Hey there anyone have a solar generator? Am looking into getting one. What do you have pros/cons? Likes dislikes lmk!
Kyle
Kyle
Solar Generators (1 Viewer)
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Shelf. And in the 750 to 1000 watt area
I have 2 Bluetti's and one smaller one from Rockpals. What do you want to use it for? Will 1000 watt be enough? Could be but more details are always helpful. You will also need solar to recharge or possibly one of the new alternator DC to DC boxes both Bluetti, Ecoflow and probably others sell now for fast charging. My smaller Bluetti took a dump but it was under warranty and they sent me a new one.
Anker, Jackery, Bluetti, EcoFlow all make good stuff. There are many other brands. Wait til CyberMonday and save $$$$. I don't think there is a lot of difference between the brands other than the ports they offer and possibly warranty.
Anker, Jackery, Bluetti, EcoFlow all make good stuff. There are many other brands. Wait til CyberMonday and save $$$$. I don't think there is a lot of difference between the brands other than the ports they offer and possibly warranty.
bwesty
SILVER Star
I recently setup a National Luna DC25 with a 100 AH lithium battery. It offers a lot of utility, battery options and has both solar and DC charging built in. Great quality. Very impressed so far.
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
I am unfamiliar with a solar generator. Are really just a solar panel that charges a battery that has a DC charger option. Does it have a A/C output. My sister and her husband have a couple Jackerys they use with their trailer. Believe that have a solar panel they use to charge them.
splitshot
Head cook, Bottle washer, and Peace keeper.
I have questions also. We have 3 and different sizes. Progeny and Flashfish both rated at 300 watts and a Bluetti rated at 600.
With a sizable solar panel, how many watts does someone actually need to keep 'for instance, an Iceco fridge cold for a week?
I have been tracking power usage on my Engel MT-45 since I installed a 230 ah LiFePO4 in my taco.
I use around 23 ah per day when driving around and camping as measured by my Victron BMV-712 battery monitor. The Engel is kept full and around 28-30 degrees Fahrenheit and is turned off while I’m sleeping on it and back on as soon as I wake up. I have a few other minor loads like intermittent phone & tablet charging, but the main load is the fridge.
I consistently use 10% of my 230 ah battery per day. When I’m camped for a few days at the same spot I can reclaim all of the energy used that day by hooking up my 100 w solar panel.
Screenshots of the power I used on my last six day long trip to Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.
Six days usage from 2024-08-29 6:00 AM to 2024-09-03 6:00 PM took me from 100% to 40% of the 230 AH battery. Running the Engel I rarely draw more than 3 amps. The one five amp dip was charging the laptop.
Five days to recharge using my 100 watt solar panel just sitting flat in the back of the truck after I got home. With careful aiming throughout the day I have gotten over 600 watt hours out of the solar panel - way more than enough to run the Engel through the day & night. Laying flat & un-aimed I get around 300 wh per day out of the panel.
Temperature a lot hotter in southern Arizona than up north
Watts for the Engel were averaging 13 & 27 with a few 40s (probably cellphone charging) and one 65 watts when charging the laptop.
230 AH battery usage since January 2024.
The 230 AH battery in my Taco is one half of the system I built for my travel trailer. I put a 275 Amp Anderson Power Pole on the battery so I can move it from trailer to Taco. The moveable battery has the shunt & BMV-712 attached. The trailer is a 24 v system with two 230 AH LiFePO4 batteries, Victron MultiPlus II 24/3000 inverter, Victron 70 amp 24-12 DC to DC converter, and Victron Cerbo GX communications centre.
The Taco has a Victron 30 amp solar charger and Victron 30 amp 12-12 DC-DC charger bolted onto the Engel fridge frame. I have only used the DC-DC charger once when I ran the fridge all day long on a 115 degree day at work prior to heading off for a week long camping trip so I knew the battery was topped off. The other three full charges have all used the solar panels on the trailer or Taco.
I have been so impressed with the new LiFePO4 battery setup that I am considering removing the dual battery setup in the Taco. Having three large batteries in the Taco seems like overkill, and right now the only benefit the dual battery setup has is when winching, and I seldom winch. If my Taco primary battery goes dead I can always re-wire the Victron DC-DC charger to charge it from the LiFePO4 battery.
I also have Victron battery sensors on all my vehicle batteries. This is the screenshot of the Taco batteries the night I returned from my Grand Canyon-Parashant trip. The two engine compartment batteries were attached to my Battery-Minder charger and the 230 AH battery had not seen solar charging yet.
Having all my battery information on one app is extremely handy.
I use around 23 ah per day when driving around and camping as measured by my Victron BMV-712 battery monitor. The Engel is kept full and around 28-30 degrees Fahrenheit and is turned off while I’m sleeping on it and back on as soon as I wake up. I have a few other minor loads like intermittent phone & tablet charging, but the main load is the fridge.
I consistently use 10% of my 230 ah battery per day. When I’m camped for a few days at the same spot I can reclaim all of the energy used that day by hooking up my 100 w solar panel.
Screenshots of the power I used on my last six day long trip to Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.
Six days usage from 2024-08-29 6:00 AM to 2024-09-03 6:00 PM took me from 100% to 40% of the 230 AH battery. Running the Engel I rarely draw more than 3 amps. The one five amp dip was charging the laptop.
Five days to recharge using my 100 watt solar panel just sitting flat in the back of the truck after I got home. With careful aiming throughout the day I have gotten over 600 watt hours out of the solar panel - way more than enough to run the Engel through the day & night. Laying flat & un-aimed I get around 300 wh per day out of the panel.
Temperature a lot hotter in southern Arizona than up north
Watts for the Engel were averaging 13 & 27 with a few 40s (probably cellphone charging) and one 65 watts when charging the laptop.
230 AH battery usage since January 2024.
The 230 AH battery in my Taco is one half of the system I built for my travel trailer. I put a 275 Amp Anderson Power Pole on the battery so I can move it from trailer to Taco. The moveable battery has the shunt & BMV-712 attached. The trailer is a 24 v system with two 230 AH LiFePO4 batteries, Victron MultiPlus II 24/3000 inverter, Victron 70 amp 24-12 DC to DC converter, and Victron Cerbo GX communications centre.
The Taco has a Victron 30 amp solar charger and Victron 30 amp 12-12 DC-DC charger bolted onto the Engel fridge frame. I have only used the DC-DC charger once when I ran the fridge all day long on a 115 degree day at work prior to heading off for a week long camping trip so I knew the battery was topped off. The other three full charges have all used the solar panels on the trailer or Taco.
I have been so impressed with the new LiFePO4 battery setup that I am considering removing the dual battery setup in the Taco. Having three large batteries in the Taco seems like overkill, and right now the only benefit the dual battery setup has is when winching, and I seldom winch. If my Taco primary battery goes dead I can always re-wire the Victron DC-DC charger to charge it from the LiFePO4 battery.
I also have Victron battery sensors on all my vehicle batteries. This is the screenshot of the Taco batteries the night I returned from my Grand Canyon-Parashant trip. The two engine compartment batteries were attached to my Battery-Minder charger and the 230 AH battery had not seen solar charging yet.
Having all my battery information on one app is extremely handy.
javelinadave
GOLD Star
Here is a link to a solar generator I made back in 2015. You could sub out the heavy AGM battery for a Li battery
Solar Generator (DIY Goal Zero Yeti) - https://nas-row.com/index.php?threads/solar-generator-diy-goal-zero-yeti.311/
Solar Generator (DIY Goal Zero Yeti) - https://nas-row.com/index.php?threads/solar-generator-diy-goal-zero-yeti.311/