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I have been gifted with some 2' by 3' solar panels. I hope to bring one to Bonnaroo to keep a 12 volt battery charged to run a fan. Anyone here have any experience with solar panels or seen anyone use them? Thanks!
I have been gifted with some 2' by 3' solar panels. I hope to bring one to Bonnaroo to keep a 12 volt battery charged to run a fan. Anyone here have any experience with solar panels or seen anyone use them? Thanks!
Just make sure you keep the battery out of the constant sunlight the solar panels require. I brought a goal zero battery / solar panel last year and found it to be around twice as much of a burden as a benefit given that it required some attention that I wanted to divert to centeroo. They are useful, I'd just drop my expectations of their benefit by may be half then end up being pleasantly surprised.
Thanks-that's sorta what I figured. I'm not even sure I want to mess with it, but the person who gave me the panel is all gung-ho and I don't want to disappoint him by not playing with it.
Post by Tainted Opossum on Apr 13, 2015 11:43:20 GMT -5
Its possible, you just have to anticipate not wanting them to be out when you're not at camp, not having them out when it rains and making sure that they are in a place where they are receiving proper sunlight while not interfering with the camp walk flow.
I want to find a way to secure them to the suv, then run the cable through the window to a battery inside, my concerns are one fall will permanently damage the panels, and it may be too hot up there from the underside of the panels.
I'm driving a minivan with a built in luggage rack so I'm thinking of putting it on the roof and securing it to the rails. I can prop it up at an angle so it won't get too hot underneath. The rain won't bother my panel-it's one of the types designed to be used in a permanent outdoor array. I like your idea of putting the battery in the car--I hear at 'Roo things magically sprout legs and then walk off...;-)
I'm driving a minivan with a built in luggage rack so I'm thinking of putting it on the roof and securing it to the rails. I can prop it up at an angle so it won't get too hot underneath. The rain won't bother my panel-it's one of the types designed to be used in a permanent outdoor array. I like your idea of putting the battery in the car--I hear at 'Roo things magically sprout legs and then walk off...;-)
If you aren't too experienced with electricity and solar power you may want to look into it more before you make firm plans, to make sure you have proper voltage and enough juice to charge your battery. It could be super easy, but with a panel intended for an array you may have a little work to do. Or maybe you have it all figured out already? These sorts of things always intrigue me, since I like hacky DIY stuff, and solar power, so I'd love to see your setup.
Thanks for the info. I'm notwell-versed into this stuff but my "bother half" is, and he's worked it out, and as long as I don't quack it up it might be sweet. Of course, he has no interest in going to 'Roo, he just likes to play with this stuff, and I'm sure he'll be calling me every day for status reports on his creation...
Bumping this up to report that the panels worked like a dream. I was able to keep the battery box recharged well, and kept a fan running all day. Plus once my neighbors found out I had a charging station for cell phones I immediately became the cool kid on the block and with people hanging out there all day I had built in security so nothing walked off. They sell solar charging stuff at Harbor Freight for reasonable prices so y'all might want to visit if you have one close.
