Thread: Solar Lighting in 40 Foot Shipping Container

Originally Posted by Xtreme

Shouldn't be a problem, provided you have a suitable size battery & inverter.
I've run a 240v angle grinder from the inverter in my Defender. Can't recall off hand the size of my inverter but either 600 or 1000W.

Hello Roger,

Thank you for the reply. My first priority would be to install solar lights. I am not looking at installing an inverter at the moment. Although solar systems I have been researching show that an invert would be an easy add on some time in the future.

Thanks to Navy Diver's earlier post I have been watching quite a few of YouTube clips about DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse and started from there including some Australia specific systems.

Kind regards
Lionel

I've got several variants of what you want to do setup for camping/ad hoc lighting including a more or less stand alone setup that runs off of a single USB solar panel and is nothing more than a few powerbanks with an inbuilt light and a couple of usb charged worklights. But for what you're describing...

you could pull it off with small motion sensor style solar lights inside wit the included panel sika flexed on the roof and the cable routed through the breathers with the light gooped to the roof or wall

Leier Solar Lights Garden Sensor Outdoor Dual Light Security PIR Motion 22LED | eBay

and a cheap kit off of ebay to charge the n70

50W 18V Solar Panel Mono Battery Charger Kit Regulator Controller Auto 2 USB | eBay

and then pretty much any 12v led light you want for a worklight.

Pair 6Inch Led Work Light Bar Flood Reverse Fog Lights 4WD 725704267411 | eBay

of course with the N70 you could daisy chain any amount of led strip lighting you needed BUT, you have no redundancy, if the shifter drops off the bench and clouts the earth wire off the battery or shorts it out while you're down the back you loose all of your lighting in one go.

And then you can cut the costs by using second hand gear

Adding a small inverter for a few hours worth of use in a week wouldnt be overly taxing if you needed it.

I've got several variants of what you want to do setup for camping/ad hoc lighting including a more or less stand alone setup that runs off of a single USB solar panel and is nothing more than a few powerbanks with an inbuilt light and a couple of usb charged worklights. But for what you're describing...

you could pull it off with small motion sensor style solar lights inside wit the included panel sika flexed on the roof and the cable routed through the breathers with the light gooped to the roof or wall

https://tinyurl.com/247j5kn2

and a cheap kit off of ebay to charge the n70

50W 18V Solar Panel Mono Battery Charger Kit Regulator Controller Auto 2 USB | eBay

and then pretty much any 12v led light you want for a worklight.

Pair 6Inch Led Work Light Bar Flood Reverse Fog Lights 4WD 725704267411 | eBay

of course with the N70 you could daisy chain any amount of led strip lighting you needed BUT, you have no redundancy, if the shifter drops off the bench and clouts the earth wire off the battery or shorts it out while you're down the back you loose all of your lighting in one go.

And then you can cut the costs by using second hand gear

Adding a small inverter for a few hours worth of use in a week wouldnt be overly taxing if you needed it.

the usb option (portable camping setup

the solar and main battery (mine doesnt have the battery this one does its just a small folding panel)
12000 Solar Panel external Battery Charger Solar power bank 2 USB DIY KIT | eBay

the battery banks with led lights
2200MAH RUGGED POWER BANK WITH LED TORCH IP65 9335432025033 | eBay

the area lights
20LED Under Closet Light USB Charged PIR Motion Sensor Cupboard Night Lamp Strip 659438785593 | eBay

the work lights
Portable COB LED Work Light Car Garage Mechanic USB Rechargeable Torch Lamp AU | eBay

with them all also being USB chargable and having their own battery if one goes flat you can just put it on a phone charger in the car

daisy chain them together with 5m usb cables if you need to. As a bonus if you're ever in a full black out its quick and easy to move them to the house.