VIDEO: Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Solar Charging Station

This is a great video set of a DIY solar recharging system that anyone can put together in just a couple hours.  I've followed this video to build my own mobile solar charger system and have found it very useful.  It has proven especially useful as a way to power things while camping including a can opener, lights, radio, and a laptop the kids watch movies on in the evening.  

I have also used this system to demonstrate how solar energy and solar panels work at green and renewable energy fairs and one of the kids has used it for a school project.  It's also useful at home.  I have all my rechargeable power tools like my cordless drill, etc, hooked up to it to keep them charged and off my electric bill.  

This is a very easy and a fun solar do-it-yourself project and you can get the equipment you need right here on our website and from your local hardware store.  First, watch the video below and then I'll list the parts you will need to complete this solar project.

You can purchase all the components needed to build a system similar to the one in the video right here on MrSolar.com.  We don't carry the exact solar panel featured in video but I have listed a similar module that will do the job just fine. Also, we don't sell the wood framing material but you can get that from your hardware store, lumber yard, or home improvement warehouse store.

The wood frame in this video uses 6 8'x2"x2" yellow pine pieces and I actually used wood screws to assemble the pieces after cutting all to size.  We'll get to more specifics on the wooden frame below.  If you don't already have a battery, you can buy a new two-cycle battery at a local retail store or you can purchase a battery from us that is especially designed to be used with solar recharging systems. 

Equipment needed to generate electricity (all components ship within 2 days):

	Solar Panel - SolarLand SLP140-12 140W 12V Solar Panel - Spec Sheet - $274.40
	Charge Controller - Morningstar ProStar 15 Controller - Spec Sheet - $89.00
	Battery - MK/Deka 12v AGM Battery - Spec Sheet - $208.00 (Optional - Use Two-Cycle Battery)
	Output Cable - 2 Strand 10' Output Cable - $23.00 (Connects solar panel to charge controller)
	Fused Cable - 3' #10/2 Cable with Fuse Holder & 2 fuses - $16 (Connects charge controller to battery)

If you purchase our battery listed above, you will not need to buy the battery terminals featured in the next video. Otherwise a battery pack using a two-cycle marine battery will suffice.  If you don't yet have a battery power center that you can plug things into, you can build yourself one while waiting for the components above to arrive by UPS. 

To make this solar charging station portable, check out the video below which will walk you through the process step-by-step of converting the solar panel frame in the video above into a mobile charging cart, followed by the list of parts you will need, including express links directly to our electronic parts partner Amazon.com where you can purchase them.

You can also make this entire solar power system mobile by adding some wheels to it. Check out the video below to see how...

I actually used the wheels off a hand dolly like the one linked from Amazon.com below, with tire that hold air instead of the hard plastic ones shown in the video. Here is a list of parts that you may want to buy in order to prepare this do-it-yourself solar power project:

If you build this neat solar charging station let us know!