Posted by nospam on September 9, 2003, 9:28 am
I'm a home renter, so I can't go ripping up roofs at the moment, but I wanted
a relatively cheap "first intro" to solar. This also looks like a nice little
jobbie to take camping. Has anyone had any experience or crunched the numbers
on the Coleman 50-Watt Solar Backup Kit (link included below). Is $500 a
reasonable price, or like so many kits I hear you guys talking about, is it a
rip off? I guess more to the point, how much would you list this system at as
a reasonable retail for someone who has a basic background in wiring and
very simple circuitry?
(http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?trg=product%2Easp&catid 4&subid…8&hierid38&prdid034796)
Email address is wiandrew [AT] cs [d0t] indiana [d0t] edu, or just followup in
newsgroup.
Thanks!
Posted by Joe Fischer on September 9, 2003, 12:45 pm
nospam@nowhere.edu wrote:
: I'm a home renter, so I can't go ripping up roofs at the moment, but I wanted
: a relatively cheap "first intro" to solar. This also looks like a nice little
: jobbie to take camping. Has anyone had any experience or crunched the numbers
: on the Coleman 50-Watt Solar Backup Kit (link included below). Is $500 a
: reasonable price, or like so many kits I hear you guys talking about, is it a
: rip off? I guess more to the point, how much would you list this system at as
: a reasonable retail for someone who has a basic background in wiring and
: very simple circuitry?
:
:
(http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?trg=product%2Easp&catid 4&subid…8&hierid38&prdid034796)
The only other self contained system I know of is
www.powerpod.com
but the coleman would be lighter to haul around. :-)
Maybe somebody else knows of self contained systems.
Joe Fischer
--
3
Posted by Eric on September 9, 2003, 2:53 pm
> I'm a home renter, so I can't go ripping up roofs at the moment, but I wanted
> a relatively cheap "first intro" to solar. This also looks like a nice little
> jobbie to take camping. Has anyone had any experience or crunched the numbers
> on the Coleman 50-Watt Solar Backup Kit (link included below). Is $500 a
> reasonable price, or like so many kits I hear you guys talking about, is it a
> rip off? I guess more to the point, how much would you list this system at as
> a reasonable retail for someone who has a basic background in wiring and
> very simple circuitry?
>
>
(http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?trg=product%2Easp&catid 4&subid…8&hierid38&prdid034796)
>
> Email address is wiandrew [AT] cs [d0t] indiana [d0t] edu, or just followup in
> newsgroup.
>
> Thanks!
It's not way out of line, but you could probably look in the yellow
pages and ask a local solar person to set you up with something
similar. You could probably get a 64W or 75W panel instead without
increasing the cost. You could also choose to get a charge controller
with a display, which would be handy, although costs a bit more. They
could also advise you on the battery, although costco might actually
be a good source, depending on what you want.
Posted by Danno on September 14, 2003, 12:04 pm
wrote:
> I'm a home renter, so I can't go ripping up roofs at the moment, but I wanted
> a relatively cheap "first intro" to solar. This also looks like a nice little
> jobbie to take camping. Has anyone had any experience or crunched the numbers
> on the Coleman 50-Watt Solar Backup Kit (link included below). Is $500 a
> reasonable price, or like so many kits I hear you guys talking about, is it a
> rip off? I guess more to the point, how much would you list this system at as
> a reasonable retail for someone who has a basic background in wiring and
> very simple circuitry?
>
(http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?trg=product%2Easp&catid 4&subid…8&hierid38&prdid034796)
> Email address is wiandrew [AT] cs [d0t] indiana [d0t] edu, or just followup in
> newsgroup.
> Thanks!
I'm also renting, using a 75Watt ICP "Plug'n'Play" panel, through their CC20
charge controller. It was pretty easy to put together, no soldering or anything
is working well as my "baby steps" into solar power. I just mounted it on a
west-facing wall, and harvest the evening sun. Easy to add more panels, if I
want/need them. No chance of taking it camping, though, it's as permanent as
a renter can make it.
http://www,icpglobal.com
--
Slackware Linux 9.0
Solar Powered IBM Thinkpad560, Cable Modem, & SMC Router
1993 BRC Banzai w/60T Real Chainring & Deore XT drivetrain
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> a relatively cheap "first intro" to solar. This also looks like a nice little
> jobbie to take camping. Has anyone had any experience or crunched the numbers
> on the Coleman 50-Watt Solar Backup Kit (link included below). Is $500 a
> reasonable price, or like so many kits I hear you guys talking about, is it a
> rip off? I guess more to the point, how much would you list this system at as
> a reasonable retail for someone who has a basic background in wiring and
> very simple circuitry?
>
>