[HCARC] Ever Wanted To Try Solar???

[Gary and Arlene Johnson]

If you have ever wanted to try solar, but couldn't justify the $$$, Harbor Freight has an ad/coupon in this months Co-op Power magazine (the Bandera Co-op one) for their 45 watt, three panel solar system that comes complete with the mounting brackets and a solar charge controller for $139.00.  Add a deep cycle battery, some cables to go from the battery to your rig and some sun and you are in business.  Cables from the panels to the controller and from the controller to the battery are furnished in the kit..

This is the lowest I have ever seen this set up and I have 5 sets ready to be mounted on my garage roof this spring.  I eventually want to have 8-10 sets to generate somewhere in the neighborhood of a max 360-450 watts per hour or 2160 - 2700 watts on a 6 hours sunny day.  If I had that kind of power I could run all the 110V electrical needs for my garage/shack including some A/C and refrigeration.  I will need some additional batteries though to keep from discharging the ones I have too much each day.  I will also need a much larger power inverter.

It is doable and via Harbor Freight (also other sources too) a little at a time - expanding a little bit as funds become available.

Gary J
N5BAA
HCARC Secretary 2013