Build a 5kWh Portable Solar Generator

What a mess to do something simple, I made one and had used an 24 hybrid all in one inverter

Excellent choice in components!

Very nice work! 👌

Looks like a guy could go back and trim about a 1/4 mile of superfluous wire in that box and make it look neat and thought out and assembled with craftsmanship.

God, I wish I could afford to go over to lithium batteries.

I built something similar using 16x deep cycle AGM server UPS batteries (Scrounged from work when I was an IT tech). Because I wanted it to at least be semi portable I had to make it modular, so it consists of 3 stackable Stanley toolboxes. These UPS batteries weighs in at about 10lbs each, so I've got two boxes with 8 batteries in each (At something like 85 to 90lbs each !), and one box that holds a 20A mains charger, two 600w rma inverters (1500 surge), and a cheap solar charge controller. I already had the pair of reasonable quality inverters, so I ended up deciding to stick with these, and that dictated the system having to be 12V.

As it stands, the boxes have a combined potential output of about 2.3kWh, but due to lead acid based systems being what they are, I can only really use about half that if I want to get the maximum lifespan out of my batteries.


On the plus side, The batteries were free, I already had the inverters, the toolboxes were on offer at 33% off at my local DIY store, and from my RC aircraft building days, I still had boxes and boxes of XT60's and XT90's, heavy gauge silicone wire, connectors, heat shrink, and nylon overbrading, so the whole setup probably cost me less that 150 GBP (About 185 USD) to put together, and being modular, if I don't strictly NEED it's full quota of Ah to run something for however long I want it to be running, then I don't have to humph both of these damn heavy battery boxes to it. :D

At the end of the day though, I can't help thinking that a single 100Ah lithium battery would still do what I want, would weigh a hell of a lot less, and take up a lot less space...... Maybe one day. :)

Interesting build. I am thinking about building a similar system.
It would be helpful to have the costs listed along with the components, as well as a total for the whole build.

Really nice instructional video , Why do people continue to call backup battery supplies a Solar Generator

I built a genny on a 600lb dolly with plywood. It's a 12v system. Two 12.8vdc 100ah lifepo batts. I use a 3k x 6k inverter, Renogy controler 40amp. I decided to rebuild my system like you have done. Still collecting parts. Parts is parts. Your video was a huge motivator, thankyou.

did you ever post your schematic of your system? I havent seen any other videos are you still on YT?

360W charger will take a long time to recharge those batteries!

I saw a solar generator mounted onto a hand cart, the builder had considered several designs but as it was designed for mainly home use and occasionally he would wheel it into his van to go camping. Could you consider this design.

Do you still have this power box and if so can you do an update video on how it has been holding up?

Why are these always referred to as generators now? They’re a fancy battery box, nothing more.

SUPER IDEA . SUPER POMYSŁ. POZDRAWIAM .

I may have missed it but did you set up a ground wire? Cool video!

Electrical Engineer? Sure!
Sound Engineer? No. Great build, tho. My 82 year old parents in Venice FL needed this for Ian as their power was out for a week. They rode it out 12 mi North of Ft Meyers Beach. Maybe I'll build them one.

Thank you for sharing! Why not use hybrid inverter?

Hi,
I connected a 3000w Renogy inverter (SKU: R-INVT-PUH1-301235-UK) and a 12V 100AH Renogy battery (SKU: RBT100LFP12-BT-UK). The system works fine for my TV (Sony TV KD 75XD9405: 352W / Standard 202W and 220-240V/50Hz) however whenever I connect this setup to my Washing machine (Beko WMI71641: 2200w and 230 V / 50 Hz) or with my inverter (Samsung MS23F301EAK: 230V / 50 Hz and 800w) the sytem trips with a long beep.
Please could you help me understand what should be the cause of the problem and how could this be fixed?

At the time of test, the battery is 45.4% charges with Present capacity of 45.4 Ah and present voltage of 12.9v.

Total price?

Would love to see a build one could plug their 30a or 50a RV into

Great video and thanks for the relevant links to all componenets. A circuit diagram explaining all connections and components would have been really helpful

Ty sir

WHy do you have 2 cutoffs for this? Also, everything looks good except those cutout for the inverter. That could’ve been done better or not at all.

nice build, you did a good job fitting everything in there!!

Good job. Interesting solution. 48Hrs is a good time target. The shortcoming for me is my outages are usually accompanied by bad weather and are caused by the bad weather so no sun. I'd still have to drag out the portable charger to charge the batteries at some point. I hope it works out well for you.

its much better to use 24v batteries in parallel than 12v in series. if you draw down the pack, one 12v will need to be jump started

Awesomeness

It must not be worth it Because he's keeping what he spent on it a secret

Why is a Westinghouse iGen1200 Portable Inverter Generator (common components) needed if the system has a AIMS Power 48V Inverter 1500W?

Beautiful!

great work and layout.The only thing I would add would be a label maker to create labels for everything in and out, solar, on, off, etcetc. Under all the connections and switches so someone else would know what they are for.

Will you sell one to me just like the one you’ve creatively mastered? I love the clever design that’s Solar and portable too! Congratulations on the build

How much was all this and how long did it take? My budget is around $1000

really well-made video. I love the quick and consice you are you. good editing. Are you a teacher?

très bien

Great work, I was building almost this exact system (in my head), and so I went to YT for some verification of my plan/ideas, and you have hit on pretty much the same system with almost all the same parts (which were already in my HD and Amazon carts/wish lists). Thank you so much for doing what looks like a great job...

Thank you sir for penciling out all the details! Definitely giving all kinds of ideas and info on how to handle a power outage (good to know you can charge your system and run it with just 1 gallon of gasoline/day). I built two solar power generators off of CALB LiFePo4 cells running two 5000 btu a/c's all day from solar panels. Like yours, the amount of wires, gadgets and sheer confusion when looking inside, invokes fear in people. It's a system only mad scientists can operate!

Very nice build. Thanks for sharing. could you offer the link for the fan controller?

Thank you ...excellent video

Or buy a car? Lol

thanks for sharing! did you ever run the test for the solar recahrge? If so, what were the results and how many panels did you use?

Love your ideology, but today's world: Some of us may not be able to afford the price tag. Although, cool idea. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

You done a great job on your generator!

how much you spend

Great video. Could you please post the wiring schematic for this build?

Very nice

Nice, I believe if you pu 6 2.7 volt 500f capacitors with board $50 will take the load off the battery when starting compressor