$620 Milk Crate Solar Power System: 640Wh LiFePO4, 500W Inverter, 260W Solar/AC Input, 8x USB



200w Solar Panel

500W Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter

12V 50Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePO4 Battery

AC to DC Power Supply

Quick Charge USB

12~32V 12v Fuse Block Holder

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About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

28 Comments

  1. Ed Carp February 14, 2021 at 12:25

    The AC/DC converter is no loner available. How old is this information?

    • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 12:30

      It was available as of an hour ago.

      • Ed Carp February 14, 2021 at 12:36

        Check again. When I made the comment, it was no longer available.

        • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 12:39

          Click the link and check again.
          And check your tone while you’re at it.

          • Ed Carp February 14, 2021 at 12:51

            I did. The link is https://amzn.to/3d7po4a – I click on it, and Amazon says “Currently unavailable.
            We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock.”
            My tone? I don’t understand your comment. I’m simply reporting a problem with a link.

          • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 12:55

            https://amzn.to/3pmQaId
            This one.
            Your tone: “check again” comes off like a dick.

          • Ed Carp February 14, 2021 at 13:05

            I apologize if it sounded like a dick move comment. it was certainly odd that a link in an article posted today would have a link to something that was unavailable.
            Anyway, thanks for the post!

          • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 13:14

            Right on brother, no worries.
            Had a slew of trolls on here this morning. Thanks for looking out!

          • Ed Carp February 14, 2021 at 12:55

            I also have a suggestion: A solar panel can be used to drive an inverter, then the inverter drives a battery charger to charge the deep cycle battery, as well as to supply 110v AC – so, you have both 110v AC and 12v DC. It makes the setup a bit simpler. Something to think about.

          • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 12:56

            Cool.

  2. Johnny Paratrooper February 14, 2021 at 13:04

    Hey that’s pretty neat!

    • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 13:14

      Yeah bro. Wait till you see what’s going up in a couple hours.

  3. StormN February 14, 2021 at 13:12

    I recommend buying Steven Harris’ videos on batteries, inverters, etc. His manner is a holier-than-thou but he’s got the brains to back it up.

  4. Brad February 14, 2021 at 13:31

    This is very cool info. I’m going to build one. Thanks.

  5. James February 14, 2021 at 13:40

    Nice,gonna dig and see if he has already posted his “budget build” of this.I have played with and so far test working well with solar heating/hot water/will if works thru winter scale up big time but nothing so far on the solar electric end.As I mentioned in another article a lot of moving forward research into using hemp for battery electrical storage which if it works should in theory really lower the cost of battery power.
    I have a dream of somehow using a Fresnel lens with solar tracking to create steam to drive a Stirling engine for a generator,at moment,just a dream.
    I like any project that gets one a bit more self sufficient,this is definitely one of those projects.
    I will say the builder seems to have some reservations about milk crate but I see it as something good to make it easily mobile,out when needed,in secure home when not.

  6. James, different one in SE TN February 14, 2021 at 14:58

    I don’t get some of this builder’s ideas. This is not a backpacking power supply, but simply a portable unit.
    Why would you spend 400.00 in LithIronPhos battery, when you can get 1.5x or double storage with cheaper SLA/AGM battery for 1/4th the amount and not sacrifice too much in battery life and weight?
    The purpose here is backup power, right? Why bother with a pure sine wave inverter when a modified inverter runs almost everything? It’s not much more efficient. I’ve tested my cheap Bestek 1k watt inverter on my refrigerator, Desktop pc, TV, CFL/LED lighting etc etc and they all functioned fine. My HF and VHF base rigs run off the batteries anyway.

    • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 15:47

      Re: batteries. Duty cycle and charge cycle.

    • James February 14, 2021 at 17:44

      Hi other James,I do not know much at all about solar in regards to creating/storing electricity/power.I looked up difference between batteries and all articles seems to say what this one does: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lead-acid-vs-lithium-ion-batteries-robert-bean ,yah I know ,linked in but still read some other sites with same out take in that on a real need/long term basis /cost at moment the lithium the way to go.
      I will tackle this project as a as needed rarely unit for moment and thus use one of me marine batteries floating around in warm storage not on concrete!I get into it a bit more will think about future options.I will say the suppliers on site listed (batteries)from video is sold out and expect harder to get as the push for electric cars grows with battery demand(why I hope some of the alt research really pays off),some of the cheaper brands there but why go cheap at that point quality wise.
      I view this as a jump point and modify to your needs/desire/budget.
      On a side note,as a carpenter who loves his cordless stuff the difference between ni-cad and lithium was literally night and day battery life/longevity,plus,my whole kit (s)batteries included guaranteed(what were they thinking!) for life!

  7. George February 14, 2021 at 14:59

    This kid knows his stuff and walks the talk on solar. Ive been watching his stuff on youtube for a couple years. He has system build diagrams on his website. A lot of the parts and pieces can be sourced elsewhere and not just in Bezosville.

    • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 15:50

      I believe rather strongly in poetic irony. That, in this case, means using an enemy against itself. Our very large bills in hosting this site and producing the content you see don’t get covered by hopes and dreams.
      But I’ll be happy to let you know there’s a link to patreon in the sidebar. You are more than welcome to donate to help cover the costs. Because you currently don’t.

      • James February 14, 2021 at 16:49

        NC,am sure you have backup plans,the beez has withdrawn associate programs from some great sites as I am sure folks have noticed,so far the Partisans ghillie suit remains strong.
        Besides a link for dropping a few bucks for beer/ pizza/electricity ever considered a partisan t-shirt,way to make some bucks/would make a cool shirt and perhaps help spread the word,just a thought.
        Whatever a project I check out stuff needed to buy and it’s reputation/same with sellers/while pricing a big consideration not in and of itself a deal breaker depending on customer service ect.

        • NC Scout February 14, 2021 at 18:03

          No, those sites publicly wore their feelings on their sleeve only to re-up their service quietly. Ask me how I know.
          Bottom line- This is a business. And I’m damn good at it. But it is one that requires a major overhead expense. There’s a lot in the works but it all takes time and of course, funding.
          And I really, really don’t like folks who have no skin in the game opening their mouths. You’ll never see them in a class, or doing anything worthwhile. Ever. If you don’t like something, there’s plenty of clowns out there to keep the kids entertained.

  8. Michael February 14, 2021 at 15:55

    Nice example of a portable system. With a little thought you can fit up a Big Foot Wagon with two-three of those 12 volt Batteries (THANKS for the Heads up on this vs lead acid) a pair or more solar panels with heavy wiring to allow deployment, a decent controller to protect those batteries from overcharge, a sine wave inverter and OFF Ya GO!
    Mine was built a few years ago with a lead acid Marine Battery on a Hand Truck. Powers my garden water pumps, outdoor lights and small electric tools. Now with the less weight-more power new batteries I can upgrade a LOT. Recharges my cordless tools too. Cordless Chainsaws are getting awesome.
    BTW try hard not to run an sine wave inverter directly off a solar panel. Random cloud cover and such varies the output pretty severely. Hard on equipment. The PV Panel to a Controller (Built for the varying voltages-power) to the Battery to the Inverter is much safer for equipment like Battery Rechargers and such.

    • Ed Carp February 15, 2021 at 00:05

      Thanks for the heads up on running an inverter directly from PV. My design has an inverter feeding a charger that charges a deep cycle battery seems to work well when the inverter is fed via an alternator, but I haven’t tried it from PV yet. I’m considering adding a charge controller between the PV and inverter, but I’m wondering if the design could be simplified – taking into consideration feeding the inverter from either the PV/controller or the alternator, and charging the battery from the controller. I want to avoid charging the battery (lead acid deep cycle) directly from the alternator, as that’s a good way to trash a deep cycle battery.

  9. Hunter February 14, 2021 at 23:29

    Ed Carp,
    Two comments on your idea;
    1. You would still require a charge controller between the panel and inverter. Panel output voltage would likely not match inverter input of 12 VDC.
    2. That would eliminate the ability to charge the battery from 120VAC. Which may not be needed in your particular situation. It would however eliminate one component of the system, the adjustable DC power supply.
    A different configuration is to build as in the video and just leave out the 120 VAC to DC power supply. You still get 120 VAC output from the inverter, 12 VDC output from fuse block, all without using a battery charger.
    Hunter

  10. Hunter February 14, 2021 at 23:41

    NC,
    I believe the link for the inverter is the same as that for power supply.
    The correct link for the inverter I think he used in video is as follows;
    https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-Inverter-Adapter-Converter-Charging/dp/B082MDRC64
    Hunter

  11. Paulo February 15, 2021 at 16:19

    NCScout, thank you for posting regarding PV to storage/output.
    Have similar and works great.
    On another note, I have been following up on the following for a few years
    and think you would take a liking to the following, besides many other energy
    generating pieces they have developed in the past, This is one of their latest:
    https://www.quantamagneticstore.com/16v-graphene-supercap-module.html
    Hope this peaks some further interest. I have no personal connection whatsover
    with them, but just simply sparks as a great way to go too.

    • NC Scout February 15, 2021 at 16:40

      Cool!!!

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