Harbor Freight solar Kit

[Circuit Rider]

A couple of years ago I bought a solar kit from HF and let it sit until now. I'm thinking of getting another one, purchase a couple of deep cell marine batteries and inverter and use it for emergencies to power my fridge and freezer. What I would like is comments as to whether I'm wasting my time and money or if it would be practical on a small scale as this. Thanks, CR

[rancher1913]

you need to do a bunch of research on solar before you try anything. you really need to understand the relationships between volts, amps, watts, amp hours, etc.
with out specifics that system probably would not run a normal fridge and freezer more than a few hours, no where near the 24 hours you would need. also the kits might not "work" together, you need to make sure everything is compatible. its a great idea and is well worth doing.

[Handloader109]

HF is not where I would go for something like this. There solar stuff is OK for trying to keep your lawnmower battery charged but that's about it.

[bangerjim]

And remember, deep discharge batteries are expensive and will need to be replaced every 2-3 years. Just more $$ out the window. They go bad just sitting there.

The HF stuff is designed for someone wanting to power a few simple 12vdc lights in a camper or remote cabin.

Inverters are extremely inefficient and really suck power.

If you really want to go down that path, I would seriously look other places than the toys they sell at HF. And be prepared to spend serious bucks.

[jmort]

You would need a fair amount of panel wattage to run refrigerator or freezer, I'm thinking around 1200 watts plus, and a serious battery bank, and an inverter and.... Get mono-crystalline panels. Do some due diligence as there is much to learn.

[GRUMPA]

Take it from someone that lives on solar 24/7.....Your wasting your money and efforts on that project. Most domestic fridges use somewhere around 600wts, freezers even more. My freezer uses less power in a day than most use in an hour, almost the same for my fridge. I have a 1700 Watt hours worth of batteries (12-6v) for power after the sun goes down.

It's a very involved learning curve, I've been living off of solar now for 10yrs and I'm still learning details.

Click this link and look at the bottom of the first thread, there's a couple of pictures of my solar system..

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...hange)-6-19-14

[jmort]

"It's a very involved learning curve, I've been living off of solar now for 10yrs and I'm still learning details."

There you go, someone who has been there and done that.

[Fishman]

Get a generator for emergencies. They are very useful. The little Honda inverter generators are nice if you only want to run some appliances.

[cheese1566]

I have a solar voltage regulator if your interested. It regulates current from the solar cells to the battery so it doesn't over charge.

[GRUMPA]

Almost forgot the generator part till Fishman mentioned it.

I built my own, this is a 6HP engine that drives an alternator that been rewound for 34V D/C and puts out 11Amps. The engine runs at just above an idle, has just under a 1 gal fuel tank, and runs almost 9hrs on a fill. I have it on now, it powers the batteries, and right now it'll run the swamp cooler and T.V. with a very little left over charging the batteries.

Here's a link to the picture.... http://castboolits.gunloads.com/albu...chmentid=89372

[jmort]

@ Grumpa check this out, I believe you did what these guys created a kit for.
http://theepicenter.com/tow082099.html

[MaryB]

HF solar is WAYYYYY over priced! But to run a fridge alone that will use 3kwh a day needs some serious battery! My fridge is a converted chest freezer that draws 400wh in a day! But it is a trade off with a lot less space. I have 1200 watts of panels installed, a 928AH battery bank(16 6 volt batteries)...

Good inverters approach 90++% efficiency so that is not a big issue anymore, charge controllers are in the same ballpark for quality MPPT. But you are talking a minimum of $3-4k to duplicate my system! I run the fridge 24/7 unless it is really cloudy for days on end. Runs living room lighting(soon to be all house lighting), and my ham radio gear 24/7. Also runs my computer until battery drops to 80% then the transfer switch drops me back on grid.

Battery box with lids removed and before I got venting and some of the wiring done. Had just built it...



Inverters, charge controllers(adding 1200 more watts of panels), comm controller junction box...



First set of 8 panels for 1200 watts, takes up a 10x10' square of space!



Then you need lightning protectors, wiring, junction boxes and disconnects outside... it is not cheap but I get frequent short power outages that meant starting a generator for 5-6 hours at least 4 times a month. Got tired of it so now I flip a switch!

[MtGun44]

Designed, built and have run a cabin in Colorado on solar for more than 20 years. Forget the refrigerator
deal, too much power required. If you are really worried, buy a propane refrigerator, try to get a used one
from a big RV. The guts will never wear out, so if the outside and shelves, etc are OK, get it. Propane stores
forever without deterioration, refrig/freezer uses near zero propane.

First rule of solar power - ONLY use electricity on stuff that can ONLY be done with electricity, AND uses a small
amount of power. No hair driers, no electric stoves or ovens, no electric heat of any kind, no refrigerators, no
deep well pumps. Put everything possible on propane or wood, then run the TV, lights, computers, etc from solar
and you will be fine.

Bill

[MaryB]

Flip side is a guy I know in WI, all the modern appliances, washer, gas dryer, gas water heater. He is 100% off grid with solar/wind/battery so it can be done. And as I mentioned a chest freezer with outboard temp control uses very little power for a refrigerator. But for a small system moving lighting, laptop, other barely used items off grid is best bet. Get a small generator for power outages.

[Circuit Rider]

Grumpa, I knew you'd have a great deal of knowledge about this. Thanks to all of you for your input. It's amazing that regardless of the subject, the level of expertise so many members of CB possess, and are willing to share. Thanks again, CR

[andremajic]

Designed, built and have run a cabin in Colorado on solar for more than 20 years. Forget the refrigerator
deal, too much power required. If you are really worried, buy a propane refrigerator, try to get a used one
from a big RV. The guts will never wear out, so if the outside and shelves, etc are OK, get it. Propane stores
forever without deterioration, refrig/freezer uses near zero propane.

First rule of solar power - ONLY use electricity on stuff that can ONLY be done with electricity, AND uses a small
amount of power. No hair driers, no electric stoves or ovens, no electric heat of any kind, no refrigerators, no
deep well pumps. Put everything possible on propane or wood, then run the TV, lights, computers, etc from solar
and you will be fine.

Bill

Propane is really the way to go. I'm glad you mentioned it, because most people don't even think such a thing exists.
If you can hook up a ram pump to move water to fill a tank with good elevation you can also get decent water pressure without having to worry about supplying electricity.

Electricity should power the few luxuries that you just "can't live without". Stove, refrigerator, water can all be worked without electricity or batteries.

[John Allen]

I have thought of solar myself and have not been able to figure a way to do it without going all in.

[popper]

you won't live long enough to make break even.

[MaryB]

Payback on my system is 11 years, includes a battery replacement. Panels have a 25 year warranty for 80% rated output. But I did not do it to save money. It is my backup generator unless we have a really long power outage. It will run the corn stove to heat the house for t days for example without sun to recharge things(in winter I can put food in my porch to keep it cold, freezer I can put in the shed and it will stay below 15 for weeks with no power). With my trashed back and shoulders trying to pull start a generator at -20 is an exercise in futility, I do not have the upper body strength anymore. I need an electric start generator and a heated shed to keep it in...

[MtGun44]

If you have access to mains power, use it. Mary is using hers as an emergency backup, so it is a good deal
since the batteries are kept charged up essentially all the time, since they are only for emergency use. Batteries
in this type of float charge application will last a long time.

I use L16 batteries (think the biggest truck battery you ever saw and then double the height, and 6V only, intended
for deep discharge). The first set was in great shape at 7 years but I had a charge controller failure when we were
gone for 4 months in the winter. Pb-acid batteries self-discharge at about 1% per day or so, so the batteries were low and
froze and broke the cases.

I replaced them and had the charge controller repaired, and they have been in use for 13 years, no problems
and still hold what seems to be a full charge. My system is small, but will run lights, water pump (from cistern so no
high lifting), sat TV, DVD players and misc recharging of phones (no cell service, it is in the middle of nowhere) for
3 days with overcast conditions, which is EXTREMELY rare in southern Colorado in the mountains. Finally got
access to mains power a few years ago and decided to ignore it. System meets our needs perfectly, and never
had a power bill for 20 years.

We only run the backup genset about once every two years to run the clothes washer since we mostly take dirty clothes
home to wash them, rarely wash clothes at the cabin. Even moderate power tool use during the construction was fine,
although belt sanding the floors took the generator, as did the air compressor when we used the nail gun.
System has a 4x6 foot panel (surplus from a commercial electric plant that ran out of government subsidy and
closed) and 375 amphour battery, 1 kw continuous smart inverter and a pulse width modulation charge controller.
Pretty simple and cost $2200 in parts 20 yrs ago and I did all the engineering, design and installation. Not too
hard if you are handy.