Reddit reviews ALLPOWERS Solar Panel 18V 12V 50W Bendable SunPower Solar Cell Water/Shock/Dust Resistant Solar Power Charger for RV, Boat, Cabin, Tent, Car, Trailer, Camping or Any Other Irregular Surface
We found 4 Reddit comments about ALLPOWERS Solar Panel 18V 12V 50W Bendable SunPower Solar Cell Water/Shock/Dust Resistant Solar Power Charger for RV, Boat, Cabin, Tent, Car, Trailer, Camping or Any Other Irregular Surface. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
SunPower Solar Cell?The SunPower cell is made from US, up to 23.5% efficiency, while most monocrystalline panels in the the market is 17%-19%, you will get greater power efficiency even though the panel is no larger than a traditional modelSupior Durability: The water resistant semi-flexible solar SunPower panel is far more durable than traditional glass and aluminum models; flexible material is ideal for storage in tight spaces or crowded areasBendable Panel: The plastic back sheet can be curved to a maximum 30 degree arc and mounted on an RV, boat, cabin, tent, car, trucks, trailers or any other irregular surfacePowerful and Lightweight: This solar panel packs 50W of power, but it only weighs a mere 2.4lbs(1.1kg), making it easier to transport, hang and remove; Unique frameless design and four metal reinforced mounting holes for easy installationWhat you get: 50W bendable SunPower solar panel, instruction manual, 18-month guarantee and friendly customer service
If you get a 12 volt fan it will use about 1 amp, so 8amp hours for all night = 20% of carbatt capacity. Some car batteries will only do that every night for a week before they start to suffer, some will do it for a few months.
This sort of thing looks intresting:
https://www.amazon.com/Station-Portable-Inverter-Generator-42000mAh/dp/B074MN6YG3/
"150 Watthours" lithium Ion battery pack (rather good), "100" Watt solar input , built in 100 watt inverter (that's lowish power but still useful) and usb and 12 volt outputs. cost $160
the specification of the solar input may be questionable, limited to 25 actual watts and nominal 13~14 v level (MC4 connector). That may or may not be compatible with nominal 100 watt, 12v or 18v panel setups.
Then you'd just need a $20 12v fan, and bargain lightweight solar panel deal...
"50W" bendable panel kit for $100 ?
There is a "100W" version for $170 - possibly overkill.
1 kilogram, frameless :
https://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Bendable-Flexible-Lightweight-Irregular/dp/B013DZWDI0/
You may also look at dual battery under the car. I used to keep a 7AH SLA (sealed lead acid) from a UPS under my passenger seat, plugged into an accessory area of the fuse box. It had leads going out for cig-plugs, to charge phones and leave everything going when the car was off. SLA means there is less chance of off gassing, but they can be expensive, on the other hand, sometimes they are just enough to get the job done and use the main battery up less. Not to mention they can be tipped with no problem, and are sometimes available free from recovered items, such as UPSs, alarm systems or jump packs.
Also look for areas under the car that can hold a spare battery. Keep it away from exhaust and moving parts, but there may be a wealth of space you never even think to use.
I have also seen some of the fold-up panels available, so if you are in a place you can openly camp, like an open campground or a park, you can lay them across the top of the car, or on the ground / against a tree, for some extra charging, especially of a house battery or phone. Also, the flexible panels are more able to be removed and replaced as needed.
https://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Bendable-Flexible-SunPower-Irregular/dp/B013DZWDI0/
With your starter battery double duty, you may want to look at a good deep cycle, especially if you can fit in a bigger one, as deep cycle tends to lose cold cranking amps as you gain deep stability.
Spent a while out there, myself, and want to prepare if I ever have to do it again.
Powertools is a big step up from AAs. Very very different setups required.
First do you have DC powered chargers for your tool batteries? These should exist for people to recharge stuff in the truck and should run off of 12 volts DC.
You're going to want to get a 12V - 24V solar panel in the 30W to 150W range. That is about as big as can be easily handled for a temporary install. And then voltage regulators to turn the fluctuating panel voltage into something more steady. Then choosing DC powered battery chargers and choosing a standard connector to use for everything. Here are some examples of things:
Personally I perfer to avoid using a 120VAC inverter. It is much easier to run everything off of low voltage DC like you would in a boat or RV. But you need to be a little more selective about your devices.
But that is for a bigger setup. The smallest setup would be a 5W usb panel and an Olight UC charger.
Avoid the panels that have batteries built in. Overpriced junk. And putting batteries out in the sun is dumb.
It would be pretty easy to build something similar for a lot cheaper. Pick up a used suitcase at the thrift shop, mount a 50w panel on the outside (much better than the 10W panel in the case you linked to.) Inside the case, mount a charge controller with USB, this 20Ah battery (again, better than the 16Ah in the other one), and this 500W inverter (not sure how big the one in the expensive case it, but 500W should be enough.) So for less than $250 and a little bit of build work, you can have a much more functional system (500% larger solar capacity and 25% more battery capacity).