Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

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AJMD429
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Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by AJMD429 »

.
Does anyone here use them enough to tell if the kind they use is reliable and durable and actually works...?

I see ads for these - https://4patriots.com/collections/power ... power-cell but I also know there is lots of junk for sale out there.

Mostly I'd want to recharge USB stuff but probably also AA batteries and so on.

I just have this feeling that sooner or later the 'grid' will drop out, most likely due to cyber-warfare sabotage from either a foreign government, or our own if it sees the need, and it would be good to have at least some power.

Working on propane and a generator for the freezers and electric fences.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

i suggest you get on some sailboat cruiser forums and search for a discussion. people at sea are already 100% in survival mode, and can make recommendations from the user pov.

i have one solar panel on the sailboat. it has kept the boat's battery at float level since 2017, these days it only runs an anchor light and bilge pump. the panel is about 2' x 4' or so. and I don't remember it's output, but when new and clean it would [slowly] charge in moonlight.

i can't recommend a panel because the technology changes rapidly. there is a type of panel that cruisers use, which i don't recall, and the regulator type is "mmpt" i "think"

I might run across the documentation some time, but this should aid your searches
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by AmBraCol »

So far I've had exactly 2 portable solar chargers. Same model, worthless. Can't even remember the details. BUT, things have come a long way in the last 15 years or so, I just haven't gotten around to messing with it any more.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

the ad on 4patriots reads well, perfectly profiled for my buttons, but it reads like click bait to me.

are you using solar now? i tried a small panel as a battery keeper on moto. the battery died.

i would ask the question on a site like https://www.cruisersforum.com/ or troll thru their database. i doubt there is anyone of those people [the 'endorsers'] using the pieces in question, and that group is the pinnacle of prepper + self-reliance.

i have a couple of flashlights in my vehicle that have solar charge panels built in. they work to a degree, and one is set up as a "power source", but i keep them under a table lamp at night, and aimed at the daylight sector when there is some.

i guess i should try charging my phone off of it to see what happens.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by AJMD429 »

.
So far the best 'battery-independent' thing I've used is some 'pistol-grip' flashlights that generate electricity from squeezing (repeatedly) the grip. They will light for a minute or so if you so-charge them with the light off, as well.

Yeah, the site for those chargers I linked to annoyed me as well. Even if the equipment is top-notch, when that kind of sales-pitch stuff is done, it turns me off.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by piller »

I have used a small solar panel that has an output of something like 14 volts to keep a car battery charged. The car is not used much, and it had to be jump started several times before I put the solar charger on it.
The solar chargers from Harbor Freight are good enough for non-emergency events

Those big solar panels for your roof could have a serious drawback. Depending on your electric company, the power may go directly to the grid, and not to your house first. If the grid goes down, you might not have power EVEN THOUGH you have those big solar panels. Check out that setup before you get whole home solar panels. If it goes straight to your house first, then you are good. A friend who lives in Ellis County in Texas loses power every time the grid goes down, even though he has about 50 yards of 10 foot tall panels on his land. The Rural Electric Co-op refuses to let him have the setup go straight to his home. Those panels produce more than he uses, but he never gets paid for the overage.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by JimT »

It's been a few years now and things change pretty fast .. but when we lived in Mozambique we used small solar panels to keep our phones charges during power outages and when in the bush. They were the kind that fit on your backpack so they would charge while you were walking. Also had folding leg on the back so you could set them in the sun. They were slow but they kept the phones working.
3 foot x 5 foot folding solar panel to charge the batteries for our ights, movie projector, sound board, microphones and speakers when we showed the JESUS film in the bush. The 2 lithium batteries gave us more than 8 hours of power.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by GunnyMack »

I have 2 different panels. First one i bought from Northern Tool, maybe 12x18" and 5watt output. Has been keeping my quad and lawn tractor batteries up to snuff for years. The second one i got from Amazon, about the same size and that keeps my deep cycle charged for the shed lights.

I have a buddy that has a tow behind 27' camper and he has 2 100watt panels from Harbor Freight. He swears by those.

The technology is good, however if you are trying to charge a dead car battery it won't work in a day but if you can wait it'll take a while.

The 2 I have are designed more for batteries for equipment and have de-sulphateing ability.

Remember to set your panels at the angle of your latitude
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by crs »

They are commonly used in Texas to charge batteries that supply power for opening and closing gates. This is likely true for many rural areas where there no other electric power source.
The panel for my drive gate battery is 18 years old and still works.
I also have a smaller panel on the hay-buggy we use to fetch round bales for our horses.
During the many years that I had travel trailers, they were equipped with solar panels to charge the onboard batteries.

Those are good applications of the solar panel technology.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

You just need the Professor to build you a stationary bicycle out of bamboo. Put Gilligan on it and charge anything!
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by AJMD429 »

Scott Tschirhart wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 4:16 pm You just need the Professor to build you a stationary bicycle out of bamboo. Put Gilligan on it and charge anything!
Can I have Mary Ann or Ginger instead...? :D
I'd even supply the bicycle seat.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by 2ndovc »

Doc,

I don't have any experience with the one from 4patriots, but I've had this one for about a year.
https://mypatriotsupply.com/collections ... -powerbank

Works great. I keep it in a Faraday bag, inside a steel ammo can in my truck. I've been looking at some of the larger solar generators but haven't made a decision yet. The power grid in our area is ancient. If someone sneezes and fanny burbs at the same time, the power goes out. :shock:
I have two gas generators, that powers up the house as much as needed short term. I'd like a solar that is easy to set up and no sound, for obvious reasons.

Grizz has a great idea in checking out the sailing sites. My dad could go for a really long time while he was cruising around the Caribbean on his boat.
He had two good size (@ 2'x3') panels, wind generator, a little Honda 2000 watt gas generator ( still has that one), a 40hp diesel engine and a desalinator. The desalinator was only used well off shore. Some of those Caribbean islands are really dirty.

jb 8)
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by AJMD429 »

.
Related video...

https://youtu.be/_ylhcXmhuaU
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by rock-steady »

If anyone has experience with a Bluetti brand solar gen, I'd love to hear a performance report.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Boy am I a fossil. I had to look up Faraday bags ... :?
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

THIS is what we need to know concerning this device in particular, and any devices in general:
Screenshot 2022-03-31 090955.png
this explains the problem with these devices. they are designed to be charged from the grid mains, and to supply extra battery power for a cell phone. the rest of the bling is of limited usefulness. if you park your FJ in a snow drift at the bottom of the ravine, you won't be able to recharge them, but the truck's battery will power the cell phone for months.

to use the illustrated device on an extended road trip, where the grid is 12v, you need an inverter to make the power to recharge those batteries.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by piller »

I think it is too underpowered for my needs.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by rock-steady »

Here's the one I'm looking at....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T41CzZlVJxw How Much Can It Power? - Bluetti AC200P Power Station Review

At the 5:00 minute mark, the guy runs 5 power tools and a battery charger all at the same time.

Also runs a fridge and deep freeze.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

Hi Rock,

here's a suggestion. https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-Out ... 272&sr=8-3

My son uses the i2200 version of this, available for $499, and he uses it to run two freezers that he takes to farmers markets. he gets 10 hours of market use on 1 gallon of gasoline. in the summer. in Texas.

the item you are looking at will run a hair dryer for one hour. and the solar panels are extra. and you need grid power, or a genset, to charge it.

just a suggestion for a compare and contrast minute.

Sincerely,
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by rock-steady »

thanks for the link, Grizz. I have a gas/propane generator for hurricane duty.

I'm looking at the solar gen setup for nighttime use during an extended power outage running a CPAP and a box fan for about 8 hours max.

I could recharge the solar power station in the daytime while the propane generator runs the refrigerator, TV and computers.

The high cost of the solar unit is what has me stymied. The $$$'s would have to come from my gun money.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

sounds like a good plan. my wife wants the genset for a night time backup for her machine. seems like a good use for solar too. i didn't see the price for the solar panels. i live in filtered sunlight, don't know how reliable solar is around here. but there is lots of solar stuff available now.

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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Blaine »

Made in the USA.
You can talk to real people that make them.

https://www.zampsolar.com/
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by 3leggedturtle »

piller wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:14 pm I think it is too underpowered for my needs.
What if you didnt use the 4 coffee makers! :P
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by piller »

I might not be able to be in 3 places at the same time.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?p ... id=6857054

A short video explaining the differences between a pwm charge controller, and the mppt charge controller is on this page.

the panel on the boat runs thru a mppt charge controller.

i am researching a 48v or 24v DC boat system for the Journey
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by 2ndovc »

3leggedturtle wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:06 pm
piller wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:14 pm I think it is too underpowered for my needs.
What if you didnt use the 4 coffee makers! :P
Here's your backup coffee maker! :D
Image

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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by wvfarrier »

We just had 86 solar panels mounted for the house. 🤷‍♂️
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

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wvfarrier wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 7:15 pm We just had 86 solar panels mounted for the house. 🤷‍♂️
That'll Do! sounds like interesting project. any technical details you care to share?
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by AJMD429 »

.
This is a good thread...

Thanks for all the info. Nice to hear real-world experiences.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Gobblerforge »

I use and have used solar for some years but have started to expand my experiments. Quality gets better and prices get better every year. I do everything cheaply so understand my goal is cheap or free and easy to fix. I am self-taught and tend to screw up a lot so easy to fix is big. In the garage I currently have a 1000ca marine start battery for my power. This is currently charged with two 100-watt 2'x3' solar panels run through a 200-watt controller. The panels and controller as well as connectors were bought online from the same source to keep things compatible. Prices as of a year ago were about 75 dollars per panel. I considered that to be very cheap for that much power per panel. The controller is 200-watt so will handle two panels, but I bought three panels because I also solar power my kayak. I'll get to that later. I have 4 12 volt lights over my bench. In my pit I have two led low level lights and an fan for air circulation that run 24 hours a day. I have a power port near my bench for anything you can use a power port for. Our power goes out a lot up her on the hill and it's fun to see how much I can keep running or available when the power's down. I will try to post some photos.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by wvfarrier »

Grizz wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 8:24 pm
wvfarrier wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 7:15 pm We just had 86 solar panels mounted for the house. 🤷‍♂️
That'll Do! sounds like interesting project. any technical details you care to share?
Not much, we had it done by Solar Holler. Apparently 86 is the max you can have on a single, non-commercial electrical meter
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

Here in Texas we get a lot of sun. I think I would like to put a solar panel on a big cargo container I have on the ranch. I would like to be able to keep the 4 wheelers batteries charged and maybe a small exhaust fan to move hot summer air out of the container.

I have no City power anywhere close.

So, this is a great thread and I am looking forward to learning.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by ywaltzucanrknrl »

Patriot has been in the business for quite a while, but I'm not sure your add is the same Patriot products I have.

https://patriotchargers.com/

I bought my first portable one in the 1980's, mainly to keep horses contained when in the mountains. I went through several batteries with it---it's a small solar panel with a battery. The solar panel quit charging three years ago, so yeah, I would say it was a good unit. I bought another Patriot portable unit and so far it's been a good one. I also use them around my yard to keep the horses out of certain spots and in certain spots, they work well.

All of my units require a battery for storage, none of them are stand alone, except for chargers/maintainers for my motorcycles and cars. I've used the ones I have for about 10 years but can't remember the brand, they are still working fine.

I have an electric gate that is operated by a hydraulic arm---had it for about 15 years. I've had the same deep cycle battery in it from the start. The solar panel stopped charging about three months ago and I have a new one coming, meanwhile I have an electric battery charger on it.

So, my experience, the solar panels do wear out.

I have a solar panel for a small rugged camper---kind of like a sheep camp. The panel will charge the batteries and power the refrigerator and lights with no problem---we get a lot of sun, but it will last about three days with not much sun on two deep cycle batteries--cheap ones---can't remember the cca's. With good sun, it's fully charged in no time.

I spend quite a bit of time in off grid cabins and remote ranches doing trail work. Common arrangements there are propane refrigerators/freezers with solar panels and a deep cycle battery pack. This runs a radio and LED lights with power to spare. Propane refrigerators are small capacity, but they are miserly on propane.

So, batteries or storage (propane tanks) are the weak link and solar panels do loose their ability to charge.

I would be careful of "4patriots" as I think it may be a play on Patriot, a company that has been selling fence chargers for many years.

I think if I was preparing in town or close, I would get a good propane generator and 1,000 gallon pig and some solar panels and good batteries----Interstate batteries have been good for me. 1,000 gallons of propane will run a gen set for quite a while and also if you go with a propane freezer, it will keep it going for a long time. And use low draw lights and appliances. No microwaves at any of the cabins I use and no toasters or electric hot water heaters. No TV, but generally cold beer in the snow drifts.

Charging batteries and stuff like cell phones and computers is very easy with just solar, the small solar panel I have for the cabin will charge and run computers and phones easily. I shut mine off and don't worry about it, but my son has a small charger similar to what the add you clipped shows, that he carries when we do trails. I'm not sure if it has batteries or is solar only.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by ywaltzucanrknrl »

Correction to the above, the first charger I had was a Gallagher.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by marlinman93 »

My main concern with batteries is always battery life! I worked on a bunch of battery backup systems for uninterruptible power systems, generators, solar backup, etc. before I retired, and the one thing they all have in common is limits of the battery life. It can range from 5-15 yrs. and how long they last depends on the quality, and how they're charged and discharged. Batteries have a certain number of cycles in them, so how often they get discharged, how deeply they discharge, and how they are charged will all affect the life expectancy.
I personally have never looked at any of these setups just because of battery technology, and always wondering if the batteries would be good if and when a disaster strikes. Now if I lived off the grid, or in an area where I lost power often I'd be more open to a solar backup system. But I'm not, so I have a generator that's dual fuel and can run on gasoline or propane.
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

when the poop hits the propeller there will be billions of free batteries around :lol: :D
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by Grizz »

Grizz wrote: Wed Apr 13, 2022 12:40 pm when the poop hits the propeller there will be billions of free batteries around :lol: :D
say, IF the sun goes crazy and wipes out every semiconductor on the continent....> THEN I think back to the early car days, 6v DC systems were charged by a generator and the regulator was a light bulb to avoid over charging. . . . something along those lines seems like a viable alternative to NO electricity.

somewhere there is an article by a homesteader who built a BIG generator from scratch to be driven by the well pump windmill. He may be the next utility in his area . . .
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Post by Grizz »

here's one: https://windandsolar.com/freedom-3-sealed-marine-pmg/


this is super cheap for what it is and what it does. might wind up on my boat for the voyage
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Re: Solar battery chargers and other 'prepper' stuff

Post by lthardman »

I have a traditional whole house stand-by Generac Generator. And I love it. It is very reliable, operates on natural gas, and provides great peace of mind. Particularly as I am always busy in a First Responder mode during bad storms, and therefore not home to hook up a generator when the power goes out.

While thus far the natural gas grid seems far more reliable than the electric grid, I suppose the natural gas grid could be subject to a cyber attack as well. That said, these solar power sytems where your solar panels charge up to an 18KW battery on your own personal property seem very interesting. Like my system, the power switches to your battery within a second or so of a failure in utility power. And during the day, your panels run your house as well as recharge your battery.

If I didn't already have my 22KW natural gas generator, I would absolutely check out one of these new solar/battery systems.
"Now it cuts like a knife, but it feels so right." - Bryan Adams
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