I made this solar generator to power lights, a radio and recharge batteries for my trip to Burning Man 2008.

Parts list:

1. Sunforce 15 watt solar charger with with 7 amp charge controller - Kragen Auto - $99.99 part #50033

2. Pro X One 800 watt power inverter - Kragen Auto - $49.97 on sale - part #64009624

3. Nautilus Gold 24 NG24 deep cycle battery - $84.99 - Kragen Auto - part #6228613

4. 12 volt outlet (cigarette lighter type) - 10.99 - Kragen Auto - part #6261044

5. Digital multimeter - $2.99 - Harbor Freight Tools - part #90899

6. Crimp style electrical connectors (butt and 3/8" ring) - $2

7. 1/2" plywood (or whatever you have lying around) - $10.00

8. Hinges, handles, latches and screws for the box - $15.00

9. Eight zinc plated "L" brackets - $5.00

Step 1: Buy the Parts

I got most of my parts from Kragen Auto. They'll give you a 10% discount if you ask. I had some 1/2" plywood left over from another project to build my box but I saw that RoDuS1488 used a small cooler for his solar generator...that's a great idea, especially if you don't have wood working tools or just can't wait to get the party started. The solar panel comes with a fifteen foot cord that seems long enough to keep the panel out of the shade. Multiple panels can be wired together to get more power. One 15 watt panel barely keeps the battery charged. I think two (at thirty watts) would do a little better.

Step 2: Build a Box

I built my box out of 1/2" plywood and reinforced the inside corners with zinc plated "L" brackets. The sides have heavy duty chest handles to carry the generator and the bottom has four zinc plated metal corners to protect the bottom. The lid is held on with two hinges in the rear and one latch in the front. I made the box 1/2" bigger than my battery around the sides and 2" taller. I also drilled one inch holes in the sides to vent hydrogen gas and allow the battery to cool.

Step 3: Connect the Wires

Put the battery in the box and connect the wires. I cut the ends and used 3/8" ring crimp wire connectors to run the wires to the battery terminal posts. My deep cycle battery has four posts...two are standard car battery type posts and the other two are threaded studs. I used the threaded studs for a more secure connection. Connect the red terminal from the inverter to the positive post and the black to the negative. The solar panel connects to the battery through the charge controller. This keeps the battery from over-charging. The controller shuts off at 14.2 volts and comes on when the voltage drops below 13 volts. I also added a 12 volt outlet directly to the battery for use with cigarette lighter adapters. There's a two amp inline fuse on the positive lead. I bought a cheap digital multimeter and zip tied it to the top of the battery so I can monitor the voltage usage. I cut the leads and again used 3/8" ring crimp connectors to permanently connect them to the battery.

Step 4: Plug in and Enjoy Clean, Silent Power!

I'll use the generator in my dome to run white LED Christmas lights, satellite radio and to charge batteries for my camera and ham radios. )'(

Update: The generator worked great. It never ran out of power. I use it every day at home now.

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48 Comments

musicman79

11 years ago on Introduction

Does anybody know a site or what information I would need to gather to figure how much battery and watts I would need to run a selection of things? I am wanting to build something similar to this for my own family camping needs and would like to run a couple small tent fans, a small 12v mini fridge, and maybe a cell phone charger or two. I can get the power requirements for the items just want to know how to judge the size of my requirements.

NightLord

8 years ago on Introduction

Isn't 800W inverter too powerful? I mean, 15W solar panel produces much too little for powering anything in the range of 800W. While you are not able to power big devices, you power small devices at higher losses - high power inverter means higher no-load current, which can take a lot of energy over time. So I would suggest to use smaller, say 300W inverter or even less :)

tk1314

6 years ago

There are inline fuses. You can see one in the pictures. The solar panels are pretty cheap. They aren't very powerful, since the time of the project, the prices have gone down for better panels.

flazcoeidc

5 years ago

I think you need to take some time and go to inplix website to learn how to make it.

daenergymon

6 years ago on Introduction

Not bad. I would have used a larger solar panel to power more things. And for safetys sake add an inline fuse between each part. Cheaper to replace a fuse than anything else

SIRJAMES09

6 years ago on Introduction

Cool!

My first Questions is, Where did you get that dome tent? 8 )

I love it(the dome)!

I also love the idea of how simple & easy it is to build this thing...

I don;t know why, but I always thought that these were a very complicated thing/project....

Obviously I was wrong.

TY for sharing!! : )

JPcreo

8 years ago on Introduction

http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-panel-kit-45-watt-68751.htmlI have found this set at harborfreight.com they also sell a deep cycle battery for about $60 to $80 depends on the sale.

bsouth

12 years ago on Step 4

How many hours did it run the lights, radios and camera battery chargers?

tsunami78

11 years ago on Introduction

Great post!! I have been looking at setting something like this up for a while. I know this is an old one, but I was wondering if there was a way to add a battery charge indicator to quickly see how much life is left between charges.

Introduction: Solar Generator