solar powered inverter instead of a generator????

I've thought of this myself, but don't have any experience with this sort of thing. Ive said it before..I HATE listening to generators or gas power washers. I have a friend who is good with that sort of stuff, and we have discussed setting up a van with several deep cycle batteries, a 4000 watt inverter, and running a seperate alternator to power them. I have no clue how that would work, but he's confident that he can do it. To me, that wouldnt be that much different than what your describing. I'm just not sure how big of a solar panel (or panels) it would take to power such a set up. Extractors alone pull a massive amount of power, and I would imagine it wouldnt take long to drain 2 or 3 batteries when something like that is running. If the solar system worked, it would be pretty cool because in theory it would run all day with no worries. I think if it was me, I would call a place that sells solar stuff, and explain what you want to do. They should be able to tell you exactly what you need. Being in the redneck area that I live in, we have a store here that sells Doomsday supplies (no joke), and they do a lot of solar systems. If you don't have any luck finding someone to give you the info you need, I could get you their #. They know their stuff. Good luck to you.
 
I have been kind of looking at a similar arrangement for my future and last house I will ever own someday.
To do a big system you need the appropriate sized panels, a place to store all the energy they are going to produce ( the battery strings), and the boxes needed to convert them from DC to AC power for your equipment.
3000 watts is I believe around 33 amps which would be suffiicient to run any tool that requires a 20amp circuit and will probably use over 15amps by itself.
So you dont have a lot of extra reserve if you are running say a big extractor and a good Italian Steamer at the same time. You would need more than 20 amps or have to share the load creatively. The Extractor I have has several motors and an inline 1200 watt heater, so when its all on, I am always so glad I wired in my own separate 20 amp circuit on 12awg wire from the panel.
Unless they have downsized the panels and they are much more efficient, it could be a lot of equipment to carry around if you are mobile but probably not too bad if you are using a fixed location that has lots of good Southern exposure for panel/s...
I dont know the cost of all this but from what I have heard, its not cheap and the ROI may be pretty hefty, so that would also possibly be a consideration.
I am all for solar panels for electrical needs and know of people in SoCal that are wired up and have the Utility paying THEM money every month instead of the other way around..

Thanks for bringing this up !!!

Good luck with this, keep us posted if you can !
Dan F
 
I'm going to give the inverterstore.com a call on monday for some research questions i have! Thank You "mrclean81" for that wonderful idea and answer!.. I'll let you know what i find out!..
"Dan F" thank you for that info!

"Can you imagine all the good that would do four our Health,Environment,money savings"!

I can see myself in the Mr PrimeShine van reaping the benefits of a solar powered,healthy,quiet set up !!! sing me up
 
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jrs1418 said:
Couldn't you just buy a good inverter, batteries, and charge them at home?
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The solar panels would be to keep the batteries charged !.. That way there wouldn't be a need to plug into the home every night to recharge, They would be on constant charge..
 
How much power will you need and for how long on a given day before you need a ~recharge~.

Have you considered a good/great/decent inverter ? I would choose a Honda or Yamaha if the budget allows. For a cheaper option, champion.

When running, it's probably quieter than you shop vac or polisher...
 
chefwong said:
How much power will you need and for how long on a given day before you need a ~recharge~.

Have you considered a good/great/decent inverter ? I would choose a Honda or Yamaha if the budget allows. For a cheaper option, champion.

When running, it's probably quieter than you shop vac or polisher...
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im also considering it for the gas savings 10.00 dollars a day to run generator and pressure washer.. another benefit is im not going to be breathing the fumes from either machine running also another benefit since i run the generator inside the van and the pressure washer alot of heat builds up inside the vehicle even when i let it air out for the carbon monoxide to leave the vehicle theres alot of heat inside the vehicle .... im also looking to switch to a electric pressure washer
 
I hear what you're saying - I just don't you will get enough power or recharge *battery system* without adding CONSIDERABLE weight with your proposed idea.
 
MR Prime Shine said:
im also looking to switch to a electric pressure washer
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Some of those look nice, they make them with as much power as a gas one.
I have a 3000 psi and I would never even think of switching to electric unless it's a hot water PW, or has at least the same power. With a 3000psi and the right chemicals you can litterally wash the brake dust and clean the tires without even having to scrub. I'm thinking about switching to a hot water PW just because of the cleaning power. I bet you don't even have to use any soap or chemicals with one.
 
Addicted2Bling said:
Some of those look nice, they make them with as much power as a gas one.
I have a 3000 psi and I would never even think of switching to electric unless it's a hot water PW, or has at least the same power. With a 3000psi and the right chemicals you can litterally wash the brake dust and clean the tires without even having to scrub. I'm thinking about switching to a hot water PW just because of the cleaning power. I bet you don't even have to use any soap or chemicals with one.
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I used one for years at the dealership. They are really good for engines, wheel wells and tires, etc. You still have to wash like normal, but it makes it a pretty easy task. We would still use bug remover and wheel/tire cleaner, but we didn't scrub anything. Spray it on, spray it off. The time a person can save with one would eventually pay for the machine, but you are going to pay several thousand dollars for a decent unit.
 
^^That's pretty much what I'm doing with the cold one I have now. You still have to use chemicals but at least there's no scubbing. I love the way they clean wheels and tires. So I take it, it's probably not worth the money for one? What about on the trim? Does it restore faded or dirty trim?
 
It depends on what kind of stuff you work on. For greasy diesel engines, undercarriages, farm equipment, road tar, things like that then yes the hot water is a God send. We were using it for commercial trucks that had been on job sites their whole life. Very seldom did we waste the diesel fuel it took to fire the burner on the power washer when we were working on passenger cars unless they were really bad. The unit we had was a Clarke, which is a cheaper model, and it was 6 grand...you don't wanna know how much a Hotsy is lol.
It really doesn't do much for trim other than cleaning it well, but your also taking a risk of getting it too hot. I've seen guys blow moldings completely off because they got the glue so hot that it released.
 
my idea of going electric is to have a quiet/environmentally friendly equipped van
too many times when im at a parking lot people come up to me and i have to shut off all equipment so i can talk to the customer.so imagine how much more professional you are going to look when you have a quiet set up i think more people would come and talk /ask questions
 
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