Solar Generators...worth the price?

ejt1469 · May 25, 2011

Anyone have any experience with one of these? I like the no fuel needed, but are they reliable and do they generate enough power to justify the price? Thanks.

FYI...you can get his gas generator at the Gozales Outlet for $324 this weekend ($499 on sale for $399 less 75 for spending over $225, and no LA sales tax).

http://www.homelite.com/catalog/generators/HG5000

glimmerman · May 25, 2011

Might be a little low on "solar" rays during a hurricane.

sandman7925 · May 25, 2011

It doesn't say anything about being solar powered :confused:

ejt1469 · May 25, 2011

The generator referenced was just an FYI on what seems to be a good deal. And there is usually plenty of sun after a storm.

Leonidas · May 25, 2011

Depends how badly you want your cellphone charged?

Mac204 · May 26, 2011

ejt1469 said:
The generator referenced was just an FYI on what seems to be a good deal. And there is usually plenty of sun after a storm.

Except at night....

dantheman · May 26, 2011

This is a strange thread ...

ejt1469 · May 26, 2011

This is a strange thread ...

Yea, and very helpful posts. I thought it was a straight-forward question, but what do I know. But, cellphones are important!

CJB1911 · May 26, 2011

ejt1469 said:
Anyone have any experience with one of these? I like the no fuel needed, but are they reliable and do they generate enough power to justify the price? Thanks.

FYI...you can get his gas generator at the Gozales Outlet for $324 this weekend ($499 on sale for $399 less 75 for spending over $225, and no LA sales tax).

http://www.homelite.com/catalog/generators/HG5000

Pick one

YES, NO, MAYBE

Leonidas · May 27, 2011

There wasn't a link to see what you were looking at. Granted, I am technologically retarded, but is there such a thing as a solar generator? I know of solar panels, but to get an appreciable amount of harvested power requires huge amounts of money, dozens of large panels, and a sizable bank of batteries. For a few hundred bucks all you'll be able to do is charge a cellphone, GPS or maybe a laptop. I'd like to see what you're considering. I may be more out of touch than I thought.

El Rubio · May 28, 2011

The solar generator will give very little power for the money it costs when compared to something like the gasoline generator you linked to. I'm no expert, but I've been told that and an OHV engine is desirable because it actually pumps the oil and not just splashes it like a lawnmower engine. This supposedly makes them long-lived and reliable. Other things I've been told to look for were cast iron piston heads or cast iron sleeved and copper windings in the generator coil instead of aluminum. The Homelight looks just like the Briggs and Stratton my brother in law converted to propane. He had a 100 gal propane tank setup just for it and a gas hibachi. He calculated the run time at something like 3-4 weeks continuous on propane. I have a Generac portable converted natural gas - runs great and no gasoline or sunshine necessary.

cajun 22 · May 29, 2011

El Rubio makes several good points. Just remember when you convert a generator from gas or propane to natural gas you also lose some of your KW/hp. Natural gas does not create as much horsepower in an internal combustion engine. This translates to less KW output from the generator. So if you do this just size the generator accordingly.

Sorry for going off topic. I have nothing offer on the solar request.

mb504 · May 29, 2011

Depending on the quality of the components in this "solar generator" it's either a good deal or a rip off. http://www.mysolarbackup.com $1697.00
Some specs:
1800 watt
90 watt Solar Panel

It looks pretty good and is portable. You could make your own, by with the following.

2 x 45W Solar Panel
http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html $180 (on sale)
1500W Inverter
http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-CPI-1575-Power-Inverter/dp/B00126IDDC $93
2250 W UPS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842102113 $619

So you could make a similar system for just over a grand ($180 + $180 + $93 + $619 ), but won't look as pretty as that prepackaged unit.

You could also get those solar panels, a few car batteries, and the inverter. This would probably save you a bit more cash and would allow easy expansion as you could add more 12V batteries as time/space/money allows. Doing this would be more efficient, since you would be converting the power DC-AC-DC-AC, but just DC-AC.

One other thing worth mentioning is that you could install a solar power on your home, which you could get a grant to offset a lot of the cost. You would get a lot more power capacity. The cost would be a lot more, you could then add a bank of batteries for the night.

ejt1469 · May 30, 2011

I'd like to see what you're considering.

http://www.mysolarbackup.com/ - This is one I was refereing to.

Thanks for the info!

JadeRaven · May 30, 2011

Solar is not worth the price IMO unless, as mentioned above, you're using it to offset your normal monthly power bill, and even then it's still expensive / large / ugly etc. In theory you could run your whole house on solar, but you'd need quite a lot of panels. In reality it's relatively simple to run your house on a natural gas generator.

As years pass it'll get cheaper and more efficient. . . and maybe more feasible.

I think for now though unless you have a big budget, solar and batteries is only going to allow you to run a handful of household items.

*Edit - my opinion is based on research as of 4-5 years ago. . . FWIW

dantheman · May 30, 2011

That's an interesting set up , but the output is really too low to be much use for a home environment . MAYBE at a camp out in the boonies with limited electrical requirements . If you parallel a couple more batteries in the ckt and increase your amp/hour rating it would help .

dantheman · May 30, 2011

Forget about adding batteries . I just read the FAQ section and they said it's a sealed unit and you can't add to it . Looking at the specs , it just doesn't have enough amp/hours to be worth it . I'd rather go with a conventional generator .

Cookoff · Aug 3, 2011

inverter gen

spend your money on a good honda or yamaha inverter gas gen, for about 1000 bucks you can get a 2000 watt inverter gen, they will run all your sinsative equipment, computers etc. I have the yamaha 2000 inverter gen, it runs at half load for 8 hours burns a gallon and a half of gas.. and very quite, at half load the gen. runs at half speed...

dantheman · Aug 3, 2011

Cookoff said:
at half load the gen. runs at half speed...

Huh ?

I Agent · Aug 3, 2011

You may want check this out?

http://www.mysolarbackup.com/features.html

Solar Generators...worth the price?

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