Solar Panel to charge Li-Ion Battery generator.

[Stanleymarc]

I recently bought a 1000 W Max Battery Generator from Walmart. http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/power-it.../6000192325762
I have fully charged it using the provided wall adapter but going forward would like to use a solar panel system to charge it. The generator came with a MC4 to 8mm adapter for a solar panel application. The manual states that the kind of panel should be 80W-100W maximum power and that the open circuit voltage must not be greater than 20V. I have found that most of the panels I have looked at are just above the 20V max OCV. I would like an option that charges/tops off the unit fairly quickly. My plan would be to use the unit as a mobile power source to lower the amount of electricity used around our home. The Generator allows for use of x2 115V outlets. I have been using it power all of our Christmas lights and it has been working great. Now I just need to find a way to charge it with solar panels. Does anyone have suggestions as to what kind of panel would work best? Any links to products would be much appreciated.

[jflorey2]

Does anyone have suggestions as to what kind of panel would work best? Any links to products would be much appreciated.

It is almost certainly designed to work with a 36 cell panel. Almost any will work. The Kyocera SM-83K, for example, has a listed OCV of 19.7 volts. When it's cold out the panel will produce more than 20 volts OC, but any sane designer is going to take that into account. (Of course this is Wal-Mart we are talking about, so I guess you can't assume a reasonable design.)

If you're really worried you could hack into a panel and make it a 34 cell panel or something but that's probably not worth it. You could also use a 20 volt zener to clamp the voltage but again that's probably overkill and would likely cause more problems than it solves.

[PNjunction]

My plan would be to use the unit as a mobile power source to lower the amount of electricity used around our home.

Just don't get too carried away with that idea. Off-grid power is generally about 10 times more expensive than what you get from the local poco - when you consider total lifetime cost of battery replacements over time plus the initial expense. So if you are doing it to be green, think again. We tell this to all the new guys, so don't get upset.

[Sunking]

Just don't get too carried away with that idea. Off-grid power is generally about 10 times more expensive than what you get from the local poco - when you consider total lifetime cost of battery replacements over time plus the initial expense. So if you are doing it to be green, think again. We tell this to all the new guys, so don't get upset.

Ditto that. Extremely foolish to take anything off-grid. Not only does it cost a lot more, you also become a heavy polluter and wasting resources which robs your kids.

[solarix]

This is just a sort-of nicely packaged small setup with just a 500watt inverter, who knows how small a battery and a lot of nifty connectors. It will never pay for itself.