# SolarPanel Portable 2 power Fan all night?



## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

Is there a portable smaller Solar Panel that would last to run a regular small fan all night? I want to go camping first week of August but last year it was so HOT that I might not go without a fan. There is no electricity at the camp ground and no generators are allowed. I was wondering if there is a small solar panel that could charge during the day and it would power the fan all night? 

Or is there a battery that would run the fan all night and then it would charge with the car during the day? Would a battery charge back up if the car is not running? I would not want the run the car for long.

Any suggestions?? Thank you.


----------



## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Need to know the power requirements of what you call "a small fan" ??

If it were a small muffin fan blowing on your face that would be easy to do.


----------



## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

Building a solar panel set-up to run a regular house fan would get expencive. Why don't you buy a couple of the $20--10" battery operated fans on E-bay------They run on 8 D batteries for up to 40 hours and come with a power pack that plugs into the wall. I would cut the power pack (which I am sure is 12volt DC output) off and use the wire to hook to a Deep cycle battery(properly) and it should run a couple of the fans a Looooooong time(days) before needing to be recharged. Hope this Helps!!




meanwhile said:


> Is there a portable smaller Solar Panel that would last to run a regular small fan all night? I want to go camping first week of August but last year it was so HOT that I might not go without a fan. There is no electricity at the camp ground and no generators are allowed. I was wondering if there is a small solar panel that could charge during the day and it would power the fan all night?
> 
> Or is there a battery that would run the fan all night and then it would charge with the car during the day? Would a battery charge back up if the car is not running? I would not want the run the car for long.
> 
> Any suggestions?? Thank you.


----------



## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

Thank you - I was hoping there was a solar panel that would sit on the hood of my car and power a regular big fan all night long.......plus a small window AC unit for the car window.........JUST KIDDING! I like the Deep Cycle battery idea. Thank you!


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

If you are going to be sleeping near the car, take a 12 volt fan out of an old computer and attach it to a cigarette lighter plug. It would put insignificant strain on the battery.

Otherwise, rechargeable C or D cells would power a small fan like that overnight.


----------



## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

I will be sleeping in the car with a tent/canopy thing over the back open end of the car. Last year it was really hot and so I am thinking of trying to have a fan. A tiny computer fan will not be enough air movement....I don't think? I was going to try and figure out how to run a small fan like the size you would sit on a desk. That would make enough air to blow over me while I sleep. 

I am going to get a battery and just try it and see how long it will run the fan. Thank you.


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

You would be surprised how much cooling the small fans can give. We used one while van camping and it was plenty for most of the nights. The next size up would be to go to radio snack and get a 12 volt muffin fan.


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Get a 12 volt oscillating fan that plugs into cigarette lighter,at RV store or truck stop or better yet order online and have it magically show up at your house.

Not sure how much power it would use but the motorhome house battery handled ours fine.

Someone there to give you a jump in case you use too much juice?

That fan will keep you comfy.



30 bucks
http://www.globaltrucker.com/products/Koolatron_12_Volt_Oscillating_Trucker_Fan-16951-58.html


----------



## rzrubek (May 13, 2004)

I just looked at one at walmart and I believe it uses 10 watts. We bought a ten inch battery powered fan for $14, it moves a lot of air. It is supposed to go for 24 hours on set of battery's.


----------



## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

We picked up an O2Cool battery powered fan from Walmart a few years ago. I believe its similar to this fan. Cost was under $20

They say 72 hours of run time on a set of 8 D-cells. If D-cells have about 12amphr capacity, that means it draws 2 watts. Even a moderate sized deep discharge or trolling motor battery will power the fan for over a week at a time. Granted... this is probably on low speed, but even 2-4 times the power draw for high speed gets you several days of continuous fan use. If only used at night, there should be no problem, and you might be back to a week at high speed.

Michael


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Michael, we have a couple of those. The claim on the 8 D cells running it 72 hours is stretching it, but the fans are great fans, run quietly, and work overnight on rechargable D cells. What impresses me about them is that they stand up over time. A lot of fans fall apart with little use. The dashboard fans are bad at that.


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

meanwhile said:


> Is there a portable smaller Solar Panel that would last to run a regular small fan all night?


Solar panels do not store any electricity at all. That must be done in batteries by the solar panel or other, so you need some sort of system.

If the vehicle will be driven daily for a few miles it might be a better investment to buy enough battery bank to run the fan all night and charge them by driving--as you mentioned.


----------

