I am considering purchasing a foldable solar panel which will
primarily be used to charge my Batterygeek Portable Power Station on
backpacking and multi-day bike camping trips. Any recommendations on
a panel for this purpose would be greatly appreciated. Below is a
link to the manufacturer's spec page for the battery pack which may
help.
http://www.batterygeek.net/140Wh_Portable_Power_Station_SPPS140_3V_28V_p/spps200_batterygeek.htm
Thanks in advance!
Scott
I didn't notice any specifications on that url as to what input
voltage and current is required, unfortunately. But this is usenet,
so I'll engage in wild speculation. To be sure, you need to check
with the manufacturer, and look at a real data sheet. If all they
have is the YouTube video, that would be a warning sign that the
product is not very high quality.
It's clear that they mean to charge this battery pack from AC, and the
adapter looks like a typical 19V laptop switching power adapter. That
would make sense, since those are a commodity item, and readily
available. If this is so, then the charging input probably draws 3 to
4 Amps. From the form factor and weight, I'm guessing that the
underlying battery is Li-ion, meaning the charging circuit is not
going to be happy if it doesn't get all the power it expects (that is,
don't expect to put in low power and trickle charge). In practical
terms, we're now talking about a 60 to 80 watt solar panel. In
practical terms, if you used a rigid panel (which would be fragile in
backpacking terms), that would be about 5 square feet of area, and 10
pounds of weight. The "foldable" panels I've seen for sale to the
general public so far incorporate far less efficient cells, so you
would need more area, maybe two to three times as much. The same goes
for flexible, roll-out mats.
Also remember that the battery pack above needs 6 to 6.5 hours to
recharge, when it is plugged in to the wall. Even with the optimal
solar panel, could you point it at the sun for 6 hours? Maybe if you
had the right stand and kept adjusting it. Possibly practical for an
RV, but in primitive camping, it would be hard.
So what can you do? If it were me, I would just carry spare batteries
for my devices, and like all backpackers, carefully scrutinize
everything for size and weight. If I had a cell phone, I would carry
an extra, charged-up battery, and not talk much on the phone. I would
not bring a laptop, but if I did, then mabye I would bring an extra,
charged-up battery. A LOT of extra batteries can be bought for the
price of that Batterygeek unit.
Fuel cells are starting to become available to the consumer, and might
be another option. You would need to carry a supply of wood alcohol,
but it would be similar to carrying a fuel bottle for a camp stove.
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