Portable Solar Generators

[Mike90250]

There is a place in Northern Calif that sells some prefab units ( solman, I think), and you can look at my monolith assy:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074858&id=1196643274&l=7e66e96c3c

but for reviews, you have to look them up yourself.

Just realise, that a 50-100W panel, can only harvest so little power, a couple lights is all it will manage. Try a fridge, and you kill the battery, and it takes 5 days to recharge it.

[amj71]

Question

Can somebody recommend a site that has a list of companies selling portable solar generators with possible comments/reviews by previous buyers. From what I am seeing there are a lot of examples of scams/hoaxes going around so I was wondering if there was a site that dealt particularly with portable solar systems.

Thanks in advance.

[TnAndy]

Dang - this is a tough crowd hanging out here. Somebody must have smelled snake oil before.

ahahahaaaaaa......nah, great crowd here.....simply a failure to identify the correct market.

If one plans to sell this particular snake oil, then one needs to find a forum of know-nothing, tree hugging, soccer moms. THAT is your sales market.
,

[Mike90250]

Dang - this is a tough crowd hanging out here. Somebody must have smelled snake oil before.

[russ]

Gel battery? Can you say: SUCKER?

Trying to sell to the green bunch - they don't care as long as they can claim green. Other people get suckered in - that is a problem.

[Naptown]

According to the website it is a 12V 300AH sealed gel battery bank.

[TnAndy]

Nobody here is anti-solar ( well, ALMOST nobody...ahahahahaaa ), but when you attach the word "generator" to a small system like you guys have, there are a whole lot of folks ( not here ) that don't know diddly about electricity that equate it in their minds with something like a REAL generator.....say a Honda EU2000 or something....a nice quiet little generator that only weighs 50lbs and will produce 18kw/hrs in 9 hours on a gallon of gas....FOR 1200 BUCKS.

And along comes a 'solar generator' that costs 3 times that for maybe 3kw/hrs ( and I'd have to agree with Naptown, you guys are stretching it ) in that same 9 hours.

For apple to apple comparison there, 1200 buck Honda versus 6 (at least) solar generators for what, 20+ grand ?

18,000 bucks STILL buys a LOT of gas.

I'd personally prefer you drop the word "generator" and simply market it as a small, portable solar power system, along with the specs of what it will do. Anytime I see the words "solar generator", my hype meter pegs out.

[russ]

Yeah not trying to sucker anyone. The sales process, as I would assume is the case in other high cost durable goods, is about building relationships. Feedback has been good on these types of products and one of the main things emphasized is the need for sustainable usage. We will def. have a look at how we present the info on the website, but the product itself is simple to use, ie "plug and play" but has limits on what it can power. If you are not leaving items running all the time (rethinking usage) it can easily power the items we have listed with varying lengths, depending on each one's draw.

Say how much power the thing can generate - this medium size - small etc is hocus pocus - electrical output has a definite way to be stated - use kWh - what size of batteries are you using in amp hours - what type with a real specification.

For sales 'building relationships' is only important when you are trying to sell 'blue sky' - not when you are selling real goods.

[zephyrpeling]

From your site - 'The SolMan generators supply uninterrupted solar backup power for a variety of household and emergency appliances including lights, computers, televisions, mobile and cordless phones, radios, water pumps, sump pumps, refrigerators, freezers, fish tanks, home alarm systems and garage door openers'

Provided you don't turn the power on to most of them I suppose so - you can provide a very limited amount of power - as was pointed out - put in numbers not salesman's blather. What you try to make people think seems to be that it is very, very much cheaper and simpler than it is.

I guess that comes up once the sucker is on the hook?

Yeah not trying to sucker anyone. The sales process, as I would assume is the case in other high cost durable goods, is about building relationships. Feedback has been good on these types of products and one of the main things emphasized is the need for sustainable usage. We will def. have a look at how we present the info on the website, but the product itself is simple to use, ie "plug and play" but has limits on what it can power. If you are not leaving items running all the time (rethinking usage) it can easily power the items we have listed with varying lengths, depending on each one's draw.

[russ]

My comments in italics and bold within your text - this site is real world and not goofy green stuff like you may be more familiar with.

By small to medium energy needs, I was referring to the types of items that the generator could run. For example, a 1500 watt solar generator on a full charge could run - My comment - don't compare a 3 panel PV setup to a 1500 watt generator - in a 24 hour period the generator will put out many times more power
Medium sized solar generators are more useful for off-grid living, mobile construction sites or for supplementing existing power sources. My comment - What is 'medium size? This is BS really - a construction site operating off solar must not use any power tools.

There are numerous small solar generators on the market, but they only produce a fraction of the output (500 watts or so) and have limited storage capacity. My comment - and what does yours put out? Not much more for sure with three panels

There are some companies like Goal Zero starting to get more into the medium range and a few like Mobile Solar Power that focus on the larger size market (ie trailer mounted arrays). The difference between fixed solar and portable solar production is pretty marked, but with portable solar you can move it towards the sun to capture the best light. My comment - This I call so much BS - all you need is a breeze and your neighbor just got a new system.

Tiny Homes and other sustainable living type groups have listed the movability of portable solar generators as a key benefit vs. fixed solar. My comment - This bunch includes mostly the fruitcake fringe I am afraid.

Regards and luck - you will need it to peddle this stuff.

[russ]

From your site - 'The SolMan generators supply uninterrupted solar backup power for a variety of household and emergency appliances including lights, computers, televisions, mobile and cordless phones, radios, water pumps, sump pumps, refrigerators, freezers, fish tanks, home alarm systems and garage door openers'

Provided you don't turn the power on to most of them I suppose so - you can provide a very limited amount of power - as was pointed out - put in numbers not salesman's blather. What you try to make people think seems to be that it is very, very much cheaper and simpler than it is.

I guess that comes up once the sucker is on the hook?

[zephyrpeling]

By small to medium energy needs, I was referring to the types of items that the generator could run. For example, a 1500 watt solar generator on a full charge could run a desktop computer drawing 100 watts for 24 hrs. It cannot power a large American home, but that is not the market for these products. I have definitely ran into the characteristic solar "newbie" that thinks a few solar panels will power their house. Therefore, one of the main objectives businesses in solar need to push is the idea of rethinking how you use energy and utilizing sustainable strategies (like keeping a meter that shows your usage) in order to reduce electricity dependency. Medium sized solar generators are more useful for off-grid living, mobile construction sites or for supplementing existing power sources. There are numerous small solar generators on the market, but they only produce a fraction of the output (500 watts or so) and have limited storage capacity. There are some companies like Goal Zero starting to get more into the medium range and a few like Mobile Solar Power that focus on the larger size market (ie trailer mounted arrays). The difference between fixed solar and portable solar production is pretty marked, but with portable solar you can move it towards the sun to capture the best light. Tiny Homes and other sustainable living type groups have listed the movability of portable solar generators as a key benefit vs. fixed solar.

[Naptown]

Actually, the Solman generator can provide power for small to medium size energy needs. The unit itself can't be too large otherwise it would not be portable, but it provides comparable energy output to a small gas generator of the same wattage, although it can't run continuously for as long unless there is constant sun. We try to make that clear by listing our specs and common uses. Definitely not trying to mislead. Is there something specific that is misleading or recommendations you have for improving? Getting the word out about sustainable energy is important to us and the industry. That includes creating credible and consistent messages. Any help is definitely appreciated.

Well getting 3.2KWH a day is assuming the panels operating at 100% of nameplate for 8 hours. I dont believe there is anywhere on the planet that gets that much sun. I guess you could stand there all day and make it a tracker but even then there would still not be enough generated to recharge the batteries if discharged to the rates you specify. There is a definite lack of peukerts law in the output capacity. If you discharged 1000 watts for two hours you would most likely end up with dead destroyed gel batteries.

[TnAndy]

Actually, the Solman generator can provide power for small to medium size energy needs.

You could start by defining "small to medium" in something one could actually measure, like kilowatt/hrs instead of just words. That would be a refreshing start.

The average household in the US uses 900kw/hrs/month or there about.

So what's "small" ? 100kw/hrs/month ? 50 ? 25 ?

I would think "medium" would be the middle...about 1/2 of 900 or 450kw/hrs/month

Can your deal even approach that ? My guess is no......for the same reason you said....in order to produce REAL power, it ain't hardly portable unless it's mounted on a 52' flatbed trailer.

See, a LOT of solar newbies have this impression a couple of panels can run a house ( I ran into one yesterday )....they have absolutely NO clue what it takes to produce a real amount of power.

If you're talking running a laptop and recharging a cell phone, and maybe running a small LED light or two....then yeah, there might be a place for what you guys are selling.

But if you're talking any kind of even minor dent in the power a typical American uses, then you know as well as most here no little portable system is gonna come close.

[zephyrpeling]

Looked at your site - a bit misleading - lots of promises showing one panel on a trolly - wouldn't power much.

Actually, the Solman generator can provide power for small to medium size energy needs. The unit itself can't be too large otherwise it would not be portable, but it provides comparable energy output to a small gas generator of the same wattage, although it can't run continuously for as long unless there is constant sun. We try to make that clear by listing our specs and common uses. Definitely not trying to mislead. Is there something specific that is misleading or recommendations you have for improving? Getting the word out about sustainable energy is important to us and the industry. That includes creating credible and consistent messages. Any help is definitely appreciated.