[Silver Survivor]

I have a solar powered set up. It's a little expensive, but it works good. I start out with a 5 watt solar charger battery charger, I got at Harbor Freight, that charges up two deep cycle UPS batteries I have. Then I connected up a 1500 watt inverter to convert the 12 volts to 110 AC, and that'll power up standard lamps to light up my house. This also gives me up to 1500 watts of 110AC for small appliances as well.


Solar panel from Harbor Freight......$ 40.00
two UPS batteries........................$ 40.00 each
110 ac 1500 watt inverter.............$ 120.00
Misc cables, extention cords..........$ 25.00
Two lamps with bulbs about ..........$ 20.00

So for under $250 I have a solar powered emergency lighting system. This will also power small hand tools, drills, grinders, saws.... etc.

 

[Silver Survivor]

I saw some solar lights at Lowe's that look like torch lights. They are getting good reviews, I might buy a few for my deck. I would like to have solar lighting there for the summer evenings. Hopefully they're bright enough to light up the deck a little.

 

[Silver Survivor]

So far I have lots of candles, some oil lamps with several spare wicks and bottles of lamp oil with more to be obtained, some Coleman lanterns of the white gas and propane variety with more fuel to be obtained, some dynamo flashlights and several battery powered flashlights with lots of batteries and more to be obtained.
After reading all this I'm going to get the funds together to get into solar battery charging. I have several truck batteries in good shape not currently being used, a 1000 watt DC inverter and several different type AC battery chargers. Just need some solar panels to charge the truck batteries to start it all up.

Be careful wiring it all up. You must use the proper wire guage or else your wires may melt and start a fire. I'm using 4 gauge wire in my setup.

I read about one guy who's electricity got shut off, so he tried lighting up his house with a car battery and a headlight...He ended up burning down the house and 5 people died in the fire including some kids. I've heard similar stories about people trying to light up their house with candles or oil lamps. These things can be complicated and dangerous to those who don't use them on a regular basis.

 

[Silver Survivor]

If using solar pannels and a battery bank Using an inverter is a bit wasteful there are many efficient low voltage lamps available. The lamps have a built in inverters but only work when the build is on http://www.alternativetechnology.info/12voltlighting.htm

Try running a drill or a saw on 12 volts....the inverter makes it possible to give you 110 ac power to whatever appliance you want. 12 volt appliances become expensive and can be hard to find. Plus you have to deal with larger gauge wire to handle the extra current. I'll stick with my inverter thank you.

 

[Silver Survivor]

I don't know what kind of lights you are using but I suggest you use 12v LED taillights to build you lamps. They work great and you don't lose anything through the inversion process. The more 12v things vs 120 ac the better in my mind anyway.

I'm using 13 watt CFL bulbs for their low wattage usage. I can hook up as many as I want and lamps are easy to come by. I can use regular lamps and extension cords, no need for specialty wiring.

Keep in mind, my setup is for emergency use only and not meant for everyday use. My 5 watt solar panel only gives a trickle charge, but it's enough to keep my batteries charged up. I have two 100 AH batteries, so I should have lighting for a fair amount of time.

 

[Silver Survivor]

Another problem I have with 12 volt systems, is that for safety reasons, you really need to have a fuse on each circuit. With my set up, there's a circuit breaker/reset button built in to my inverter, so I don't have to mess with that. For even more protection, I can run power strips with built in breakers.

Look at the wiring in a car. It has multiple fuses each for a different thing. Running all those wires separately into your house would be wiring nightmare. At the lower 12 volt rating, your amperage rating skyrockets and you need heavier wire. Running wires at a long distance, also creates a problem with amperage, cost of wiring, and power drops.

So to avoid all the headaches associated with 12 volt systems, I went with an inverter and a 110 AC system.

 

[Silver Survivor]

Here's a pic and some info on the inverter I have. I really like it because it has a meter on it that tells you how much power you're using....

http://www.12volt-travel.com/powerdrive1500-dc-to-ac-power-inverter-with-usb-port-3-ac-outlets-1500-watts-p-9416.html

 

[Silver Survivor]

First off, I'm not using car batteries, I'm using two UPS deep cycle batteries, they are better suited for back up systems and charge better. I got them used at a battery store for $40 bucks each.

They will supply your electrical needs depending on how much wattage you are using. A coffee pot for example will pull a lot of watts and make your batteries run down faster than just a couple of 13 watt cfl light bulbs.

I came real close to getting the Harbor Freight inverter but bought one from 12 Volt-Travel instead, about the same money but mine has a really handy meter on it's front panel that will tell you how much wattage your using. The inverter you link to is only a 400 watt inverter, not enough in my opinion, but may be good for a couple of light bulbs. My inverter is a 1500 watt inverter, it costs more but it'll run more appliances with it.

The solar panel I'm using is only a 5 watt panel, which isn't much but seems to be enough to keep my batteries topped off and fully charged. Charging up a dead battery would be a different story. This is why I also keep a standard battery charger to charge up the batteries while I have my normal electricity still available.


Of course a higher wattage solar panel will give you more watts, but they are also more expensive.

I'm not that familiar with the Duracell unit, so I can't really review it.

 

[Silver Survivor]

Lighting tends to scare away burglars. They don't like lights. Or Dogs.

 

[Silver Survivor]

Am I correct, though, in my explanation (solar to batteries, batteries to inverter, inverter to plug in appliance) of how the system would/should work?

Any opinions on the Harbor Freight 3 panel system?

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Yes you are correct. What you need to do is determine how much wattage you'll need for the stuff you want to run. Then base you buying decisions on that. Let's say your refrigerator uses 700 watts. You'll need a minimum of a 700 watt inverter. Better to have extra power in your system than just the minimum.

I like the 3 panel system as it gives out 45 watts which will run a number of lights, WHILE YOU HAVE SUNSHINE. But you still need a battery system for when there is no sunshine.



Yes go for the deep cycle batteries. And make sure you use the proper guage wire so you don't start a fire. I'm using 4 ga. wire to connect my batteries to my inverter, and that seems to be working fine. I had the wires custom made up at the battery store. My inverter came with 4 ga. wires to connect to the battery, but I needed extra cables because I have two batteries in my system.

Here's a picture of my system......

I also put together and installed this meter box to monitor my batteries voltage.