# Powersource 1800



## angelgirl (Dec 13, 2012)

Has anyone used or tried the powersource 1800 for backup energy to run laptop lights etc.? I'm interested in something portable. Thanks

angelgirl


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## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

umm, seems pretty expensive for what you get but you usually do have to pay more for convience. look at all the reviews on Amazon and quite a few not so nice ones.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Here is a link so you all do not have to look it up. http://www.ebay.com/itm/POWERSOURCE...tDomain_0&hash=item35be5f441b#ht_11038wt_1255





$100's and $100's of Dollars to HIGH for what you are getting!! IMO


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

If you are talking about the one that I think you are, then it is (for me) hard to comment about it --because-- I can not see the components enough to tell which brands that they are and therefore judge the overall **quality** of the system . . . . . For that asking price..........And it is hardly "portable" . . . . .

But . .on the positive side it, is a reasonably good way to get started into renewable energy.....

And if it is the stuff that I think your mentioning, then it will do far more than just charge up your lap top . . . . . . .


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Ok . .Fireman posted while I was typing . . .so I didn't see the link . .. . .

It is what is inside that rectangular "box" that is what I can't see........................

A real top quality inverter-controller - battery could get up to that price very easy.........

Good inverters cost that much----- and most of them far more..

But I dought that the box's innards are any where near "five star" components.......


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi,

It says it has an 1800 watt modfied sine wave inverter -- maybe $150

A 51 amp hour 12 volt battery -- maybe $100

They don't say what the wattage of the PV panel (probably intentionally), but a generous guess might be 100 watts -- there are 100 watt PV panels on ebay for $170.

And, a charge controller -- you can buy cheap ones for $20, but a good Morningstar Sunsave 10 amp would be about $45.

So, that's $465 plus some wire, switches, a meter...

I'd keep looking, or make your own from off shelf components.

I've collected a few descriptions of small PV systems (some of them portable) here -- they are pretty easy to make, and that way you can choose good quality components.
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PV/pv.htm#Small Systems



Gary


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## angelgirl (Dec 13, 2012)

Thanks for all the info. I wanted something portable enough to move easily and could be used for various duties should I need to power cell phone, laptop, dc light, even take camping. 
Gary, thanks for the links. I'll have some reading to do but am encouraged that I can make my own portable system with preimum products at a more economic price structure and have fun doing it.

angelgirl


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Since you keep using the word "portable" gotta warn you that the PV panel on that link has a tempered glass front . . . . . . .So you must be very careful about not "throwing" it into your car trunk.
The battery in that thing is darn small . . .like a very small gas tank for your car......

The only good thing about a system like that is it is "prewired" . .so it is a plug and play system.............some people can not hook up "wires".


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

SolarGary said:


> Hi,
> 
> 
> They don't say what the wattage of the PV panel (probably intentionally), but a generous guess might be 100 watts -- there are 100 watt PV panels on ebay for $170.
> ...


It does state it is a 90 watt panel.


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## Allen15 (Apr 18, 2013)

I dug through some old Wind-Sun forum archives, where the merits of that system were heavily debated, and I think for one to accurately make up their mind whether or not that was a worthwhile purchase, they must first more accurately define their goals for same.

Yes, that product probably works. It probably can't do most of what the highly inflated marketing claims said it could (that I'd been able to find), so their marketing at least was, and may still be highly misleading about that system capacity.

Define what you consider to be portable? That is probably the biggest limitation on a system design, and even though that one has a rather low capacity, any higher may step outside of your "portable" zone.

As manufactured, that system has a 90 watt mono-crystalline solar panel, a 51 Ah AGM battery, and an 1800 watt modified sine wave inverter. Total weight is about 100 lbs, but by any but the merely casual users, probably seriously under capacity for both battery & solar recharge.

I wouldn't buy one for myself, but my needs/wants may be much different than yours, & I'm also 6'6"/285 lbs, with no worries about hefting the pair of 100 Ah batteries that I have in a home-made version of that kind of system, & I already went to the bother of buying tools to crimp 4 ga cables...

That system will drain much faster than it can recharge, & if used heavily, it will greatly shorten the life of the battery, because of over-discharge to excess.


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## Allen15 (Apr 18, 2013)

That's also why I use & recommend something like Anderson connectors - so it is impossible to hook up the wires wrong, but I don't think they were doing that.



Jim-mi said:


> ...[snip]...
> 
> The only good thing about a system like that is it is "prewired" . .so it is a plug and play system.............some people can not hook up "wires".


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## Allen15 (Apr 18, 2013)

For the loads you are trying to run, you probably don't need or want an 1800 watt inverter, although you may be much better off with a true-sinewave inverter-based system. I've built (& taken it camping) a similar system, so I can vouch for it being feasible, and can even answer any questions you have about building such.

Add up all of the wattages of the devices that you might like to use, and then double that, which will give you a decent margin of safety, especially if they are all small electronic loads, not electric motors (electric motors should be considered separately because of their start-up power vs. running power).

Decide how long you will need to run those devices to find out how much power you really need to both have, & also how much you'd need to generate daily to recharge your system from daily use. After that, you can determine the system size needed to accomplish that, and probably thereafter decide what you can do without, to get it back to being "portable"...



angelgirl said:


> Thanks for all the info. I wanted something portable enough to move easily and could be used for various duties should I need to power cell phone, laptop, dc light, even take camping.
> Gary, thanks for the links. I'll have some reading to do but am encouraged that I can make my own portable system with preimum products at a more economic price structure and have fun doing it.
> 
> angelgirl


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

angelgirl said:


> I'm interested in something portable. Thanks


Mine is portable----Kinda!


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Now your getting serious..............


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## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

Fire-Man said:


> Mine is portable----Kinda!


Is that a battery box under the panels?

Thats a really good idea and I may have to steal it some day.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

There's a lot to be said for a mobile rig.
There has been several people who are remotely "building" and are concerned about security..

Well----- take it with you.........

No question about powering the whole hose and shop with that rig.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

blooba said:


> Is that a battery box under the panels?
> 
> Thats a really good idea and I may have to steal it some day.


Yes, it was built to keep batteries in if I wanted. It stores the charge controllers etc. a 00 wire runs to 2 small trailers with a total of 14 deepcycle batteries that are now kept under a shed. Here is a picture of the inside of the box you see a little of under the panels. 
 

The solar panel trailer is set-up close to a storage building that is in the woods. My water pump and all electrial(inverter etc) is in this shed. Look past the 275 gallon watering can in this picture and you can see the panels close to the woods. The building is behind them in the woods between the panels and the camper you can see the top of.

 Once I get my cabin finished I will set this trailer and a second set (1500 more watts I have in storage) close to the cabin.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

This is the back side of the trailer before I parked it close to the woods and one of the small trailers that has 6 batteries in the box. I move this little battery trailer around the farm for a power source when I want to build something or need some power to run tools. No power lines within a half a mile from here.




Some of you might remember seeing this picture some time back. I used aluminum ladders for all the framing to support the panels. This trailer moves very easy as you can see from the Tow Vehicle it is hooked to.


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## angelgirl (Dec 13, 2012)

Fire-Man, very nice portable. 
angelgirl


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