Posted: 4/15/2014 7:04:35 AM EDT
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I am going to be needing a portable solar panel to charge a phone and kindle while I am at Annual training and will not have access to power.
I've been thinking about This But, I am wondering if anyone else has recommendations. Thanks |
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Is the panel durable? Quoted:
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I have one, It does a decent job as long as you keep it oriented toward the sun, and it's not cloudy. Pretty nice having a charged battery pack to charge your devices at night Is the panel durable? Mine has held up well thru a 2 week elk hunt. For most of the time it was hanging off my pack, and I was not kind to it. |
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Depends on time and size restrictions. I had a GoalZero 7 and it worked well, but I'd also look at getting a couple solar battery packs instead. For a Kindle, which has a 2-4 week battery anyway, one of these will be more than enough! http://www.amazon.com/External-Power-Universal-E-readers-Smartphones/dp/B004GVIZC4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1397581577&sr=8-4&keywords=solar+battery+pack
If you're set on the GoalZero, I'd look at a small SLA battery to wire it to and charge your devices off that using 12V car chargers. |
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Depending on how long you plan to be away from power, you might bet better served with a battery backup like this. It charges my phone 3 or for times from empty, isn't dependent on the weather being nice, and charges much faster than a solar panel. I got both though, it's handy to leave the solar panel to charge the backup battery so you have power available day and night but can still get power indefinitely without access to an outllet.
http://www.amazon.com/15000mAh-Portable-Ultra-High-External-Motorola/dp/B00D5T3QK4/ref=pd_sim_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PN75DE4W5E0VPQ90SRK |
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Product at Amazon is 7 watts for $120.
Harbor freight has a similar offering of 5 watts for $35. Less with a coupon. http://www.harborfreight.com/5-watt-foldable-solar-panel-charger-60449.html |
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This is the solar panel I use in combination with the battery pack, its 14 watts and works satisfactorily.
http://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Dual-port-Charger-USB-charged-Including/dp/B00E3OL5U8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397583285&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+anker When you combine it with the battery pack, it costs a little more than the goal zero kit but has twice the power. The rated wattage assumes good conditions, more is better because it won't always be sunny. I've charged my phone on a cloudy day, though I'd like to get a usb power meter and see just what it's really putting out. The Harbor Freight panel is interesting at that price too and might be fine if you also get a battery backup, but isn't as good a price/watt ratio. |
| I've been looking at portable power for same reason. I ordered a portable power pack yesterday from Amazon, enough to charge smart phone about 3 or 4 times and am looking at solar panels to keep battery pack charged. Looking at options too so I'm interested in hearing what people say. |
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Oh... I'd look at buying a eInk Kindle and a $30 solar battery pack. Quoted:
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Looking at 15 days without power. It's a Kindle Fire and I'll have my Smart phone. I'll keep the suggestions in mind. Oh... I'd look at buying a eInk Kindle and a $30 solar battery pack. The solar battery pack you posted wont charge the kindle fire as it only puts out .6 amps max and I'm pretty sure the Kindle Fire requires at least 1.2 amps. The battery is only 1500 mah, thats less than some AAs. It wont even fully charge a cell phone once. It seems silly go buy a new device to use a cheap charger rather than just buy a little nicer charger. I've had good luck with Anker and Ravpower, goal zero is popular, but they always seem to be a little pricey for their specs. |
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The solar battery pack you posted wont charge the kindle fire as it only puts out .6 amps max and I'm pretty sure the Kindle Fire requires at least 1.2 amps. The battery is only 1500 mah, thats less than some AAs. It wont even fully charge a cell phone once. It seems silly go buy a new device to use a cheap charger rather than just buy a little nicer charger. I've had good luck with Anker and Ravpower, goal zero is popular, but they always seem to be a little pricey for their specs. Quoted:
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Looking at 15 days without power. It's a Kindle Fire and I'll have my Smart phone. I'll keep the suggestions in mind. Oh... I'd look at buying a eInk Kindle and a $30 solar battery pack. The solar battery pack you posted wont charge the kindle fire as it only puts out .6 amps max and I'm pretty sure the Kindle Fire requires at least 1.2 amps. The battery is only 1500 mah, thats less than some AAs. It wont even fully charge a cell phone once. It seems silly go buy a new device to use a cheap charger rather than just buy a little nicer charger. I've had good luck with Anker and Ravpower, goal zero is popular, but they always seem to be a little pricey for their specs. Yeah... you're right. These will charge a tablet: http://www.amazon.com/Poweradd-trade-Apollo-Pro-Multi-Voltage/dp/B00F4KBA3M/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1397588987&sr=1-6&keywords=solar+charger http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ITILPZ4?psc=1 I must admit I liked the panel, but the GoalZero AA unit was pretty crappy. I mean it worked, but it was not durable at all, and mine overheated and misshapen. |
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I am going to be needing a portable solar panel to charge a phone and kindle while I am at Annual training and will not have access to power. I've been thinking about This But, I am wondering if anyone else has recommendations. Thanks Practical experience says that 20-25 watts is about the minimum amount of panel you want for charging small consumer electronic devices. Everyone is in the tank for Goal Zero these days, but the truth is that it's ChiCom Shit with a good marketing plan. I use a Brunton Solaris 26. It's a flexible and foldable panel that is made in the USA. It was made for long term outdoor use-you could unfold it and rig it with paracord to the side of your tent and leave it all summer, rain or shine. It folds to the size of a magazine and will jump start a car in a day-it comes with little bitty jumper cables for this. |
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Product at Amazon is 7 watts for $120. Harbor freight has a similar offering of 5 watts for $35. Less with a coupon. http://www.harborfreight.com/5-watt-foldable-solar-panel-charger-60449.html Harbor Freight stuff doesn't tend to stand up to moisture well, and any seams need to be sealed with silicone. |
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http://www.adafruit.com/products/1533?gclid=CMT_qcGv470CFQaBfgodzQ4ALQ
Pedal Power bitches  Charge it up and get in shape!
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Looks like I am leaning towards a Brunton panel. Just need to figure out a good battery charger You have to decide one of two ways to go: 1) charge directly off of the panel 2) Charge a storage battery and run a peak detection charger off of that. The choice you make will depend on what kind of devices you want to charge. The Brunton panel is meant to charge 12V batteries and as such, you will need a charge controller ($30, available anywhere) to take the output from 19V unloaded to the 13.8/14.4V regulated voltage a 12V battery needs. Some devices can run directly off of the panel -my handheld HAM radio will run and charge from my panel- but a USB device needing 5V is going to fry. That's where the chargers and voltage converters come in. I use a peak detecting model airplane charger because they will work on any type of battery, are usually pretty efficient and can be had in a very compact package. If you buy intelligently, the charge controller, battery charger, and storage battery will all fit in the same bag the panel comes in. The side benefit of the storage battery is that you can charge when convenient as opposed to charging when there is sun available or not as much sun as you would need to get the job done in the time you have. For a storage battery, you'll want to look at one of the Lithium replacement batteries that are meant to replace motorcycle/atv batteries. These are made with power tool cells and tolerage deep discharge and are 70% the weight of a standard battery. You don't need a huge battery for what you are doing, there are a lot of them out there now and they are tiny. For reference, a Brunton Solaris 26 will do 4 600man nicads in 27 minutes from being completely dead, or 2 2000mah NiMh cells like Eneloops in an hour in the summer. This is directly off of the panel, no charger or storage battery. This is pretty nice because you can top off your batteries while you break for lunch and can carry a light load. You don't say exactly what your charging requirements are, and how long you will have to charge when the opportunity comes up, but for 'doing it all' out of a backpack, the Brunton is pretty much the only thing out there worth having. I've had mine for 6 years and it hasn't skipped a beat. How, exactly, do you envision using this panel? |
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Brunton Solarroll. Not cheap, but very worth it. +1 I had a solarroll14 before my Solaris. It worked great but I traded it off to a buddy and got the Solaris for two reasons: 1) it doesn't pack very well. It has to go outside your pack rolled up in a manner that's left completely up to you..... it's flexible but you don't want to crinkle it. The Solaris doesn't have that problem. I'd hate to drop my pack or fall on my only source of electricity... 2) 14 watts is enough to do most anything a backpacker would want to do.......... assuming it's bright and sunny in the summer time. Michigan isn't like that and there are days where no sun comes out. With 26 watts and a storage battery, the solaris will still collect enough power to charge up my things. |