# Harbor Freight 45 watt solar panel kit - opinions?



## ozarkcat (Sep 8, 2004)

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the 45 watt panel kit that Harbor Freight offers here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90599
We're thinking about picking one up with our rebate check, but figured I'd ask if anyone had an opinion on it first. Thanks!


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## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

ozarkcat said:


> Hi all,
> I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the 45 watt panel kit that Harbor Freight offers here:
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90599
> We're thinking about picking one up with our rebate check, but figured I'd ask if anyone had an opinion on it first. Thanks!


I have several of them, one new(never hooked up), one on my tractor shed for lights etc. Two hooked into my Solar array. I personally feel for their Cost they are Fine, sure they will not last 25 years. Not the best of panels and the Charge Controller is not that good, but works. You have to keep in mind what They will do---45 watts Max meaning You will not be able to Go OFF-Grid with one--LOL. If you don't have solar now, I would Suggest you buy one and "Play" with it. It will help You get a better understanding on Solar. The one on my Remote Tractor Shed is hooked to two golfcart batteries and it gives me lights and I can run a few electric tools for a little while with a Inverter. Again keep in mind with this Kit you might Collect 200 or so--watts in a pretty sunny day, meaning you could run a 100 watt light bulb 2 hours or a 60 watt bulbs 3 to 4 hours or with a inverter you could run a really small fridge for maybe 5 to 6 hrs. Have Fun!!


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Why do you need an inverter like the description says? If you're using 12VDC, will it work as sold?


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## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

Ed Norman said:


> Why do you need an inverter like the description says? If you're using 12VDC, will it work as sold?


ED, It will work to run 12 volt things, but you will need a Battery for Storage. You will "not" need a Inverter if you are not going to run electric things that require 120 volts.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Inverter is to go 12vdc to 110vac

Those *kits* are a low end starter.
Very limited amount of *power*

BUT . .its a place to start and get your feet wet seeing that . . .goodness . . . .solar power thingys really can\do work.


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## ed/IL (May 11, 2002)

If you can afford it this is a better deal. 200w High-efficiency mono-crystalline solar cells for less then $4/watt I am getting one for motor home. http://dmsolar.com/solar-module-2.html.


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## RayG IA (Jan 22, 2008)

I started out with two of these kits in 2006. The nice thing is that all you "have to" add is batteries. I used three deep cycle marine batteries. This got me up and running for under $600. You can stop right here and have something that allows you to recharge batteries, power a CB radio and run a small inverter for your computer. 

I installed 3 different types of 12v outlets, all fused, in the porch.

1. Phono plug that I use with the light that comes with the kit
2. Standard cigarette lighter that I use to power a small inverted, 12v radios and a 12v fan.
3. Standard 120v outlet I use one of the 5w bulbs that come with the kit in a standard lamp.

The next thing I did was buy a better charge controller that will allow me to expand the panels. 

In 2007 I purchased another one of these kits and added the panels to the system.

The system isn't much, but is has allowed my to be a whole lot more comfortable in the two power outages that have occurred here since I installed the system. If tshtf today, I wouldn't be able to produce much power, but I would be able to produce some and that is better than most people will be able to do. This along with a wood stove for heat and the propane range in the kitchen would give me a leg up on most. The other thing my small system does, is provide the 12v I need for the next steps.

The next thing on my list is water. I plan to install a cistern that could be filled by running the generator for the 220v deep well pump or capturing rainfall. With a 12v pump and propane water heater from an RV I will have the ability to have a hot shower. This goes a long ways to make life easier to bear.

I also want to get a propane refrigerator from an RV and install it in the shop. They don't provide a lot of space, but again, some is better than none, in my mind.


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## buslady (Feb 14, 2008)

Hello. I am new to the forum, but I have been a lurker for a long time. I am planning on purchasing the solar panel kit from Harbor Freight, and was wondering what kind of controller would I need to purchase to run two of the kits together. Thank you for any information that you can give me. Buslady


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## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

buslady said:


> Hello. I am new to the forum, but I have been a lurker for a long time. I am planning on purchasing the solar panel kit from Harbor Freight, and was wondering what kind of controller would I need to purchase to run two of the kits together. Thank you for any information that you can give me. Buslady


This will work Good for two of these 45 watt kits! 
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=94048


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

You can find these kits on ebay for less.

ED/IL,

Did you notice the minimum order of 4 of those panels to get that price. http://www.sunelec.com/ has some good deals on panels without the large order.


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## buslady (Feb 14, 2008)

Hi. Thanks for answering me. I have not checked Ebay yet, but will. I can get the one from Harbor freight now for 179. This is from the club price, and the shipping is really cheap. I will check Ebay before placing my order. . I don't know anything about solar, but I am sure wanting to learn. again, thanks, buslady


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## greg273 (Aug 5, 2003)

Yep, 'learning by doing' is the best way, if you can afford to make a few mistakes. Having forums like this is a great help along the way. Get the panels, hook them up, see what you can and cannot do with them power and battery-wise, I think you will get hooked on the concept of photovoltaics. I had considered a small wind turbine for my site, but decided to invest the money into a larger PV/battery system. The maintenence issue was one factor, its good to know the PVs will just sit there, doing their thing for a long time with little attention.


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## Yukon Mike (Nov 25, 2004)

buslady said:


> Hello. I am new to the forum, but I have been a lurker for a long time. I am planning on purchasing the solar panel kit from Harbor Freight, and was wondering what kind of controller would I need to purchase to run two of the kits together. Thank you for any information that you can give me. Buslady


I also have these panels but opted for a better controller (up to 20 amps) that tells me more information. I purchased it from BackwoodsHome.com and I am very happy with it. It will also allow me to add more panels before I jump into solar all the way. So far so good....








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## SCRich (Feb 27, 2008)

I know this post is a bit old but instead of starting another identical one thought I'd bump it. Any other ideas since it has been 6 months now ? How are they holding up, they are not known for their quality products and for me $180 is a bit more than chump change. I was actually thinking of purchasing 2 sets and testing them together. If one set works well enough I can use them in 2 locations. 

My use plan is for remote camera's and maybe a motion sensor light. I plan on using a Internet IP camera, WiFi Client, possibly a small RF transmitter. If I don't kill it a large 12V IR light on a motion sensor could be the only thing left. This will be for security camera's used as Deer Cam's on the property.

I have 2 batteries that I need to load test, they are several years old but I charge them every 6 or so months. They are 125lb batteries used in the communications industry and they work quite well. 

I'd love to power a well off of one for watering but I doubt these panels and 1-2 batteries would power that. If this does not do the trick I can have the power company pull power in but then it's $15 a month for very little use. I calculated costs to pull copper and lay some PVC from the house and it would take me 20 years at $15 to pay that off.


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## Yukon Mike (Nov 25, 2004)

I have had absolutly no problems with the system and I am very please with this set up. I used this system for a test bed to verify to myself it is a viable power source before spending a lot of money to power the entire house except for heavy air conditioning loads.

The loads I run every day are my radio in the garage and a 13 inch flat panel tv (23 watts ac) in the kitchen for about 2 hours a day.


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## SCRich (Feb 27, 2008)

It is good to hear that it is holding up so far. A flat panel does pull a bit of current, probably more than my IP Camera/Access Point would. My question is on the 12v flood light. I have not figured out what I will be using for that since I want to either use a 12v halogen light with a IR filter or if I can afford it purchase an actual 12V IR flood. I would have it on a motion sensor but it would be used only at night of course when current would be at a premium. 

I don't think I could afford one but a pan/tilt motor would be neat, we have a a lot of wildlife and instead of a deer camera I'd like to use this setup with a computer in the house recording to a hard drive. I have also caught trespassers on the deer camera so it would be used for that also, hence the want for a pan tilt motor. BUT as I am sure you know Motors can draw a lot of current. 

Ease of deployment is also good, a lot easyer for me to do than call the power company to run power to the area and then have to pay $15 a month for the rest of my life here.


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## Yukon Mike (Nov 25, 2004)

What you are suggesting probably is possible to accomplish on 12 volts. However, it has been my experiance that 12 volt items like motion sensor flood lights or any device that comonly uses 110 volts and it converted to 12 volts are very expensive.

I use an inexpensive 150 watt inverter to run all I have and I would suggest you consider this route. Also remember running 12 volt power wires requires large gauge size for any distance. So the high cost of 12 volt devices and the wiring cost may not be econonical for you.

Before you purchase any device take the time to find out (from the manufacturer) what the power consumption is at idle and during full load operation to be sure you have enough power available from your system.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

Use one of these as a motion sense to operate a 6 volt relay. (The quartz bulb operates on 6 [email protected] 10 watts.. 1.6 amps.. Plenty to operate a relay with no standby draw on your system) Use the relay to switch whatever you want to operate off of your 12 volt system. You wouldn't draw any power from your system untill the motion sensor was activated..

The wiring from the 12 volt supply to whatever you want to operate will still need to be gauged for the amount of current used and the distance to where you need it..

Assemble one or two of these and have yourself a dandy IR floodlight! (Without breaking the bank..) Glue them inside of a mason jar or mount in some other fixture to keep the weather from them.. 
~Don


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## SCRich (Feb 27, 2008)

The wire is not a problem, I have many feet of heavy duty wire used in installing communications equipment that draws about 400amps at 48v. But it is not the wire that concerns me since I will only need a few feet at the most. 

As far as inverter I got to disagree a bit there. I have several inverters and they are great, 2 are 1500w and then I got a bunch of consumer ones that I use in my cars. One of my 1500w ones made life easy during the 4 hurricanes I lived through in 2 years. BUT to convert 12v into 120v generate that much heat just to convert back to 12 and 5 volts is not that smart, you lose a lot of the power in heat and other equipment not necessary. Why have 115v then use transformers to convert back to 12 and 5 volts since all you need is regulation to give you a steady 13.8 and 5v output? It conserves energy which means more power for what we actually need (charging the battery)and reduces the heat inside of the cabinet. 

I had both batteries pre-charged before the storm and sitting in the garage on a battery tender. When the power finally went out (and was out for 3 weeks!) I took the flashlight into the garage and plugged an extension cord into the inverter. We powered a fan and TV and DSS while the rain still allowed us to use it. With the rain fade we switched over to an antenna in the attic and we used a table lamp as needed. It lasted well into the eye of the hurricane, about 4-6 hours. During the eye I powered up a generator and charged them at 10a an hour, got just over 1 hour of charge in before we hit the "back end". 

12vMan that IR illuminator is a good price for what you get. I was thinking of that myself if I can not find a 12v search lamp that I can add a IR filter to. www.golight.com has some and my company bought each truck one of their remote control ones. They work GREAT, suck up a lot of current but not so much not to be powered by a lighter jack. I may try several IR illuminators in the main deer area but possibly will mount one of the golights if I can afford it, I have a way of turning it on by remote to conserve power. I know that my model without the IR filter in spot mode will easly cover 1/2 mile. I can go for a flood model with lower output and lower price.


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## brewswain (Dec 31, 2006)

Do I understand correctly------the Harbor Freight 45 watt panels are less
than 4 amps?
12 volts at 4 amps equal 48 watts?
Does that mean that a 4 amp load would run the battery down?


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

brewswain..

3.75 to be exact.. In good, sunny conditions..

The "Amp Hour" (aHr) amount is figured on how many hours the panels are putting power into the battery. (Amps per hour for "X" amount of hours)

Yes.. If you have a load on the battery @ 4 amps while the panels are charging, the battery will never charge and go dead..

It's figured.. Time x Amount of Current - Internal Battery Losses = Usable Amp Hours..

As you've noticed quickly, this system is really limited to small stuff or small loads. The idea is to gather power or "aHr's" in a battery (Storage with a small leak) and work within the amount that can be collected in a day from the panel array and not to go over that amount to avoid draining the battery down too much so not to damage it..

Again.. Time x Amount of Current - Internal Battery Losses = Usable Amp Hours..

"Time" being the amount of "Prime Charge" time for the panel. For a stationary array, adjusted to the proper angles and stuff is between 10 am and 2 pm..

"Amount of Current" is how much current (amps) the panel can give you during prime charge time..

"Internal Battery Losses" being the natural losses in a battery.. Nuthin's perfect.. 

"Usable Amp Hours" being how many amp hours you can collect and use in a 24 hour period without using too many so you don't over drain the battery and mess it up..

In my area, this formula works for me but will differ in other areas.. (It can be complicated.. and questioned.. or, ripped up for that matter..) 

The Harbor Freight System.. In perfect conditions..

The panels can deliver 3.75 amps of current. Multiply by 4 hours.. (The "Prime Charge" Period) equals 15 aHr's that can be put into a battery..

Being that you never want to discharge a battery less than 25%, I figure the battery size at 15 x 4 = 60 aHr.. (25% of the total battery capacity)

Now what about the "Internal Battery Losses"? We both know that there will be light on the panels before 10 am and after 2 pm, right? I figure the energy collected before and after the "Prime Charge" period will cover the internal battery losses and if there's any extra, well, that's a bonus! This just assures that the battery can be taken to the full charge level most of the time..

Now comes the challange..

We now know our aHr. limit. (15 aHr/24 hr. period) Now YOU must figure your loads and stuff and not to exceed this limit or stay under this limit to assure that your battery stays healthy..

OK math dudes.. Don't beat me up too bad..
~Don


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

And now comes a cloudy day or two or more. No bat charge. No running your "load". . . . .with out overly discharging your bat.

And or . . . . . .No running your load all night when you have had only that 4 hour "charge"

More than a couple things to think about to make it run right.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

I have and use several 9 watt compact fluorescent lamps for task lighting. The three 15 watt panels making up the 45 watt unit would run them several hours each day as they are usually on only one at a time. Via inverter of course. 

A reminder that if a person will be driving somewhere they can also charge batteries as they drive along. Yes it would affect fuel mileage a tad. A battery isolator for doing such would be a good investment in my opinion.

A further reminder that Harbor Freight has a number of retail stores throughout the country. One might be able to pick up the panels directly without having to pay any shipping unless it is an Internet offering only.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

Jim-mi said:


> And now comes a cloudy day or two or more. No bat charge. No running your "load". . . . .with out overly discharging your bat.
> 
> And or . . . . . .No running your load all night when you have had only that 4 hour "charge"
> 
> More than a couple things to think about to make it run right.


Yup.. That's where the experience comes in.. After you go through a battery or three..
~Don


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## SCRich (Feb 27, 2008)

I think the issue of losing batteries may be an issue of the type of battery used. I know that I have used marine batteries to power high current amateur gear in the past. In my younger/poorer days I had little money for a high current power supply and ran several 12v pieces of gear some that drew 20ah for about 2 years off of a deep cycle battery with a deep cycle charger. It worked well for me.

We use large 125lb AGM type batteries at cell sites, some old cell site batteries is what I used during several hurricanes. They regularly get run down to nothing during cell site power outages. They were in service for several years then I have had them for about 5 years now, not a problem. I charge them about every 6 months and let them sit. Probably not the best thing to do but these are some hard core batteries designed to be abused. I got lucky, don't know how much more life they have and I can't get anymore but there has got to be something else out there similar.


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