Solar pannel query

[knowledge=gain]

USB sockets are marked, sv2 1a, and sv1a does it matter which I use for my phone?

this is likely the amp rating that can be drawn thru the cable

I do have a spare gel m/cycle 12 volt battery.

gel batteries work well with solar panels and are considered a solid option to use with solar panels

How to Charge a Gel Battery – Battery Status and Solar Panel_Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

How to Charge a Gel Battery – Battery Status and Solar Panel-Greenway battery | E-BIKE Battery-Custom Lithium Battery Pack

www.greenway-battery.com

 

[swyn]

Thanks guys,
I think I can make it work now,
Just got to find a battery I can afford, having just forked out for the jackery, (much more my style..plug and play)
But I thought I should also have a back up, and while clearing out my spare room, came across the long forgotten panel which my partner used to play with, so I left him to it,
(I know chaps like to feel they are the more technical and in this case its true!)
But now being on my Todd, I'm having to learn new skills , and not having someone to show me, it's a bit daunting, I guess in the same way many chaps would feel being given a ball of wool and needles and asked to produce a sweater.
Still, I'm sure I can crack this.
I will do so!
Thanks.
Next week I will get the few bits I need when I go to town with my friend, and will get it up and running just in time for the sun to dissappear and rain to set in.......

These are my go to battery folk. You can ask them too. Always a sensible reply.

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Hope this helps

 

[Fadcode]

Before you start shelling out for gizmos to charge your phone, it would be much better and cheaper to find out if the actual solar panel works, being stored for so long as well as the normal deterioration of the cells might make it unworkable.

 

[Woody girl]

Before you start shelling out for gizmos to charge your phone, it would be much better and cheaper to find out if the actual solar panel works, being stored for so long as well as the normal deterioration of the cells might make it unworkable.

That's why I wanted to test it with the gizmo for testing electrical output.
I am aware these things do deteriorate, but when I put it out in the sun, the blue light flashes, so something is happening.
The only thing other than that I need is a car phone charged for my phone, which I need anyway.
I've found all the bits, managed to connect them up correctly(hopefully)
So almost ready to go.

 

[Woody girl]

Had a mad moment, gave up on trying to sort this old system out.
Ordered and recieved the smallest jackery and 100w solar panel instead,
Have sold the old set up to someone else and together with savings squirreled away for rainy days, and play days, bought a new plug and play system. Much more my style than messing around with wires and batteries.
It's got a lot more power than the suitcase panel, and easier, and lighter to move about from house to garden for recharging.
It wasn't cheap, but its so much more modern and easy to understand and use. ...that coming from a luddite and technophobe! If I'm confident with something, it's got to be stupid proof!
I feel much happier with this, wish I could have got a bigger one, but I think this will suit my needs pretty well.
Now just need to win the lottery for a bigger and better one....someday.

 

[TLM]

Had a mad moment, gave up on trying to sort this old system out.
Ordered and recieved the smallest jackery and 100w solar panel instead,
Have sold the old set up to someone else and together with savings squirreled away for rainy days, and play days, bought a new plug and play system. Much more my style than messing around with wires and batteries.
It's got a lot more power than the suitcase panel, and easier, and lighter to move about from house to garden for recharging.
It wasn't cheap, but its so much more modern and easy to understand and use. ...that coming from a luddite and technophobe! If I'm confident with something, it's got to be stupid proof!
I feel much happier with this, wish I could have got a bigger one, but I think this will suit my needs pretty well.
Now just need to win the lottery for a bigger and better one....someday.

The battery would have been nice on the rainy days, besides as a kind of regulator.

 

[Woody girl]

The battery would have been nice on the rainy days, besides as a kind of regulator.

Yes, it would be a back up, but I am nervous of all the gizmongery wires and connections. I know that sounds silly but I realy don't do electronics of any sort.!
This is plug and play, no worries that something isn't connected correctly, and all round much easier. So I bit the bullet.
Plus it has a standard 3 pin plug hole, so I can plug things in that I couldn't with the other system, such as a lamp or radio., as well as a car ciggie lighter hole and two USB ports, all in one neat and lightweight box, so no trailing wiring, separate batteries etc, It's just so compact and easy to operate.
Perfect for a tech idiot like me.
It went up in price by almost £100 since January, so that was a bit of a swallow, but it had to be done.
I need to make sure I can run a nebuliser in extremis, as my local surgery no longer treat severe asthma attacks , " because of covid " (.???)
It's a long wait for an ambulance here in the boonies and a 30 minute drive to hospital, so I'm making sure I can take care of myself as much as possible this winter.
Money in the bank is no good in this scenario, and I realised setting up a system like the previous one, while no being able to breath was a bad idea.
It's given me peace of mind, which was what I needed, and somebody else who enjoys tinkering has the benefit of my old system.

 

[Wandering Fred]

@Woody girl - Am I right in thinking that you have bought the Explorer 240 & SolarSaga 100W?

 

[Woody girl]

@Woody girl - Am I right in thinking that you have bought the Explorer 240 & SolarSaga 100W?

Yes, I wanted something bigger realy but this seems to be a good bit of kit, charges pretty quickly even on a dullish day with intermittent sun.
Light and compact, it's now in use for phone charging .
I have a small car fridge, so I'll be playing with that soon too, I've been busy and not had the time yet to give it a proper test, but for what I need it for it's OK.
May try and save for something beefier in the future.. I think the bluetti is better, by all accounts, but I had trouble enough stretching to this one! With prices going up and possible problems with China and supply issues, I thought it better to get something, rather than wait and have nothing , or crazy prices.

 

[MartinK9]

I went for the Jackery as well.
I have the E240 and E1000 with the foldable solar panels for travellling.

At the time they were the best available.

I also have 2 100w rigid solar panels from Renogy and the cabling to work with the Jackery at home

Ecoflow would be my choice if I had to start again

 

[Toddy]

Has anyone bought one of the cheap ones ? the ones that claim they're 'jackery', but at a tenth of the price ?
Like this I mean....not me suggesting anyone buy, just one of the links I found.

jackery - Google Shopping

www.google.com

 

[Woody girl]

I went for the Jackery as well.
I have the E240 and E1000 with the foldable solar panels for travellling.

At the time they were the best available.

I also have 2 100w rigid solar panels from Renogy and the cabling to work with the Jackery at home

Ecoflow would be my choice if I had to start again

I'm not flush, so I too would have gone for rigid panels, and either a bluetti or best choice an ecco flow.
One can only get what one can afford, and it's better to have something than nothing at all.

Toddy,
you tubers Gareth and Zoe have done some reviews and tests on other brands. Poweroak seems to be a cheaper alternative that is reasonable, but I've not looked at their vids for a while so I can't realy remember if it was them or not, but I do know they have done a review somewhere.

Given the general price of a jackery those realy cheap deals I would not trust one iota!
I bought from Hampshire generators, who were extremely helpful with my questions, and I know I can go back to them with any problems anytime.
They only do online orders, but we're able to facilitate a money transfer from my bank, and delivery was very quick. Bank transfer midday Tuesday, on my doorstep by 10 am Thursday.
Would recommend them to deal with for solar genny needs if you want a jackery.

 

[gonzo_the_great]

The panel set at 13watts probably has no voltage regulation at all. But relies on a liesure battery being too big for it's 13watts to be able to overcharge.
In that case the panels are going to give out between zero and about 19volts in full sun.

Here's a quick and cheap idea to see if you can make something out of them.
Get a cheepo cigarette lighter socket, to connect to the panel output leads.
Get a cheap USB lighter socket charger, but make sure it is one designed to be able to be used with a 12V car or 24V lorry lighter socket.
That should give you a way of charging a phone etc, without any liesure/gel batteries.
And if it doesn't work, you still have a USB lighter charger you can use in the car.

 

[Woody girl]

The panel set at 13watts probably has no voltage regulation at all. But relies on a liesure battery being too big for it's 13watts to be able to overcharge.
In that case the panels are going to give out between zero and about 19volts in full sun.

Here's a quick and cheap idea to see if you can make something out of them.
Get a cheepo cigarette lighter socket, to connect to the panel output leads.
Get a cheap USB lighter socket charger, but make sure it is one designed to be able to be used with a 12V car or 24V lorry lighter socket.
That should give you a way of charging a phone etc, without any liesure/gel batteries.
And if it doesn't work, you still have a USB lighter charger you can use in the car.

I've already got that done when I was trying to sort the suitcase panel, as I had a small electric car coolbox I wanted to see if it would work that had a cigarette lighter plug, it did have a small regulator that came with the panel.
I've sold it now, and got the small jackery system which is much simpler for me to use, and manage.
I can see if it needs a charge, but with the old system I had no idea how much charge was in the battery.
Being a tech stupido, plug and play, with a display that tells me where I am with it was the only way to go!
It wasn't cheap, but I'm so glad I went for it. It had been on my to do list for a long time. A small windfall helped pay for it just at the time I wanted it. Very lucky, that doesn't usualy happen!

 

[gonzo_the_great]

12v cool boxes draw about 4amps, which is 48watts. A 13watt solar panel will get flattened by that and there won't be enough voltage for a cool box to work.
We tried this at a festival, with a 100watt panel. It could just about run the coolbox in strong sun. But that was about it.

A phone charger only needs a few watts though. So there is more chance that a 13watt pane could provide that power, and the panel voltage stay up enough for the charger to keep working.

I think I have one of those folding panel things somewhere still. Must get it out and play.

 

[Woody girl]

I have a hundred watt panel now, and the jackery 240 , so it should be OK,
To be honest, for milk I'd just do what I did in the 70's, a bucket of cold water and a tea towel to wick moisture and keep it cool. Kept in a North facing place, just outside the back door. Or just use the insulated cool box outside in the same way.
Mind you, that was in the days of glass bottles, the plastic ones float when nearing empty!

 

[gonzo_the_great]

Have a festival at the weekend. And a spare 250W panel (ex solar farm one) and a small compressor freezer, and a very hot weekend forecast.....
The only thing stopping me playing is the freezer is anout an inch too high to go in the car upright. Not sure how happy it would be after lying down for a 6hr bumpy ride?

 

[Robson Valley]

Gonzo: let the freezer sit upright for 30-60 minutes before you start it up. The oil and Freon have to gurgle and bubble back to their standing levels. Otherwise, the pump might start to cavitate and all you get is foam, not liquid refrigerant.