solar power

 Hi there i hope i'm in the right sort of group here. Basically i could
do with some advice please, I am going to be living in a tent for
6months this summer and thought it would be good to take a small
fridge (beer fridge sort of size) a stereo and some form of lighting
just to make life easier! So i immediately thought that a solar panel
would be great and inexspensive, i know i will need some form of
invertor but this is my problem i cant find one that will power what i
require. Can any one help with any suggestions? Or maybe even a better
solution? Look forward to hearing from you,
 Cheers Drekers

  $10-$15K worth of solar panels should run a 10 cu ft fridge nicely.

 

Yeah.. best dig a hole and put yer beer in there or leave it in a creek
or stream to keep it cold.

Lights are pretty easy .. get LEDs and you can run those off a small
panel and 12 volt battery.  Stereo .. that depends on how loud you want
it to go.

A simple radio can last months on normal batteries.




@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...

 

You might try RV sites.  If you're going to drive into town once in awhile
and have other power besides just solar (say, a portable genny), it sounds
do-able.

LED lights are expensive but efficient and last 'forever'.  We have several
'Coleman Lanterns' that are really just battery-operated compact flourescent
that we keep around for winter power outages.  They seem to hold up pretty
well (ran for over eight hours on one set of alkaline batteries) and aren't
too expensive.

For entertainment you might consider MP3 player instead.  Anything with
moving parts/ motor draws more power and runs batteries down faster
(cassette, CD, vinyl).  (or learn card games :-)

daestrom

 

   We use those for hurricane lighting here in Florida, and they are
life-changing.  They are so good that we have tossed virtually all of our
flame-based emergency lighting stuff.  The batteries last a long time and they
give true room-filling light.  Some of them have an external power jack.  You
could run a couple off of a deep-cycle battery and only need to charge it every
week or three.  Your cheapest 12-volt light is those fluorescent 12-volt
automotive "trouble lights".  I see them for $9.95 occasionally.  Again, those
will cause very little drain to a 12-volt battery.

   Avoid candles, and gas lanterns.  Unless you are camping in the winter, all
of that stuff gives off more heat than you can believe.  Not only that, tents
burn easily!  (OK, OK, I accidently burned a tent down with a Coleman lantern
once.  Yes, I was inside it at the time.  Yes, I was surrounded by ammunition
that loudly and explosively announced the fire's presence.  Yes, I ended up both
burned AND shot before it was all over.)

   I don't know how much you plan on "roughing it" but some small portable TV's
run off of 12 volts and take little more power than a light bulb.

Vaughn