Solar Generator (DIY Goal Zero Yeti)

[snowblind]

Goal Zero wanted about $1600 for their unit plus a few hundred for the solar panel. I'm in it for less than $500 and am very happy with the final results.

Your box is AWESOME. Really clean and looks like it fits your needs perfectly. You also did a great job sourcing parts at the lowest price possible and keeping the weight "realistic."

However... you didn't build a Yeti1250. You would need to add a few more ports, an inverter, a screen with real-time charging and power output, some internal fans/temperature control software and also increase the battery to 100ah. That doesn't mean the Yeti is a good value at $1600. Just means it's an apples to oranges comparison.

For me the Yeti 1250 is waaaaaaaaay too big to use for portable fridge power. Your box is a decent compromise of capacity versus size/weight but still too big for my liking. I went with the 30ah Yeti400 that comes in at under 30lbs.


Matt

 

[robgendreau]

Great job. I always wondered why people plonk tons of money for some of the overpriced and under-spec'd power equipment out there.

A question though: why the switch inside? I'm kinda paranoid and always wanna have an easily accessed power off switch, but that may be overkill here. Also, I've found those solar type connectors (forgot their name) kinda difficult to use on my panel; I am going to switch them out to powerpoles. And what did you do about fuses? maybe I missed that.

 

[Javelinadave]

Great job. I always wondered why people plonk tons of money for some of the overpriced and under-spec'd power equipment out there.

Same here. That's why I built this with everything I needed and left out everything I didn't. I don't need an inverter and I don't need some fluffy charge meter. My simple volt meter tells me if I'm running at a surplus or at a deficit electrically speaking.

A question though: why the switch inside? I'm kinda paranoid and always wanna have an easily accessed power off switch, but that may be overkill here. Also, I've found those solar type connectors (forgot their name) kinda difficult to use on my panel; I am going to switch them out to power poles.

I put the switch (and everything else) inside for durability. I run it with the cover off (eliminating the need for power using fans) so I can get to the master shutoff switch as fast as if it was on the outside. As for Power Poles they do make things much easier to connect/disconnect. I went with these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057ZQJ12/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1IBW2HULNJLEY

And what did you do about fuses? maybe I missed that.

 

[Javelinadave]

115F (46C) on the patio, the fridge is 27F (-3) and the battery is 100% topped off. I'm calling this a successful project.

 

[Flagster]

Nice setup. Can I ask what you are using the shutoff switch for...

 

[Cobra_R]

Thanks for the write-up! Is there anyway to adapt it so it can be charged via 110 as well as solar?

 

[e60ral]

Thanks for the write-up! Is there anyway to adapt it so it can be charged via 110 as well as solar?

You could add a NOCO on board charger

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Cobra_R]

Awesome, thanks! Now I have a project to work on