Portable DIY Solar Generator | Step by Step Guide

[@wjf213]

I agree with you 100%. Yes, it's easier to buy something and call it good, but man, you're really locked into whatever that company decides to make, and YOU need to adjust your living to meet the products specs, which are usually VERY limited and fall way short of even remotely meeting your basic needs. Here, you build something that more closely reflects YOUR NEEDS. Not to mention you know how to troubleshoot it and repair it if needed. I know it may not be nearly as portable as most on the market, but for me, that's not hard to fix either. One thing I do is permanently mount and hard wire in, a 50 foot retractable extension cord. Now I can pull it out and run it upstairs or whatever I need power, and when I'm done, rewind it back inside its housing. This was something that was a must for me, because I hated not having one ALWAYS attached to the system, and NOT having to run to the garage or wherever to find one. Even smaller solar generators, I would use a vacuum cleaner retractable cord. Vacuum cleaners draw a lot of power, and those cords are pretty darn tough and well made to handle a medium load of at least 1,200 to even 1,500 watts or more and can take a fair amount of abuse. The ones I looked at were 14ga so they can handle 15 amps all day long, and that's 1,800 watts. They're compact and store a good length of cord. Plus, they're cheap as heck or they used to be on ebay anyway. Even amazon has new replacement units dirt cheap, and adding a couple of them inside your shelf setup wouldn't be a big issue at all. I really like your shelf and little storage area. Maybe use magnets to secure it in place and a few screws on the cover to make it appear as though it's not removeable if you wanted some sort of hidden storage area. Keep up the great work.

[@JPMobileDetailing732]

Honestly, I love ❤️ it brother, very nice detailed ! And thank you for passing you knowledge. It will always carry on.

[@tbareham6241]

The only arguement from me is the assertation that your system is better than a jackery.... It may well be in some use cases, but not all. I live 90% off grid permeantly and have 2 x home built set up's (a 400ah lead/acid and a 100ah lifepo4) and 2 portable power stations (bluetti ac180 & EcoFlow river 2 pro)... They all work great in their own right and use cases. The lead/acid setup is basically outside and the power stations inside for portable power applications. All are charged mainly by solar with the exceptions being the power stations being charged by inverter in my truck while driving if solar is poor for a while or periods of heavy use

[@TheBugOutLocation]

I agree. Better in the respect that I can change out parts and scalability rather than buy a new unit. A self contained power station has a lot of advantages over something like this.

[@SustainableGal]

A 48v Victron system in a pelicase would be a hell of allot more practical