Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #11
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    (Montgomery County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin View Post
    Thats pretty cool, though pricy.
    I do not know what a Thermoelectric Generator is. Thermocouples? How is the electricity produced?

  2. #12
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    May 2006
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    127.0.0.1, Pennsylvania
    (Lancaster County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    Quote Originally Posted by Remington788 View Post
    Thats pretty cool, though pricy.
    I do not know what a Thermoelectric Generator is. Thermocouples? How is the electricity produced?
    Clicked the link, didn't read anything about it, but I suspect it's using a device known as a Peltier Junction that when heat is applied to one side, electricity is generated. If you were to apply electricity to it instead of heat, then it would generate heat one one side, and cold on the other. It was a common device in PC's about 20 years ago for cooling down CPU's until it was determined that they actually consume more energy than it's worth. So people started using them for other things, such as this. A couple issue though. The devices themselves are physically fragile, as in they break easy. They're also prone to burning out due to too much heat, and not enough cooling. You can't just keep on applying heat to them without having adequate cooling on the other side.

    The junctions themselves are fairly common, I recently got 10 of them I think for around $15.
    Rules are written in the stone,
    Break the rules and you get no bones,
    all you get is ridicule, laughter,
    and a trip to the house of pain.

  3. #13
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    (Lebanon County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    Quote Originally Posted by Remington788 View Post
    I have that 15 watt one, leave it connected to a spare vehicle. I really never thought it did much more than offset the slow drain from the alarm system. I;d like to hear more about your setup.
    I am also intrigued by the foldable. How long does it take to charge a typical portable battery or phone?
    I'll take some pictures of the battery box and upload them. For the foldable, Like all solar, it depends on amount of direct sunlight, and I am going off memory here, but about a year ago or so (last time I used it) in very bright direct sunlight, Samsung Galaxy 8 was recharged from 20 to 90 or 100 in about an hour.

  4. #14
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    Feb 2012
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    Montco, Pennsylvania
    (Montgomery County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    Quote Originally Posted by theshadow View Post
    I'll take some pictures of the battery box and upload them. For the foldable, Like all solar, it depends on amount of direct sunlight, and I am going off memory here, but about a year ago or so (last time I used it) in very bright direct sunlight, Samsung Galaxy 8 was recharged from 20 to 90 or 100 in about an hour.
    I cant get 70% charge in an hour on my iPhone plugged in the wall. I think I may get one.

  5. #15
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    Nov 2006
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    (Lebanon County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    Quote Originally Posted by Remington788 View Post
    I cant get 70% charge in an hour on my iPhone plugged in the wall. I think I may get one.
    Yea, please don't hold me to the number, I know it was good and fast, had a lot else going on, so memory may be off a bit

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Montco, Pennsylvania
    (Montgomery County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    I think I am going to stop at HF and get this 7 Watt Solar Panel Kit.
    https://harborfreight.com/home-outdo...kit-64801.html

    I'll give an update after I try it out.

    Added disclaimer: This, for me, is a proof of concept and learning project. I have no experience with solar power. I would like to be completely off-grid with alternative energy sources, but it is not practical for me at this time. So, I figure this is a way to learn just enough to be dangerous.
    Last edited by Remington788; April 19th, 2020 at 12:12 PM.

  7. #17
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    Feb 2012
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    Montco, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    They did not have the 7 watt panel in stock and I wanted to play so I bought the 5 watt folding panel. Brought it home and set it up on a char of the patio. Its a beautiful day today, mild temperatures (63F), Sunny with a little hazy hi cloud cover. Sounds like the ideal conditions for solar (based on all the You Tube videos I watched last night).

    I was not about to experiment with my actual phone so I plugged in an old iPhone from the junk drawer. In approx 30 minutes, it charged up from 35% to 69%. I would say that pretty much follows the results that TheShadow got with his Samsung phone. SUCCESS

    I plugged in the Boafeng USB charger and put just the battery in ( not the whole radio). The charging light went on, but because the battery was already mostly full, I have to run it down before I can test it.

    Now I have my 10,000 mAh power bank plugged in. I drained it completely by using it to charge a couple Kindles this morning. It normally takes overnight plugged into the wall to get a full charge.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    Solar is only good if there is a lot of sunshine, in PA, sunny days are limited.

    On the other hand both flowing water and wind are plentiful in PA.

    Check this out: https://www.waterlilyturbine.com/

    Go check out he field tests on YouTube.
    Toujours prêt

  9. #19
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    Feb 2012
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    Montco, Pennsylvania
    (Montgomery County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)

    Yesterday and today have been crappy, sunshine-wise. Today its been raining on and off.
    Yesterday I plugged the 10,000 mAh battery in all day. It charged poorly. Only did not charge enough to light up the 25% light. used it on my phone and got about 30%. It must need more power to charge.

    This morning I connected it to the battery charger for my BaoFeng. It was outside fro 7:30-9:30 before I brought it in (rain seemed imminent). I then ran the radio as a scanner, it worked for about an hour. I hung it up in the kitchen window, and even in the rain, it is sending a charge to the radio battery. I will check the results later.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Belly of the BEAST, Pennsylvania
    (Montgomery County)
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    Default Re: Off grid power sources (portable)


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