MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Got a garage a fair distance from the house. Can't run power to it.
Anyone got a homebrew solar set up to run a few 12v light fittings? Done a bit of Googling to find some expensive kits and a few DIY jobbies but no decent pictures or description of output.
Anyone sorted something bright enough to do a bit of bike fettling by? How many lights at what output do I reasonably need?
Leisure battery and some cheap solar panels might do the job?
That's my thought. What lights do people advise though, and how many for a decent light to work by...?
2 x 50 LED labcraft strips provide very bright work light in my luton van.
try the chinese stores on ebay for strips of LEDs. Don't rule out the small panels of surface mount ones. They are VERY bright and most are configured for running off car batteries. The one I got came with fittings to wire it into a courtesy light bulb socket and it will dazzle you if you look at it without any diffuser.
Maplins do relatively cheap 12v solar packages ( panels, mounting rack, and controller box ) I've got the 60W version on the roof of my Landy for camping and it works well.
There are cells on ebay you can build into panels. We did it for our camper van when we blocked one of the rear windows we fitted some cells behind to charge the battery while it was stood.
It would be much cheaper and simpler to just strap a car battery to a hand trolley and charge it up via a cheap multistage charger in your porch once every couple of weeks. We use a 85amp ish battery to run an electric fence around a horse field for 12 hours a day, and it lasts for several weeks before needing a recharge via a cheap Aldi charger that cost £15. Its a smart one as well so can be left on as a trickle charger as well.
Solar panels are expensive although they would probably keep up with occasional use for just a few lights. They would need to be securely attached to prevent theft/blowing across the street in the wind, and if they are over a certain size you will need a charge controller to prevent gassing/over charging the battery. This will turn excess current into heat via a big resistor.