Small off-grid camping set up suggestions

[elpasojoe]

Hello and thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice you can give!

I am trying to put together a small setup for camping/music festivals etc. I have 2 or 3 good car batteries and a 400-watt inverter. I was thinking about getting one 240-watt solar panel. I'm looking to spend under $400, but wouldn't be opposed to spending more to get a quality setup. I'd like suggestions on the types and brands of charge regulators, inverters, and panels that would do the job. 12V or 24V? How big of an inverter for a 150 watt stereo and 50-100 watts of lighting... maybe a blender ( the blender I currently have is 1000 watts ).

Other things:
1. I would consider making my own panel, I'm kind of handy and like doing things myself.... but I have now idea how difficult this would be.
2. I have a few batteries that are going dead... is it worth it to do the epsom salt/ distilled water thing to rehab them.

Thanks for reading..

Joe.

[thastinger]

Spend the 400 on some extra batteries and take those with you to use. Once you get home, charge them back up with a car charger.

[Sunking]

Ditto, forget the solar and spend the money on a good quality deep cycle battery and charger. Charge them at home, carry to site, bring them back when you leave, and repeat.

[PNjunction]

There is no way we can provide a shopping list of components to get without knowing a few things:

1) How much current are you intending to draw and for how long each day?
2) Where you are located because you'll want to know your solar-insolation hours. These hours are NOT visible daylight hours to walk around in. You'll need to consult a chart - a few of which are available online.

Tools you'll want to get a) quality digital multimeter like a Fluke. b) Kill-A-Watt meter c) clamp-on ammeter. Using these tools, you'll be able to calculate your power budget, and then can size your batteries, panels, and charge controller accordingly. Don't skimp on the most-used tool in your inventory - the multimeter.

Applying magic-elixers to dead batteries is a waste of time. Properly charging them in the first place is the right way to go, unless your time means nothing to you.

Before spending a dime, the threads and stickies here are worth far more than $400. Time spent reading them is a good investment.