So, on to phase two. Ditch the Chronar panels. Free, if anyone wants them.
I've been watching A LOT of YouTube videos on standalone solar power generation. Lots of new tech out there that I kinda knew about, but wasn't up on. Not much change in solar panels themselves, but the cost is coming down. One of the newer selling items is a "solar generator". Not really a generator at all, just a battery, inverter and multi-input charger all packaged in a single carry box. Some are pretty impressive, running lots of high wattage 110VAC items, and with newer battery technology, run times between recharges are improving. And they can be recharged from solar, 12V car plugs, wind.... Designed for very simple plug-in-turn-on use.
But they want BIG $$ for these. Decided after watching all these vids that I'm going to create my own system (not a "generator") from scratch, primarily for camping in a pop-up that has no power/heat/water...
First order of business... batteries. I need LED lighting, inside and out, and recharge my cell phone and laptop. I can do that with just batteries, and run them until depleated. If I'm going the solar panel/inverter route eventually, I want the best batteries I can get.
Lead acid batteries are the least expensive, but also have the most drawbacks. I've learned that they only can produce 50% of the rated AmpHours (Ah) stated. Add a cold day, and it gets worse. Life expectancy is low, couple of years. So if you have a large bank of these, you pay more in the long run for less capacity. Lithium Ion are better. Better yet are Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4), current state of the battery art. But holy cow pricey. Almost $1K for a 100Ah 12V battery (car batteries run under 100Ah typically, not to be confused with ColdCrankAmps (CCA) which run 500 to 1000A typically). This is from a
n AutoCraft Platinum AGM Battery, Group Size H7, 850 CCA
So, I did a lot of research. Imagine my surprise when I found an outfit in China selling a 120Ah LiFePO4 battery, designed specifically for solar use in electric bicylces for under $100. Even comes with a charger. Hmmmm...... too good to be true? Quite possibly... but decided to give it a go. Not much lost if it doesn't work out, and if it does, I've just saved THOUSANDS. So after a half dozen phone calls with the Credit Union and my MasterCard, I finally got unblocked and authorized to make a purchase in China. Free shipping from China!! WOOHOO!! Yeah, I won't be surprised if I get burned, but it was worth the try! I ordered 5, so at 120Ah times 5 batteries times12V, that's 7200 WattHours of power available, not accounting for typical losses in wire resistance, conversion, etc... That's a lot of LED lights and cell phone recharges. Should run an inverter for quite a while.
I plan on running a series of tests on these batteries, just to see if they can actually output 120Ah.
I'll post back as things happen, which may be infrequently. I have lots of other things going on.