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Showing 1 of 19 conversations about:
Jelvis
27
Jul 6, 2017
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Does anyone know a good portable solar panel charger that would properly charge a device like this?
Jelvis
27
Jul 6, 2017
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JelvisHow does this look... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8VXW0E?psc=1
20000mAh, solar, compass, waterproof and a flashlight for only $19.99
Too good to be true? It's a no-name brand which is usually not a good sign.
Jelvis
27
Jul 7, 2017
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allard_van_der_kampSo what are all these then?
https://www.mec.ca/en/products/gear/travel-gear/chargers-and-adapters/solar-chargers/c/1136
Daed
574
Jul 7, 2017
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JelvisThose appear to be portable solar panel chargers that would not properly charge a device like this.
This is ostensibly a 12Ah battery. At a nominal 3.7V, that's 44.4 Watt-hours. Assuming an 85% charging efficiency, you will need 52.2Wh to charge it.
The $260 option on the top line of the page you linked (https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5047-867/Nomad-20-Solar-Panel) has a 10W USB output (obviously under ideal conditions). Cut that in half for typical real-world conditions (averaging losses over sunny vs. cloudy days, sun angle in different latitudes and seasons, and panel temperature, and generously assuming their rating is honest), and you need more than 10 mid-day hours to charge this battery bank. I don't know what the days are like on your planet, but I only get 3 or 4 mid-day hours each day. So factor in more losses for non-peak conditions (low sun angles decimate solar efficiency), and I'll happily bet you a cookie that this will take more than one day to charge this battery bank. And that's not even taking into account that I have never seen a regulated USB charging system draw full power. Not when both sides are operating intelligently -- only when using a dummy load.
If you want a solar panel which will properly charge this battery bank, first of all, it should have 5V, 3A USB 3.1 capabilities. I don't think there's a single one on the market which does. But, if limited to 10W output (USB 2.0-style), it needs to be able to put out 10W in much-less-than-ideal conditions. Which generally means it needs to be rated for more than 50W peak. If you scroll down your link a bit to the GoalZero 100, it's rated at 100W... excellent! But it weighs 4.6kg. That's definitely straining "portable." And it doesn't have a 5V output of any type. Scratch that. It also costs nearly $1000. No comment necessary. Then there's the Boulder 50... Much more reasonable price on that one -- only 4x the price per watt of a normal panel, so... yay? But again, no USB output. That one might be portable -- they don't list the weight. But they say it's ideal for "car camping," so I'm guessing no.
To properly charge this battery bank, I would use a 100W panel/controller combo like this ( http://a.co/0HF5k58 ), a 12V SLA battery, and a USB 3.1 PD car charger. Total should come out somewhere at or under $260 or so. A much better whole-system price than that GoalZero stuff (which I presume must be made to military ruggedness specifications, of pure gold). What it is not, however, is portable. Not even a little bit. If you don't NEED to go from 0-100% every day, you could probably get away with a 50W kit like this http://a.co/2rvjszR . Cheaper, but still not what any outdoorsy type would call portable.
This is ostensibly a 12Ah battery. At a nominal 3.7V, that's 44.4 Watt-hours. Assuming an 85% charging efficiency, you will need 52.2Wh to charge it.
The $260 option on the top line of the page you linked (https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5047-867/Nomad-20-Solar-Panel) has a 10W USB output (obviously under ideal conditions). Cut that in half for typical real-world conditions (averaging losses over sunny vs. cloudy days, sun angle in different latitudes and seasons, and panel temperature, and generously assuming their rating is honest), and you need more than 10 mid-day hours to charge this battery bank. I don't know what the days are like on your planet, but I only get 3 or 4 mid-day hours each day. So factor in more losses for non-peak conditions (low sun angles decimate solar efficiency), and I'll happily bet you a cookie that this will take more than one day to charge this battery bank. And that's not even taking into account that I have never seen a regulated USB charging system draw full power. Not when both sides are operating intelligently -- only when using a dummy load.
If you want a solar panel which will properly charge this battery bank, first of all, it should have 5V, 3A USB 3.1 capabilities. I don't think there's a single one on the market which does. But, if limited to 10W output (USB 2.0-style), it needs to be able to put out 10W in much-less-than-ideal conditions. Which generally means it needs to be rated for more than 50W peak. If you scroll down your link a bit to the GoalZero 100, it's rated at 100W... excellent! But it weighs 4.6kg. That's definitely straining "portable." And it doesn't have a 5V output of any type. Scratch that. It also costs nearly $1000. No comment necessary. Then there's the Boulder 50... Much more reasonable price on that one -- only 4x the price per watt of a normal panel, so... yay? But again, no USB output. That one might be portable -- they don't list the weight. But they say it's ideal for "car camping," so I'm guessing no.
To properly charge this battery bank, I would use a 100W panel/controller combo like this ( http://a.co/0HF5k58 ), a 12V SLA battery, and a USB 3.1 PD car charger. Total should come out somewhere at or under $260 or so. A much better whole-system price than that GoalZero stuff (which I presume must be made to military ruggedness specifications, of pure gold). What it is not, however, is portable. Not even a little bit. If you don't NEED to go from 0-100% every day, you could probably get away with a 50W kit like this http://a.co/2rvjszR . Cheaper, but still not what any outdoorsy type would call portable.
Jelvis
27
Jul 11, 2017
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DaedExcellent answer thank you Daed!!
With the numbers provided that makes much more sense!
Looks like they have a slightly more portable version...lol
https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-watt-eclipse-solar-suitcase-w-o-controller/#tab_prd-specs
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