Solar Panel Battery Chargers

[EzGoingKev]

Which ones are good and which ones are crap?

I figure having something to recharge laptop/cell phone/flashlight batteries might not be a bad idea.

I was thinking about one of the ones that are flexible and can be rolled up.

[TacCommE21]

Goal Zero makes good panels. They fold instead of roll (the ones I've used). The Nomad 7 would do fine for phones, Nomad 13 for laptops.

Good luck!

[crhoades]

Goal Zero makes good panels. They fold instead of roll (the ones I've used). The Nomad 7 would do fine for phones, Nomad 13 for laptops.

Good luck!

I have the Nomad 7. Works great. Also a neat feature is that you can charge the battery pack up off of USB. For travel I take it with me for a spare charge for my phone - no solar needed.

[jmnielsen]

I don't own any but my work used to have a bunch of the goal zero stuff. If I remember correctly, the 13 had a 12v port that someone could use just like in a 12v vehicle outlet, which would open up possibilities for charging many different things.

[PA PATRIOT]

Harbor Freight has a solar 12 volt system which is the size of a standard brief case and does a very good job charging small electronic devices.

It also has several different types of connectors included, over charge protection and the outer case is made of robust plastic which helps protect the panels inside.

I have been researching minimalist ways to live out of a vehicle for up to 30 days and found I could maintain my vehicles battery to allow the use of internal lights at night without having to run the engine to recharge the battery. I also was able to charge cell phone, net book and personal communications as long as the sun was shining.

The panel does produce a reduced charge on cloudy days but output depends on the light available.

Harbor Freight runs these units on sale all the time and if you combine it with one of their 20% off coupons then its a really good deal.

[jack crab]

I have some Goal Zero products that I am satisfied with. They sell paired sets of solar panels and rechargeable batteries. Fairly durable. Maybe a little pricey but worth it. Build for outdoor, on the go, use.

I first bought the Boulder 15M solar panel paired with the Escape 150 battery. The panel is rigid and about the size of a brief case. The battery has 150 watt-hours on an 80 watt inverter. The panel will charge the battery more than half on a fairly sunny day with no messing with moving the panel around during the day, etc. If the battery is fully discharged, it will take about two good days to get it fully recharged.

Less than half the battery charge will fully recharge an iPad. There is a 110 volt outlet that will run lights, radios, speakers, etc. Also, a .5 amp USB and 12V DC outputs.

I also have the Nomad 7 solar panel with Guide 10 Plus battery pack. The solar panel is three parts (two solar panels and a cover flap), each about the size of a notebook, that fold over each other. The battery pack is 4 AA batteries and has a built in flashlight. You can swap out the batteries. It comes with a AAA battery adapter.

There are/were two versions of the Guide 10. The "Plus" denotes 1 amp output that is needed for iPads. Otherwise, output is .5 amp (?) that is suitable for cellphones but not iPads and similar tablets.

[ra2bach]

do any of these smaller panels have the ability to "daisy chain" with other panels to increase voltage or reduce charge time?

[uwe1]

do any of these smaller panels have the ability to "daisy chain" with other panels to increase voltage or reduce charge time?

I don't believe that they do. I looked into these 6 months ago. The larger set up with the solid panels can be daisy chained, but not the Nomad system.

[jack crab]

do any of these smaller panels have the ability to "daisy chain" with other panels to increase voltage or reduce charge time?

The Boulder can. I don't think the Nomad can.

[jmnielsen]

The Boulder can. I don't think the Nomad can.

I'm actually pretty sure you can daisy chain the nomads.

EDIT: Directly from Goal Zero,

As far as being chainable, the answer is yes and no. It is possible to chain the Nomad 7 to other GOAL ZERO panels with the 4.7mm extension cord. However, the Nomad 7 doesn't have an input port, like our other panels, so it can only be the 'caboose' in a chain of other GOAL ZERO panels.