What is a "Solar Generator"?

[BradKW]

Can anyone tell me what this Yeti device is?  http://www.goalzero.com/p/140/goal-zero-yeti-1250-solar-generator

My eyes started to cross a bit while googling, and not helped by my suspicion that this is something sold only to people who have no idea what's up. I could be wrong. Seemed easier to ask if anyone has experience with this type of product...

 

[29chico]

Can anyone tell me what this Yeti device is?  http://www.goalzero.com/p/140/goal-zero-yeti-1250-solar-generator

My eyes started to cross a bit while googling, and not helped by my suspicion that this is something sold only to people who have no idea what's up. I could be wrong. Seemed easier to ask if anyone has experience with this type of product...

Your suspicions are on the right track.  That is much more correctly described as a vastly overpriced portable power system.  It generates nothing.  Plug solar panels into it and it will store that power, that is as close to power generation as it will get.

Probably has a made in China AGM battery in it, if you prefer to be disappointed by a battery, that is the way to go.  That 1200w continuous inverter will kill that 100a battery very quickly if one uses anyway near 1200w for any length of time.

I have had my hands on a lot of the Goal Zero stuff, with one exception, underwhelming and overpriced.

The one GZ item that I like is the Luna usb stick light, very nice.   I have five of them.

Luna light link: http://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-141...5793&sr=8-1&keywords=goal+zero+luna+led+light


If somewhere out there wants something like this Yeti thing, but well made and tough, check out the following link:

http://www.portableuniversalpower.com/

 

[jimindenver]

That my friend is a scam using a few buzzwords to entice people that have no idea. Sadly it's junk like this that gives solar a bad rep.

A true solar generator is designed to run it's load without pulling power from a battery except for surges. Some don't use a battery at all, mainly pumps and fans. The more panel you have, the more you can run as long as the sun shines.

The advantage of this set up is to your bank. Since it is not running devices, it is also not cycling. The fewer and shallower the cycles, the longer your battery last. Our bank does cycle when we use the microwave and at night but the microwave is used for minutes and over night we don't use enough power to show voltage drop on the remote panel. Then again a few hours of LED lights and TV plus a few runs of the furnace isn't much in relation to the size of our 675 Ah bank. It's true job is bad weather, not daily use.

 

[SternWake]

Last summer I built something similar to that Goal Zero unit, but it had a Lifeline GPL-31XT as the battery, 125AH group 31 AGM.


It also had a 45 amp PD9245 converter/ charger contained within
a 400 watt pure sine wave inverter
2 12v outputs
2 USB 2.1 amp output
Ammeter displaying only  charging amperage
Voltmeter
Wattmeter for counting/measuring loads taken from battery

Extra 12v connectors in  45amp and 125 amp for flavors for solar input or jumpercable output
I ran 2 gauge cable about 12.5 feet to the intended vehicle's alternator, through a Manual blueseas 6007m Switch and a large burly 500 amp winch connector.


This battery when depleted to 50%, was able to suck 100+ amps from the alternator when cold, and 86 amps when hot, maxing out the alternator at 220F.

The PD9245's voltage settings and ~40 amps is a good match for the single Lifeline AGM battery,  with 4 hours of 14.4v at the push of a button, or 13.8, or 13.2v.  One can simply plug it into any household outlet and get a full charge in 5 to 8 hours.  Or unplug it whenever the ammeter dropped to zero which might take much longer if many cycles were seen without adequate recharging, like any battery.

The 400 watt inverter, maxed out at about 35 amps.  I ran all loads through through the Wattmeter which was modified with 8awg cable to pass 40amps continuous.  The watt meter will count upto 64amp hours which is about 50% on this battery.


Parts alone were close to 1300$




 

This resides securely behind the driver's seat in a ram powerwagon and can power his ARB 50 quart fridge for 4 days easily in 75 ambient averages.

I need to get him some Solar to plug into it, 120 watts minimum, I'll push 240 if I can.

It is quite a capable and portable powerpack, would blow away that goal zero unit in performance and battery longevity.

Getting all these components inside wired properly, thickly and getting all components to fit was quite a challenge.  The front face comes off in two pieces and the top has a hinge across the right side for access to fuse block from above.

It was in the 100 to 110 Lb range

 

[K1ngN0thing]

The one GZ item that I like is the Luna usb stick light, very nice.   I have five of them.

Luna light link: http://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-141...5793&sr=8-1&keywords=goal+zero+luna+led+light

Much cheaper to get those lights from the source: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Kito...-Bright-Mini-10-LEDS-USB-LED/32313102610.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1PCS...eading-Lamp-Rectangle-Shape-4/1808535833.html

 

[becida]

"Solar Generator" is a marketing term.

 

[akrvbob]

A hole you throw money in.
Bob

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

Like many have said, yes, it is a terrible name and just for marketing. The yeti1250 is just a 100AH AGM battery, 1200 watt pure sign wave inverter, MPPT charge controller, and various ports and outlets all in one package. There is no power *generation* without adding solar panels or other connection to a power source.

We have one. It has been in use 24/7 for a bit over a year now. There are really nice things about it, and really dumb things about it. We have a second 100AH AGM hooked up to it, for 200AH total, both get charged by it's in-built charge controller. We have 270 watts of solar connected.

Over-all, it works, pretty well. And has been reliable. The only issues we've had are that the information display stopped working (though the back-light still works) and a couple of the weak plastic connectors used on the front panel for the different ports have broken or cracked, but all ports are still functional (plus or minus a little modification).

More information about it on our blog.

Would we buy it again? Maybe. The biggest reason we got it, and the best thing about it still is it's size. Compared to having the inverter, charge controller, battery, wiring, and port connections scattered around the van as individual components, this thing is TINY.