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Build your own solar generator to suit the job’s specific needs. Whether you want a mobile power bank, backup power, tiny home, …
Date: August 24, 2023
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Build your own solar generator to suit the job’s specific needs. Whether you want a mobile power bank, backup power, tiny home, …
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I JUST LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!
im a 65 year old man married to Steffy. we live off grid.
i have a very old 36 volt "easy go" that was given to me for FREE, back in 2016 by a neighbor. having worked for a friend at his GOLF CAR business for several years, i used 3 very large Anderson connectors to wire my "mobile battery bank" so i can just unplug 2 connectors and then plug in 1 connector to switch from 36 volt to 12 volt. i can CHARGE MY BATTERIES VIA A 12 VOLT SOLAR PANEL ON ITS ROOF! then change the voltage by plugging and unplugging the connectors and driving away. living in a camping trailer in rural south dakota we get our power from the golf car! i have a truck alternator belt driven from a cheap Chinese gasoline engine to charge the batteries (T105RE) when the sun is not enough, BUT i use the exhaust from that engine to heat water. the exhaust is piped into an old enameled water bath caner with a hole at the bottom on the sidewall some bricks make a stand off for a stainless steel pot to sit on, and it heats the water nicely !! i have other battery banks and solar panels too!
It's always best to build your own solar generator, but after spending 23 years repairing inverters, I would highly recommend staying away from high frequency inverters, especially modified sine wave inverters (really modified square wave). The reason for this is that they simply don't last. The FETS (field effect transistors) that are used in these cheap inverters were never meant for running high surge loads such as motors. microwaves, refrigerators, air compressors and power tools. You might be able to run your power tools a few times but guarantied, right about the time your warranty runs out. those FETS will fail and you'll be let with an expensive paperweight. Commercially available solar generators use the same lightweight high frequency inverters which is why most of them fail after only a year or two of use.. If you want a solar generator that's going to last, then you're far better off spending a little more money and buying a low frequency, pure sine wave inverter.
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Nice video very informative. Thanks for sharing.
Modified? Not in this day and age. Anything with a variable motor or sensitive electronics won't play well. Refrigerators, air conditioners, vacums, microwave, ECT. 12 volt appliances that are specifically made to operate car charging ECT will work fine. Inverters are inexpensive now. Even pure sine wave. $200-$400 for up to 2000watts.
I ran my off grid house for 5years with pretty much that set up.. you got the right idea but experience will teach you a few do's and don'ts. Have fun😊
Love your enthusiasm. These systems and the possibilities are endless. If you can dream it. You can create it and power it. I run my rv off of 3 separate batteries a 24volt 2-100ah lifepo4 for my fridge and a/c however I only run one a time because inverters are small at 800 pure sine. It works great if you mind your power consumption. When it's hot and the is shining I hook my fridge to a 12v lead acid bank with 1000watt Jupiter modified sine wave inverter. This leaves my small 800 watt pure sine inverter to power my 6000btu a/c it powers it no problem but with only 600watts of panels much of the time you are at a power deficit only by 1 to 2 amps. As long as the sun shines you good lol! And I have 3rd battery it is 100ah lifepo4 I use it with a small modified sine wave inverter and I watch TV and jam the radio. I run fans and lights and charge my phone and other items. I back all of these systems up with 2000watt inverter generator it's lightweight and quite and very fuel efficient. Flexibility and resourcefulness can land you no powerbill and the energy independence that brings a nice piece of mind to mind.
Where can you find the used cell tower batteries?
Where do you buy your wire.
I like this
Not sure who and/or when the phrase "Solar Generator" was coined, but it is the most inappropriate name for these types of systems, whether it's a home-brew setup as depicted in this video, or a fancy pre-built plastic box. The closest any of these devices gets to a "Solar Generator" is 93,000,000 miles.
What is depicted here is a pile of energy convertors, regulators and storage devices. The PV panel converts solar energy to electrical energy. The DC charge controller regulates the energy to the battery, which is an energy storage device. The trickle charger converts AC to DC and regulates that energy to the battery. The invertor converts DC to AC and regulates that energy to it's AC outlets. None of it actually "generates" energy.
Now, if you hooked a wind turbine in parallel with the PV panel, Would you have a solar wind generator? Oh, that's 93,000,000 miles away too.
Just food for thought.
Damn, now ya got me thinking of food.🤔
FREEBIRD!!!
I love that you're so enthusiastic about these stuff! Never let the fire burn out! There are countless gadgets out there!
if you can afford the extra dollars always go for pure sine wave especially if running sensitive gear or firdges and motors ,also if running ac ,fridges or motors youll need one that much higher rating than you need because of the inrush or start up currents ,ive found that most stuff like tv ,laptops.lights etc can run off a cheap UPS with a car battery ,ups can make great small scale solar generators
I'd only want a pure sine wave inverter not a modified sine
that vevor looks a lot like an edecoa, who are older than the vevor name, the edecoa's are very very good. I have seen a lot of products being sold under the vevor name, and they all seem to be badged, but I will say vevor dont appear to just badge anything they seem to pick and choose carefully and only choose quality suppliers to trust their name on, which is something i didnt expect when i first saw them creeping into the market. a cautios and quality orientated chinese commpany, you just dont expect it lol. I just spent a small fortune on a vevor badged replacement laser tube so yeah i do trust them
I get batteries from a marina for practically nothing. I test them there, many have like 80%+ lifespan left. People just don't like to deal with older batteries on boats for obv reasons. They let me have them for like 15$ each. Then when I'm done with them I bring them to the scrap yard and get like $10 each, deep cycle marine batteries have a lot of lead in 'em.
I always go modular. Exactly the reason you mentioned, if a part goes bad you can replace it easily. If a minor component goes bad on those solar generators, even a single solder point, what a pain in the ass. My last solar charger had an issue, it was going to cost a fortune to ship it out to be fixed because there is nobody local. I actually ended up fixing it myself, but again, pain in the ass to disassemble, diagnose and put it back together. I put my new modular system together on a two wheeler hand truck so it can be moved easily, even up and down stairs. If the battery goes bad, replace it. Charge controller, bam done. Sinewave inverter craps the bed? no problem. I do use a pretty high end pur sinewave inverter tho because of sensitive electronics. Also at the top of the hand truck I mounted an incredible power strip/surge protector. Many plugs of all types AC, DC, USBs galore etc.
I only have two batteries on the main hand truck system. But I have another foldable hand truck for moving multiple batteries. I get them used from the marina for practically nothing, you wouldn't believe how many get thrown out that still have 80+% lifespan left in them.