Harbor Freight 100 watt solar kit - The Real Truth
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- Опубликовано: 3 сен 2018
- Personal review and honest talk about the Harbor Freight 100 Watt solar kits. They perform better than their specs in direct sunlight and not too bad in indirect sunlight.
Thank you for this info evaluation, Keep up your output on upgrading!
You did a great job. I keep my 4 panel in the garage ready to go. I love it. It works great. All my neighbors have no lights and im up and running.
How do you keep your battery bank charged, when the Solar Panels are inside your garage?
@@MrSummitville he doesnt, and when he needs to use this system i bet its so small you can only use it to power a cell phone charger and laptop for a night and then its dead the next day. then he drags the 100 watt panels out and it takes 20 hours to charge the small battery he drained powering a cell phone charger and laptop to upload selfies to facebook oh his cool invention. i could be wrong but it seems like this system is too small for much more than learning, how all this works so you can eventually get the stuff that will work in the future.
I'm still using a 45 watt 3 panel array., 3 years now,lights my off grid cabin perfectly...no complaints!
Glenn Webster what do you operate with that very weak setup? 1 small led bulb 💡
thank you for making this I have watched soo many of these and it can get your head spinning
ginacardarella if that is a picture of you, omg you are beautiful.
That thing would blow apart by the wind where I live. Is it still standing?
Just getting into solar and what you say makes sense thank you for your input
None of this makes any sense. This is a "... don't try this at home ..." type of video.
Good job on this. Thank you for your time and work
If you haven't already, I would recommend bolting down that 2 post rack. They're not as stable as they look, especially with heavy equipment up top.
Thank you so much for your information! I am very ignorant of this stuff but trying to learn a little. Bless you!🙏😊👍👍
Melody Tenisch Watch more full time RVers. Some of them live off of solar much of the year. They run everything in their rigs, including their AC units. Some can run their AC units for several hours during a hot/sunny day.
Depending on how you want to use your solar, I can make a few suggesting. Just tag me in your reply.
D.
Currently I have 4 of the 100 Watts HF panels on top of my RV..three separate sets of batteries run my RV all the way around as to differentiate between usage thereof..
3 125 AH DEEP CYCLE
4 HF 35 AH (HF SOLAR )
2 (1000 mca onboard house battery/aux start..etc)..
I do Love to tinker with electronic projects.
In conjunction I have several inverters.. and when I say several everything from a 2000/4000 watt, all the way down to a 80/200 Watt..(lol I do go overboard for some reason 🤫) 8 or 9 in all a couple are pure sine and the others are modified wave..
My point is I have been able to power up quite an array of appliances not only during the daytime but also some of these overnight including my elect. Refrigerator that is basically you just keep my cold drinks (RV fridge/freezer norcold is a 3-way ,I use lp but still takes power from the RV house batteries) with all this said I am a 100% off the grid loving it individual..(I do in fact have three generators.. as I said I go way overboard 😁) but so far I look at what I have as solar power as small compared to what I have in mind, basically I will eventually have 1600 Watts at least.. the whole roof will be covered..
But all-in-all I give it an A-Plus for its capability to run for 3 years saving me 💲(appr.$7,000/3yrs) for not having to run gasoline in my generators 70%+/- of the time.. in fact I have to buy more deep cycle because I have a large surplus of incoming wattage. I guess that's how its setup and how you use it and if you can get to the nitty-gritty delegating the power usage as well as what type of devices are being used..etc.. I have three crock pots large to small.. waffle maker.. TV.. string LED lights 4 fans,etc. Not in use all the time and not all at once of course.. except for the fans during the summer.. which saves full-time AC usage from using also be generators to power up.. plus when using AC from the generator power fans are running on solar keeping the generator from having to carry valid extra load as well..
I do do things a little different and people tell me they don't understand how I'm able to do certain things and.. I used to look at it is pretty simple mathematics..
But I'm very happy with the solar panels.. hey 3 years.. and a saving of about $7,000... I must be doing something right.. and I hope everybody else will too.. that's all I've got to say, good luck to you and everybody 👌🇺🇸
Thank you for your real world honesty.
So the one kind of solar panels for the gates do they go directly to the 12 volt battery if they're 12 volt 10 amp solar panels or do you need a controller
Nice vid. I bought the harbor freight solar set up, for a portable ice shack. It works awsome. Im new to it. I did alot of research on converting to 110 and 120 for a coffee machine. Found out they make 12v machines. The main thing you need to know is . what do you want to run. How big do you need a battery bank. Most importantly the type of deep cycle battery you use. And while installing the charge control. Always hook your battery wires up first before you hook your solar panels in. Saves on destroying control unit.
The FIRST change I would do to your solar is get a 40amp renogy MPPT controller... then serial he 4 panels, and parallel the two sets... get you 74v input, to the mppt, only 2 amps... get out 24amps to the battery bank.
40amp so you can add more solar down the line.
No way to get 24 Amps out! Those controllers do NOT work like that. Each panel in the kit is 25 Watts @18V and 1.38A output. In series connection, you get 72 Volts at 1.38 AMPS or 99.26 Watts! 100 Watts IN equals 100 Watts OUT, less losses due to resistance etc.
@@paulmoffat9306 except he has two kits, and I recommend 3 kits... or more better get better 100w panels.
Of course 100w isnt going to put out 24A...
Really good video, keep up the nice work.
Nice... Ya I found a 20 amp fuse in that same controller. Im running 200 watts through it as well. Going for a 3rd kit and 2nd battery. Im not running mine 24-7 like you. It's mainly for emergency use to run a fridge. I beleave with 3 kits I should be able to keep a fridge running since I will be producing more than it uses..
I have a 2 way RV fridge, runs on AC power most of the time, but in an outage, switches automatically to propane.
20 Amps into a 12V battery is 240 Watts, so yeah, 200 Watts is within its capability. The funny part is that they rate the controller at 30A, and then put a 20A fuse in it.
Im teasing you btw, keep of the project. Good job
I would like to set up a system to run my stealth E250 econoline dont know what batteries are best and how much solar do I need on the roof can you help me build my system??
Thank you for the video. What brand / model of batteries did you use? I used two 105 Amp hour Duracell golf cart batteries to my HF 100 watt system. Don't know much about batteries, but hope these might be more forgiving of discharge. But they are heavy and from what I can tell are about the same size as your batteries.
Also, you measure amps coming in, perhaps with a Fluke 36 meter, which may be discontinued. My HF charge controller shows the volts, but does not seem to show the power with watts or amps, so don't really know how much electricity is coming in. The charge controller does indicate charging in low light, but seems to be pretty worthless in low light, perhaps because have the volts, but few amps?
Tips?
The form factor of batteries that he is using are 12 / 490, usually capable of between 130 to 150 amp hours
Wow thank you for helping people keep up the good work God will see this
What about the RF noise from the solar charger ? I have been told that this charger is very noisy on the HF radio bands .
Greetings "November 4 Results May Vary", North Carolina. Great set-up! Thank you for running your repeater. Here in Hurricane Alley we can appreciate reliable communications during power outages and inclement weather.
HF has their 100w monocrystalline panels for $119 right now. I'm confident a wily geek like yourself could incorporate them with a MPPT charge controller and boost your input meaningfully.
I have (2) of their 100w arrays myself, in addition to an ancient 45w array from yesteryear. I'm hopeful of putting an off-grid 2m station hitting our local repeater in Raleigh into service from my barn.
73's!
That is very interesting that the fan is going on and off. I have a question was there a conversation going on? I would sort of think if there was no load AKA conversation on the repeater that the fan would be on at all.
Nice setup. What kind of stand are you using for the repeater. It looks like it's aluminum.
I had 24-100 watt panels on a Zomeworks trackers. The criterion by which solar panel manufactures use to determine panel wattage is based upon the panel at the equator, perpendicular to the sun without any ambient haze. My panels were rated at 89 watts and they rounded up to 100 watts.
The panels need to be shifted on their vertical axis four times a year Approximately one and a half months before the autumnal equinox, summer solstice, winter solstice and spring equinox to maximize energy output. The angle is determined by your latitude.
Thanks for share your real life use of solar power.
I have a question, in climates below zero, do the panels need some special care ? like Nebraska
Clean the snow off
I once saw Macgyver power a whole house with nothing more than a paper clip :)
I wasn't just a paper clip. He had a chewing gum wrapper to combine it with. 😉
When measuring amps it's only going to go as high as it needs to. Battery may only allow for 10 amps but panels could put out more
Does anyone know if you can make a 24 volt system out of 2 HF systems by hooking up the batteries only in series not the output of the charge controllers?
I was told not to series hook up HF panels.
I'm new to this field.
I thought about using diodes to isolate the voltage from both charge controllers.
I appreciate your honesty about real world applications and the challenges that come with it.
Did you put a vapor barrier in before your vinyl backed fiberglass???
Does the repeater have a stand by mode? If it does can you put on standby mode and have the computer go into sleep mode when not in use?
Thank you for keeping it real!
4:38 I like the little :) by the positive and negative terminals; presumably those are good cells.
LOL... those arent :) Those are die-cut vents in the plastic... hehehe
Where did you source these particular batteries?
Hi, loved your videos, very informative. Cleared doubts about amps needed to charge a big battery. Thanks. I have a question or idea, can you use one of those super capasitor batteries people are useing for professional music sistema on their cars to help the battery last longer or even charge faster by pulling the starting power to turntable equipment or fans on intermidieatly? I mean if a refrigerator needs 2000watts to start but only 900watts so stay on til the compresor ties on and need again 2000watts. That 2000watts can be pulled from the capasitors battery and then pull the lower power to stay on from the battery bank. Would this work? I have no knowledge what so ever but been seeing lots of videos on RUclips and this idea came to mind , seen just 1 person combine 18650 Lithium batteries to 6 capasitor on parallel with out the lead acid battery on his car and said it worked beautifully. Can you tell me if you try it? Thank you
You could use one on the load side not the battery side. You would need one for every device that requires it. If you were to only use one it would run fine untill a loaded needed it, discharged it then everything else would be out of power untill it recharged. Capacitors are not passive.
I thought you were going to talk about these particular type of panels. And that these are the least popular panels for big systems. But what it ended up being is a general discussion on your setup. That's ok, but the title made it seem like it was a review on Harbor Freight panels. Let me help you.
Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell (7 to 10 percent efficiency) panels are the least common of the solar panels used for operations such as yours. People generally use Polycrystalline silicon (15 percent efficiency) (most common) and close common brother Monocrystalline silicon (20 percent efficiency).
Advantages: The principal advantage of amorphous silicon solar cells is their lower manufacturing costs, which makes these cells very cost competitive.
Amporphous silicon can be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes (e.g., round, square, hexagonal, or any other complex shape. This makes it an ideal technology to use in a variety of applications such as powering electronic calculators, solar wristwatches, garden lights, and to power car accessories. Small solar cells used in pocket calculators have been made with a-Si for many years.
The human eye is sensitive to light with wavelengths of 400 nm to 700 nm. Since amorphous silicon solar cells are sensitive to light with essentially the same wavelengths, this means that in addition to be used as solar cells they can also be used as light sensors (e.g., outdoor sensor lights, etc).
Disadvantage: these panels have a lower efficiency 7/10 than mono-crystalline solar cells 20, or even poly-crystalline solar cells 15.
And last Amporphous is often the first panels that a person would buy (it was mine), before they move onto Poly Crystalline or Mono Crystalline panels. You can thank Harbor Freight for it popularity.
mine lasted 1 yr, then output was down to about 25% of original rating, only making 9 watts per panel. they seem wear out quickly if that is possible. will not buy again. roger
@@youmanskids Generally is it not the Si - but the panels will cloud. I have manged to get short term boosting by cleaning and oiling. However, my panels are tiny, for experiments, so I am not recommending anything.
@@youmanskids Yeah, these amorphous panels often allow water ingress into the junction between the cabling and the panel material itself. This corrodes the actual connexion to the thin film and eventually crap out compleatly.
Can battery powered drills be used for wind generators? Most have permanent magnets.
What if you ran two or three 35 amp hr in Parallel ? Or would you need to also increase the amount of panels ?
I never heard you say how many amps your radio system was consuming...maybe I missed it?
Ok so I want to run a 100 watt battery 1000 watt inverter and 100 watt fold up solar panel with this said will it power my 750 watt preasure cooker for 30 mins at a time ? Help
Would this with the thunderbolt batteries run 0.56 amp linear air compressor. Aereation for a pond full time?
Would it help the battery’s last if you added super compactors to your system?
Love the set up you seem very knowledgeable about this I have 2 sets of the harbor freight solar panel kits I’m going to build that frame like yours thanks for the idea got you under my likes for sure 👍😎
Glad i could give you ideas ;)
Agreed, I see ways I could use this setup just for at least some simple lighting and phone charging
How wide is your frame ?..I have two 100 watt kits like yours but need to build a frame , I live in a camper year round in RI and am just using it to keep my batteries charged while I'm not there to run my fridge igniter, and on occasion the blower for my heat, I haven't unboxed them yet because I want to build my frame first , thank you for your help..
How do the new Hf panels compare to polycristalen or Monocristalen
I noticed your tower - How well would these work for portable (example Ham Radio Field Day) operations?
de W1DGL
I have a gmrs repeater I was thinking about doing the same thing. Thanks for the info
Why?
I built a VAT from a GM alternator and PVC. I have to relocate it to a better wind coverage area to keep up the amps. I would recommend fiddling with a VAT to add to a solar array. I will put up a video. Thanks for the video, nice battery array. Hope you consider a VAT project, happy to help.
VAT? No !
Are you running the solar charge just to one battery, after you daisy chain. You can have many battery. But the set up would be, one on neg then the next would be on the other end of Daisy battery. So all the battery would be charged.
Do you need the big old tower computer for a dedicated PCI card for the repeater setup? If not, can the required software run on a more recent low-power SBC? Or if it's a must, can you replace the switching power supply in the computer with one that runs directly off the DC system, like you might see in data centers?
Hi, the tower isn't used for anything its just there.
@@freethegeek4403 Sounds like my house!
For the inverter, what and where did you get the grounding rod?
Home Depot sells copper grounding rods 6' long.
How long is your aray. And do you think it would run some battery chargers and led overhead lights
Who manufactured your batteries? I didn't hear you say who it was. Thank you!
What type of batteries are those and where did you get them??
Would these solar panels be good for hooking up a stereo system in a boat ?
I am s uprised that you haven't hooked up like 5 100 watt kits?..& hook them up to the batteries...to a bigger charger controller...& then to a mppt grid tie inverter...to help offset your electricity costs?...
would it been easyer too buy an 300w pannel at 36v and an 36v volt charge controler . So it would been one panel making the power
Why cant you add another 100-300 watt panels and inverter to get suggested life outof batteries?
Just curious is this thing wind resistant looks kind of top-heavy to me
FreeTheGeek - I am curious what your battery choice is ? The Navy haze-grey color and lack of labeling indicates they may be more sophisticated than standard lead-acid. And I think you said 320 AH which is way better than my type 31 Lead Acid at 110 AH each. ? I don't like lead-acid since lithium alternatives do not have to be brought above 80% for maximum life, and can 'work' between 20 to 80 percent charge/discharge with almost no degradation.
I have two type 31 lead-acids with an MPPT controller off grid system I use only during the day to charge my Nissan Leaf and for cooking / refrigerator / etc. until the Sun starts to sink. THEN, I quit using that system to let the batteries get back to Float level before dark.
I have a 'Goal Zero' 1000 "Portable Power Station" which is exactly that. It can be left at and used from a variable state of charge between 20 to 80 percent with almost no degradation. (I thank the "batteryuniversity.com" for that knowledge) Helps me extend the life of my Nissan Leaf as well knowing that. The Goal Zero products are 'pricey' BUT . . . . . you get what you pay for ! The Goal Zero will run my washing machine and clothes dryer -no problem-. The Pure Sine Wave Inverter from Windy Nation (Vertamax) will run microwave, induction cook-top, and exhaust blower motor (1/2 HP PSC) . . . . but will NOT run my Washer or Dryer motors . . . ? ? ! ! Why? I don't know.
Anyway, I have taken enough of your time with my 'details', but am curious of your batteries . . . not lead-acid but maybe nickle-iron or something else ? ? Thanks for your website and your time. Take Care, Rich
I can run my 5,00 btu A/C for 4 hours. I only have 290W of solar so far. You are right though it takes two full days to completely recharge. 21A at 12V charging. Bateries are lead acid total of 672 Ah.
Well I could. Tried to run our washing machine to finish some laundry on a day we lost power. 2000 watt inverter let the magic smoke out. Washing machine has 15amp 110 plug on it inverter was rated to 18.2 amps at 120V. not sure what happened.
@@michaelleatherwood610
The chooch, boys.
Why didn't you mount the solar panels with the blue lights and wires coming out the bottom? It would give you more wire and keep your solar panels from getting water in them where the wire goes in. Just curious appreciate it!!
I learned so much from you. I do have the 100 watt kit from harbor frieght. I just bought two lots in a private country place. I'm starting to understand charging batteries for night use. I'm trying to see how you wire your batteries together to power more detailed please. I'm trying to figure out how to run some power tools to clear off my lot nothing major. Living wise, small hotel fridge, possible box fan at night. You make sense of all this harbor frieght solar power and battery set up. Thank you for the video and more real applications. I do have the 400 watt continuous/800 watt peak power inverter by cen tech
How many solar panels would it take to charge a 55 inch tv 24/7?
Idk anything about this stuff
Please add the load power/amp that you are using in the description...
So my question is if a person has one of these 100 watt solar pannels what can they run directly off from it during the day time? if you got planelty of sunlight can it run a small TV, small refrigerator to keep drinks cold, and maybe recharge phone and laptop?
You want to pay $200 to be able to recharge your cell phone? WHY?
Hello! New subscriber, so I purchased the energizer portable power station and the harbor freight thunderbolt 100w kit are you saying I need to get those humongous car looking batteries in order to get them to work? Please help me out here I'm new to all this SOLAR stuff please thank you I appreciate it.
What about replacing the fan with a huge heat sink?
CAN THE 30 AMP SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER HANDLE (3) 12 VOLT AMP IN SERIES? WITHOUT RUINING/KILLING THE CONTROLLER?
No. The one in the HF kit is for 12V only, with a maximum panel voltage of 25V. Neither the panels nor the batteries can be in series.
My one question is why not fully charge all the batteries with an AC to DC charger and leave them all connected and just rely on the solar to keep it "topped off"?
you could try single panel 100 watt solar panels . Thats about 6-8 times the power you get in the same space .
Say i want to put house batteries in my camper van any suggested setup so i can run a small freezer tv and Nintendo maybe a pressure cooker. Also not all running at the same time all the time
The pressure cooker is the big problem. Even a small hotplate takes around 700W to run, and that would take quite a while to get a decent size pressure cooker up to temperature.
Is 1 12V Battery enough to keep my phone charged off grid? (The only electronic I own)
You can use a 10watt solar panel and no battery and charge your phone. I Used to do that with my phone and IPAD out on the boat.
I wonder if a Raspberry Pi 3 could be used in place of that PC you have running in you're setup, an RPi3 consumes between ~ 3 - 8 watts, by itself, of course it can be more if you're powering anything through it's GPIO power, though around 15 watts being close to max.
PC isnt used. It's not running.
HI Man, I enjoyed your video on Solar. I'm wanting to do some of that on my Bug-Out Trailer to power some LED lights in it and maybe my GMRS radio, as a Base in it. I'd love to pick your brain on several things on the Radio's and Solar also. I'm just starting into the GMRS radio area and quite a Dummy on this type of radio. I've ran CB stuff ever since 1965 and still do today. Oh, I Sub'ed also.
Sounds great, I also hold a GMRS license and most of my ham radio repeaters I converted from GMRS to HAM ;). 73'
Good job. Thanks for sharing your project.
We have a harbor freight here, but I opted to get these HQST 100w panels from amazon that are now 86 dollars each. I have twenty or so of them, and I get some good juice with renogy batteries and inverter. The price is much lower from amazon, but there can be advantages in buying store brands. I use it with the inverter to run my CPAP, charge my phone, etc. I can even hook up my fridge if necessary. It could do more with more amp/hours.
Just some random points loose the combiner thingy and the charge controller expense by simply paralleling the complete kits . It's scalable, robust, and redundant. All good things. Also I would recommend adding an extra kit rather than tracking east to west and returning daily. The amorphous panels are well suited for stationary mounting with only seasonal adjustments for solar angle. I personally think that you are on the right track. I am currently running 9 HF kits with good results.
I have been thoroughly reseaching solar energy across the broad for my move to Punta Gorda, Belize..
Amanda Miller crime is high in Belize City that’s, why I’m going to Punta Gorda...
@@Elyasib38 the blize gov will pimp you.watch John macaffe
Take us with you.
What batteries do YOU suggest for those of us that NEED to have, at least some solar, when we are LIVING on Soc. Sec. Disability monthly checks, ONLY?
I NEED to know what batteries, given our monetary limitations, I need to get!
Right now, I have 90 amps of solar and 400 amps of wind power! We have LOTS of wind!
THANKS!
The size of your battery bank depends upon the size of your loads.
You seem to have good knowledge on real world use of Solar. I have 600 watts of solar on my roof, and 900 amp hours of battery banks. I use my solar every day, BUT ONLY to power my homes led lighting. Doing that alone allows my batteries to come to FLOAT mode every day before noon and stay in float mode all night with a voltage never below Float (at 13.0 volts).
I have solar setup to run my homes led lighting which is very efficient, AND my energy efficient fridge (for when grid power is OUT). During hurricane Irma (I live in Florida) our power was out for 2 weeks and I had lights in every room, and the fridge ran fine on solar only. I also ran my TV and laptop from time to time (phone lines were fine), my small Ham rig from time to time, and my WELL pump as needed (about 1 time every 2 days for 15 minutes).
Running these things did of course NOT allow me to keep the bats in float mode as there was always a tax on the bats array. I think the bats (if I remember) went down to around 12.4 volts at night but did manage to come up to over 13 volts during the day and the days were very cloudy/rainy.
Solar is a good option for an emergency situation IF you conserve power and size the system wisely according to the power demands you have. In any event no one who has a solar system should believe there is NOT a need to have a decent backup generator, fuel to run it, and a decent battery charger (at least capable of 25 amps output) in order to get your bats topped off so sulfication does not compromise them (which is what happens to bats NOT able to reach float mode).
Joe, where can i get info on starting out on solar? You seem full of knowledge and would love to get some direction regarding this.
Sounds sensible
Since you're in Florida, ever think about attaching some blades to an old truck alternator and sticking it on a small pole? 8ft maybe? Could churn out a little more electricity to charge your batteries I'd think.
John Hogan. Well stated. As a power failure, rural setup what you have is ideal. I too have a pump, small fridge and LEDs. Much more than that in the Blue Ridge latitudes can't work without a full on big time $30000 investment. That can't really pay for itself.
Most who do their cost benefit payback look at their power bills in August with AC blasting, lots of wasteful lighting, 20 appliances, an electric dryer, electric range, WH, and think I'll save $250 a month or more. In reality after solar goes in, the house is reworked for efficiency. Gas range, wood heat, no AC just fans, efficient lighting, passive solar or gas WH, very judicious appliance use...
If you did all that first, your power bill is probably down to $60/mo. That's when you do the cost analysis. So i tell people to "solarize" your usage BEFORE buying a solar array. You may find it doesn't work cost wise, or you may find you can buy half the solar you thought you needed.
Never fully listen to advice of an enthusiast, a politician or the person selling the gadget.
7777777777777777p
user suggestion...the panel hub and all connections (exposed stuff) should be in a water proof box or boxes long term if you haven't done that already.
thank you for the video and commentary.
they're those panel's you buy from ebay to charge your usb stuff... they're all sealed, probably why they're more expensive then the one's with the open contacts at the back
i use one panel to run a gate operator 600 plus feet from the house. i rigged up two 1157 led bulbs in lanterns on gate posts i keep the lights on 24/7 with a cheap charge controller i like it being able to have battery reading and charge control out by the gate. a regular car battery lasted five years out there in the florida heat.
5:38 You should put a Noctua fan in there. They are the best you can buy in my opinion. I'm not positive on their efficiency but I would be more than willing to take some power measurements (measuring current and voltage across the fan) on mine if you'd like. Plus it wouldn't sound like the rack is about to take off like a helicopter.
good video i want u to keep making videos like this, cool that u got a repeater setup also, those 12/490 batteries are usally 140ah, and u gotta get rid of those shitty panels, i love shell solar panels, I have 2, 85 watt panels bolted together like a suitcase so it hinges open for portability, and they are 1/4 the size for the wattage.
What kind of batteries are those and are they what u would buy again if u had it to do over...really great honest video! Thank you!!
What do I need for this kit I'm thinking of getting 2 of the kits
Could you have another array charging a backup battery that doesn't have the repeater drawing from it and some sort of switch that you could switch between each battery when the other drains enough? Cost vs output I guess or just supplement the current array with another one and that would help. I do like the wind idea also, gives your two sources to pull from when one or the other isn't working.
So true, too much fluff. You hit the nail on the head 🤙🏾👍🏾✌️🏾
Thank you for your honesty.
Helpful Video. Thanks. I have the Harbor Freight 100W system with a 35AMP hour battery. It's simply to light a cabin for a few hours a day and works great. Can I assume that it would take 7 hours to charge this battery from dead with the 100W solar panels?
And THAT is a real-world application. It seems a little strange that somebody with an under-powered solar array and WAY over-powered battery bank, who has no idea how much average power his equipment draws, is talking about real world applications. Real-world applications range from something to keep a night-light on all night to providing backup power for a major hospital.
A toaster oven uses like 1500 watts, what do you think 100 watts is going to do?
Very cool setup qnd nice amateur radio antenna close to that solar rig, 73's
I had one kit and only thing I was powering was two of the lights that came with kit and have two deep cycle batteries from Walmart and a 2000 inverter. It would get low enough from sun down to sun up with just the two lights . I added a second kit and still wants to be to low B4 sun comes up. Has never charged it's self to 12 volts let alone 13.8 . So what good are these sollr panels if can use anything more than the lights that come with and even then won't charge up enoung next day to do again necmxt night ??
@@MrSummitville what grid should I power off of . There is no grid at location im referring to
i think the main point with this kit for harbor freight is too sell us junk and make money, our point should be to cut our teeth on solar. i knew that going in with these cheap kits that they were probably a joke. did you get an amp clamp and start learning about amps? your inverter probably draws about 1 amps just being turned on, even if you arnet using it. can you link to the batteries you got from walmart, i genuinely want to know. also did you know the charge controller has a high output mode? the dude in the video above didnt mention it and wasnt using it in the video, maybe that is part of the issue. also the gauge of the wire matters, these kits dont scale well as the amps go up the wire should get bigger and it gets big fast at 12 volts. how long is the cable run from the "hub" to the controller and how gauge is the wire?
@@MrSummitville what house are you talking about ? I have sent no pic of anything . A house is not what my panels are on. My set up has changed quite a bit since comment also
Thanks for sharing this "real world" solar project ...
You have now leaned ... what NOT to do.
Where did you get those amazing batteries? I assume you did not purchase them new. How much did they cost each? Thanks !
Why are the batteries "amazing" ?
FreeThe Geek - AND, I like that you use the lower-power Harbor Freight set-up ! Along with higher power mono and poly panels I have the Harbor Freight panels as well. They are on one charging circuit while the monos and polys are separate. Guess who charges best on a cloudy day . . . . . Harbor Freight panels are Amorphous and work better in low-light conditions. Okay, low-light . . . not as high charge rate . . . but, my Dad liked to say, " A small leak can sink a Great Ship." And IF you have a good storage capacity, and are not in a hurry . . . . they continue to charge in low light and over TIME all that energy ends up stored in your 'battery' ! ! ! It's all about TIME. Here in California people rush from one red-light to the next, brake hard and wait. Major waste of energy. Major wear on the drive-train and braking system. Smart !
Can you provide more detail on how your main battery is supported by your battery bank?
Sorry I don't understand the question.