Harbor Freight solar kits?

[katuah]

Hey, has anyone out there bought and used one of the Harbor Freight solar panel kits? The one that supposedly comes with an inverter and setup so you can plug stuff in?

My mom lives out in the boonies, and she has this old work shed way out back. I'd love to get electric out there to run some lights, small hand tools, etc, but it's a long way to have to try and run wires from the house. I was wondering if one of those kits would work fairly well? I am not an electrician, but I can mount some panels on a roof.

 

[MrShaft696]

is this your wish http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html

 

[x2elite]

Those panels will run small lights, and maybe cell phone/laptop chargers, but there is no way you can run hand tools off of one.

 

[Original_MudButt]

is this your wish http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html

"Simply connect the solar panels to your own 12 volt DC storage battery, and then use at least a 300 watt power inverter (not included) to power your 120 volt AC appliances anywhere."

My first thought on this was "more cheap H/F crap" But almost all of the customer reviews were very positive.

Here's one:

"Great for a work shed! Review by Adam

(5 stars)

This is a cheep kit to add power to a place that you could use power for. I added it to my shed and I have a car stereo that stays on all the time usually all day. I also have a 400 watt inverter hooked up to it as well and it runs lights and the occasional use of power drills and Sarsaw and a bench grinder. I've modified the mounting brackets so it works on the roof and it has been there almost a year and a half and I sill get almost 2.63 amps @ 15 v DC! Which is almost 40 watts! Great value for money.

(Posted on 7/18/10)"

 

[Lowrange2]

Basically, It's a trickle charger for a battery. lol, Mount it on the roof of your Jeep and never have to worry about a dead battery again.

 

[Hellbent]

i don't know if that's the same exact kit(probably is), but my brother-in-law used that same basic set up to charge the battery(s) in his "work shed". works great mounted up on the roof, it's plenty sunny here. runs an inverter off the dc power, has enough GO to power all sorts of stuff.

 

[katuah]

That is the one I was thinking of. It's on major sale right now, so for less than $250 I could pick up the 45-watt kit and a 1000-watt inverter. Then I'd just need a deep-cycle battery, right? Or am I missing something?

 

[Ivan]

The math is right for what's posted above...

amps x volts =watts
2.63 amps x 15 volts = 39.45 watts
So remember the 2.63 amp rating as I'll reference that in a bit, but agree that the hourly rating is 2.63 amps per hour

But you have to consider the amount of power output (amps per hour) OVER time....

Lets say a typical car battery is rated at 600 amps. It would take that system 228 hours to fully charge that battery. The math:

600 amps divided by 2.63 amp hours = 228 hours.

In other words, it will take that system 228 hours to charge a 600 amp car battery.

Figure at best, you'll get an average of about 9 hours of good sunlight a day. More math:

228 hr divided by 9 hrs/day = 25 days to fully charge a car battery.

Just for grins, say you've now fully charged a car battery. Just consider how long it takes to drain that battery if you leave your head lights on, much less trying to power anything with a larger amperage draw like tools or a bunch of lights, with an inverter.

To do what you want, you'll need a lot of these kits and batteries to store power when the sun don't shine. No sun...no power.

As mentioned, it's a glorified trickle charger....

 

[tbburg]

It's on major sale right now, so for less than $250 I could pick up the 45-watt kit and a 1000-watt inverter. Then I'd just need a deep-cycle battery, right?

The only thing you're missing is the overall cost. What are you looking at:
250.00 for the solar kit.
60.00 bucks for a battery.
For enough power to light lights and cell phones.

How far from the shed to your mom's house panel?

You can get 50 feet of 12-2 rated for direct burial for about 35 bucks. That, a 20 amp breaker(or worst case, a small service disconnect if there's no open position in the service panel) a couple of electric boxes, outlets, and a day's work: You've got power in the shed for everything but heavy tools. Probably under 100 bucks.

 

[joe_peters]

Look on Craigslist.

Purchase used gas engine generator.

Start generator, plug in lights/tools, enjoy.

EDIT: just searched our local Craigslist--Coleman 4000 watt, like new, $300 and Coleman 2000 watt, $125. There has to be some deals near you. Another source people don't think of is small engine repair/generator repair shops--things get left and never picked up, then they get sold for the cost of repairs.

 

[anthrax323]

The math is right for what's posted above...

amps x volts =watts
2.63 amps x 15 volts = 39.45 watts
So remember the 2.63 amp rating as I'll reference that in a bit, but agree that the hourly rating is 2.63 amps per hour

But you have to consider the amount of power output (amps per hour) OVER time....

Lets say a typical car battery is rated at 600 amps. It would take that system 228 hours to fully charge that battery. The math:

600 amps divided by 2.63 amp hours = 228 hours.

In other words, it will take that system 228 hours to charge a 600 amp car battery.

Figure at best, you'll get an average of about 9 hours of good sunlight a day. More math:

228 hr divided by 9 hrs/day = 25 days to fully charge a car battery.

Just for grins, say you've now fully charged a car battery. Just consider how long it takes to drain that battery if you leave your head lights on, much less trying to power anything with a larger amperage draw like tools or a bunch of lights, with an inverter.

To do what you want, you'll need a lot of these kits and batteries to store power when the sun don't shine. No sun...no power.

As mentioned, it's a glorified trickle charger....

I've been looking at mounting this kit to the roof of my XJ in a detachable fashion, and stumbled across this thread in the process... Just wanted to point out an error in your math so as not to discourage others from using this kit.

Rather than calculating on the maximum current of the battery (600A in your example), you need to refer to the AH (amp hour) rating. As an example, an Optima Yellow Top D34/78 battery is rated @ 55 amp hours.

Retaining all of your other figures, the D34/78 Yellow Top would take roughly 21 hours of solid sunlight to fully charge. In most scenarios, you're not working with a fully drained battery, so a solid day of charging (after disconnecting all accessories) should be enough to resuscitate a battery.

Not a bad idea if your heep is stored outdoors and is not a DD...

 

[RichP]

Another option, buy 3 or 4 of the kits and sell the inverters, tie the panels together and they will supply more power. Average house can be run on 5KW and show a profit from the electric company.
Granger sells a 1250watt for about $500 but it's a serious inverter.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/TRIPP-LITE-Inverter-1ZE20?Pid=search
you can just keep adding solar panels and batteries as you expand it.
There are all kinds of options, just a matter of money.

 

[Ghost]

SO looking at this as an electical source for a small workshop/house/shed.... how do they use solar to power them? Or are these cheap small panels and there are better ones out there? Is solar all about battery banks and storage of solar power? Anyone know the max amount of power output obtained from a solar panel?

 

[RichP]

SO looking at this as an electical source for a small workshop/house/shed.... how do they use solar to power them? Or are these cheap small panels and there are better ones out there? Is solar all about battery banks and storage of solar power? Anyone know the max amount of power output obtained from a solar panel?

Bunch of batteries are the best method especially if you don't use it every day. That way the batteries fully charge, supply your power needs and then have a few days to recharge all the batteries. The way it works on a home or business is that whatever power you don't use gets pumped into the grid, slowing down and sometimes reversing your electric meter. Generally with not being home during the day that meter can build up a pretty good credit and in some states it amounts to money back from the power company. Then when you come home at nite you draw from the grid.
I see nothing unreasonable about 6 or 8 batteries being kept charged by a few solar panels. There are a few good sites on building your own panels by buying seconds on ebay where they ship a 100 cells packed in wax and you boil them to remove the wax and build your own panels. There is a couple of sites out there that build the panels, inverter and even a home made wind generator, I just don't have the link handy and trhere is no fee for it, some of the others lead you on and then on the last page you find the fee.