Reddit reviews AIMS 180 Watt, 360 Watt Peak, Pure Sine DC to AC Power Inverter, USB Port, Cables Included - Non UL Listed
We found 1 Reddit comments about AIMS 180 Watt, 360 Watt Peak, Pure Sine DC to AC Power Inverter, USB Port, Cables Included - Non UL Listed. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
POWERFUL: 180W max continuous power, 360W surge, clean pure sine power, soft start technology, compact design, lightweightPROTECTIONS: overload, over temp, high voltage, low voltage, short circuit, internally fused, low and high voltage alarm, cooling fan, and isolated ground neutral.FEATURES: Works with small electronics, and much more. Includes USB port, cables and LED indicators.TRUST AIMS: Buy with confidence. In the inverter business for over 20 years. All tech support, warranty, and sales supported in Nevada .APPLICATIONS: Ideal for powering computers, cell phones, cameras and small devices. Use high quality copper cables in your system.
Here's a 'shopping list' for as light-weight a system that I can think of throwing together from 'off the shelf' components:
>Solar Panels:
Two of these will give you a light-weight solution for 400 watts of power!
https://www.amazon.com/Dokio-Monocrystalline-foldable-Inverter-Controller/dp/B075SZMFP2/
>Charge Controller:
The included controller won't be terribly useful I'm afraid, because it's for Lead Acid, and is a crappy PWM controller anyways. So, let's assume you're going to DIY this a bit and build a weatherproof box for your battery and a controller like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Controller-Monitor-Temp-Sensor-Package/dp/B06XNP1BGR/
>Batteries:
Here's where you drop the real cash; At least one but preferably TWO of these guys.
https://www.amazon.com/LiFePO4-volt-Deep-Cycle-Battery/dp/B06XX197GJ/
>Inverter:
If you'll be needing AC power, you'll want something like this:
www.amazon.com/AIMS-Power-Watt-Inverter-Cables/dp/B002AMPHHC/
>Container of sorts:
You'll be needing something weatherproof for all this non-weatherproof stuff to sit inside. Find the 'weatherproof storage lockers' at sporting goods stores, and you can machine them to be what you need for stuff like this. It'll need to fit your batteries, inverter, and charge controller, and you'll need to mount them in there somehow so it doesn't bounce around. Then all you need is some slick weatherproof electrical connectors to mount going through the wall of the box, and you've got yourself a great system. You can even put in things like a 12 socket and weatherproof volt meter to keep an eye on your battery voltage.
Overall, this would cost probably around $3000. But, it'd work well. :)
If you can give me more specs on what sort of weight you can carry, you could have the option of switching to Lead Acid as a battery type; but that would add like 150 pounds of weight to this whole setup, but you'd save $1500 or there about on the batteries, and you COULD use the included cheap PWM controllers... but honestly that MPPT I think would be worth the extra cash.
The comparable product (excluding the panels, and assuming you only got one battery) would be the Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium. It's $1700 and is about the same thing, again excluding the panels.
Honestly, for your purposes, the Goal Zero Yeti looks pretty good if you're not really into the DIY stuff; cause you'd be looking at $1700 plus $500 for the 400 watts of panels, so $2200 total. That's not bad! (Assuming you DIY it like I'm suggesting, and only use one battery, you're looking at around $2000. So, really, not much cheaper if the weight matters to you.)