Solar Generator Project

#1

So earlier this week I was talking about a portable solar generator project I was working on and a few of you were interested in it (@nigelhealy, @elmo41683) . I decided to build this mainly as a way to power my Engel MT45 Fridge and to top up various electronics. The “portable power pack” since I do not necessarily like the word “generator” as without a solar panel it could not make its own power internally. So therefore I shall call my latest creation a portable power pack. Although it is not quite portable it weighs in at 34lbs, but for me that is fine as I intend to use this soley while camping and as mentioned earlier to run that fridge 24/7 which it does quite well :grin: The portable power pack itself cost me exactly $169.19 for all the parts including the box. The solar panel I am using is a 200W Monocrystalline Folding panel I bought online for $199 Shipped that came with a 30AMP PVM Solar charge controller. The batteries inside this are brand new and I acquired for free, they are 12V 21AH AGM and I have 4 in there. I also have 4 others so I may just double my AH for a total of 168AH that would be too heavy for me to take anywhere but it could serve as a homebase type setup when I need more power and I can also use the bank to charge a more portable setup in the future.

Switches on the unit: The green switch on the unit acts as my main, without that nothing else on the unit will work until that is switched on, aside from the volt meter which has its own switch which is the one that is lit up yellow and is directly connected to the battery for a more accurate reading. The red rocker switches turn on the usb ports and cigarette lighter port. The left switch turns on the usb port which is on the left, and the right switch turns on the cigarette lighter port respectively on the right.

I have attached pictures below to show it in action and all the parts. I still am going to add an internal fan that kicks on automatically when/if the temperature reaches a set amount.

I hope you all enjoy! If you have any questions on the build please PM me!

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9 Likes
#2

Dude that is totally awesome. Kinda want you to do a build thread so others can mimick it, but then again that’s entirely if you want to share your awesomeness.
Great job

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#3

Wicked cool! Great job! So how long does it take to charge it up? I’m not too familiar with how solar panels work.

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#4

I have only been running it down about 10-20% from full. So by the next day its fully charged by 10AM thats with a cheap temporary 100 watt solar panel. So once I get my 200W foldable panel the times may be better. I would need to do further testing to get exact numbers for you. I have only been using it 2 days now. So far so good though! :grin:

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#5

Wow :open_mouth: that does look awesome. Good job :thumbsup:

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#6

Wowo that’s impressive ! Great job :slight_smile:

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#7

I love this so much. Very talented and inspiring. Wish I had the know how and the time. Seriously cool @cava3395

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#8

It wasn’t all that hard. Make it a project over the span of several weekends? :slight_smile: If you ever decide to do it PM me and Ill be more than happy to help :grin:

#9

bear in mind this is using Lead Acid batteries, 252Wh x4 makes this more than double the energy of the Anker Powerhouse but also significantly heavier and larger, so you can move it around in a vehicle and carry short distances but a totally different design concept.

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#10

That’s sweet

1 Like