Thread: SOLAR CHARGING VS BATTERY BANK

Hello guys an gals
Just wondering what would be best, the solar charger system or the stored battery back up thingy? Mainly to be used for recharging headlamp (led lenser) and GME walkie talkies, and the odd phone lol
Any ideas or advise much appreciated

Go for a battery bank, no guarantees is going to be sunny

depends on what batteries are in each, the charging for lithiums is totally different to nickel metal hydride which is different again to nickel cadmium which is dif.......
PM me and i will sort you out, ive got allot of chargers for allot of different things and im in chch

All depends on how long you're going to be off grid for really, and the weight of the charging system and the power bank etc.

For short trips i find it easier to just take spare charged batt's for headlight, GPS etc. Ph last days and days on flight mode.

If you're going to be on long multi day trips, a fold out solar panel charging a batt bank would be the go, then can charge devices off that.

I assume you will be packing it in.

When we went to Stewart Island, we took a 12v power pack we made up and a decent solar panel to charge and power hut lights etc.

You can get battery banks with a solar panel on it. Win Win setup to my mind.
Guy took one on a trip with me a few months ago, left it in the sun/cloud during the day and used it to power an LED light in the evenings.

Get a 10watt solar panel with controller. Change out of $50 ex Allie express. I bought four for our tractors on farm. Panel is roughly 400x300. All you need then are the appropriate connections. I was advised to not bother w the 1.5watt jobs. Not something I'd just throw in my pack but worth it on a longer trip I'd say

The small solar panels on power banks are not worth the effort of carrying. There have been a number of tests done and they typically need about 60 long days of sun to produce enough charge for a single 18650. To be of any use you would need at least 10W which is too big for anything you would typically carry in unless it was a one way trip to set up a hut.

Best to carry charged rechargeable batteries. I don't buy a phone unless I can change batteries in the field.

I do what Gadget does and brought one of the few phones left with a removable battery (LG). I then brought 10 spare batteries and have entertainment for a week in the bush if we get rained out.

I am thinking of upgrading to a solar panel but you have to get a decent sized one ( > 10w) and you still need a power bank to store the power it generates. A solar panel that size is over 500g which is a lot of spare batteries but it still makes sense if you are going in for a long time and have a large group.

With powerbanks most just use a couple of 18650s at the power source but others use more weight efficient lithium batteries.

Another way to attack the problem is to buy one of these which turns your current 18650s into a power bank.

F1 | Nitecore

I do what Gadget does and brought one of the few phones left with a removable battery (LG). I then brought 10 spare batteries and have entertainment for a week in the bush if we get rained out.

I am thinking of upgrading to a solar panel but you have to get a decent sized one ( > 10w) and you still need a power bank to store the power it generates. A solar panel that size is over 500g which is a lot of spare batteries but it still makes sense if you are going in for a long time and have a large group.

With powerbanks most just use a couple of 18650s at the power source but others use more weight efficient lithium batteries.

Another way to attack the problem is to buy one of these which turns your current 18650s into a power bank.

F1 | Nitecore

I have a solar charger with battery.

Charge it up at home and take in to leave on the hut roof.

Normally give me 1.5 full charge but only has a small battery.

Im going to change out to a powerbank.

You can make a mini wind powered generator that is easily portable from old printer motors ..well worth a look..Build your own mini wind turbine from printer parts : TreeHugger

Most of the time people camp near a river or steam, you could use a mini peltor turbine?
Other wise if it is going to rain, just open the tap of the tank of the hut you stay in and that should be enough to spine you peltor turbine provided there is enough drop ;-)

i would take a battery pack, solar panels are to big for the power needed to charge your devices quickly. same goes for wind generator.... I have seen battery packs with a built in solar panel for charging, tho they do take up to 17 hours of sunlight to charge. you could just get one of these 4000mAh Solar Rechargeable Power Bank | Jaycar Electronics New Zealand and just get your usb adapters to charge from the battery pack.

So once it arrived I realised I may have gone a little over the top when I got one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/XTPower%C2%AE.../dp/B00XMM4ZZE

Of course I did want a powerbank with selectable voltage output so I can run my SLR camera directly off it, and also run my laptop off it as well as charge the phone etc.
Probably should have looked at the dimensions before I though it was a great idea to go with the 30,000mAh version instead of the 10,000mAh one!

Originally Posted by MassiveAttack

Another way to attack the problem is to buy one of these which turns your current 18650s into a power bank.

F1 | Nitecore

Does anybody in NZ stocks these, or it is off shore purchase only?