Goal Zero Nomad 13.5 Vehicle Battery Charging Setup

[expdtnoffroad]

Catusjk the way that the system is supposed to work is as follows:
The LED will be solid green if the battery pack is full and in the off position.

Let me know if you see something different.

Also, you can charge it with any AC mini USB if it is pushing out the normal 5 volts.


-Jim

 

[GeoRoss]

I think I am going to pull the trigger on a Nomad 13.5 and Sherpa 50. I'd love to size it up for peace of mind, but budget is a consideration. ~$340 for the smaller one vs ~$600 for the larger Nomad/Sherpa set up. I'd love to see some more real life reviews, they are few and far between but always very positive.

This is the first season I'll be taking a laptop out for field work (heaven help me). I haven't in the past due to not wanting to deal with keeping it charged or needing to keep track of it. I have very limited access to the electric grid for a typical 2 month season and often without reliable vehicle access. I should be able to charge a macbook air enough to get a 2-3 hours or more of work per day with the Sherpa 50. I should be able to do this with a DC-DC charger as I get about 3 hours out of the internal 37W-hr battery.


There is just this niggling nagging in the back of my mind that bigger is better. :sombrero:

 

[cactusjk]

The Extreme 350 sounds like a pretty good way to go!

Cactusjk a possible solution for you would be to utilize a a Goal Zero Extreme 350 Power Pack if you were wanting to power something like an ARB fridge and keep it off your vehicles power system. An ARB fridge draws 0.87 amp/hr which is fairly low. You would be able to run your fridge for at least 30 hours on the Extreme 350 (350 watt-hour). If you added a panel like the Boulder 30M Panel you would really be able to offset the draw in good sun conditions. You could also recharge the 350 on your vehicles power system when you start traveling again.
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Kurt I would recommend the Nomad 7 / Guide 10 combo with a few extra rechargeable batteries on the side. You could strap this to a backpack and take care of you phone, GPS, and PLB tracking needs easily.

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If anyone needs any more specifics on solar gear please let us know. We are an authorized dealer for Goal Zero and Brunton. We have great relations with both companies and know their products very well.

 

[expdtnoffroad]

I think I am going to pull the trigger on a Nomad 13.5 and Sherpa 50. I'd love to size it up for peace of mind, but budget is a consideration. ~$340 for the smaller one vs ~$600 for the larger Nomad/Sherpa set up. I'd love to see some more real life reviews, they are few and far between but always very positive.

This is the first season I'll be taking a laptop out for field work (heaven help me). I haven't in the past due to not wanting to deal with keeping it charged or needing to keep track of it. I have very limited access to the electric grid for a typical 2 month season and often without reliable vehicle access. I should be able to charge a macbook air enough to get a 2-3 hours or more of work per day with the Sherpa 50. I should be able to do this with a DC-DC charger as I get about 3 hours out of the internal 37W-hr battery.


There is just this niggling nagging in the back of my mind that bigger is better. :sombrero:

The Extreme 350 sounds like a pretty good way to go!

We will be doing some real world testing on these systems next weekend in the desert. I would be more than happy to share our findings with you guys before we write our review.

 

[Fireman78]

Just a little side note here... I have the Goal Zero Guide 10 AA charging pack, and the clamshell charging pack melted to the point of being unuseable. All of this happened why it was being charged...with the sun. (I have two emails and three phone calls into the company so far.)

 

[expdtnoffroad]

Fireman78 if I can be any help I would be happy to speak with Goal Zero next week on you behalf. Who did you buy the Guide 10 through?

 

[Fireman78]

Fireman78 if I can be any help I would be happy to speak with Goal Zero next week on you behalf. Who did you buy the Guide 10 through?

I bought a whole bunch of stuff from the Goal Zero guys at the OV Expo a couple weeks ago. I just haven't had the best of luck with the cust service so far with this issue though. I used it everyday until it melted though. I am getting addicted to solar.

 

[csPCV]

Guide 10 Melting

Fireman78 if I can be any help I would be happy to speak with Goal Zero next week on you behalf. Who did you buy the Guide 10 through?

Something very similar to what Fireman78 described happened to me as well. I left my Guide 10 charging in the sun with the Nomad 7 and when I returned later in the day I found one corner of the Guide 10 seriously disfigured. I could not figure out what had happened, I first thought maybe one of the cows stepped on it or something chewed on it but there were no scratches or scuff marks. Luckily it appears to still be somewhat functional, though I now have to remove the end panel to accuate the switch which is not accuating reliably. The only thing I can think of is it had melted and now Fireman's story seems to corroborate that, as well as a review posted at REI:

http://www.rei.com/product/814776

My Nomad 7/Guide 10 was purchased for me from an REI in Pittsburgh, PA. I would normally go and return it myself, however I am about 10,000 miles away at the moment. I am a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in RURAL South Africa a la no electricity, which makes having a working solar all the more pressing. Despite the melting I do like the Nomad 7 + Guide 10 setup. It works great for keeping my kindle, ipod, and cell phone charged as well as charging the AAAs for my headlamp.

Fireman78, if you make any progress talking with Goal Zero I would be very interested to hear about it. Likewise expdtnoffroad. Thanks a lot

 

[Fireman78]

I'll let you know.. still waiting for an answer. It is obivously a problem. Perhaps the clamshell should be made of a tougher material?

 

[r_w]

I'll let you know.. still waiting for an answer. It is obivously a problem. Perhaps the clamshell should be made of a tougher material?

Hmm, setting in the SUN and BLACK. If it didn't melt, the batteries will blow up soon after. It needs to be a reflective color and insulative.

 

[cactusjk]

Should I rething my recent Guide 10 REI purchase?

 

[Fireman78]

I just got off the phone with them, They are going to send me a replacement right away and a pre-paid box to ship back the bad one. They have had a couple issues with this happening but a very small percentage. I will probably buy a second unit, they are just so handy to have , to be able to charge a phone/GPS/camera, walkie talkie batts, whatever in the woods. Hopefully the melting thing is a rarity.


I also have the Escape 150 and 13.5 charge panel.. no issues. That thing is awesome, and the camp lights run all night for several nights on one charge

 

[expdtnoffroad]

I just got off the phone with them, They are going to send me a replacement right away and a pre-paid box to ship back the bad one. They have had a couple issues with this happening but a very small percentage. I will probably buy a second unit, they are just so handy to have , to be able to charge a phone/GPS/camera, walkie talkie batts, whatever in the woods. Hopefully the melting thing is a rarity.


I also have the Escape 150 and 13.5 charge panel.. no issues. That thing is awesome, and the camp lights run all night for several nights on one charge

Fireman78 I was going to give you the information to get you a replacement but it looks like you are already on it. Please let me know if you need any more product support. The percentage of Guide 10 failures is very small. I wouldn't worry about the purchase.
-Jim

 

[GeoRoss]

We will be doing some real world testing on these systems next weekend in the desert. I would be more than happy to share our findings with you guys before we write our review.

Thanks, I just received a Sherpa 50 yesterday. I would appear that my initial test is that it will run my MBA for about 3.5 hours if I am using an inverter and using the internet. When I get it running directly via DC I should get an improvement on that time. I'll do some more runs and see how it all turns out over several runs, but I am optimistic at this point.

I'll be testing the solar panels this weekend or maybe even tomorrow.

 

[expdtnoffroad]

GeoRoss I would love to hear more about your experience with the Sherpa 50.