Anyone use the Harbor Freight solar panel kits?

Gdetrailer wrote:

TomG2 wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
..snip.....

There are plenty of better "kits" which are at better pricing AND quality per $/Watt..

Thanks for giving the OP some positive feedback instead of the "HF ain't no good" stuff. The HF setups can be had for a lot less if one watches for their almost every weekend "Sales" and coupons. Still not a high quality outfit. I get that. Keep up the good work.

Tom,

Most if not all of the HF "coupons" exclude the HF panels and kits now days.

They don't seem to put their 100W panel kit on sale very often either..

IF it was a good deal and good quality for the money HF wants for them I WOULD have them filling all 26ft of my trailer roof..

Why? Yeah, I DO have a HF store 15 minutes from my home.. One went in at a local mall near me about 3-4 yrs ago.

That in it's self SHOULD SPEAK VOLUMES.

By the way, I AM NOT A HF HATER, have a lot of HF tools and even a 8700W gen. Sometimes they do get a few good deals and sometimes not.. Then there is those times where you NEED a tool for a one off project and don't wish to spend hundreds on that tool.

There is a time and place for HF, solar panels, not so much, much better deals for better quality out there in this case.

I just used a coupon and got the HF panels for $142, I figured I'll try them out on our trip next week, if they don't do the job I'll return them.

TomG2 wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
..snip.....

There are plenty of better "kits" which are at better pricing AND quality per $/Watt..

Thanks for giving the OP some positive feedback instead of the "HF ain't no good" stuff. The HF setups can be had for a lot less if one watches for their almost every weekend "Sales" and coupons. Still not a high quality outfit. I get that. Keep up the good work.

Tom,

Most if not all of the HF "coupons" exclude the HF panels and kits now days.

They don't seem to put their 100W panel kit on sale very often either..

IF it was a good deal and good quality for the money HF wants for them I WOULD have them filling all 26ft of my trailer roof..

Why? Yeah, I DO have a HF store 15 minutes from my home.. One went in at a local mall near me about 3-4 yrs ago.

That in it's self SHOULD SPEAK VOLUMES.

By the way, I AM NOT A HF HATER, have a lot of HF tools and even a 8700W gen. Sometimes they do get a few good deals and sometimes not.. Then there is those times where you NEED a tool for a one off project and don't wish to spend hundreds on that tool.

There is a time and place for HF, solar panels, not so much, much better deals for better quality out there in this case.

pianotuna wrote:
He could search the forums. My intent was to save him money.

Here is a link that may help him:

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

I could search the forums and I did; I came up empty handed. Thank you for sharing the link and thanks all for your input.

Brian

am1958 wrote:
I bought the following kit. It came reasonably recommended and at a decent price. It was simple to install on the roof if you have a modicum of handyman skills and will keep the battery topped up without much issue.

Link

I was camping almost every weekend and was fed up of emptying the fridge and filling it every week while I stored the trailer. I thought that this would be my salvation. It'll top the battery up daily throughout the summer in uncovered storage and all will be well...

The upshot is that, in the best weather for solar, the 20lb propane tank only lasts about 3 days and the fridge fails me... Where I am that's $20/week to not have to move 5lbs of stuff in and out of the fridge twice a week... I like the solar topping off the battery so well but am a tad peeved my plan was a failure...

Not to change the subject.. But, if your 20 pound propane tank only last for 3 days running you fridge you have a major propane leak somewhere !!!!

God, I only go through about 1-2 tanks a season and I run the fridge on propane a lot. Plus, the new girlfriend likes to use the oven.

Something is awfully wrong.

Gdetrailer wrote:
..snip.....

There are plenty of better "kits" which are at better pricing AND quality per $/Watt..

Thanks for giving the OP some positive feedback instead of the "HF ain't no good" stuff. The HF setups can be had for a lot less if one watches for their almost every weekend "Sales" and coupons. Still not a high quality outfit. I get that. Keep up the good work.

TomG2 wrote:
Some people don't enjoy searching the Internet for the minutiae and exotica of a subject. The HF and other kits don't require learning about the advantages of mppt over pwm or the why of monocrystalline panels for those who could care less. For a low price they can get a system that works and is easy to set up and understand. Not the best. Even the hobbyist/experts on here have trouble designing the perfect system for a member that wants to gain a couple of days camping out of their two batteries.

Tom, that IS a lame excuse, period.

Lets compare things a bit.

HF 100W solar kit $189



Consists of qty of 4 25W panels (each panel is 40" x 13 5/8" or 40" x 54" all panels side by side), 2 cheap 12V LED lights, 10A non adjustable controller, a "4 in one" adapter cable with special nonstandard nonweather proof connectors.

WindyNation 100W panel kit $158 (from link am1958 gave)



WindyNation 100W panel kit, consist of ONE 40"x 26" 100W panel plus 30A adjustable controller and 40 ft of cable using industry standard MC4 weather proof connectors.

To me, the Windynation kit is not only $30 LESS than the HF, it is also much less "complicated" because it is only ONE 100W PANEL.

The HF has FOUR 25W panels and they REQUIRE the use of a SPECIAL "combiner" which does not use industry standard connectors so you are locked into that cable and adding to the cable becomes complicated by locating more of those connectors or cutting off the connectors and making your own wiring harness.

The Windynation kit the single panel is 40" x 26", the HF kit all of the panels set side by side will be 54" across or TWICE the size of the Windynation panel..

The HF kit you get a 10A non adjustable controller, you cannot add more panels without replacing their controller or buying another "kit".

The Windy nation kit gives you a 30A adjustable controller (has user controllable setpoints) which allows more flexibility AND you can simply ADD several more 100W panels without the need to replace the controller.

At one time HF DID sell a 45W kit at a KILLER price, but now days not so much of a deal nor is it any less complicated than the Windynation kit.

I see no "advantage" to buying a more expensive HF kit..

There are plenty of better "kits" which are at better pricing AND quality per $/Watt..

Any names of good charge controlers, how about solar panels? What makes a good charge controler? What makes a good solar panel? Say for example who makes the best quality system and who makes a good mid level system?

I bought the following kit. It came reasonably recommended and at a decent price. It was simple to install on the roof if you have a modicum of handyman skills and will keep the battery topped up without much issue.

Link

I was camping almost every weekend and was fed up of emptying the fridge and filling it every week while I stored the trailer. I thought that this would be my salvation. It'll top the battery up daily throughout the summer in uncovered storage and all will be well...

The upshot is that, in the best weather for solar, the 20lb propane tank only lasts about 3 days and the fridge fails me... Where I am that's $20/week to not have to move 5lbs of stuff in and out of the fridge twice a week... I like the solar topping off the battery so well but am a tad peeved my plan was a failure...

pianotuna wrote:
Tom,

Flesch-Kincaid rating on the articles is grade 7.

The Tom rating is that it is full of typical hobbyist jargon and guaranteed to turn off casual observer. Believe it or not, there are people who drive cars that could care less how a camshaft functions. I first encountered this long ago when people in the camera club said that I could not take good pictures with a f3.5 lens. I could care less about Harbor Freight, but please suggest an alternative that is cost effective, as easy to put together, and can be purchased (and returned) at a local store.

More from the article to prove my point:

"Yet another LI format is lithium-titanate (LTO) batteries. It looks as if these are similar in cost to the liFE4, but have ten times the cycle life. They can be discharged at C10 which is pretty amazing. Service temperature is -50 to +60 C (-58 f to 140 f) and they can be charged at -30 C (-22 F)."

Worthless information for someone wanting to charge up batteries he already owns for a couple of days a month.

Tom,

Flesch-Kincaid rating on the articles is grade 7.