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Portable Solar chargers
I recently recieved a 130 watt solar charger system ...SLP130-12F from Offthegridrsolar.com(Formerly CE Solar) of Surprise AZ $687.94 delivered via FEDEX.
Let me say up front that the panel system appears to be well made. It is performing as advertised....producing 7+ amp hours in good sunlight. We boondock exclusively, on BLM land and National Forest Land.... as far off the grid as possible, relying on battery power now supported by solar. We have two Trojan T-125 6 volt batteries wired to make a 12 volt system. We are a 66 and 60 year old couple who camp and hike 8 to 12 miles daily,during our travels. When we go camping we do not expect all the comforts of home and have no interest in TV, radio, internet and all those things. Rather we enjoy nature.... the sunrise/sunsets, campfires, stargazing....one another. We use little electric power. Water pump, monitor for the fridge, lights, fan for the gas furnace etc. At night we snuggle in warm blankets or sleeping bags and only use the furnace to prevent freezing of water lines. Even then we set it at the minimum of 50 degrees on the thermostat. Our little camper is a 17 foot hybrid by Kodiak. So far the solar panels are doing their job as we camp/boondock for 8 or 9 days in one place.
Now for the disappointment. Like many folks our age we recall when almost everything was manufactured in the USA. So we try mightly to buy U.S./ Canadian or at least Western European products. Try as we all may it is almost impossible. When we decided to purchase our solar charger we tried to apply the above principles. Good luck. We ended up buying from Off the Grid Solar because of their reputation and because the solar panel/cells were advertised being from Q-Cell of Germany. We did not want any China junk if possible.
Imagine my disappointment when the panel arrived and I found that the whole thing was made in China. Frame, controllers, cables, everything......except the so called German Q-Cell solar panel itself. After a call to "Mark" at.... offthegrid of Surprise AZ ...I realized that I had little choice, other than returning the panel, except to keep the "Made in China" product. However Mark did assure me that the solar cells were of Q-Cell in Germany.
Well that helped a bit until I did some further research. Q-Cell of Germany went bankrupt in 2012 and was bought by a Korean company who has moved almost all production to Malaysia and soon perhaps to China. So much for German Q-Cell products. So much for trying to support companies and national industries who have traditionally built high quality products.
Like I said the solar charger is working fine. But I feel sick knowing that darned little of my money went to support North American or European business. No wonder our nation grows poorer by the day.
Happy RVing(???)
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