Portable Solar Generator kit

Might be a good idea to get a couple of the guys on this forum who sell solar to look at this and give their opinion. For me 1200 watts is awfully small for running refrigerators and freezers and the panels are only 30W each taking 20-24 hours (of sunlight) to recharge the unit. The batteries supply only 1250Wh . It is portable but weights 103lbs. The suggested price tag of ~$2000 would seem a little high.

Mountaineer,

This looks like a sweet little unit. However ever if you are interested in solar power I would suggest DIY. You can build a nice comparable 2000 watt system for $1500-800 easy and probably better components. Xantrex and outback are some of the better gear and I am partial to Xantrex so I have no problem recommending you do a ebay search for xantrex 2000. The prosine is most comparable model. Panels, batteries and you are pretty much good to go. Price it out and you might inspired to give it try. Good luck

Thanks for the input and info. I hope those who have knowledge/experience with solar generators will participate in this topic so others like myself will learn a thing or two and possibly support local folks in Alberta. Unfortunately I'm to busy to get involved in a DIY project.

I cant think of a faster way to turn 2500.00 into worthless junk. I would not pay 200.00 for that.
I have no experience with that unit, only with B.S and that product stinks of it.

those of us who are "not handy" need instructions for building/installing etc

Determining value is not about being handy. As with any product ask yourself "where's the beef" Find what little info they give and evaluate it.
I assume its being considered because its a " solar generator" well whats important in that type of product? I would say solar production and battery capacity.
What does that unit give you for 2500.00 ?..... 60 watts and 1200whrs.

Lets take a single product a fridge, walk down to Home depot and swing the door open on any fridge on the floor. There will be a big yellow sticker with the rateing on it. The rateing will be for a year so devide by 365. You will find the consumption roughly 1 to 2 kwhs a day. So lets just say roughly 1.2 kwhs a day for a simple unit, no ice maker, or other features.
So if your fridge will use 1200 whrs and the battery capacity is 1200whrs. Now you can not use the full battery capacity of 1200 whrs for two reasons, first if you expect to get any life out of them you would never want to take them below 50 percent of capacity, never below 25 percent is best, but lets be generious and say you can take these down to 50 percent.....so you really have 600 whrs of useable capacity.
second reason you cant get 1200whrs out of this unit is at some point as your using the unit the battery voltage falls so low the inverter shuts down, I suspect somewhere around 70 percent discharge.

So...They advertise this unit for continuous operation and critical equipment... with the numbers above It cant run a modest fridge for even 12 hours, and you spent thousands for that? I wont bother to go on with what 60 watts of panels will get you charge wise.

The target market for this product isnt those people who want value and performace.

I have no hopes of powering a fridge or any major appliance. But I most desperately hope to keep my sump pump operating so I don't get water in my basement. What would you folks recommend for that? Would dearly appreciate the advice. Also, if anyone knows the best solution to protect my older house from sewer back-up... that would be a huge concern off my mind.

I have no hopes of powering a fridge or any major appliance. But I most desperately hope to keep my sump pump operating so I don't get water in my basement. What would you folks recommend for that? Would dearly appreciate the advice. Also, if anyone knows the best solution to protect my older house from sewer back-up... that would be a huge concern off my mind.

For the sump pump I would recommend a water alarm, this is battery operated and you install it at a level slightly higher than the height the sump pump would normally come on. You are only needing this to alarm if the sump doesn't come on. This arrangement would only be used to notify you the sump is not working right now. You would need to use alternate power to empty i.e. a generator, solar back-up or the old fashioned bale by hand out the window (which I have done)
For the sewer depending on how handy you are you could install a check valve in your main discharge. Depending on your set up it you might have to tear up some of your basement floor. I would consult a professional for advise then do it yourself. Why do I say that, my dad had the same issue he was in Que and I was in Ont so he had a "professional" do the work. It was the worst job I have ever seen.

I wouldnt bother with any type of solar electric system if a sump pump failure is all you are looking to get through. Go for the alarm as mentioned, then a manual pump. On ebay right now is a boat galley water foot pump for 79 dollars. Is it the only way-no but simple. the alarm goes off, go down and pump it dry, it moves a couple gallons a minute so it will only take a couple minutes to pump out. Or if your handy go to princes auto, buy their large brass gear pump (only two moving parts) buy a a 1/4 or 3/8 socket, pick a size that just slips tight over the drive shaft, walk into any muffler shop, and ask them to weld the socket onto the shaft, I bet they wont even charge you for that small of weld.
Now you have a dirt simple pump that can move many gallons per minute, self prime, and not one junky plastic part in it, because it has a socket on the shaft, you have a pump you can drive with any cordless drill.
Have a exersise bike? you can get them for nothing used, take that same pump but instead of a socket put on a rubber boat roller (from princess auto) on the drive shaft , mount it to the bike, so the roller is tight against the bike wheel. Now when you petal you can pump water. lots of ways to do this.

Thanks Analog Man I think we are both of the same opinion on this unit. As you point out it could probably only operate a basic refrigerator for approximately 12 hours. However after that it would require approximately 20 hrs of sunshine to recharge. The only way you could possibly use this with a fridge would be to use it every night and every morning for about 3 hours per time. During sunlight it would have to be on charge constantly. The first cloudy day and you would be out of luck. Even then I do not know if the food in the fridge would be safe if it was only operating for six hours per day. Now it would run lighting especially LED, it would also power small microwave, toaster or coffee pot. Even then it is an incredibly expensive way to go.

Thankyou so much for the replies Darren & analog, where should I get the water alarm? Anything special to ask for? I'm near Lloyd, so have access to Canadian Tire plus Princess Auto, Home Depot, etc.

As for the pump, what I'm concerned about is in the event I have to be away from the house for a few or several days, would be great to have a powered pump system to rely on even if the electrical system crashes. Any suggestions?

Hopefully the diagram will upload correctly. The attached is substantially similar to what the OP proposed. As you can see it is really quite simple. Including the wiring and mounting the core components to a plywood back board or wooden dolley with casters I would be surprised if it takes more than 2-3hrs to have a comparable system up and running once all the component have been purchased.

I would suggest we all have different perspectives when evaluating potential back up power systems. I would also concur 1000-2000 is quite minimal. However we if include the weight,size and portability aspects into the discussion small solar systems do have a place. As others have pointed out recharging can take some time so something to consider if you are expecting extended periods without power. Assuming you have gas in your vehicle you could of course recharge this type of system from your car in about 1.5-2hrs.

While working in the caribbean several yrs back we experienced power outages every other month. 2000 watts was marginal
and it was pain in the ass to make sure to unplug a few items every few hrs to run the deep freeze. No food ever went bad...other than what I tried to cook myself.

I am a fan of solar but it sure isn't the silver bullet which is why I have several other gas & diesel generators. If you are even slightly interested IMO it is worth exploring to see if it fits YOUR requirements.

Forgot to mention the newer AGM batteries do not off gas making it 100% safe to store indoors which could make a solar systems very attractive for people in an urban setting looking for quiet reliable backup power regardless of the recharging challenges.

Cheers

Well, I dont know what types each store carries so I cant recommend one over the other, you will just have to pop in and see what they carry, in my general opionon I prefer a sensor with a float, and with wires long enough that lets you mount the buzzer up on the ceiling of the basement, rather than down in the sump where you are less likely to hear it. Try Peavymart first and see what they have.
Well, I cant with confidence tell you what you will need to use your existing pump for a period of severaly days, as I do not know what the horse power of the motor is or what its duty cycle typicaly is in your sump, so If I cant figure the load I would have to over size everything.Also my recommendations would be for buying the components and putting the system together yourself and I suspect wiring may not be your strong point and when dealing with hundreds of amp hour batteries,one crossed wire or a screw driver touching across the terminals of such a battery would in a instant lead to unanticipated, unconrolled rapid dissassembly of components ( blows up), likely with injury's to anyone in the area.
So I can only say you need to find a stand alone prebuilt system for your application and expect to pay.

I just looked up the data they give on the 30 watt panels, open cct voltage is 18 to 20 vdc ( lower than any 12 volt panel I know of) they dont give a rated output voltage, and I suspect that is because the voltage may drop close to or below a fully charged battery votage. They do say a 2 amps max output from the panel but not at what voltage so i suspect that is the short cct amperage that you will not get at 12 volts, I bet those two panels together cant put out 3.5 amps at 12 volts, so I suspect you really have at best 40 watts total charging capacity.
No way these are quality panels, this is the type of product the defective,the seconds,the marginal, didnt come close to manufacturers spec, panels that would have been trashed, but now are repackaged and sold into a market were the consumer can niether measure how bad its performing,or cares.