My Amazing DIY Solar Generator
I remember the inspiration for building my solar generator clearly. It was close to 20 years ago and we were camping at the dunes in Oregon. Our campground neighbor, in a huge RV, ran his generator for about 2 hours one evening. Needless to say, it was annoying beyond compare — we go camping for
Posted — UpdatedI remember the inspiration for building my solar generator clearly. It was close to 20 years ago and we were camping at the dunes in Oregon. Our campground neighbor, in a huge RV, ran his generator for about 2 hours one evening. Needless to say, it was annoying beyond compare — we go camping for peace and quiet.
20 years ago I did not have a camcorder or a digital camera. My photography was old school and used film…you might remember how primitive that seems today. Just a year of so after I got my first digital camera I picked up a simple inverter for my truck and we charged things while under way. This concept works great if you are road tripping and spend a good part of your day driving. But recently we have spent a bit more time in a "base camp" type trip. Not driving a few hours each day limits the potential for keeping the camera battery topped off.
My solar generator is comprised of a single 12 volt, 10 watt solar panel that feeds a sealed 12 volt gel battery. To keep the battery in tip top shape, the current is routed through a small charge controller. The whole set up fits neatly into an aluminum attaché sized case. I use it now to charge my camera batteries via the inverter (which I borrow from my truck) or use it to charger things directly via the generator's cigarette socket. I picked up a "car adapter" for my laptop and my sweetie uses her car adapter for her iPhone. 120 volt items are covered with the inverter and the item specific car adapters fill their roles. To power even more devices I have a cigarette socket adapter with a USB port.
A couple years ago we did a big tour of four states here in the west. In many of the National parks we stayed in they have "generator free" campgrounds. These are always our first choice as tent campers. "Generator free" refers to noisy, smelly gasoline powered generators.