Solar Tote by IDS Solar
EcoDirect has partnered with local company IDS Solar to bring their innovative solar products to our customers.
| Weight |
45 lbs |
| Battery |
12VDC 50AH Deep Cycle AGM Sealed Lead Acid |
| Inverter |
1500 Watt Modified Sine |
| Solar Panel |
40W Suntech Poly |
Detailed Description:
Perfect for camping or RV! This system will operate many common household appliances and many common power tools, including:
- Full Size Coffee Pot
- Toaster
- Refrigerator
- Freezer
- Laptop
- Drill
- And more...!
Understanding the Solar Tote Generator System
Think of a battery as a bucket holding water. The bigger the bucket, the more water it holds.
Think of a solar panel like a faucet and hose filling the bucket with water. The bigger the panel, the more the faucet is opened and the more water comes out of the hose, and the faster the bucket fills.
Think of an inverter like the amount of water you can pull out of the bucket at one time. A tiny inverter would be like a straw, wheras a very large inverter would be like a powerful pump that could drain a small bucket in seconds.
The battery
The battery stores a total of 600 watts (12 volts x 50 amps). It is the foundation of the system.
It is a deep cycle AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) sealed lead acid battery. This means that the electrolyte inside the battery is not a liquid like one may encounter in older car batteries. Instead, the electrolyte is a gel that is absorbed in a glass fabric (or "mat") that separates the lead plates inside a completely sealed plastic housing. This feature means that the battery never has to be replenished, can be operated in any position, and if it is ever dropped and cracked open, the electrolyte won't spill out.
Deep cycle batteries have solid, thicker lead plates than car batteries, which contain thin, porous lead plates. This is because car batteries are designed to maintain a full charge all the time; the thin, porous plates take advantage of their huge surface area to release a large amount of electrons instantaneously and deliver a surge of power very briefly to crank the engine starter motor. This drains the battery only slightly, and the car alternator quickly recharges the battery. Deeply discharging a car battery causes the thin, porous plates to rapidly disintegrate, ruining the battery.
In contrast, the thicker, solid plates in a deep cycle battery deliver less instantaneous power, but discharge over a much longer period of time and can do it over and over again. A properly maintained deep cycle battery can be half discharged and fully recharged well over 1000 cycles. Try this with a car battery and it would last only a handful of cycles before being destroyed.
Although a deep cycle battery can be completely discharged to zero before recharge, it is best to avoid going below 50% before recharging to prolong battery life, though an occasional total discharge is not a big deal. The Solar Tote battery stores 600 watts of power, so a 50% discharge would be 300 watts of power regularly available.
The Panel
The solar panel produces 40 watts per hour. A battery 50% discharged would take the 40 watt panel 7.5 hours (300 / 40 = 7.5) to fully recharge in full sunlight.
The Inverter
The inverter produces 1500 watts (per hour). A 100 watt light bulb can be operated for 3 hours (300 watts total) before draining a fully charged battery halfway. A 1200 watt hairdryer could be operated for 15 minutes before draining a fully charged battery halfway.
