Forum Discussion

BrokenChains's avatar
BrokenChains
Explorer
May 07, 2017

Solar Generator

Hi, I am new to posting here but have been reading the forum for some time now.

I am still in the planning process so I have been doing lots of research. We will be full-timing in a couple of months and I will be working from the road so power is going to be important to us. Plus, with 2 young children and our dog I am sure we will be using the AC sometimes. I cannot see us being without hookups for more than a week or so at a time but will still need power to run laptops, wifi equipment, probably the TV, charge our phones, etc. For the times we are staying on a friends property I am planning on adding a 50a breaker to their box but will still want to supplement power. Yes, I have already looked into this and verified they can handle the additional load.

My question is...does anyone have experience with these solar generators:
https://www.inergysolar.com/product/kodiak/

Here is a review and comparison of it I found:
http://poweredportablesolar.com/

I am wondering if I could use something like this since it has the 30a connection with a 30a to 50a adapter (will have 50a in the 5er) with an additional battery bank and carry a portable gas generator in my truck for backup. Or, would I be better off going with an Onan generator and possibly something like this as a backup?

I looked around and did not see any threads addressing this generator. I am new here so if I missed something already on here please accept my apologies and point me in the right direction. All opinions, thoughts, questions, experience, etc are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
  • Bobbo's avatar
    Bobbo
    Explorer II
    May 12, 2017
    Harvey51 wrote:
    The information given in the ad carefully omits useful specs. The "capacity'" is given in watts, a unit of power, not energy. So you cannot tell the energy capacity of the battery. A car battery sized battery holds about 90 amp-hours of energy.

    It is rated at 1100 watt-hours of energy. Dividing that by 12v gives you 90 amp-hours, or a standard group 27 battery.
  • Harvey51's avatar
    Harvey51
    Explorer
    May 12, 2017
    The information given in the ad carefully omits useful specs. The "capacity'" is given in watts, a unit of power, not energy. So you cannot tell the energy capacity of the battery. A car battery sized battery holds about 90 amp-hours of energy.

    The only useful fact I see is that the size is 15 by 16 inches. That area is less than half of a 100 watt panel. I have a little folding panel like that which can charge phones, as mentioned in the article. It would be able to maintain an RV battery but not recharge it.
  • BrokenChains's avatar
    BrokenChains
    Explorer
    May 08, 2017
    Thank you all for your input. I really don't know anything about the solar stuff so you have given me a great direction to go...I'll be ditching this idea. Much appreciated.

    @2oldman - No, I do not sell these. It was a recommendation by someone I had spoken with but before making an investment like this I wanted to ask people with more experience/knowledge in the field. I do not know why I was able to post the links. I just copied/pasted.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    May 07, 2017
    Hi,

    As others have said--don't buy this overpriced item.

    For my detailed thoughts on solar, surf here:

    https://freecampsites.net/adding-solar/

    If you are staying with friends and using their power, a hybrid inverter/charger is essentially a "must do". Folks get upset *fast* when an overload trips the breaker at 2 a.m. A hybrid inverter will allow you to plug into a standard 15 amp circuit and still have full functionality.

    You have two choices. Go with a large solar system and move to 48 volts, or go with a smaller system of 8 or 900 watts and run a generator.

    If you decide to go the generator route, my choice would be the Champion 3400 watt inverter generator with remote electric start.

    BrokenChains wrote:
    Hi, I am new to posting here but have been reading the forum for some time now.

    I am still in the planning process so I have been doing lots of research. We will be full-timing in a couple of months and I will be working from the road so power is going to be important to us. Plus, with 2 young children and our dog I am sure we will be using the AC sometimes. I cannot see us being without hookups for more than a week or so at a time but will still need power to run laptops, wifi equipment, probably the TV, charge our phones, etc. For the times we are staying on a friends property I am planning on adding a 50a breaker to their box but will still want to supplement power. Yes, I have already looked into this and verified they can handle the additional load.

    My question is...does anyone have experience with these solar generators:
    https://www.inergysolar.com/product/kodiak/

    Here is a review and comparison of it I found:
    http://poweredportablesolar.com/

    I am wondering if I could use something like this since it has the 30a connection with a 30a to 50a adapter (will have 50a in the 5er) with an additional battery bank and carry a portable gas generator in my truck for backup. Or, would I be better off going with an Onan generator and possibly something like this as a backup?

    I looked around and did not see any threads addressing this generator. I am new here so if I missed something already on here please accept my apologies and point me in the right direction. All opinions, thoughts, questions, experience, etc are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
  • KD4UPL's avatar
    KD4UPL
    Explorer
    May 07, 2017
    That's not anything I'd be interested in for an RV. Your RV should already have 1 or more batteries. I'm sure it already has many electrical outlets. All you need to do is install some solar panels on your roof with a good charge controller and add an inverter in your RV. A good 280 watt panel, charge controller, and 1,500 watt PSW inverter would likely cost less than they are selling this "generator" for and would be far more capable.
    In short, $1,800 is a lot of money for some very minimal equipment. Building a solar system on your RV would make much more sense.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    May 07, 2017
    First timers aren't allowed to post links, but you've managed to do that by not using url tags. Are you selling these things?

    Your 'solar generator' appears to be nothing more than a battery, and a poor one at that. Useless.
  • kerrlakeRoo's avatar
    kerrlakeRoo
    Explorer
    May 07, 2017
    This appears to be a charge controller, 1500 watt inverter, and the equivalent of a group 27 battery (80 amp hr) housed in a single box with outlets mounted on its exterior. Are you looking to run your AC from this or only led lights and charging computers, laptops etc?
    The box may have a bunch of 15 Amp outlets mounted and even a single 30 amp, but the inverter is only rated for a continuous 600 watts. That's 5 amps at 120 VAC. It does allow the addition of solar panels up to 270 watts but thats still far short of what many folks install on their RV.
    Weight on this unit is low, 20 lbs with the battery, so much of the high cost for the capability is because of being able to be carried to a remote location, is that a need for your application?
    I think there are better options for you in the conventional solar systems designed for RV installs.

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