I need small solar reccomendations

[pekar]

I need to power a small 12v. portable system.  The best deal I've found so far are those $16-ish Harbor Freight car battery chargers that have a 4"x8" panel and claimed 1.5watt, 120mA output.

Can anyone point me to some alternatives? Priorities are 1. higher output 2. inexpensive 3. rugged

I'd be willing to assemble smaller cells into a panel that beats the Harbor freight option.

Lastly, does anyone make rugged aluminum framed panels like the old Uni-Solar panels?

[Bruce S]

Pekar;

   Numbers 1 & 3 won't be too hard. Just google "foldable" solar panels there is a pretty good site that the back packers around here use "ctsolar" they're reliable but by no means cheap or inexpensive. But they are well tested. One individual used their 16Ah model with his recumbent trike.

The H.F. 45watt models that I am trying out are nicely clad in Aluminium.

What are you're power requirements?

Hope this helps

Cheers

Bruce S

 

[pekar]

I'm currently using a 2.5 Ah battery, but might go as large as 12Ah.

Physical size should be 8x12" or less.

Foldable panels i've seen have been too expensive and not very high output.

I mainly want max output in a small footprint.

[Norm]

  How small is your 12 volt portable system does it have a

SLA battery 4 amp/hr.? or bigger?

  Not being picky but from my own experiences

there is a very thick line between portable and transportable

I had a transportable radio once....it had a

handle so you could move it from one place to

another....but I never did....

 (don't be offended....just Norm's attempt at

lighthearted humor among friends)

                ( :>) Norm

 

[Norm]

Thanks Bruce you answered a question that's been

floating around in the back of my mind for some

time And thanks Pekar for posting it in the first

place.

               ( :>) Norm.

[ghurd]

"want max output in a small footprint" and inexpensive don't go together.

The old model VW PVs with the blue cells have a great output for their size, fairy rugged, and not too expensive.  About 9x12.5". Some even have a charge controller built into the plug.

They were rated at 170ma, but I usually see past 225ma under less than great conditions.

It should have some kind of controller with a battery that small.

Not knowing what it is or how it is used, I would venture a guess that red HF charger, or 2, would be OK if the battery was larger.  7AH?

The US-series do not have much power compared to the footprint. But you may find a US-5 still floating around. Production is 'postponed' for US-series under 64W.  Just as well, IMHO, they are not worth a... but I digress.

G-

[Bruce S]

Hey Norm;

   Not sure which question I answered for you, but hey no problem . Gald I could help:--)

You looking to panel up a trike?

Here's a link to the trike. It's about 2/3rd the way down.

http://www.ctsolar.com/Backpacking%20Solar%20Panels.htm

Cheers

Bruce S

[pekar]

My current 2.5 Ah SLA battery came with a 500mA wallwart charger, so I should be OK there.

I really would like to avoid needing any charge control circuit for this system.

What I liked about the Uni-Solar panels was the rubbery surface, and the metal backing, that made them more damage resistant than just a glass plate  

[ghurd]

With a bigger battery more power can be stored over a longer time, needing less PV to keep up with the load, if you follow my meaning.

The new style VW PVs may be the closest to a US-5 for a reasonable price.

A 7AH at 12.3V reached 13.8V in under 1 hour yesterday with a VW PV at a bad angle.

The battery will last a lot longer with a controller.  The wallwart may or may not have somekind of controling properties, but I would keep a close eye on it. C/5 seems kind of steep for a SLA, but their business is to sell you anothet battery.  

Cheap simple dandy little controller perfect for this kind of thing, Google PB137ACV.

G-

[coldspot]

pekar-

not trying to hi-jack thread!

But,

I'm trying to charge some cordless drill bat's

18 VDC with solar

$10. HF one not doing it so far, (only two days)

24 VDC out of solar scooter testing today

bat might be bad, will fish out different ones later

Also, Interstate m2s6cl, motorcycle/watercraft bat

anybody know Ah on this? might use HF panel for this one.

Trying to figure out power pak for Solar panel tracking power, with redrok tracker n window regulator as mover.

Was hopeful some NiCad drill pak's would be useful

as I have a few extra's

[ghurd]

I'm not sure where the 'metal backing' info comes from, tho you are not the first to say it.

A US-series with the frame removed is thin-film with Very flexible plastic front and back. At least all I ever saw.  I still have a frameless dealer demo US-21 around here somewhere, no metal at all but the wire.

G-

[Bruce S]

Coldspot;

   The $10 HF may not be enough to overcome the 18Vdc packs. I have some that I'm testing and in order charge the pack I need to make use of one of the HF 45watt panels.

Check your HF panel "underload" bet it drops below the 19.2 you need minimum to charge that pack.

The $10 one will charge the 'cycle bat with no problem but expect it to take days for it to fully charge. I have one and in order for it to keep the Rebel 250s batt topped off I had to bring it up to full charge first, using the ole plug it into the cig lighter and drive to work trick.

The 'cycle's batt is in CCA and is probably under 100 which puts it below a good SLA.

Hope this helps;

Bruce S

[ghurd]

Yes, Bruse is right. That is a '12V' PV, not an '18V'.

With 2 in series it should work, but it's still only ~400ma-h per day.  So it will take days.

G-