I will believe the Saudis don't see any upcoming problems with Ghawar when they cancel one of their projects due to low oil prices. If they continue to be full steam ahead with increasing their capacity then I think they are aware that Ghawar may not be as robust in 5 years time as they would like us to believe.
Sharp 123W Photovoltaic Panel, 155mm square multi-crystal silicon solar cells with 12.39% module conversion efficiency
200-Amp MK Gel-Cell Battery, Two @ $450.00 each
AIM 5000W Inverter, Surge power capability: 10000 Watts $539.00
Morningstar Pro 15 Solar Charge Controller, $179.00
I like the idea, a lot.
Yesterday I had to drag a stupid generator to a remote location to work on a wooden ramp I was building. Generators are cheaper, but I dislike them. I got far more solar radiation on my skin than I should have. Might as well make use of it. _________________ Conform . Consume . Obey .
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:15 am Post subject: Re: The Solar Power Wagon
I like the idea of building a vehicle that's part golf cart, part quad bike...
Somewhat like the picture below - except minus the pedals, add a canopy with solar panels. Add golf cart motors and batteries. Add charger controller and inverter. Add 12V and 110V outlet plugs. Maybe throw a gasoline generator on the back for reserve power.
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:16 am Post subject: Re: The Solar Power Wagon
I think the charging of batteries can be done in a fixed location. If the batteries were portable it may make the project easier to work with.
Fixed site would have the solar panels in an optimum position, wiring, charge controller and battery bank. being a fixed site, there is little risk of damage to the components during transport. The system can be expanded with more panels, more batteries, depending on the charge controller capacity.
Mobile unit would be batteries and inverter, maybe a status monitor. Bigger job, take more batteries. I like the cargo trailer, but as a unit its weight may make it difficult to load on a truck. Perhaps a trailer that can be towed would be more practical, would also be lockable if it had to stay on the jobsite. _________________ If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984
I gotta get me one of these. _________________ If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: Re: The Solar Power Wagon
The critical part of this system is the inverter. Many inverters are cheap pieces of crap that fail within a year and some inverters only last a few months.
See Otherpower.com for a discussion of inverter failure.
Another component of this system that could be made less expensive are the batteries. Running power tools mostly requires heavy but intermittent loads rather than deep cycling, so an ordinary car battery would work. One or two truck agm or optima batteries might be a better value than the $450 gel batteries.
A really good panel is the Mitsubishi 125 Watt, 12 Volt Solar Panel. Mitsubishi panels have very close tolerances between rated and actual output and are very popular in Germany, the #1 consumer of solar panels.
To test all you need is to get an inverter and connect it to a car battery. You should be able to build this thing for about $1200 with less expensive batteries.
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:07 pm Post subject: Re: The Solar Power Wagon
TommyJefferson wrote:
Thanks tsakach!
I suspected the wagon was not optimally priced.
I've got a good handle on battery and PV panel technology. Inverters and charge controlers are something I need to learn a lot more about.
Thanks!
Welcome! I was half-expecting to be flamed for suggesting the use of car batteries or something like that.
Batteries, PV and solar charge controllers might be all you need to do this. Most ac power tools and many appliances operate with a universal motor which is basically a dc motor that can also run on ac. So an inverter may not be necessary at all.
To determine if you have a universal motor, look for brushes inside the motor and windings on both stator and rotor. AC-only induction motors have windings only on the stator. Universal motors are smaller and noisy compared to induction motors which are larger and run quieter. See Why is a table saw quiet but a circular saw loud? for details.
To run a universal motor you just need a sufficiently high DC power source. Four or more 12 volt batteries connected in series will provide enough voltage to operate universal motors that normally run on single phase 115vac. For larger tools you may need to use six to eight batteries in series.
The somewhat tricky issue is charging a higher than normal voltage battery bank from solar. The straightforward approach is to simply setup a 48 volt system that will work with most solar charge controllers. Stepping up the voltage from the charge controller with a transformer from an ac car battery charger would be another solution.
For the charge controller, a Tristar TS-45 would be a good value. It is a PWM charger and allows adjustment of voltage setpoints through a rs232 cable.
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