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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: 5 Small Power Sources To Choose For Your Electronics 5 Small Power Sources To Choose For Your Electronics BIG ElectronicsHow can the little guy on a budget get some juice? There are an abundance of ads on survival blogs promoting this or that new solar generator or whole-home solar installation for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. That’s great for the minority of preppers who can afford them any time soon, but what about the majority of hardworking folks preparing on a budget? Don’t throw in the towel on your desire for energy-independence just yet. Here are a few options you may be able to afford sooner rather than later, while you save up for the larger toys. BioLite Camp Stove – $130 BioLiteBiolite makes a packable wood-burning stove that converts the heat from your cooking fire into electrical energy to charge USB devices. I had high hopes for a product called FlameStower – $94 that did not integrate the thermal generator and stove, which would have allowed the user to use a greater variety of stoves, including gas stoves. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend that product for most users as it just was not up to snuff. But BioLite makes solid product and hopefully they will include such a device in their line, improving on the shortcomings of the aforementioned great idea that flubbed in implementation. Let’s say you make three 20-minute fires per day to do your cooking. That would give you approximately three hours of talk time on most smartphones while economizing use of wood fuel and obscuring most of the visual signs of a campfire. Not a bad trade off. Discontinued Products From Reputable Manufacturers When buying a computer, it often does not make sense to buy the last generation because the newer generation may be many times more powerful, but this does not hold true for solar technology. I’m using a portable Gen2 solar array that I bought over 10 years ago and it is maybe 25-20% less efficient per it’s weight than a Gen3 solar panel. If we were talking computers, more than one generation would have passed in 10 years, but innovation in solar technology moves slower. Buying a discontinued solar array at a 50% discount actually makes a lot of sense. So, what kind of deals can be found using this reasoning? I have bought many discontinued, but brand new Brunton brand solar products at deep discounts through a company call Botach that sells law enforcement and outdoor gear. I will pass on my go to supplier in hopes that it will save you some money. But you may know of other outlets that heavily discount discontinued solar gear from other reliable manufacturers. If so, it’s not the supplier that is important. It is the deep discount and the quality of the product. Related: How to Protect Your Solar Gear from EMP Brunton SolarRoll 9w Flexible Solar Panel – $99 Brunton Sollar Roll 9wOutput is 12v, 9000mA in full sun so a panel like this can charge hand held or even mobile radios, cell phones and most other small electronics via their car chargers. The panel is weatherproof, but connected equipment is not, so don’t use it in the rain, but rain would not harm the panel. At 9.2oz and 12′ x 40" it can easily be rolled up and packed in a backpack. You can even hang it off the back and charge devices while you walk. With the addition of a charge controller, it could also be used to charge a 12v Gel Cell Battery (or even a car battery) without risk of overcharging if left in the sun too long. It it wouldn’t be able to give most car batteries a full charge in one day of sun, but it certainly could keep one topped off for emergency communications. There are car batteries all around you. A charge controller runs around $15-$30, so that makes this type of panel a very attractive option whether you shelter in place or bug out. I use a 26-watt folding array that is similar to this, only foldable instead of rollable and more than double the power. I swapped the connectors over to Anderson PowerPole connectors to cut down on the amount of cables and adapters I need, but this is a serviceable product at a bargain price and 27 are in stock as of this writing. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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