Thoughts on This Portable Solar Setup

[tmoney]

I was thinking about building a portable solar set up with the following components.

1. Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array

http://www.amazon.com/Brunton-Watt-Foldable-Solar-Array/dp/B000GEFFBO/

and

2. http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-DPP-6...dp/B000TKHMWK/


This would be nice to have for tailgating, camping and even using in my home.

My question is, would I need a charge controller to regulate the charging of the duracell powerpack or can I plug it in directly to the adapter?

Thanks.

[Mike90250]

If you can get to the users manual, and find if the array will safely recharge the battery, you might have something useful.

Keep in mind that 26 watts, if you can maintain that for 5 hours, is only about 8 amp hours, so it would take 2 full days to recharge a half depleted battery.( 28 amp hour AGM)

The duracell gadget, has a monstor inverter (600W) that likely has a large overhead loss when idle, and will only run a short time before depleting the battery.

Brunton has a Li battery pack with a 100W inverter http://www.amazon.com/Brunton-Lithiu...ef=pd_sim_sg_7 which might be a better match for the little panel.

But in reality, 26W is hardly worth the effort, unless you are somewhere where you cannot get AA batteries to serve your needs. If you just need a flashlight, or radio, there are many solar versions of them. The foldable panel has such a high price, you have to really need it for a specific purpose. A couple small glass panels may be a better choice, and give more power.

[cyberspirit]

Simple Solar Setup Guide

Lots of easy to understand info here:

Mod note - if you wish to link to the site contact user name Jason

[Sunking]

Really depends on what you intend to use it for. a 26 watt panel at best is only going to generate 50 to 60 watt hours per day in summer, and less than half that in winter. That enough energy to run a laptop about 2 hours per day, or a single 60 watt light bulb for an hour or less. It would be good for recharging AA batteries. Between the small panel and battery, there is not much you can use it for. Something like a small radio or Ghetto Blaster.