true, the Polycrystalline or Monocrystalline rigid panels are more efficient than the flexible thin-film cells or the glass Cadmium telluride cells. (the all black lower-cost glass panel type)
Yeah poly is more efficient if you live in the desert like us. It has better efficiency when the heat gets ridiculous least over mono. I kind of like the cadmium panels but my buddy is all against it, says it’s too new to know what it’ll be like in 20 years and if a burglar is running around on the roof and faceplants into it, he’ll get burned on his parts. Like our poly panels are ~16% efficient on the panels and the inverter is ~96% eff. You lose about 400 watts under the rating every 10 panels to just shadowing, wire, etc…
You had to, didnt you 
And +1 for great advice, This definitely a place where you can post whatever it is that any one else can relate to.
Protection and balancing PCB Protection Circuit Module (PCM) with Equilibrium Function & Fuel Gauge for 11.1V Li-Ion Battery Pack at 10A limit
Just a thought on the efficiency of whatever panels are in use, 90 degree angle to the sun is the optimal angle, ok a bit of wire will take care of the vertical angle, but do you plan on hiking only to the North for max efficiency, if you want 30w then plan for 60w to allow for the times when you just can’t travel North, like getting to close to Canada :bigsmile:
Cheers David
- *~~Instapark 27W foldble solar:* Amazon.com
- Semi-Flexible 30 Watt Solar Panel: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Semi-Flexible-30-Watt-Solar-Panel-12V-High-Efficiency-Sunpower-Marine-Rated-/131268389129
- 3A Mobile Power Supply 6 x 18650 power bank: http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6238946162.html
- Nitcore i2(New 2014 version): Amazon.com
The 18650 battery box takes 16-24v input so I should be able to connect the 17.6V(Open-Circuit Voltage: 17 - 21V) solar panel output to it. The box is also supposed to balance the cells. I’m going to use the battery box 12v output to charge all other batteries with the Nitcore i2.
I also own a Powerbag like this one: Amazon.com that I got new for $24 that takes 12v input so that can be charged also.
I hope it works!
That powerbank is pretty interesting. Looking forward to your results. I could see something like that being used as a battery backup for my Antec ISK 110.
That is a nice powerbank. Please do a small review of it and how it works when you get it. Looks well made and I like the voltage meter. Looking forward to updates on this project.
Someone on a taper forum didn’t find that pack very functional, but who knows what their level of competency is…
The Ebay seller accepted my $75 offer so I’m going with this 30 watt flexible solar panel:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Semi-Flexible-30-Watt-Solar-Panel-12V-High-Efficiency-Sunpower-Marine-Rated-/131268389129
Inspired by Racer's solar panel I bought one too. The Levin and Poweradd panels are too expensive to import from the US into the EU, so I bought a X-Dragon 14W panel from China. I will give an impression when it arrives.
I believe that there is a coupon for Amazon floating around for a discount on that 13W Levin solar panel. I noticed it because my review was blowing up from traffic on slickdeals.net. Someone on slick deals even called my review of that panel “reasonably competent” which given what most people say on the Internet these days, I take as a compliment 
Looks like I made the right decision on this solar panel(19.5V 2.51A) in direct sunlight.
http://postimg.org/image/shrw8ddgr/
http://postimg.org/image/d69w0jag1/
With such a high efficiency solar panel, I am reconsidering this:
6x18650 multi voltage battery box with USB — $16.96 with Ebay promo code CELLSAVE5ON20[expires 09/30]:
NOTE: To activate the 12V-21V output port, the USB switch No. 1 Voltage adjuster(right switch) must be set to the “T” setting
Closest thing to a manual is this: http://www.kaidomain.com/Product/PhotoGallery/52634/206936#id=0
I was asked to provide a review of the battery box. It will not be comprehensive like some reviews here because I don’t own any equipment to test how well the 18650’s are being charged but I do have some observations from my testing.
The 1st thing I noticed is that the voltage is for 3 or 6 18650’s and tops out at 12.4V. My guess is that it charges in groups of 3 to 4.13V. Everything I have found online says that it must charge 3 or 6 cells at a time. The second thing I noticed is that the 12V out must have a load of > 1A or the unit turns itself off. All my 12V chargers did not put enough load on the box to prevent it from automatically turning off. The only 12V item that did keep it on was this(and after 2 hours STILL no hot water!):
Set USB output switch No. 1 Voltage adjuster(right switch) to the “T” setting to activate the 12V-21V output.
Here is a pic of various 12V and USB devices attached:
If you put a 5V .25A or greater load on the USB port then the 12V out will stay on. My NiteCore IntelliCharger i2 did NOT work with the 12V output from this battery box no matter what I tried.
Set the USB output switch No. 1 Voltage adjuster(right switch) to “T” and all my 12V chargers work now.
I have an Intel Quad core tablet and the 5V USB port on the battery box only supplied 1A so I will use that Anker 12V 25W car charger which does charge my tablet properly.
The 16V to 24V input actually charges the cells with 12V to 24V input but using 12V from my solar battery system takes all night to charge from 11.8V to 12.4V. Here is my 30W solar panel charging directly to the box:
I have just tested it with my 30W solar panel in low light cloudy conditions and the box charged to 12.4V pretty quickly so I am very happy with it and have ordered a 2nd one as backup.
Thanks for testing this battery box. It looks like you have found your solar charging solution.
Still interested in this one for a possible power brick replacement (i.e. 18V). So what is the T switch for the USB port? is it one of those buttons next to the USB port? Is there a printed manual link?
I had to Google-Fu a few hints plus a multimeter to figure out the switches.
Right switch: http://postimg.org/image/u9p7dn00t/
Left switch: http://postimg.org/image/y7ch31mu5/
Closest thing to a manual is this: http://www.kaidomain.com/Product/PhotoGallery/52634/206936#id=0
My search for how to get the 12V to 21V to work correctly got me this jewel:
DC Output: 3.6V/5V/6V/9V/12V/15V/16V/19V/21V, Max 3.3A(when need to output 12~21V, Please turn No.1 Voltage Adjuster to 9V Mode)
The 12V-21V output was putting out 5V so I was stumped until I set the “USB” switch(called the No. 1 Voltage adjuster) to “T” and then the output voltages worked as advertised and I could charge my powerbag with it set to 12V while the solar panel charged the box through the input port.
Just to clarify, I called it the USB switch because I thought it adjusted the USB voltage but I was wrong about that. From my tests it looks like the right switch sets voltage from 3.6V to 9V and if you want 12V to 21V, you set the right switch to the “T” setting and then adjust the left switch. A PITA to figure out without a manual.
O.K. then, now that starts to make some sense about the switches. The T setting has got to be a boost mode setting. So not a buck/boost output driver, but either a buck mode driver “OR” a boost mode driver. Very interesting.
Looks like the power brick replacement could still be in play. Thanks for the detective work.
I would check to see if that battery box has proper balance charging. If not i would ether not use it or use protected batteries in it.
Personally I own this one it fits my camera bag perfectly, at some point i will get some good measurements on it to see how much it looses in in the step down converter, I also have this box as well, it seemed to be a much simpler setup to me.
I took a couple photos today of two of my “off Grid” power systems we take on our back country camping trips and group canoe trips.
Below is a Solar system built from two 20-watt Crystalline Solar panels ( they fold face in on hinges to protect their surfaces during transportation) and a modified portable 12AH 12 Volt/300Watt 120 Volt power supply. The power supply has several 12 volt DC output ports, two 5 volt USB charging ports, and a built in 300 watt 120 volt AC inverter, front LED flashlight with its one charging port, voltage regulator, solar controller, and monitoring system, and a flexible LED top light. In the pouch attached to the back of the unit are all the 12 volt cords, adapters, connectors, etc.
Last spring on our 1-week long group camping trip this unit (along with three of the smaller ones below it) using only the 12 volt & 5 volt outputs it kept our Cellphones, GPS units, and my Nitecore I4 charging 18650s on the entire tri in the back country.
This smaller 2-Watt Solar/ 3.6AH 12 Volt system below is one of three systems we used to keep our cell phones/GPS units going for all 10 of us on the week long trip. ( along with the larger unit above to power the I4 charger, and our portable motor-pump camp shower)
I am currently building a couple more portable off-grid power systems, and may build a home made folding solar panel using a selection of the salvaged solar cells from Garden Solar lights. ( below is one of two boxes of various solar cells that could be used in series and parallel sets to produce either 5 v DC or 12 volt DC using a solar controller.
The 'XDragon' arrived two weeks ago, it works very well, in a dutch autumn sun it easily delivers 1.05A to my smarphone, and perhaps more without the charger docter clone in between. When overcast, it charges between 100 and 200mA, my phone still charges at that low current. The thing looks very well made as well.
