Goal 0 solar (1 Viewer)

[Butch1979]

Anybody used this stuff? Looking to run fridge and use as backup power for other odds and ends.

The Complete Power Kits - Goal Zero | See Solar Power Products

Looking at the Sherpa adventure 120 adventure kit. It looks like you need the inverter on top of battery and solar panel to make this system work.

 

[george_tlc]

That's a heck of a lot of $$ for what I consider a low capacity battery (~10AHr) + small solar panel etc.

What are you trying to achieve? If running a fridge I assume in vehicle use... You could pick up an 80W solar panel on ebay for $200 - $300 and be miles ahead. Spend ~$200 and install an aux battery in your 100 and you'd have a much more useful system and be closer to running your fridge fully on solar (using your aux battery for o/night power).

How much current does you fridge draw, how often does it cycle (on versus off time) at your typical camping temperature? You need to determine how many amp.hours per day you need to run the fridge and then size the solar panel based on that.

cheers,
george.

 

[Corey]

Yes, I use it.
Here is a thread on it.
Goal Zero Ranger 350 Solar Kit - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum
I thought I mirrored the same thread in this section, but I guess not.

I bought it to charge up my camera batteries, run 5 LED lanterns from Goal Zero, ect.

They made me a custom cable as seen at the URL above which they now sell so it will mate up to my Powerfilm 60 watt solar panel I bought a few years ago.

The Powerfilm solar panel is to keep my rigs batteries charged during an extended camping trip, and the cable they now carry will also allow my Powerfilm solar panel to recharge the Goal Zero 350 battery while camping.

Here is a picture showing the 350 battery running my laptop, charging my Droid, and also charging up my GoPro camera.

 

[VTCDN]

Anybody used this stuff? Looking to run fridge and use as backup power for other odds and ends.

Looks very expensive for no real power.

I ran my fridge all last winter in a test mode just to make sure that if i went Walk-A-Bout my food didn't kill me . I ran a fridge /frezzer in a green house 80f 17c from Nov to Feb on solar / battery's. it was to keep a xmas bird frozen till mid dec , and then do a thaw . after that i was to keep items at 7c for drinking .. A few days / 2 a week of storms had the battery showing 11.5 V , but the food / temp always was where I set it.

Im @ 50* lat wet coast. / = the angle of my solar panels in winter , same as Sat Disc's ..

Now I have a system to keep my food cold. PLUS +++
It's more than just buying a panel ..
Mine is just under 1G (so far) ..

Just a heads up.
VT

 

[Biscuit]

Most of the Goal 0 product line isn't geared at vehicle based trips. It is geared towards being carried in by humans maybe by pack animals.

Also the majority of the use cases are to charge the battery pack during the day, and then charge gadgets at night.

As such the electricity needs are different. (I know I don't carry a fridge when backpacking).

 

[Corey]

That is true with the smaller Goal Zero stuff, but the 350 battery/inverter I have is more for base camping.
It can run an ARB fridge by itself during the day and night, and if you have a solar panel hooked up to it of at least 60 watts, it can go for an extended time.

I bought mine to run the five LED lanterns of theirs I bought, and to charge stuff.
The fridge runs off of my main battery in the rig, and I use a Powerfilm 60 watt panel to keep the rigs batteries charged up.

Goal-0 Extreme portable power available at earthtechproducts.com - YouTube

 

[Butch1979]

Comparing apples to apples

How does this duracell setup compare for storage capacity? The goal 0 claims 350 watt hours, does anybody see "watt hours" in the duracell specs?

Amazon.com: Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack 600 Jump Starter & Emergency Power Source with Radio: Automotive

 

[george_tlc]

The amazon link shows a spec of 28 A.hr, multiply by nominal 12V to get your watt.hours...

Of course high current draw will impact real world amp.hours or watt.hours (negatively).

For a vehicle fridge, personally I'd put my money into an aux battery setup and hook up a solar panel for topping up when camped in one spot for a few days. Hmm, I guess I already have

cheers,
george.

 

[womacje]

Most of the Goal 0 product line isn't geared at vehicle based trips. It is geared towards being carried in by humans maybe by pack animals.

Also the majority of the use cases are to charge the battery pack during the day, and then charge gadgets at night.

As such the electricity needs are different. (I know I don't carry a fridge when backpacking).

I second this opinion. I use an 80w panel that I sell all the time, that ties directly my aux battery. The Goal 0 stuff is really nice equipment, but not tailored to vehicle use. Corey's application is perfect for it, use it to run lights and charge gear at base camp.
Goal 0 is working on a charge controller so you can choose your own battery, ie dual battery system in a vehicle. This will be a great addition to their product line and will help us Overlanders with a packaged solar system for vehicles.

I am using a Zamp solar 80w folding panel that is plug and play and I really like it, not as pretty as Goal 0 but affordable and simple.

Sorry for the terrible picture but you can see the portable solar in front of the rig.

 

[gonejeeping15]

Camping

What ever happened to the old days, where you just camped out without the gadgets?

 

[george_tlc]

What ever happened to the old days, where you just camped out without the gadgets?

Having owned my patrol in oz for 30+ years and have had fridge and solar panel for close to 30 years. Being in the bush for a few weeks and being able to have a cold one is less of a luxury and more a pure pleasure/necessity

At least with dual batteries and a solar panel you can be reasonably sure that a single battery failure won't leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Over the years, the gadgets have appeared, primarily GPS and laptop/pda etc for decent topo moving maps. Toss in some LED lighting and two way radios, digital camera etc etc and you start to realize that the battery and ability to recharge it is key.

In the good 'ole days, you had gas lanterns, film camera incandescent torches etc. All meant you were limited on how long you had access to that stuff until fuel ran out, film ran out, batteries went flat etc.

Now, we can replace the 'ole stuff, with rechargeable power and self sufficient time becomes longer as long as we can charge. Solar panel is a great way to go.

I'll trade the good 'ole days for the modern stuff any day. Doesn't mean I have a ton of gadgets, but what I do take I can recharge indefinitely during a long trip to the bush.

Where in the 'ole days I felt a thrill to drive a couple of miles through the bush off track with a petrol station map and compass, now I can head many miles into nowhere and have an exact location fix. The beauty of knowing exactly where you are is that you can now see what may be 1/2 mile off to the side of where you are that would be neat to check out. So, the gadgets help you discover things that you would previously have driven by without any idea they were present.

I'm heading to oz for a month trip and a couple of weeks in the bush later today. I've spent quite a few hours with google earth checking out some of the areas I want to visit or re-visit and even cached a bunch of it on my laptop. Then where I'm in the area I can get a bird's eye view of the surrounding area and check out things that appear interesting - outcrops, hills, water courses (obviously dry in most of oz) etc.

So, I agree partially that we seem to take a lot of gadgets with us these days, in my case the gadgets I take help improve my navigation and ability to explore.

When you're 30+ miles from the nearest graded road and the track you're on hasn't got any tyre marks and you're heading into the bush looking for where the track actually is, having gadgets to aid in finding your location and doing it in comfort is not a bad way to enjoy yourself.

etc...

cheers,
george.

 

[gonejeeping15]

Yes, I have plenty of gadgets too, I even had a career in the surveying profession before most of the electronic stuff came along to what it is today. But I will say that it gives us something to do while were on our camping trip besides fishing, eating, and drinking.

Happy camping!