Using Solar Pannels

[skydiverchuck]

I know a lot of people say harbor freight stuff is crap and I tend to agree.... That being said I picked up a solar kit yesterday, 3 panels equaling 45 watts. I wanted to see if it would keep the batter charged enough so I didn't have to use jumper cables every time I wanted to fire up the generator when picking the Raptor up from the storage lot. I went by there last night with my son and set the panels on the roof. We tossed the cable over the side and connected the box to the battery. The battery was completely dead last night, so much so it power a light and certainly wouldn't fire the generator. We went back at 4pm today and the panels had charged the battery well enough to fire the generator right up.....

I'm happy with that considering we will be dry camping this weekend it will be it nice to know I can charge the battery!

[chuckster57]

Not everything H/F makes is junk. I have thousands of dollars of tools that have served me well for over 30 years. I wouldn't buy anything gas powered, and their powder coating stuff is junk.

Glad to hear the solar panels may be worth it. Since I store my fiver at the house and we don't dry camp, I don't see a need for solar. Let us know how they hold up please.

[rjsurfer]

Warning, that's I started with solar, just a warning.

Then it was another larger panel to keep the TV going etc.

Somehow I wound up with 700 watts, can't figure out how:)

Ron W

[jimbari]

Funny how Mr. Murphy's Law work out.................solar is a great option with for you situation, Skydiverchuck. Enjoy your next outing
H/F just moved to Sebring (FL) and I'm loving it. Been a customer for many years. Just be aware that you are not buying heavy duty stuff. It has served me well, and the only problem I've had was with an angle grinder 8 years ago, and the replacement (N/C) is still going strong!

[dcg9381]

I think most of HF electric tools are junk. Anything requiring any amount of decent casting is junk, but just my experience and anything with an electric motor is suspect. Air tools - sub par. They do have some tools that seem to do quite well (IE - a jackhammer).. there is actually a list (website) on the internet that seems to be hacked currently with a list of their "decent" stuff.

I LOVE their tool boxes. The ball bearing stuff. I'd buy them all day long and own 4 of them currently.

In terms of "will 45 watts work" - I'd say that it absolutely should, as that's 3+ amps of charge. But a few things:

1) 3 amps unregulated will not be good for your battery long term. I wouldn't connect it direct and I wouldn't trust a HF charge controller. I've cooked one battery on a HF battery "maintainer".

2) If you've got an amp meter, you could check your discharge rate. That would tell you what type of discharge you need to cover long term to keep the battery up... Account for hours per day without sun and some amount of cloudy days.

3) I'd suspect that a true battery disconnect would be a better option as long as you're using it every 3 months or so.

4) China does make good solar panels, you can also get them on Amazon and Ebay - certainly good enough for what you want to do. Consider buying a panel and connect it to a decent charge controller... You can get them in a variety of sizes.