Solar Score?

[Diesel]

Thought this was a pretty darn good deal, what do you guys think

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96350

[prkchp76]

kept taking gme to google??????????

[Ulath]

I like it. I went to pick one up at our local store but they were out. I would buy a charge controller somewhere else though. I looked at theirs and they where not much account.

[Xolar]

Solar

Heres the skinny on the panels, always compare the price per watt the harbor panel is 159.99 / 25 = $6.4 a watt this is high. Look here http://www.advancepower.net/solarpan.htm the API panels are a good panel and the price is 3.75 watt this is a way better price. True you will have to have them shipped but you can also pick up a good charge controller at the same time and some usefull information.

Everybody out there that is putting in a generator should look into installing a inverter that will allow them to charge batteries and at least go silent for as long as possible.

If you have the grid the new sytems; the hybrids are grid tie solar systems with autotransfer battery back up, and most of the states will give you a rebate and uncle sam will let you take 30% off your taxes.

P.S. I travel

[wac220]

Heres the skinny on the panels, always compare the price per watt the harbor panel is 159.99 / 25 = $6.4 a watt this is high. Look here http://www.advancepower.net/solarpan.htm the API panels are a good panel and the price is 3.75 watt this is a way better price. True you will have to have them shipped but you can also pick up a good charge controller at the same time and some usefull information.

Everybody out there that is putting in a generator should look into installing a inverter that will allow them to charge batteries and at least go silent for as long as possible.

If you have the grid the new sytems; the hybrids are grid tie solar systems with autotransfer battery back up, and most of the states will give you a rebate and uncle sam will let you take 30% off your taxes.

P.S. I travel

Looks like the price of something in this world is dropping. While reading the old threads, I checked the link and still good but price dropped to $2.05/watt. I haven't done much comparison yet.

[lalakai]

update regarding solar. Prices on a "per watt" basis are very good right now. But take some time before jumping in and getting started, to determine just what type and size of system you need/want. Evaluate whether you want a 12 volt or 24 volt system.....it will affect the type of panels you get and the supporting components. Batteries are still the "choke point" in the system due to their costs and weight, along with the need for adequate solar input to recharge the batteries in an acceptable time period. Batteries themselves vary widely; true solar batteries won't even identify a "cold cranking amp" rating, they will only give an "amp hour" rating. There are good forums out there dedicated to solar and you can get very good info from them.

[Applejack]

We are still looking to go for whole house solar, but not sure of pricing for that yet. I fear it will be to expensive. We are looking hard at a small one for running fridg. and freezer at this time.

[lalakai]

Applejack, do some checking; there are fridges and freezers geared towards solar and that will help with the power draw. The first rule for solar, is KNOW YOUR DEMAND! You can use a simple tool that will measure the watt usage of an applicance, giving you a very good idea of the average draw, allowing you to compile an accurate picture of your power needs. Too many people buy/develop a solar system without having a good handle on their actual power needs. You can start small and build up, but some of your componenets are costly to be upgrading too often, so it's better to bite the bullet early and get those items sized for what your final goal is.

http://forum.solar-electric.com/forum.php is a very good source of information regarding solar and it's also where I buy most of my stuff for solar.

Also.......there is quite a bit of discussion regarding "renting" the solar system versus purchasing it. The pricing is attractive for renting/leasing, but the overall cost will be significantly greater than purchasing. Location will also enter into it, but in some cases, the payback period for when a solar system will pay for itself, can be as short as 6-7 years. Don't be talked into renting/leasing until you do your homework.

[Applejack]

lalakai, thanks for the info on the appliances. We will be checking on that as well. I will check out the forum solar-electric source as well when I can get a little more time to come back to that sight. Right now our whole house natural gas generator went out and we are in the process of having the generac company make the repairs as what went wrong with it is the same thing that happened 3 years ago. If they fix it this time that is fine, but if not we are looking to have them cut a deal on a new system. We will see how that goes in a couple of days.

[CountryGuy]

Applejack - What went out in your Generac? I've been thinking of seriously looking at a unit before winter, generac or kohler. So u saying this is second time in 3 yrs has me questioning the Generac's reliability.

[Applejack]

Countryguy, Generac makes a good product, but unfortunately, we bought in the year that they had a problem with the rotor/stator on them that year. This was back in May of 07. They replaced for free the stator in 2011 and it was working great until about 2 weeks ago when the same problem happened again. There is one other thing (a coil) which is normal ware and tear on anything you have but that is small potatoes compared to this. We are looking at over a thousand dollars to fix this problem. that is why the generac company is paying for the problem. They have been really great about this whole deal. But this is the second time and so they have reopened the case. We might I hope is to get an upgraded generator, but we will have to see what they are going to do. We talked with the service guy about the kohler and he said they are more expensive for upkeep then the generac parts are. Both are good, it's just that we unknowingly bought ours in the wrong year as no one knew they had a glich in the system at that time.

[CountryGuy]

Applejack, Thanks. It still seems a bit concerning that if they supposedly know what the fix was and applied it to yours in 2011 that it only lasted 3 more years of what I'm guessing is very limited use before it died again.

I need to look into all it more. I think Kohler is using Onan generators on their units which have a long and excellent service record. Or at least they used to. Know with most things having so much low cost, low quality foreign made parts anything is a risk.

[Applejack]

Country Guy, the main company thinks the stater was replaced with another bummer. this time they made sure and upgraded some things. The actually came out today and fixed it. it sounds so different than when we first bought it and even from the fix in 2011. I think and pray that they really did get it right this time. It is not even vibrating anymore. It could be that the person working on it the first time did not do it right either. So unsure of that. But it is so different now. I can tell you we did look into the Kohler ones. They are very good but they cost more to work on and the parts are more expensive. So this is something to think about as well. That stater is over $1000.00 and Generac replaced it now for free twice. the service I got from the main company was excellent. If we have this problem again they are going to trade it out and give us an upgrade.

[Tomcat58]

[QUOTE=Xolar;10817

Everybody out there that is putting in a generator should look into installing a inverter that will allow them to charge batteries and at least go silent for as long as possible.

Solar is silent and gas free. I agree with your post ! I wanted to try solar so I started with a solar panel on my RV. From there I slowly learned more but lack the money to go big so I went multi use with the same panels, controller and battery bank.

I end up with a solar system that charges my RV, is backup power for blackouts at home, is a mobile generator operating my Makita battery charger etc on remote work sites and last but not least I use the same solar system to fish and hunt with.

Have a look at my multi use solar system !

[lalakai]

Sweet job Tomcat, good imagination. My system is portable but you definitely went outside the box. Should I ask what size batteries you have in the boat?