I am interested in setting up a low power hobby solar setup on my balcony, mainly to get a feel for the most basic aspects of solar power usage without spending too much money. I am not able to install anything permanent as I am renting, I can't even drill holes for mounting. It just needs to be able to charge some usb devices and maybe run some basic camping or RV equipment. It should also be waterproof if possible. Something like 50 watts is probably fine.

I need some advice about products I was looking at buying, I don't want to get scammed on consumer products that are of minimal utility.

I like the idea of this sort of thing: https://www.pearl.de/a-ZX3016-3034.shtml Sorry it is in German, I can translate if needed but I think the image should be enough to get the idea of the kind of product I mean. There are a few different variations. Are these things any good? Do they really replace the need for a power regulator? Can I just plug solar panels directly into it? Is there anything I have to be careful of?

The other option is to go with a kit, something like this: https://www.pearl.de/a-NX2757-3034.shtml I know it is only 20W but you get the idea. Is it a lot cheaper to buy the parts separately or is this kind of kit a good idea for a beginner? I am assuming that with a kit like that I probably wont be able to extend it with more/bigger panels in the future.

Is the vendor I am linking even any good? It seems the best one I could find but I am open to suggestions.

14 minutes ago, Duncan1248 said:

thing: https://www.pearl.de/a-ZX3016-3034.shtml Sorry

24Ah at what? 12V? (doubt it) 230V? (I really doubt it), probably on the USB/5V side... so that would translate to 120Wh capacity and so it says, 120W, this is what I'd call bullmanure advertising and probably should be not encouraged by actually spending money there... here's the actual further down...

Integrierter Li-Ion-Akku mit 24.000 mAh (88,8 Wh)

So LiIon of actual 88Wh, not the 120W(I assumed h) at the top of the description... I'd say, give it a miss, 80W on the AC side is a tad on the anemic end, but it might be ok for a laptop, but after an hour the LiIon's would be pancakes, probably not enough to charge a laptop, I'm guessing...

The second option, if you can treat the Lead Acid battery well and keep it in good health is probably a better route, again, though... an 18Ah lead acid battery, probably should be limited to providing no more than 40W or so, so where is their idea of a 20W solar panel to charge and you can run a "Bügeleisen, Haartrockner" as expamples off the AC inverter, which is specced at 150W to max 300W, when the battery would not survive this kind of experimentation more than a very short life time... I think you need to start more with a list of what you want to power/achieve and how much power this adds up to and then when you have more solid numbers in hand, mix and match items to fit the bill...

Thanks for that, I did think the those converter modules looked a bit suspect. Still the performance you predicted for it does not sound too far off my minimal requirements. Running a laptop for an hour or a small stereo system for a couple of hours would be the maximum I need, and most of the time it is more likely to be used to charge phones and mp3 players.

Basically whatever setup I end up getting, I will find what it is good for and use it for that, and if it can't handle a certain load device I will stop using that device. One factor that would be very useful would be reliability and minimal maintenance. It sounds like lead acid is a bad idea for that. When you say it would not survive, are you referring to the necessity of completely discharging and recharging the battery, or is it simply that that level of draw would be too much for it?

I don't mind if I have to buy special camping appliances I don't expect to be able to plug in household 230v devices into such a small setup.

 

why not pickup one of the 24v axperts with batterys that come up on classifieds, and add a panel or 2 ?

alternatively, your ave chinese outlet should have these for cheap, around R300 or so, then add a solar panel, battery and car 12v  - 220v inverter

Edited January 7, 20223 yr by Nitrious

The price difference between those suggestions is quite stark. The cheapest small Axpert I can find is around €350, whereas I can get a PWM charge controller, inverter and battery for €150, less if I shop around. Is there something I am missing or is the extra price for the first one just a convenience and compactness thing?

It seems like a 100W panel, a 20-30A charge controller, a cheap inverter and a car battery would leave me room to add more panels and storage still be relatively affordable. Is there going to be issues with the battery dying too fast?

Installed a cheap PWM charge controller, 600 watt inverter, 200 watt PV panel with 12volt battery in 2013 and it is doing a great job. Replaced the battery twice. 

11 hours ago, Duncan1248 said:

The price difference between those suggestions is quite stark. The cheapest small Axpert I can find is around €350, whereas I can get a PWM charge controller, inverter and battery for €150, less if I shop around. Is there something I am missing or is the extra price for the first one just a convenience and compactness thing?

It seems like a 100W panel, a 20-30A charge controller, a cheap inverter and a car battery would leave me room to add more panels and storage still be relatively affordable. Is there going to be issues with the battery dying too fast?

I'm not precisely sure of your direction hence both suggestions, the used 24v axperts go for around R3k, so around €150, sometimes you get the batteries "free", but they're likely not in great shape.

"It seems like a 100W panel, a 20-30A charge controller, a cheap inverter and a car battery would leave me room to add more panels and storage still be relatively affordable." here the majority can be put into a plastic container with wheels, a google search will give ideas, its a commonly enough used idea. The battery will give around 2yrs use.

When I first moved back here as covid was first hitting quickly put a "solar system" together consisting of a outback solar charge controller, 10x broken solar panels I had lying around (think glass broken etc), some batteries and a 1kva APC inverter I had.. It was quickly replaced, but still it held together during a few loadshedding events powering the house essentials, so so long as the math is done, you'll be fine.

I still have 2 of those cheap chinese solar controllers, and an especially bad 800w 12v - 220v transformer based inverter, along with the APC lying around, maybe 1 day they'll find their way into the landrover, more likely I'll go the 24v axpert route though.

Edited January 8, 20223 yr by Nitrious

Alright thanks everyone, this has been really helpful

On 2022/01/08 at 9:34 AM, Duncan1248 said:

Alright thanks everyone, this has been really helpful

Why not just get a pan and charge controller to charge the battery of a plain and dirt cheap UPS. Leave the UPS off while solar keeps the battery charged. Then switch the UPS on and power normal items instead of buying DC gadgets just to use the battery power. These DC items are not always cheap and performance can be dodgy. You already have the AC chargers etc.