# New to solar?--Sorry that took so long



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Sorry it took so long to get back to this thread so I'm starting it over

How many people on here would like to have a small solar setup but 
don't because they don't know how to do it?

Or how many are looking at a "kit" because that looks like the easy way
for a beginner that's not so scary?

Lets be honest here. I started with a small "KIT" myself just because I didn't
know anything about setting up solar stuff.

This not a thread on saving money or a full blown setup this is to show the basics and what 
you Can do when TSHTF 
Also to show it's not that complicated

And no complicated language.. ******* lingo

First off is the solar panel.. The smallest I had was a 100 watt that was already in use. 
So I just unplugged it and ran two wires to a control box. Just as you would if you scarfed 
one from the expressway or where ever you could find one. I just used regular electrical wire



Next up is the controller this is a $18 cheapie. And hooking it up is pretty straight forward.
Two wires from the solar panel go to the control box where the picture of a solar panel is
and they are marked + and - The panels are usually marked. If they are not marked you
can tell positive from negative with a volt meter Or,,,,,, Use LED light they won't work if you 
hook them up backwards then you know + from -

I'm sure I could replace the controller with a voltage controller out of an older 
model car but I haven't took the time to figure it out yet.



Next up is hooking up the battery to the controller. Once again there are only two wires and 
they are marked positive and negative. The only battery I had to play with was a really 
small one out of a Toyota that had been sitting wrecked on it's top for awhile.
But I filled it with distilled water and it took a charge. Yee Haw

It was a really crappy day with a lot of clouds not much sunlight but the battery was fully charged 
in about 4 hours. I was surprised by how much the solar panel will put out even with no direct sunlight.
there is a place for 12 volts going out on the controller but since we are not using 12 volts for
our lights I ran two wires from the battery to the inverter.

Now the inverter it changes 12 volts to 120 volts I had my choice of 3 inverters 
I used the cobra 800 watt (it has a low battery buzzer alarm) You can pick up an inverter
like any of these for about $20 on eBay.

I have been told not to run wires from the controller to a inverter. 
I'm not sure why maybe it pulls to much electric. Maybe



I ran an extension cord from the inverter to the light bulb.
For a bulb I used a LED bulb from wally world it's 60 watts (but it seems bright as any 70 watt
I have ever seen) I hooked this bulb up to my watt meter before using it and it pulls 9 watts
The package says 9.9 watts but it only shows 9 watts. They cost $4.48



I hooked the inverter up to my bigger set up (it has a gauge) and the inverter pulls 0.8 amps
when running the LED bulb. I think that's about 9.6 watts so I didn't see a big loss of power
because of using an inverter to run a 120 volt bulb

I'm going to do some testing to see how much electricity is lost when using something that uses 
more watts

the bulb has been running for about 8 hours and the battery is down to 12.4 it was at
13.3 when I started I figure I'll run it down to 12 volts



whenever I run across a controller or inverter cheap I pick them up and put them in my
faraday cage. Just think what one will be worth when TSHTF

There no lights in my shed I think I'll put a small solar panel 25-50 watts on the roof
and a good car battery and install a couple of lights.
A 50 watt panel should be enough

I'm sure I forgot something someone needs to know so just ask


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

After 10 1/2 hours the battery was at 12.13 the light was still bright. I shut it down and went to bed.


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## shawn1980 (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for this thread. Solar is something I'm interested in but don't know much about. I know the thread is kind of based on scavenging supplies after SHTF, but what do you think the minimum cost would be on a basic set up?


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

shawn1980 said:


> Thanks for this thread. Solar is something I'm interested in but don't know much about. I know the thread is kind of based on scavenging supplies after SHTF, but what do you think the minimum cost would be on a basic set up?[/QUOTE
> 
> Are you talking about an emergency set up where you only need to run a couple of lights? Or what?


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## shawn1980 (Mar 18, 2015)

budgetprepp-n said:


> shawn1980 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for this thread. Solar is something I'm interested in but don't know much about. I know the thread is kind of based on scavenging supplies after SHTF, but what do you think the minimum cost would be on a basic set up?[/QUOTE
> ...


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

If you are just looking for emergency power like for lights and recharging a few things.
Then you can get away with 1 -100 watt panel $120
A low cost controller $20
wiring and wire ends $25
inverter < ebay $25
LED bulbs 3 -- $15
Battery $100 = $305 
For a battery I'm using a Walmart deep cycle ( not the best it would work great for a emergency 

If you use 12 lights you can forget the inverted- But i wouldn't you never know what you may need
120 volts for 

The LED light bulbs that seem to work very well with solar are at Walmart. $4.99 ea 

As for a battery in an emergency you could just use a car battery. That's what I did in this thread
Everything listed here could be stashed in a garage and it would take up very little room 
Also you might even get away with a 50 watt panel 
Anyone else got any cost cutting ideas for an emergency set up?


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