Solar power generator

For an indoor emergency... refridge or small heater. Looked the 4Patriot...not sure if they are junk and over priced. Comment/suggestions please? I'm researching for someone. Thank you.

WriteON said:

For an indoor emergency... refridge or small heater. Looked the 4Patriot...not sure if they are junk and over priced. Comment/suggestions please? I'm researching for someone. Thank you.

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looks very nice and well built but also quite expensive.. the question you have to answer is what do you want to power and for how long. The website doesn't mention amperage (i.e.how much electricity ) for each model so its a bit difficult to calculate the rest. The 1800 model costs 2400$ which is rather expensive for a battery, a charge controller and an inverter. anyway you pay that much money mainly because of portability and ease of use: you keep the device plugged into mains until needed and then you can power lets say your fridge for a few hours (depending upon your fridge's consumption). The 1800 model comes with a free 100w solar panel which is miniscule in order to recharge your battery (my guess is that the batt is about 100amp/h, such a panel gives about 6-7 amps/h depending if its monocrystalline or poly). If you are willing to do some research and build a solar system at your place with that much money you can build a really good setup (with much more power). You can also make your own battery box if portability matters that much.
anyway its a long discussion and i kept it short; if you need more info just ask, cheers.

Why would you want solar for an emergency, no sun during a storm. If you want something small get a portable inverter, you can hook it up to your car battery and run a few things in an emergency.

I have a whole house generator that runs on propane but I also have this inverter as a backup to my backup...

EcoFlow has a very good following and reputation. 4Patriot didn't pass any of my requirements other than being more overpriced due to brand than others. There are people with EcoFlows stacked, with full complements of additional batteries and transfer switches powering their whole home.

I used our EcoFlow Delta Pro as a UPS for our sump pumps last spring/summer. With 3 sump pumps running twice a minute each, we couldn't afford any power outage. Best deals are found routinely on Amazon, Costco and the EcoFlow refurbished store. Refurbished comes with NEW warranty (5 years, I think). Units that come with LiFePo batteries are typically better options though it does add a bit to the cost.

I figure that 2 freezers, fridge and internet/router/tv for about a day without charging during a SHTF instance where nat gas and gasoline might not be available. Your requirement to run a heater will chew through the battery in no time.

Solar charging is not the 'cats meow' as the advertising would have you believe. Stay away from the flexible, portable panels if possible.

We also have a 2kw and 4kw inverter generators (ie: quiet/gasoline efficient). Surprisingly the Harbor Freight brand comes in just under the Hondas in Consumer Reports tests. I can limp along the whole house 120v circuits, including nat gas furnace, with the 2kw inverter gen but all our lighting is LED.

Sorry for more bulleted type response, my fingers aren't capable of typing novels like others.

My house was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy and during the rebuild, we heavily considered options for emergency power, but ultimately decided to wait it out for a bit - building was a bit more expensive than planned...lol. One thing we found out, and it is something to consider, during the storm, lots of gas meters and gas lines were damaged or destroyed, so the gas provider shut off the natural gas supply to our island for months as we had lots of fires caused by the leaking gas. So much for the natural gas powered generator! We did have a gasoline powered generator but just how much gas can one stock up unless you have a bit more land than my postage stamp of terra firma? I like the idea of solar with a good battery backup system but not real impressed so far with the 'deals' offered by solar companies offering to put 'free' solar panels on your roof - and then basically hold you hostage for years from the contract terms. I am hoping that I will not have to endure another storm and damage like we had during Sandy, but looking at all the poor people hit by bad storms this year in the south and the west, I'm not betting on it. So for the time being our family slogan has been if the power goes out, we head to a hotel....lol!