My time is up! I'll need to take the plunge now.

[itsmeagain]

Ok.. so years of reading and trying to design and save for a dream solar rig is about to come to an end.

I have a formidable hurricane *possibly* heading directly toward me and there's some talk that we might have to hit the road if it gets too close.  We're hurricane pros.. so when it catches our attention, it's a big deal.   This one could go either way, too soon to tell.

I'll have about a week and change to go from solar novice to salty guru.
Even if it doesn't hit directly, this is my sign from above that I need to make energy independence happen.

My van is small (promaster city), and I have garage clearance issues with my job, so for now I need to keep the panels portable and not mounted. I'm sure they'll be mounted soon enough once I get tired of setting them up.  My plan is to make frames and legs with pvc and zip ties.

I've not been doing a very good job at preparing the funds due to some unplanned expenses.. so this needs to be bare bones, low budget.

Here's the best budget entry point I can come up with:

$314.99 Renogy 200 Watt kit w/Wanderer PWM: https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Solar-Starter-Wanderer/dp/B00BCRG22A/
$99.97 Walmart Group29DC Battery: https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Marine-Battery-Group-Size-29DC/20531539
Total: $415

I'd love to go with 2 trojan golf carts, but that'll require me to beef up the solar kit to 300 watts. The 300 watt pwm kit, plus the two t105's will put me at just under $700, which while technically do-able, is stretching my available funds to the absolute limit.   

I'm thinking mppt controller is overkill at these lower wattages, so money saved there.. and skipping the inverter will spare me a touch of energy loss.

Also, the wally world battery will be warranteed..  and might serve as a better learning tool than the more robust trojans that won't show obvious warning signs when mistreated.


Although I'm excited that this is giving me a reason to pull the trigger on this, it isn't really the best timing for me, financially...     what to do?

 

[Almost There]

First off, what do you need to power!

A week to get ready doesn't give you much time at all. By the time you get what you need figured out, there's no time for ordering and waiting for shipping to happen.

If all you need to power for the immediate emergency evacuation is your laptop and cell phone, I use a 120W plug in inverter bought for less than $20. from Home Depot. I found out by trial and error (ok, mostly error... ) that I can recharge the phone and laptop for 3 days and still start the engine. Day 4 required a boost...sigh!

For emergency lighting in the van, I have a 12V/120V rechargeable LED lantern bought from W/M. I think I paid under $25.00 for it. Provides enough light to read by, charges by plugging in to my accessory plug while I'm driving. I get 3 or 4  evenings of lighting out of it before it needs to be recharged.

While energy independence is to be commended and is certainly desirable, it really shouldn't be done when facing an impending emergency IMO. You'll shortchange yourself one way or another, either too little solar, not the right set up and/or spend more than is really needed.

 

[VanKitten]

^^^. What he said

Just use the ciggy lighters with little inverters for now

Gets you into the van and on the way.

If you are starting full time and can do it...get over to quartzside ... many people there to help and steer you in the right direction...and help with install!

 

[itsmeagain]

First off, what do you need to power! ...  I use a 120W plug in inverter bought for less than $20.  ... I can recharge the phone and laptop for 3 days and still start the engine. Day 4 required a boost...sigh!

^^^. What he said
Just use the ciggy lighters with little inverters for now

My power needs should be pretty modest-to-average.  I can get by with a few led lights, a tablet, a phone and one or two 12v fans if that's doable with a 200 watt system. No fridge. No hotplate. No A/C.

Regarding using the inverter..   I'm not in love with putting that kind of strain on my starter battery. I don't really want to rig my alternator either, and we do have generators for emergency power.


To be clear, this is less of a "I need power for this specific emergency" and more of a "I need to start working on my energy independence, and this emergency is a great excuse for a launching point."

Also, I'm a few years deep in reading and learning about solar..  so I'm not really scrambling here for a plan. Just trying to make sure I have the right foot forward regarding a low cost entry point. I've always known, that to get to my dream solar rig, I'll have to eventually dip my toes in the water and buy a battery, a controller and some panels.   I don't think its wise for my first system to be a huge rig with very expensive batteries, and no solar experience.

Anyway, like I said, its too soon to tell if I'm even in the zone..  it could simply blow away. I'll know in like a week and a half.

Amazon Prime can get the Renogy kit to my door in 2 days.  I can pick up the battery at walmart at any time, day or night.

 

[jonyjoe303]

I wonder how much amps the 200 watts will put out with the pwm? Glancing at the reviews someone stated they were getting 9 amps of power, also someone else mention they got there panels hooked up in series connected to an mppt controller and were able to get 12 amps. 
The evermaxx battery weighs 61 pounds and according to the reviews it has a 105 ah capacity. That should be plenty for your modest needs. You could easily run a 12 volt fridge with that setup, plus all your other loads.

I wouldn't be rushing such a major purchase. Looking at a picture of a promaster city, there is plenty of room in your roof to just buy one large panel (240 watt or bigger). It would make for an easier installation. You can always find good deals on large panels on craiglist, and 20 amp ecoworthy mppt is about 100 dollars. From my experience nothing beats having a large panel connected to an mppt controller, up to 15 amps of power with the panel flat on he roof. 

Whatever you get, make sure you get one of these 90 volt 30 amp combo meters (about 20 dollars) and connect between controller and battery. You always want to know how many volts/amps are going into your battery. The pwm controller in the kit only has blinking lights and it won't really tell you anything. 

 

[itsmeagain]

I wouldn't be rushing such a major purchase. Looking at a picture of a promaster city, there is plenty of room in your roof to just buy one large panel (240 watt or bigger). It would make for an easier installation. 

Understood..  and the others have pointed out it would be wise to wait it out as well.

To be honest, I know odds are I wont be able to get this ball rolling until after the storm. Also, even IF my area was hit, we shouldn't be without power for too many days or we'll re-locate.. and that's if we're not gone by then... and that's if it doesn't just drift off to sea, which is highly likely.

I guess it just triggered my response to get this plan in motion already.   I keep shooting for a ~$1300 to ~$2500 dream system, but real life always has a way of getting in the way and the funds get re-routed.  If I can plan for a more modest setup with a budget of around $400, I can finally join the club.

I'll keep your responses in mind and try to stretch my dollar a bit by not rushing this.

 

[John61CT]

Make a list for each component, specs, acceptable mfg & models, market price range.

Get to know eBay, automated searches, sniping. Keep an eye for sales on trusted seller websites.

This approach lets you acquire parts, build up your system over time.

I'd start by buying the batteries new, a pair of 6V Duracell GC from Sam's or Batteries+.

Shop for a good quality shore power charger next, at least 30A, 40+A better.

Panels should not be much more than $1 per watt, it's the shipping that gets you, so best to look for bargains and then buy all at once the total amount you want to fill your roof.

The solar controllers that come with kits are not great.

 

[itsmeagain]

.. acquire parts, build up your system over time. ...

Good advice..  that should help soften the blow in terms of cost.
Thanks for the tips on the other components as well..  I had a feeling the controllers bundled in the kits weren't the best.

 

[John61CT]

The Victron MPPT 75/15 is a great foundation for solar, can sometimes be found for under $80 delivered. Handles up to ~250w A charging a 12V bank.

To get the most out of it, higher voltages work best, say 35+ up to 65 VoC max.

I think single panels in that voltage range tend to be too physically large to turn into a hinged "suitcase" for portability, but I could be wrong. Best would be if each was high enough so they could be paralleled.

Putting two "nominal 12V" panels in series should be a reasonable compromise, long as you make sure to keep them clean and completely away from any shading.

The controller should be at the bank, so the higher voltage lets you use longer wiring to the panels without having to use very heavy gauge cables.

Get the specs for those Renogy panels if they sell them separately.

Mounting fixed on your roof changes things, but the low cost and flexibility of the Victrons helps you optimize for that as well.

The key limitation is fitting as much as possible watts output on your roof, so dimensions of panels should be based more on that, rather than easy portability IMO.

 

[road_ahead]

Agree on the batteries. Why cheap out on the 'heart' of your system? Stretch your batt budget to the Duracell 12v marine or dual 6v golfies at the very least.

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

Might want to consider/research the flat, flexible panels also if height is that much of an issue at work. I've heard/read they are just as effective (personally, I worry about potential plastic "cloudiness" a few years down the line which is why I have no personal experience) ...

 

[John61CT]

Flex are much more expensive not nearly as durable.

> Duracell 12v marine or dual 6v golfies

Former not nearly as good as the latter even if the $/AH were the same

 

[road_ahead]

> Duracell 12v marine or dual 6v golfies

Former not nearly as good as the latter even if the $/AH were the same

'good' is subjective given the latter are wet cell which limits location/placement and increased maintenance.