Once more with feeling

[pam]

OK, it's not as though this hasn't been asked already, but I hope someone has the info off the top of their head and can save me a major search.

As some of you know, I'm going to be making a major, life-changing move, hopefully by the end of the year. One part of that would be getting off the grid, and that would mean going solar. I have all my electric bills from the past, and there are some pretty common "draws" that most things make, but I want to include having myself with enough "power" to keep my Segways plugged in full time. Can someome tell me what I need to tell the solar installer? Im assuming it's what the unit will need both when it's charging at top level, and also doing it's trickle charge.

Thanks,
Pam

[SEGsby]

An outlet with a peak wattage of 400 and a constant of 200, should work fine. My car inverter supplies this, and it works great.

SEGsby

[pam]

Thanks, Segsby. I'll print this up and put it in the folder. I figured I'd probably have to leave my Segs here until I get the house built, since I'll be living in a travel trailer, boondocking it. I'm gonna miss my glide.
Pam

[SEGsby]

The older threads for car inverters would probably be worth going over. That's where I got my info.

Good luck with your move.

SEGsby

[driley]

Pam,

Going off the grid sounds exciting. My wife and I travelled in an RV for much of last year and most of our power came from solar. Though I did not glide much, it was pretty cool knowing when I did that the power came directly from the sun.

My wife and I would really like to have a self-sufficient home someday.

Devin

[bentbiker]

OK, it's not as though this hasn't been asked already, but I hope someone has the info off the top of their head and can save me a major search.

As some of you know, I'm going to be making a major, life-changing move, hopefully by the end of the year. One part of that would be getting off the grid, and that would mean going solar. I have all my electric bills from the past, and there are some pretty common "draws" that most things make, but I want to include having myself with enough "power" to keep my Segways plugged in full time. Can someome tell me what I need to tell the solar installer? Im assuming it's what the unit will need both when it's charging at top level, and also doing it's trickle charge.

Thanks,
PamPam,

If I'm understanding you, your electrician/solar-installer will be putting in some type of whole-house inverter and you want to tell him how much the Segways draw so that he can include that in his total calculations. Segsby was giving you the size of a dedicated inverter just for the segway.

If you will be going the route of a whole-house inverter, the Segway figures are 100-120 watts while LEDs are steady-on (high rate of charge) and between 4 watts and 115 watts depending on whose machine was being monitored when in maintenance mode (probably doesn't matter in this range, since it is so small). See:
http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=16903&highlight=kill-a-watt , especially #16 for details.

[william collins]

I'm not to sure 400 watts is enough.. I bought an 400 watt inverter thinking I could use it in my truck to charge the Seg.. Today in the movie were making the XT was getting very low on bars and down to the last bar I remembered the inverter and hooked it up to the Seg ..it worked for a few moments and got quite hot and shut off and I think the fuse blew too.. The electrician on set told me I needed a begger wattage inverter..So now I'll look into a 800 to 1000 watt one

[KSagal]

I'm not to sure 400 watts is enough.. I bought an 400 watt inverter thinking I could use it in my truck to charge the Seg.. Today in the movie were making the XT was getting very low on bars and down to the last bar I remembered the inverter and hooked it up to the Seg ..it worked for a few moments and got quite hot and shut off and I think the fuse blew too.. The electrician on set told me I needed a begger wattage inverter..So now I'll look into a 800 to 1000 watt one




One thing that may be worth checking out is the 12 source for the inverter... If the inverter does not have enough amperage being input at 12 volts, then it will not function correctly..

I have seen this with on board charging. I have 12 volt batteries for my lights, and in a pinch, could use the bag batteries to power an inverter, to then charge the segway batteries... Unfortunately, the small 12v source I had was not enough to properly feed the inverter. The same could be true for a circuit in the truck that was not beefy enough to feed yours...

[Dennis Tracey]

Pam

I am in the process of getting a dual car port that is 15 by 18 foot to put in my back yard as an awning. The roof is BI PV (Built In Photo Voltics) solar panels, and will generate just over 3ooo watts of power. This is a turn key (has everything you need to set it up and run).

http://www.homepower.com/article/?file=HP122_pg36_Donahue

This would be easy to have up and running while a home is built and would be great for a battery storage to give you power through the night. The Segways would be not a problem for this. Hope this helps... Think green

[SEGsby]

My $36 dollar 400 watt (peak) inverter from Walmart has worked like a champ.

Just don't leave the car turned off while the Segway is left plugged in...

SEGsby

I'm not to sure 400 watts is enough.. I bought an 400 watt inverter thinking I could use it in my truck to charge the Seg.. Today in the movie were making the XT was getting very low on bars and down to the last bar I remembered the inverter and hooked it up to the Seg ..it worked for a few moments and got quite hot and shut off and I think the fuse blew too.. The electrician on set told me I needed a begger wattage inverter..So now I'll look into a 800 to 1000 watt one

[pam]

Absolutely, Devin. Who did your in solar installation?
Pam

Pam,

Going off the grid sounds exciting. My wife and I travelled in an RV for much of last year and most of our power came from solar. Though I did not glide much, it was pretty cool knowing when I did that the power came directly from the sun.

My wife and I would really like to have a self-sufficient home someday.

Devin

[pam]

Oh, wow! This is great. Thanks, Dennis.
Pam

Pam

I am in the process of getting a dual car port that is 15 by 18 foot to put in my back yard as an awning. The roof is BI PV (Built In Photo Voltics) solar panels, and will generate just over 3ooo watts of power. This is a turn key (has everything you need to set it up and run).

http://www.homepower.com/article/?file=HP122_pg36_Donahue

This would be easy to have up and running while a home is built and would be great for a battery storage to give you power through the night. The Segways would be not a problem for this. Hope this helps... Think green

[Dennis Tracey]

Tell Collin that I turned you on to this when you call.....

[driley]

Absolutely, Devin. Who did your in solar installation?
Pam


Discount Solar in Quartzsite, AZ. They mostly do RV installations. We have 4 130 watt panels and it has worked out really well.