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Thread: Long term solar charging for my CPAP.

  1. #1
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    Long term solar charging for my CPAP.

    I have a marine battery and Honda EX 700C generator for short term needs. I get 10 nights power on the battery alone. I wish to set up for long term SHTF. Any ideas on what solar panel I would need and the device to charge and maintain my battery. Also what battery is best. I’ve searched but the info is too general. The rear of my house faces south and gets great morning and afternoon sun. I am planning a semi permanent mount outside my second floor bedroom window.
    Thanks Steve
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation."
    Ronald Wilson Reagan

  2. #2
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    I have multiple friends who've lived and worked off of Goal 0 for substantial periods of time, either van life or during CA wildfires & PSPS.

    https://www.goalzero.com/

    Your biggest challenge is going to be winter - panels will give you some charge during cloudy days, but nothing like during the summer. Have you considered a noise reducing enclosure for your gen set?

  3. #3
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    Yes Im considering a noise enclosure. Ill call Goal Zero, thx.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation."
    Ronald Wilson Reagan

  4. #4
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    if you want the best you can get stay away from goal zero and there proprietary mess. Get yourself a portable solar panel kit something like 230 wats, a small victron solar charge controller, a battle born batterie, and a small inverter charger that will allow you to use the generator to charge the battery if sun becomes an issue. if youre getting 10 nights of use out of your current battery the battle born will probably give you at least 50% more. this set up shoukd never require the generator to be used but is therd for emergencies.

    i set up stuff like this everyday, and goal zero is not going to give you near what this type of set up will. without the battle born batterie this type of set up is generally much cheaper.

  5. #5
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    Thanks I’ll look up the products you recommended.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation."
    Ronald Wilson Reagan

  6. #6
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    I grabbed a lithium Goal Zero about a year ago. It works pretty well for what I'm using it for. I went that route because what I wanted was a tidy pre-fab box I could easily move around, or toss in the car to take along as needed, and not a DIY bodge-job of 10 separate things and a rats nest of wires. And it charges just fine with 200W Renogy panel.

    But yeah, if I was doing a permanent install, a DIY setup is probably a better plan...

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by kerplode View Post
    I grabbed a lithium Goal Zero about a year ago. It works pretty well for what I'm using it for. I went that route because what I wanted was a tidy pre-fab box I could easily move around, or toss in the car to take along as needed, and not a DIY bodge-job of 10 separate things and a rats nest of wires. And it charges just fine with 200W Renogy panel.

    But yeah, if I was doing a permanent install, a DIY setup is probably a better plan...
    goal zero is fine but will not last like these products. there is also no rats nest of wires. 2 wires into the charge controller, 2 wires out, and 2 wires from the battery to the inverter. i spend hours a day on the phone with people that have problems with goal zero products. when you look at there bigger units like the 6000x you need 1200 watts of solar to get a charge of 80-100% in 6-12 hours. If you do the math based on there capacity the charge controller they're using is not very efficient even though they claim they use MPPT versus PWM. There packs are also using an inferior lithium-ion-battery. theyre claiming 500 cycles at an 80% depth of discharge. when using LI FE PO4 your getting 2500 to 3500 cycles.

    the goal zero products are inferior in all aspects. you can make something just as portable that will be much better and offer redundancy in charging. the 6000x pack weighs in at 104 pounds which theres no getting around for 500 AH capacity. im not an electrical engineer, but i do this all day and i could set you up with something that will be far better than the goal zero for less or equal money with a life expectancy of at least 5 times more provided you take care of your gear. i really dont care what anyone uses but when i see people getting shit for good money its annoying.,

  8. #8
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    Understood, and definitely appreciate your experience and input! I re-read my post and it sounds a little snippy...Sorry for that.

    Anyway, I have a degree in electrical engineering, and I design consumer electronics for a living, but I didn't have the desire to learn the intricacies of solar systems and figure out how to spec the best parts. For now, the Goal Zero does what I need. I made a note of your suggested comps above, so if it craps out in the near future, I'll look at setting something up.

    I really should take the time to learn solar systems and brush up on power delivery...Could be useful in the future. I'm sick of designing AR/VR hardware anyway...

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by kerplode View Post
    Understood, and definitely appreciate your experience and input! I re-read my post and it sounds a little snippy...Sorry for that.

    Anyway, I have a degree in electrical engineering, and I design consumer electronics for a living, but I didn't have the desire to learn the intricacies of solar systems and figure out how to spec the best parts. For now, the Goal Zero does what I need. I made a note of your suggested comps above, so if it craps out in the near future, I'll look at setting something up.

    I really should take the time to learn solar systems and brush up on power delivery...Could be useful in the future. I'm sick of designing AR/VR hardware anyway...

    didnt come across that way to me at all. for your application goal zero is probably going to be fine, i just see people having issues with them frequently. you pay a lot for there products, and it seams if your going to use it a couple times a year its no problem. its when you need the regularly you start to see issues.

  10. #10
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    Do some research on what ham radio battery and solar setups typical use in customized ammo boxes. I’d recommend a 12V LifePo4 battery setup with a solar charge controller, AC charger option for when you have fuel for generator, and an inverter to run the AC or better yet construct a DC input for the machine. You may want to have one used normally and a second machine configured for 12V if you’re looking for the duplication for redundancy and alternatives for power source in a disaster.

    I have setup a 50Cal ammo box with 3 10Ah LifePo4 batteries inside that have internal battery management system electronics (3 so there is redundancy if one fails others get recharged without the failed one). To that box I added a Bioenno solar charge controller, Thornwave Labs PowerMon for Bluetooth charge and use monitoring, USB outputs, 12V outputs, 120W Bioenno solar panel (suitcase style two panels folded together). This is heavy so not a back-packing setup, but it will work great for camping, emergency radio Comms, charging laptops and cellphones, etc.

    Once you’ve setup one of these the advantage of being able to reconfigure, replace batteries, insert other adapters, etc is way better than the product being offered by GoalZero or other solar generator companies. They are making commodity products and selling on trend, they will not stand up to hard use, and some are using either Sealed LeadAcid, AGM or Li Ion batteries rather than the far superior and safer LifePo4 technology.


    Andrew - Lancaster, CA
    NRA Life Member, CRPA member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / FPC / CCRKBA / GOA / NAGR / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member - Support your defenders!

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