OT: solar

[Butch Crain]

this maybe too technical to get into on a message board, but I'd appreciate any comments regarding these products:

http://bannistersolarandenergy.com/product.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Shep]

Do you have an installer lined up? Solar systems are the sort of thing that probably shouldn't be handled by an amateur. It looks like the DC Inverter requires multiple panels wired in series in order to function. The Suntech 280 watt poly looks very similar in it's specs to panels I have used in Electrical Engineering labs. Overall, both panel product sheets look like they have a lot of real information on them, which suggests they stand behind their product. The Inverter could have more info on it, though... I think you would need at least 4 panels to make the system worth installing (need to get close to 1kW minimum, I think.)

Hope this helps,
Shep

[okieboater]

Bob Allen is the man on solar!

[Roger]

Bob Allen is the man on solar!

What Dave said. Bob is they guy if you want feedback and understanding. W/O being "certified!" PM on here or find him on FB.



"this maybe too technical to get into on a message board," Butch Crain

[Butch Crain]

Thanks for the info - I'll defintely get in touch w/ Mr. Allen as I get a little more conversant - electrical engineering is a subject I've avoided like a plague up till now. Shep - you gave a neophyte just enough info to get me going - thanks.

The fellow that owns the business is a hunting club member on one of my client's properties and for several years has been the kind of stand up guy that makes his lease a pleasure to deal with instead of the usual headache. I'm hopeful he conducts his business in the same manner.

Thanks again guys - and to anyone else with comments to add.

[Lupe]

Do you guys know that when you are logged in, there's a little exclamation point icon on each post and you can click that icon to report a suspicious post to the moderators? Our volunteer moderators don't necessarily have the time to read and monitor all the threads, and so when these spammers do something like this (which might look harmless enough), go ahead and use that icon to alert the mods so they can go ahead and ban the spammer before it goes to anything more harmful. Otherwise they may not notice something that's going on.

Not sure...you guys might have already reported it, but thought I would point this feature out to any others following along as well.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming....

[fzburk]

I don't want to hijack the conversation, but on a related note.

Has anyone any experience with some sort of solar charger that can be used on a canoe or kayak? Something in the 20 - 30 watt range that could keep cell phones, cameras or even tablets charged while doing a week or so trip?

I've seen a great number in various websites, but not having any ability to test them, I'm a little gun-shy right now.

Thanks.

Mark

[sig]

On a related note, have you looked at the fuel cells that are becoming available? I've seen ones like this Brunton Hydrogen Reactor (http://amzn.com/B00F083HQG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) in REI advertisements. I haven't looked at them close enough but it seems like your be guaranteed power rather than relying on adequate sun.

[boba]

my experience with PV cells is that they are quite reliable, being that there are NO moving parts. It's simply a matter of matching the output of a panel with your needs. I have a small portable device, less that a square foot in area which will charge/run my cell phone. it wouldn't keep up with the demand of my 14 inch laptop though. If turned off it will charge it , it just takes a lot longer, too long for me.

[Cowper]

First, some context: For those wondering what Lupe is talking about, this years-old thread was “brought to the top” again by a spammer who had no real interest in the ACC message board or this discussion. The spammer’s post and a couple of other posts she was referring to got deleted. But some new questions are now on the table, so I'll move on.

Mark, you are already on track by looking at 20 and 30 watt systems; many of the solar chargers sold just don’t have enough power to do more than barely charge a cell phone. And you have to leave them in bright sun for hours and hours to do even that. On longer Western trips, some have typically brought some solar chargers. But that works best if you also bring a 3 to 5 amp-hour battery that can be used to charge devices at night (think alarm system or emergency lighting sealed lead-acid batteries), and then use the solar charger to maintain the charge level on the primary battery. A 10 watt panel was enough to maintain the battery when it was used for one or two cameras per day; it was not enough to keep up when multiple people on the group started standing in line to get their cameras charged overnight and also doing things like using the battery to power a radio all day, run a blower to top off rafts in the morning, etc.

I’m interested in the chargers Sig mentioned; and found these references. Like other solutions, they seem to have pros and cons. Two that jumped out at me were that Popular Science said they were orientation sensitive, and needed to be maintained in an upright position, and the company website says the operating temperature needs to between 0 and 35 degrees C. (32 F to ~95 F), making it no better than and maybe not as good as most of our other battery options. (My cell phone dies before it drops to freezing, and hot temperatures like those found in your car during the summer kill the storage life of most rechargeable batteries now available.)

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2 ... ll-charger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.horizonfuelcell.com/#!minipak/c156u" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For shorter trips, say 1 week or less, you could easily just use a 5 amp-hour, 12 volt battery from Radio Shack to recharge all your devices several times, and then put it back on the charger when you get home again. This is not as emotionally satisfying as using the sun’s power, but it is very economical and practical. If you want to save the environment, slowing down 5 mph as you drive to the river will save far more non-renewable energy than your 20 watt solar collector running for a few hours per day for one week, and you won't be left powerless by a couple of cloudy days in a row. To get serious about solar, you need to go “whole hog” as Bob has done.

[Butch Crain]

The Brunton fuel cell systems at REI look promising but are expensive.

The "Hydrolyzer" is about $280 and comes with 2 "cores" which can also be purchased separately for $20 each.

The cores look like elongated C cell batteries and are said to store the equivalent of 6 phone recharges.

The recharges are via a "Reactor" usb port. The reactor which is sold separately at $170 produces steam and electricity from the charged cores.

It appears that the cores are reuseable and that Brunton plans to license recharge dealers that will charge the cores for customers that don't wish to buy a hydrolyzer.

Cowper, you being the engineer, please correct any bad info.

http://www.brunton.com/collections/port ... rogen-core" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Butch Crain]

some joker posted the following review on Brunton's site:

"NOT GUT FOR FILLING DAS ZEPELLIN!"

just in case any of you are going aero

[Cowper]

Nope Butch, I think you're right on the mark and have identified a "con" that the glowing articles glossed over:
The recharger for these devices is EXPENSIVE, $200 to $250 is about the price range I saw in 3 minutes of online searching.

On the "pro" side, apparently these have near zero loss of energy during storage, which is a big disadvantage of the lithium and other chemical-based rechargeable batteries. It looks like recharging is something you would generally need to do at home; the device needs distilled water, and I assume a stable place to put it. This is not something you would charge by plugging into your car 12V outlet while driving from one trailhead to another.

I hope a friend buys one and tries it out. I'm going to stick with the lithium rechargeables for a couple of more years.

[fryingsquirrel]

In 2007, I drove the John Boat for the Ozark Society summer float on the Buffalo. I provided my own outboard while the club rented the 20 foot fiberglass boat. It was a 5 day, 4 night trip where about 65 miles were covered, with a group of about 25 people. All the group gear and food were in the big boat, and it was my responsibility to get everything down river safely. Anyway, my motor had an electric starter and I was concerned about my battery going down over the course of the trip. I bought a solar battery maintainer, and in direct sun it would put out something like 600 miliamps. It turned out to be more than enough to keep the battery going for something like 10 to 15 starts a day. I'm sure the panels are even better today.
Jon Ellwood
Little Rock