Posts
Mister Aguirre,
Where I live most of the year it is cloudy so no direct sunlight for using a solar charger.
Is it worth investing in one?
Do you have any experience with alternatives like hand crank generators?
Thanks
-J
.
Hello J,
I lived in Ireland for a few years. The place is as cloudy as anywhere I’ve ever been and even there solar panels did work. You even saw them in RV and houses pretty often.
I can say that a panel such as the one I recently reviewed, the Zanflare 28W Solar Charger, does work even in cloudy days.
Zanflare 28W Solar Charger $55.99
Granted, you wont get the same power output as in a clear sunny summer day in Spain, but it does work and does charge your devices.
Other than that, if you need a reliable supply of power just get a Honda EU2200i generator.
Hand crank devices are very limited in the amount of power they produce. I’ve used many over the years, most are fragile, inefficient gadgets.
I’ve been testing one that works ok recently, review coming up soon, but the power output is still minimal in the best of cases. Think of it as enough to run a LED battery for a while or catch a few minutes of FM radio. Others than that, say for charging a battery bank or charging batteries or a cell phone, get a solar panel like the one mentioned above. Thats the best money spent for charging devices.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”
3 comments:
I live on Florida's hurricane coastline and have a Honda 2000i. Used it for years and it is great. Runs all the homes lighting and the refrigerator and chest freezer easily.
I also have 200 watts of solar at my home and even on overcast skies, it's good for a few amps. I would recommend buying this 55-watt system and see how much power (watts) it delivers. Knowing this number you could expect the same percentage of power from a 100 or 200-watt panels thereby not risking your money.
I meant 28 watt system not 55 watt
I bought a battery backup for cell phones two years ago that has a crank to generate electricity. There are four bars to indicate how much of a charge it has. Charging it from a USB port took about an hour when it was completely dead. After I ran it down I turned the crank for 45 minutes before one of the four bars lit up. Unless you are willing to turn a crank for many hours on end look for something else.
Post a Comment