I’m going green when able. Anyone used this system or similar?

https://www.rei.com/product/205235/goal-zero-yeti-200x-portable-power-station-with-nomad-20-solar-panel-kit

For what? 20 watts isn’t much.

There are a couple young men on YouTube that review solar portable generators.
That system you have posted may run a small DC television and charge your iPad but not much more. 200 watts of solar panels will be matched somewhat to the battery capacity. What amp hour and battery voltage and wattage of inverter are you looking for? None of those have AC inverters. Any inverter under 2000 watts won’t run much as far as AC power. That will dictate your needs.

Thank you for the replies…I’m looking for an iPAD, IRIDIUM GO! Exec and/or GoPro charging solution (not all at the same time but, sequentially charged).

Now that I think about it, 20w probably will not do well in the mid latitude. The next size up has a 50w panel and probably is more reasonable:

Note: I don’t have a lot of space to carry it.

https://www.rei.com/product/205236/goal-zero-yeti-500x-portable-power-station-with-boulder-50-solar-panel-kit?sku=2052360001

Not to be cynical, but this thing is approaching the cost and weight of a 1,000 watt generator. To save a cup of gas?

What about a few $40 battery packs from Amazon?

Ross4289 wrote:Not to be cynical, but this thing is approaching the cost and weight of a 1,000 watt generator. To save a cup of gas?

What about a few $40 battery packs from Amazon?

Definitely an overpriced item. Also, can’t ship it airfreight.

Shall consider other options.

Thank you for the replies.

I think these solar kits are kinda neat. Ross is not wrong; it’s kind of a fool’s errand to bother when you can use a modern power bank or a little generator. Lots of cool options there.

But, the panels and kits are lightweight and if you have good sun exposure they’ll charge your electronics. It’s just kinda cool to actually make current from the sun.

I have a home emergency setup that uses several 100w panels and a 1500w bank for when my 50 gallons of backup fuel for my 3000w generator runs out. Things would have to be pretty bad by then but hey, it’s something.

I think there are better options than Goal Zero now. They were early to the game and got a foot in at REI.

It’s not even a drop in the bucket for “helping the planet” but I enjoy using because it’s fun to tinker with. Like most all my hobbies—fruitless but enjoyable.

Zzz wrote:I think these solar kits are kinda neat. Ross is not wrong; it’s kind of a fool’s errand to bother when you can use a modern power bank or a little generator. Lots of cool options there.

But, the panels and kits are lightweight and if you have good sun exposure they’ll charge your electronics. It’s just kinda cool to actually make current from the sun.

I have a home emergency setup that uses several 100w panels and a 1500w bank for when my 50 gallons of backup fuel for my 3000w generator runs out. Things would have to be pretty bad by then but hey, it’s something.

I think there are better options than Goal Zero now. They were early to the game and got a foot in at REI.

It’s not even a drop in the bucket for “helping the planet” but I enjoy using because it’s fun to tinker with. Like most all my hobbies—fruitless but enjoyable.

Thank you Zzz, are there other brands that you recommend? I’m still interested even after the sticker shock but, not necessarily in GoalZero. I’m not a Yetti fan either.

I crossed the Pacific with a 20w panel on a sailboat (no regulator, just alligator clips, manually watching the voltage) in year 1990 (33 years ago). Then lived on anchor for 6 months (tropics)!

My opinion: We really don’t need a lot of power to be self sustaining and happy! At least that’s true in the tropics. Keeping up with Joneses is destroying the planet!

Helicopters can generally land in areas where few people are. Therefore, the noise of a generator in the morning is welcome to me personally, when I’m alone. But, not be appropriate in many other places.

Classic coffee:

I have an even smaller solar charging setup. It's only 25000mAh, but that works fine for me. I set it up by my plane when I'm fly-camping and charge a couple of battery bricks while I'm running around all day long. When I get back around dinner time, the battery bricks have enough juice to charge my cell phone and my tablet back to 100%. I also have an In Reach mini satellite tracker/communicator that I keep charged this way. Here's my plane at Oshkosh with the puny system I have. It serves my needs just fine. You can see the solar panels propped up against my right tire.

Flyhound wrote:I have an even smaller solar charging setup. It's only 25000mAh, but that works fine for me. I set it up by my plane when I'm fly-camping and charge a couple of battery bricks while I'm running around all day long. When I get back around dinner time, the battery bricks have enough juice to charge my cell phone and my tablet back to 100%. I also have an In Reach mini satellite tracker/communicator that I keep charged this way. Here's my plane at Oshkosh with the puny system I have. It serves my needs just fine. You can see the solar panels propped up against my right tire.

That’s what I love to read! Do with less than what’s shoved down our throats by the super cool marketing deluging the media. It’s amazing what people haul around. Australia has an addiction to glamour camping, and where I saw hundreds of gas generators during “Schoolies” week on Frazer Island all packed together. The phenomenon started about 20 years ago when low cost family style 4x4s (Utes) started flooding Brisbane.

Keep up the good work FlyHound and carry on man!

I thought goal zero was overpriced so I built one myself with a 2500W inverter and 2 100AHr lithium car batteries. Ha ha, 2x the price, 2x the size, 2x the weight and I'll be lucky if it doesn't convert my van into a puddle of aluminum when some connector I miscrimped vibrates loose.. Learned a bunch anyway.

Lots of electric toys, I love the potential but when specific energy really matters... liquid fuels are still king. I did look at the small goal zeros to run my engine pre-heat for an hr or two, the smallest one is a bit too small and the big enough one was 20 lbs more than a Honda 1000.

Here's a question.. does anyone worry about generators, gas cans, propane stove canisters, large batteries way in the back out of reach?

stretch wrote:I thought goal zero was overpriced so I built one myself with a 2500W inverter and 2 100AHr lithium car batteries. Ha ha, 2x the price, 2x the size, 2x the weight and I'll be lucky if it doesn't convert my van into a puddle of aluminum when some connector I miscrimped vibrates loose.. Learned a bunch anyway.

Lots of electric toys, I love the potential but when specific energy really matters... liquid fuels are still king. I did look at the small goal zeros to run my engine pre-heat for an hr or two, the smallest one is a bit too small and the big enough one was 20 lbs more than a Honda 1000.

Here's a question.. does anyone worry about generators, gas cans, propane stove canisters, large batteries way in the back out of reach?

This. Batteries and inverter….

8GCBC wrote:.... It’s amazing what people haul around. .....

...says the guy who hauls around a Mr Coffee in his helicopter.

hotrod180 wrote:

8GCBC wrote:.... It’s amazing what people haul around. .....

...says the guy who hauls around a Mr Coffee in his helicopter.

Ha ha …Always have my Kona Coffee with me. But, definitely “Jonesing”.

So... what seems like forever ago I had many points at rei and bought a tiny, much smaller goal zero set up on said points while shopping for a new big agnes.
The 'goal' wasn't 'stored' power or an espresso and movies in the morning. The goal was if I piled it up on Kayak Island etc, I just wanted a back up plan to keep things going until I got everything sorted out. Self sufficient is just kind of how I like to roll.
Several trips north later, a similar thread came up, and I relayed my experience.

Needless to say, solar minds far more experienced than mine piped up and blurted how worthless these were. Little power, minimal storage, takes forever... yada yada yada... and how you could not watch trent palmer while shopping amazon, making a latte...

Yep... rock on.

Meanwhile, my goal zero panels did everything I asked, as did the subsequent anker addition.

I don't expect to run a tig welder off stored solar energy at my off grid Casita, and likewise don't expect homestyle power excess when packing ultra light solar gear off airport. But I also rest easy knowing when the EarthX battery quits, the avgas is gone, and consequently the yamaha has no fuel, my cellphone, Inreach, iPad and wait for it
... anything I am patient enough to wait on... has power, IOW... I can keep on keeping on.

Some people rest easy in knowing they can hit the 'sos' button on their spot. I rest easy in knowing while that option exists for me as well, I will continue to exhaust learning what it takes to not tax that system frivolously.

Unlike your start of this thread, 'green' was the least of my concerns, but how cool is it to be way, way in the boonies and not need anything but a little sunshine while you cast away at the dolly's, rainbows, or? as your phone, iPad etc... is getting topped off.

Keep the expectactions real, and you'll be real pleased. Expectations like a self entitled millennial may find you less than happy.

Take care, Rob

Rob wrote:So... what seems like forever ago I had many points at rei and bought a tiny, much smaller goal zero set up on said points while shopping for a new big agnes.
The 'goal' wasn't 'stored' power or an espresso and movies in the morning. The goal was if I piled it up on Kayak Island etc, I just wanted a back up plan to keep things going until I got everything sorted out. Self sufficient is just kind of how I like to roll.
Several trips north later, a similar thread came up, and I relayed my experience.

Needless to say, solar minds far more experienced than mine piped up and blurted how worthless these were. Little power, minimal storage, takes forever... yada yada yada... and how you could not watch trent palmer while shopping amazon, making a latte...

Yep... rock on.

Meanwhile, my goal zero panels did everything I asked, as did the subsequent anker addition.

I don't expect to run a tig welder off stored solar energy at my off grid Casita, and likewise don't expect homestyle power excess when packing ultra light solar gear off airport. But I also rest easy knowing when the EarthX battery quits, the avgas is gone, and consequently the yamaha has no fuel, my cellphone, Inreach, iPad and wait for it
... anything I am patient enough to wait on... has power, IOW... I can keep on keeping on.

Some people rest easy in knowing they can hit the 'sos' button on their spot. I rest easy in knowing while that option exists for me as well, I will continue to exhaust learning what it takes to not tax that system frivolously.

Unlike your start of this thread, 'green' was the least of my concerns, but how cool is it to be way, way in the boonies and not need anything but a little sunshine while you cast away at the dolly's, rainbows, or? as your phone, iPad etc... is getting topped off.

Keep the expectactions real, and you'll be real pleased. Expectations like a self entitled millennial may find you less than happy.

Take care, Rob

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Since summer solstice will be here in about (40) days, solar energy becomes much better in the PNW. My first project is to gain a small amount of power on the sailboat (Departing to Half Moon Bay in June)

Plan “A”:
Install (1) 55W & (1) 35W GoPower flexible panels in parallel to house batteries.

The portable setup is on hold because I’m not going too far offshore. When I get to Hawaii and sail south, the logistics change. In case I get marooned on “Gilligan’s Island”, the portable would be welcomed.

My InReach, IridiumGo! Exec, and iPAD have their own batteries which gives a little bit of time if “Sh*t hits the fan.

The helicopter will always have a Yamaha generator for preheat, battery charger (24V) and Kona coffee (density altitude, temperature and W&B permitting).

Aloha and mahalo for following the thread!

Added a single 100W solar panel to the top of the dodger (Victron regulator). Enough to get me to San Pedro, California…it’s mostly a backup to the engine driven alternator. When I sail to Hawaii and then the Tuamotus Archipelago will definitely add more solars arrays. And possibly a water maker.

NOTE: My buddy talked me out of installing the GoPower flexible panels and an archaic regulator. I’m stoked with it so far! We are loading up the boat and moving to Southern California…yea haa.

I've had my ROCKPALS 100W solar panel Amazon Rockpals for just over a year and used it quite a bit truck camping. Keeps my Dometic CFX3 55 Liter fridge, iPad, camp LED's etc charged up. $169 currently, can be run in parallel if you need more, folds up, and only weights 6.8 lbs. Goal Zero stuff is nice but at a comparable price you only get 20w and some street cred. I can't speak for their powerbanks, but I've been happy with their solar panels.

Flyhound wrote:I have an even smaller solar charging setup. It's only 25000mAh, but that works fine for me. I set it up by my plane when I'm fly-camping and charge a couple of battery bricks while I'm running around all day long. When I get back around dinner time, the battery bricks have enough juice to charge my cell phone and my tablet back to 100%. I also have an In Reach mini satellite tracker/communicator that I keep charged this way. Here's my plane at Oshkosh with the puny system I have. It serves my needs just fine. You can see the solar panels propped up against my right tire.

Nice A/C @Flyhound. We might have to do a twinsies meetup since you're at my breakfast spot.