances and safe home heater most of my power instruments. Here’s a chart that shows how many watts a typical appliance uses. Milwaukee 150 lb. Capacity Folding Hand Truck: This was about $25 at safe home heater Depot and that i obtained this to make it just a little easier to move round. I don’t know if I will likely be using this to go up and safe home heater down stairs or drag across the dirt as a result of batteries ought to stay upright, but it surely does help shifting it across the home as a result of the battery weighs around 75 pounds.