Mobile Solar Charging Station

[floki]

I'm in the research and design phase of a mobile solar charging station that could be used for charging cell phones, GPS, radios, etc. 

I have what I think is a great idea for a nice, compact system that would be mobile, protected, and should be able to do ~30watts @12volts continuous, although I haven't confirmed calculations yet. Everything would fit in a water-resistant 6" x 14" x 24" sized case.

Anyone know of any other systems similar to this or have any experience building a mobile solar system? I've build a solar system before for a controls project I worked on, but haven't looked much at smaller, compact systems.

[whitebear620]

My experience is pretty much limited to those small solar chargers that will charge a phone or a few batteries.
Would be interested to hear more.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

I have followed this guy on YT for a while. He seems to make some pretty cool stuff. He has this (pricey) 25W panel that fits your size criteria. I think the pricey part are the batteries which you may be able to source yourself. Hope this helps. If you come up with a cheaper plan, please let us know.... teslamaker.com/product/soln1-25-v2-assembled/ or his YT vid

[floki]

Sept 6, 2016 12:25:18 GMT -5 Patriotic Sheepdog said:

I have followed this guy on YT for a while. He seems to make some pretty cool stuff. He has this (pricey) 25W panel that fits your size criteria. I think the pricey part are the batteries which you may be able to source yourself. Hope this helps. If you come up with a cheaper plan, please let us know.... teslamaker.com/product/soln1-25-v2-assembled/ or his YT vid

Very interesting. I estimate mine costing less than $300, ~10AH @ 12V, but also will be far more rugged than this one.

Won't be as pretty, but very functional.

I priced out some components and haven't completed research yet. 

Will update when I solidify some things

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

floki....I was just searching for a 12v 10Ah battery for a project I will be working on. I found this LiFe one www.batteryspace.com/lifepo4-battery-12v-10ah-120wh-40a-rate---replace-sla-12v-10ah-with-5-times-cycle-life-lighter-weight---un38-3-passed-dgr.aspx If you have a source for one cheaper (not a china crap) please let me know.

[floki]

Sept 7, 2016 14:04:18 GMT -5 Patriotic Sheepdog said:

floki ....I was just searching for a 12v 10Ah battery for a project I will be working on. I found this LiFe one www.batteryspace.com/lifepo4-battery-12v-10ah-120wh-40a-rate---replace-sla-12v-10ah-with-5-times-cycle-life-lighter-weight---un38-3-passed-dgr.aspx If you have a source for one cheaper (not a china crap) please let me know.

Thanks for the link! Below is a link to one I found, but I don't know where it's made:

www.lithiumion-batteries.com/products/12v-7ah-lithium-ion-battery/

Definitely wanting Lithium Polymer / Ion for weight reasons. 

I'll post if I find any better options