Florida Shooters Network

Particularly with their solar panel add-ons--just wondering about them in general. I know they cannot be a full substitute for a good generator, but wondering if anyone here has found them useful and, if so, for what. I can see camping, but beyond that. TIA.

Lots of user experiences and Q/A on those products here:
https://diysolarforum.com/

This solar forum helped me with planning & design for a system my son & I put in to run the well pump and some other small electrical things, when the utility grid is down.

I hate gas yard tools- chain saws, augers, push mowers, edgers... any small engine gas tool that makes it to my house runs a hand full of times and then nothing. I replace every part, spending twice what I paid, investing a dozen hours of troubleshooting, and I end up selling it for parts on Craigslist.

I've given up- everything but the riding mower is now electric. I have a propane generator (runs great, but it's big and heavy) and when I need to do some work outside 100' from the house or barn I lug out the generator, propane tank, extention cord, and tool. I saw these batteries start popping up and went great- it would save 30 minutes of setup and break down... started looking at the details and saw the draw rate restrictions (100-300w when I looked, and didn't seem to increase with battery total volume)- most can recharge your cell phone 60 times but would trip trying to run a chainsaw. Won't work for me, but looking forward to the tech improving.

I do have solar and batteries for the house- works great, but it cost around as much as a new Mustang....

I've been collecting the parts for a modest off-grid system.... with the goal of an electrically self-sufficient small camper (or one of those dope ass cottage sheds) in mind.

Enough energy for basics, lighting, fans/ventilation, food refrigeration and basic cooking. There is an interesting selection of dedicated 12v appliances out there, next time you're at a truck stop check out what the sell for those guys. I have a 12v LED TV and a few other comforts as well.

I planned to just use a couple 100AH deep cycle AGM's as a bank. They're sorta pricey, but if you have a large enough bank that you don't pull them down under 60% or so, they'll last a long time.

Daughter just bought her first house, we gave her a battery powered lawn mower, instead of gas.
Great for a small yard!

At our house, the only way we have water is from the well, so we invested in a generator 12 years ago.
But the genset needs Diesel fuel, and is noisy.
Recently realized that if for some reason Diesel fuel becomes unavailable during a prolonged utility grid outage, it would be “bad” for us.

Son and I put some ground mount solar panels.
Daughter helped me install the electronics.
(The inverter weighs 120lbs, has to go up on a wall mount bracket.)

So the plan now is only to run the generator when it is too cloudy for the solar to work.
Expect that will greatly extend the Diesel fuel supply.

solar_installation_complete

pv_panels2021-06-23 at 11.47.13

fish wrote: ↑Sun Jul 18, 2021 2:42 pm the plan now is only to run the generator when it is too cloudy for the solar to work.

solar_installation_complete

Those batteries down at the bottom- if not, what's those red things?

Yep, batteries - 8 of these 6 volt were needed so as to get 48 volts needed by the inverter.
https://rollsbattery.com/battery/s6-l16-hc/

Found a place in Miami that had a great price.
https://www.dcbattery.com/index.html

They forklifted all 990 lbs of them into the back of the van, I had to get creative to unload them when we got home:

batterycrane


The DCbattery guys also suggested a great place for the wife & I to get lunch before driving back home.
http://www.molinasranchrestaurant.com/phonemenu.php

Cool I want to do that. I bet those batteries killed your back unloading them.

I think that entire prebuilt market is designed to compete with engine generators at the same price point. Meaning they give you as much lithium batteries and sine wave output as possible for the $300-$500 price point. If you need anything bigger, it's pretty easy to buy your own batteries and inverter and put it in a box.

Solar is good. You needs panels, batteries, and a charge controller. Ground mount is best. F the roof. $, knowledge, and space is needed.
Do your research first. Don't think there will be a shortage of diesel fuel. Good luck.