4/14/11 Alternate Power in the Wilderness

[DaveK]

If your goal is to get as far from civilization as roads will allow, sooner or later you will need to consider the benefits of some alternate power options. For many back country travelers, the necessities of survival means an increased need for power. The average vehicle battery can only supply so much before it dies or the engine must be started to recharge it. When you add up the power needs of things like freezer fridge units, charging batteries for various electronics, Ham radios, APRS, computers and the like, it is very easy to run the vehicle battery down in a hurry. For extended trips, where fuel is scarce, starting your motor just to charge your battery, may not be a wise choice. This is where alternate power options can help.

This weeks net will be a follow up to an Alternate Power Net we did many months ago. It will include a discussion on the benefits and effectiveness of portable wind turbines and solar power, individually and in combination with each other. We will also discuss inverters, controllers, different types of solar panels, batteries, dual batteries and more.

I will post pictures of our latest remote power installation. If anyone has an alternate power suggestion or pictures of a particular set-up, post up!

[NotAMog]

Here is a picture of my camp at the Overland Expo with a 109 watt IQSolar panel. A means to charge the battery was a must as I planned to be parked for 4 days with only the starting battery and no dedicated coach battery. The panel was overkill for running the refrigerator so there wasn't much need to worry about optimum positioning of the panel during the day. There is only a single bungee cord holding the panel in place with a small towel behind the frame to avoid scratching the paint on the truck. So far, the simple setup has worked well even in strong gusty winds.

OX11 Camp.jpg (408 KiB) Viewed 2944 times

Here is an Australian rig which was part of the Campa display. It has an interesting mount for a flexible solar panel. There was an extensive write up on this truck recently in Australian 4WD Action magazine.

Aussi Rig with flexible solar panel.jpg (461.87 KiB) Viewed 2944 times

Here is a detail of the mount. This is a nice, simple, effective design. There were quite a few folks in camp and in the vendor display area using flexible solar panels of varying types but most were just laying on top of their rig, tent, or awning. When the wind came up they were all blowing off. This setup held up extremely well.

Aussi solar panel detail.jpg (391.35 KiB) Viewed 2944 times

GoalZero had a whole display trailer with their products. I had never heard of this vendor before. Their products looked very well made and were reasonably priced. They were doing a brisk business selling their Guide adventure kits which include a 7 watt folding solar panel and a AA/AAA rechargeable power pack that also charges USB devices. The idea being that you charge the power pack during day then recharge your cell phone from the power pack at night.

GoalZero Display.jpg (408.91 KiB) Viewed 2895 times

[cruiserlarry]

Bruce - Do you have more info on the IQ Solar panel you are using ? Where did you purchase it ? What type of controller are you using ?

Thanks...

[DaveK]

Bruce - Do you have more info on the IQ Solar panel you are using ? Where did you purchase it ? What type of controller are you using ?

Thanks...

If it's the IQ Solar who manufactured heavy duty solar panels, it looks like they are out of business. The link I have used for them in the past now goes to go-daddy. I guess the domain name of iqsolar.com is up for grabs.

[DaveK]

The options for alternate power are many. Solar, by far, is the most popular. Bruce's pictures, above, are excellent examples of the use of different types of solar panels in different installations.

When traveling in areas where there are no facilities, it is easy to fill up the vehicle with equipment. Personally, aside from making sure that we are as well equipped as possible, one of my biggest goals continues to be quick and simple deployment and take-down of every item that I carry, including tents, kitchen, showers, etc. This objective was the motivation for the solar panel installation below. The Ramsond SP (full specs below) is mounted to the roof rack rails and offers the following advantages:
1. No storage space is required as it is mounted just above the sun roof which is an area never used for storage.
2. Given the space available, an 80 watt mono crystalline SP fit well, with room to spare. At a little over 5 amps, this is enough to compensate for the accessories that are in the vehicle.
3. There is literally no set up time required to make it functional. At the beginning of the trip, the panel is connected to the controller and left in this condition for the entirety of the trip, including as we travel. The absolute beauty of this set-up is that anytime the motor is off, the SP is in ready condition to keep the batteries at full, without the need to assemble or connect anything.
4. Extremely sturdy light weight mounting with virtually no risk that it will be blown down in windy conditions or accidentally knocked over or stepped on.

See the full write up at viewtopic.php?f=152&t=2518

This is the panel installed with the travel cover in place:

IMG_0037 (Large).JPG (127 KiB) Viewed 2913 times

The SP ready to use:

IMG_0042 (Large).JPG (157.77 KiB) Viewed 2913 times

GOAL0 (Goal Zero, http://www.goalzero.com/) makes some very interesting foldable and briefcase SPs:

Briefcase

Briefcase 30 watt solar panel.jpg (12.22 KiB) Viewed 2913 times

Foldable

Folding soft case 27 watt solar panel.jpg (13.22 KiB) Viewed 2913 times

Spec sheet for the Ramsond mono crystalline 80 watt SP:

Ramsond 80 watt mono solar panel.jpg (187.37 KiB) Viewed 2913 times

[NotAMog]

I'm using Genasun controllers. A GVB12-8 for 12 volts and a GVB24-8 for 24 volts on the Pinzgauer. A good feature of the Genasun controllers is that they can step up the voltage from the panel. I use the same 12v panel with both controllers.

I'm sorry to see at IQ Solar is apparently out of business. Their panels have no glass and they weigh about half that of similar panels.