Rollable Solar Panels: Powerfilm LightSaver | Canadian Prepper
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 02. 2016
- An interesting new concept from the Powerfilm Company. Made in the USA!
Get a Lightsaver here
amzn.to/1PI9ABh
Other Powerfilm products
astore.amazon.com/canaprepyout...
Powerfilms Website
www.powerfilmsolar.com/ - Zábava
My son and I are new to your channel and can't stop watching them! You're very articulate and intelligent, easy to listen to and we think the same way. when I first sat my 18 year old down to watch his first "Canadian Prepper" he was blown away and "it was too much information all at once". Perfect! He's finally listening! He and his athletic buddies all train and play as "zombie killers", but not much else. I've been trying to explain tactical and strategy and how it can be simply used and applied on a daily bases in everyday life. Now that he's starting to listen I think he's starting to get the idea that I'm not a complete whack job trying to "ruin his life", but to get him to think and be ready for whatever happens in his life; not to be a victim. More importantly we are sharing time together and its opening opportunities for us to do some training and preparing together this spring. We live a very safe rural area and I am a full time photographer.. So I often have time to do things on slow days. Anyway, thanks for the videos - super thoughts. perhaps some day we could work together on a project.
Sincerely,
Troy Emery
+Troy Emery Many thanks for such an inspiring comment, I'm glad you and your family have gained some insights from the channel, I know this is a constant learning process for me as well. I would really like to improve my photography skills
You introduced me to POWERFILM and I thank you.
*Two-Watts.*
3.2A•hr * 5V / 6 hr charge time = 2.6 W. Considering efficiencies, Two-Watts is a conservative estimate of the panel's throughput, even though if one were to disconnect and measure the panel by itself, without charge controllers, it's likely a 3.5W panel.
If I could afford to get my hands on the materials, I would make an amorphous solar panel with the charge circuit sealed inside a dry bag so you could just add whatever power bank you want/already have heh
Excellent review, I'm still running with my Goal Zero panel, so far it hasn't failed me but with so much electronic devices a prepper would need these days a much larger panel with a higher output would be needed for the base camp.
Goal zero is still around. Must have done soemthing right!
Good clear and well informed review, thanks..!
Thank you for the review, solar panels in any size or capacity has pluses and minuses, the problem with solar beyond simple lights , the battery holding electricity/energy for a duration. Many individuals in America that bought solar panels and are greatly disappointed, the best solar for the home or cabin in the woods are the individual shingles that are each a panel as the roof, excellent for bug out cabin in the bushwhack. Love and Defend Freedom
interesting explanation on the powerfilm
Thanks for another great review, really like how you have it attached to your 511 pack, but I do agree with you that they need to increase the surface area, think I would hold out on this product a bit as I think they will improve it shortly.
+Zombie Reaper I agree it could be improved in a lot of ways and turned into something great!
Great video. That looks like a very good product. Like another viewer, I have been using Goal Zero panels. Although they are 'firm panels' I find them versatile and easy to use. Plus, I can charge phones directly, battery packs or recharge regular batteries, so that I can keep my GPS and flashlights powered up. Interesting how this company won't disclose the wattage of the panel (but the comments you read make sense), wattage has been my go to number for when I purchase panels!! Thanks for the video.
+Torossifamily No problem, I hear good things about Goal Zero, there are pros and cons to both monocrystaline and thin film. The monos seem to be more affordable but nothing beats the light weight and low light performance of powerfilm, they are however more pricey.
good video, i'm currently trying to put together a small hiking/shtf solar system like this along with a head lamp and a smaller flash light. I've got the head lamp now i'm looking for a good usb chargeable flash light and last the solar.
Just wanted to say thanks for all your work with this channel, I see from other videos that you have a large, beautiful family and still make time for things like this. I especially like your comments about bringing manufacturing back to North America, kudos all around.
I'm looking forward to the upgrade.
POWER: UNLIMITED POWER ⚡
My Chinese 100 Watt panel has zero shade tolerance and never pulled in more than 50W so I wish I had a powerfilm product to review! I think it looks excellent.
Sorry to you from a Chinese.
Good video and thanks for the review. I dont know much about the different types and how they work. I just care that they do what i need and how long will it take lol . Take care Buddy.
+Kullcraven Bushcraft Replied to your PM
I got one in 2017 and returned it to Amazon for a refund. It simply would not charge it's internal battery outdoors beyond 50%. I left mine outside for 4 whole days, barely a 50% charge every time I checked it. The manufacturer claims a full charge in 6 - 8 hours of full sunshine. Look at all of the negative reviews on Amazon for this product before you buy!
thanks for the video.
I tested it too, I prefer goal zero product. You can have multiple power bank or use multiple rechargeable batterie like a power bank
Nice video Canadian Prepper. Whats in your opinion the best solar pack, bank, panel etc for an emergency situation? Something good, strong and reliable and under 300-1000 dollars?Thank you buddy.
This argument over the optimal output of Amorphous vs Mono or Poly really boils down to a few very basic factors. The first and most important is location, location location. Unless you live in a relatively cloud free local close to the equator and also happen to be completely tree or shade free amorphous will always be your best bet. It's consistent functionality overall wins out over the more finicky poly or mono setups. (there, that's me rubbing my pennies together on the matter)
Now, on to the review at hand. Excellent review, I agree the output vs storage discharge to devices can be greatly improved and most likely will be in following versions. For what it is and what it does this is an awesome feature to have along on those long treks in the bush. I understand their desire to list hours vs wattage as too much emphasis has in the past been placed on out put wattage. They want to concentrate on what their device will do in most common situations it's an admiral way to proceed given the poorly understood wattage output specs on most similar devices. As to the micro and usb port situation on this device you had mentioned having a small rubberized cap over these for protection. While these would allow for greater waterproof measures they would also trap any moisture inside thus compromising internal components so I can understand the conundrum here. The most viable solution would be to completely waterproof the interior and harden the exterior plug in components. This of course would add to the cost and overall weight but only slightly.
Keep up the good work on the vids man
+Twomidgetsonahorse Great comment, thanks for the insights ans support!
+Canadian Prepper Supporting someone who is ,like all of us out here, asking questions and exploring alternative answers is easy to do. You just keep on doing what you're doing. I find myself wishing I had more neighbors like you.
Excellent video. I also noticed the lack of wattage info and was immediately turned off. Then I realize that this product is not actually marketed towards guys like me. It's actually an idiot proof design for non techies, used for an emergency charge of smartphone, gotenna, ... People like us are always going to have larger more capable portable panels and external battery packs.
So although it's not marketed that guys like us I think it's a great product. I would still include the wattage in the specs, for those who are interested.
+SurvivalTech Nord I think they really need to educate people more about the difference between mono vs thin film and just how much more efficient the latter is under many conditions, maybe call them "Super" watts or smartwatts!
+SurvivalTech Nord The internal battery is what ruins this device because the double hit on efficiency charging and discharging it. What are you to do after the battery completes its couple thousand charge cycles and no longer holds a charge? Less of an "idiot proof design"... and more like "designed by idiots".
+3vil3lvis Powerfilm has dozens of options without the on board battery pack, so it isn't so much a fail. I can see why they would want to offer something of this sort to fill the niche but certainly isn't their flagship
+3vil3lvis I agree about the disposability but you can simply replace the inner 18650 battery with relative ease.
Canadian Prepper
While I own a portable soldering iron, I do not regularly carry one with me when backpacking. =)
I wonder what substrate they're using. The CaTe is reported to get 22% efficiency (in lab mind you). Problem is, materials are very rare. They found alternate that uses copper and tin but reduces efficiency to 7%-ish, but is available and cheaper. Sounds like this may be the case here.
I think they should provide the wattage of the panel AND the conversion efficiency of the various components. If you want to open up the device you could measure the wattage yourself.
18650's are typically charged at 4.3 volts. Nominal operating voltage is 3.7.
If it takes 6 hours to charge a 3200mah battery at 4.3v that means you have to be putting in 3200/6=533.3ma for that 6 hours to get there. Current * Voltage = Watts so .5333 amps times 4.3 volts = 2.2 watts to the battery after efficiency losses etc. If it's 80% efficiency then we started out with a 2.8 watt of panel to get there. Now we see why they don't want to publish their wattage. People will compare that with an Anker 14 watt panel to which they add their own larger and modular battery bank and then buy the Anker.
Also note that with this Powerfilm system you get to suffer the 80% conversion loss twice. Once for the first battery charge, again for the second to your device. So effectively you get a 1.76 watt panel once it's all said and done.
I much prefer to connect my phone directly and only take the double conversion loss by charging a battery bank if the phone is already topped off and I don't want to "waste" the power during the day by not charging something with it.
+Tracy Reed Thats possible however there are other specs to consider there namely in terms of weight and how well the panels themselves perform under certain conditions. I predict that the panel wattage is between 3-5 watts. As demonstrated in the link in the video low light and shade tolerance are MAJOR factors that reduce that can quickly turn that 14 watt clunker into 3 watts, the weight is 3 times the lightsaver not including a battery pack. In the tests shown the powerfilm perform 400% better than the monocrystalline that was in partly covered or in low light. Unfortunately watts are only as good as the solar panel that collects them so I can see why they are reluctant to publish watts. Its kind of like megapixels in a camera, you can have a 50 MP camera that performs poorly in low light and its all for not...
I agree with you about disclosing the wattage though, I think they may as well do this as a show of trust. I also agree that the product generally needs a lot of tweaks to be more marketable. To be fair powerfilm does disclose the wattage of their other solar panels. I also agree about charging direct when possible, another major setback to this approach, now if there was a charge through feature or a bypass that would be interesting.
Thanks for the constructively critical comment, I hope they see it.
Author please provide results for "Tests shown powerfilm perform 400% better than monocrystaline partly covered or low light".
The company has a point about the wattage number. The only numbers that matters to the consumer are charge time and amount of charge to external devices. .1 watts or 100000 watts. If the charge time and amount of charge to the device is the same then it doesn't matter. As a techie I would like to know the power output of the panel, but again, that doesn't give me the information I need to make a choice. It's only part of the mechanical specifications. It's like getting an FRS radio and being told "You will get 15 miles range with this radio". Yeah, you can, but only under ideal circumstances, and I mean IDEAL. That will never happen. There I would be better off with transmitter power and antenna gain. Thanks for the great review!
+jmtnvalley I would stick with a powerful battery based charging unit at this time. This will be good for an extended sojourn into the wild.
Wattage IS a misleading number to base decisions upon. I utilize a number of panels here at my home and the rated wattage really does not necessarily correspond with performance expectations. I've found that in the majority of the panels I use, the output (in what by all accounts seems to be full sun) tends to be about 70% of the rating of the panels. My panels are made by Renogy and Goal Zero. Both companies that I'm fond of... except for Renogy's AC inverters. But I've just come to accept that a 100 watt panel is likely to give me about 60-75 watts out. I've speculated that maybe the 100 watt rating is for a panel floating in outer-space with no atmosphere, and at close to absolute zero degrees - because both atmosphere and temperature negatively impact performance. Rating by charge times seems very sensible to me.
+Praxis Prepper Thanks for the info thats good to know if I ever take my solar to the macro scale
+Canadian Prepper - If you do take the leap, I'd HIGHLY recommend starting small. What I did was to set up certain circuits in the house as solar circuits. I got the panels, batteries, and inverter (plus charge controller) and plugged the inverter into a circuit that I'd disconnected from the breaker box, so all the power in that particular room was solar power. I found this to be a great way to step into the whole thing - also, your system is more resilient if set up as a modular complex of separate systems room-by room. Yes, overall there are redundancies and efficiency opportunities lost, but if one inverter goes down, all the others still work fine. It makes the entire system failing at the same time extremely unlikely - and you also get to try out different makers as you go and get a sense of what products seem to work best for you. But most important perhaps, it makes the entry level price of your fist mini system, something that most people can swing.
I'm sort of a gear geek. I'd also like to know max wattage potential. Nice vid. I don't mind gear reviews, when I'm learning something along the way :) Great format for a product like this.
+Meredith Goerlich When I do these reviews it forces me to learn about the technology so each review I do I share what I learn, so I get to nestle the product review into some general info.
+Canadian Prepper Can you recharge an electric razor with one of these? How about with a Waka Waka Solar Charger/Light? Might be a dumb question, but any kind of angle on doing that would be appreciated from whoever knows.
Really cool product, this is definitely something I am looking into to purchase at some point. If I see the size of it now, I think it could deffo be one 'cell' wider, and possibly 5 cells or so longer. I also agree on the battery capacity, though 16.000 mAh WOWA, that is just 'to much' I think... I said something similar in the review by the UP of a battery pack roughly that size, at that size it is unlikely you will need all that power before finding a wall socket unless you go to the absolute middle of nowhere, at which point it becomes questionable why you even take 'electrical stuff' with you (likely there isn't any reception for cell phones, nor WiFi). Now I do not know how much mAh say a camera want's to eat a day, so it might have some uses there (but even then, you will likely charge the battery in the Lightsaver during the day, and charge your device during the night). So, in general I think something around 1200mAh or so (with a 80% conversion) will give you about 3 charges for a latest gen mobile phone, if you can charge that 'a day' with the panel, then you can likely charge some other things as well ... ... ... Also had a recommendation for this company, I would recommend an option to charge batteries in the Lightsaver itself, or carry another battery in the device (in said location) to extend the battery of the Lightsaver. Like you said, the thing looks wide enough to house at least 3 to 4 DoubleA or similar. So if you would put in say 2 high capacity batteries, and offer two slots for 'Battery Charging' capability/Extension of capacity. The Lightsaver immediately offers a multi functionality with any device using batteries. Yes I know, more and more comes with USBmicro, but in all honesty a lot also doesn't, and a lot of people have gear that functions fine with batteries, it's generally the charging of those (or availability of new ones) that is a problem in situations where you could now use the Lightsaver (if it came with such an option). Yes I agree, the access to that charger would have to be waterproof, so with some screws and 'rubber lining and washers', but those solutions are already 'mainstream'. In all honesty this LightSaver, with that capability would instantly become a competitor of the GoSolar (?) system (not to good with names unfortunately) ... anyways, tnx for sharing, looking forward to updates on this for sure!
+Dutch Courage Most modern smartphones are upwards of 2500 mAh batteries so the 3200 is not sufficient by modern standards, the 16000 however would be acceptable but nothing to write home about!
That's over 4 charges ?! I dunno that sounds like a lot, but then I do not use my smart phone that often, I try and be smart myself ;P ... I have a 3200mAh el-cheepo backup battery, and only use it if for some reason I forgot to charge my phone b4 taking it out somewhere. More then enough to charge it 1x and that's usually more then enough to last me 'a day' of use, after which I am more then likely going to be home again or at least near a wall socket (if no charger with me a computer with USB will do) ... so, yeah, if you have 4 things with a 2500mAh battery in them I can see a use for such a beast, in all other cases ?! ... ... and when prepping for SHTF is concerned, it seems more then enough for 72h, given you can call you will likely call relatives/friends and only to let people know you are ok, or something like that, even more so because you can't rely on everybody having 16000mAh to just call like nothing is going on ... I do get maybe flashlights, maybe a radio of sorts, but once you start getting into that territory perhaps 16000mAh isn't going to cut it no matter what, well unless you have a way to charge it again via solar, heat or humanpower ... ... which means at that point you do not really need 16000mAh of storage anymore, if you can see my reasoning ... ... but, I may be wrong, wouldn't be the first time, and won't be the last. Still though, would like to see some argumentation behind that huge need for so much recharging capacity (man I soooooo, want to make 'the internet is slow solution' related joke now, but lets keep it within ratings ^^ )
That IS a good argument for not advertising the wattage.
It could definitely be a little longer and hold another batter in that tube without making it much larger or heavier.
I REALLY like this design. But is it better for charging rechargeable batteries to have one that charges directly from the panel or one that charges from a "powerbank" like this?
Personally, I like your gear reviews because you're always reviewing things I've never heard of. The narrations are fun, but Kevlar toe-socks and bear flares are pretty bad-ass.
+Everything There Is Yeah thats just it, because you are losing some power in the conversion so this would only be useful for if you don't need the power right away I suppose. For instance charging my phone from one of my other solar panels is direct and its fast, so I get all that energy into the phone whereas with this I lose energy in the conversion and it takes time after to charge it so I totally get what you're saying.
Oh That's Just To Kool Bro ! . Did not even know that existed. Found some 600000mAh Solar Power Bank Charger Battery Backup on eBay. You have to bid.They are about the size of a cell phone. Got mine for $46
Shared.
+G- Man Yeah you will want to be skeptical of those high capacity power banks on ebay the largest true 30000+ mAh unit I know of is the Zerolemon toughjuice. The Allpowers stuff is very deceptive with their marketing and outright lie most of the time
Canadian Prepper
Thanks Bro. I'll run that solar-pack thru its paces.
It would be great if you sold a aluminum tube that could be used as a Faraday cage for the lightsaver max sold on your sight
For the price tag of $150, that thing better be awesome. It doesn't appear to be so.
I've gotten a video somewhere in the vault on my channel. The tool I got, and reviewed, isn't as strong as this
My take:
Weight: HELL YEAH
Size, Durability, charge time, USA made: Sweet
Cost- :(
6 hour charge time for 3,200 mah hours seems like the sweet spot- perfect for a single charge to a galaxy phone for a backpacking trip... however, I'm concerned about the next generation of phones- 4,000 mah for the new S7
Trying to decide if I should buy it right now.
Ziggy, we understand your trepidation. We are currently crowdfunding a larger version of this product called the LightSaver Max that we believe will be perfect for your needs. It features a 15,600 mAh battery. Check out the campaign page here: igg.me/at/lightsaver-max
+PowerFilmSolar I purchased your 4.9 oz model and it works great. Currently at a 12 lb base pack weight for backpacking. Great for gps on the trail.
Excited to try it on the superior hiking trail.
+Ziggy Zee probably the lightest solar charger out there :)
We don't know of anything lighter:)
Please let us know how that goes for you! If you ever have the need for more power check out the Max. It'll do the trick!
At +10:55 into video. What lightweigt make and model battery does your comment reference? "Battery pack contains 3 times power in equivalent weight". Amazon lists 4.9 ounce panel and battery 3,200 mah. Your comment references 3,200 x 3 = 9.6k mah battery.
Seems you are referencing a standard battery such as Anker 10k battery (313) that weighs 7.5 ounces?
I have the 14 watt Power film (no battery), product works as advertised. For either going out camping or SHTF this power film is what you want. Portable, works well in low light, and can be damaged & still work. Try that with any traditional stiff frame panel. I've had mine for about a year. It didn't have a specific battery pack made for it. I do need to pick up one though. Anyone have one that has >10,000 mAh, you would recommend, please let me know and cost?
+JustDanO I will be doing a review of the Toughjuice as seen here: astore.amazon.com/canaprepyoutc-20/detail/B00XGR8WYA in the next week or so, but I would also recommend the Zendure A8 simply an awesome battery pack with huge capacity astore.amazon.com/canaprepyoutc-20/detail/B00YL6EUGE
This paired with a power bank
Nice product. I have a flexible solar panel but it is too big to use while hiking.
+Tom Olofsson What kind?
+Canadian Prepper Brunton SolarRoll 9 watt. I bought it for emergency battery recharging and have not tested it. It measures 12" x 40". Not great for mounting on a pack.
Would you recommend their panel only product? I already have a battery pack that I'm using
+Heats Ink (Scope Eye) Yes they are good astore.amazon.com/canaprepyoutc-20/detail/B00I80P77U
The page you linked to is another of the MANY pages on Amazon that they have allowed to be hijacked by chinese slave-traders.
Well with some relatively simple math we can guess the panel wattage, not accounting for unknown charging efficiencies etc. Given that the battery is 3.2 ah at 3.7v (nominal voltage for a li-ion 18650), that would make it a 11.84 watt hours. They claim 6 hours in full sun to completely charge the battery. 11.84 / 6 = 1.97. The panels are around 2 or 3 watts, I would guess.
pretty good but still too expensive for me, ill wait until these are cheap enough to be integrated into clothering
+Phantom Apprentice That would be neat for sure
I didn't hear how much it cost...I might have missed it. I agree that a bigger battery is needed.
+Hank Lamm I think it currently retails between 96$ honestly its overpriced if you ask me. If you wanted some thin film solar I would recommend going with astore.amazon.com/canaprepyoutc-20/detail/B00I80P77U
Mine would never charge over 50% when left outside for days and days. It is way too expensive and doesn't really work at all. Sent mine back.
tigers like prepper
They should put a rubber plug on the USP port and then build a add on lamp that can be connected directly to the USB port so the whole thing becomes like a flashlight. Like this www.ohgizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/9_volt_light.jpg
I know you can just use it to charge your flashlight but this way you can save a couple of ounces worth of batteries.
+Lappmogel I agree 100%
There is too much of disparity between the two models. They need a 10K mAh version for UL backpacker like myself.
how is the fortress Equipment that you got they sent to you how it working has the gloves working any negative a good things about your gloves and anything about the rest of the stuff that they sent to you how is it working can you give me some good stuff or bad stuff about it how do you say I'm not to use it thank you
+reginal w I pretty much go over all of that in my review I did a couple weeks ago. czcams.com/video/610RUGtsNEI/video.html
Send it to me and I will find out what's the watts and send it back.
buy 3 lift right an center
Dude if you need knowledge or numbers you go to wikipedia. So much to wattage. If you want Bullshit you go to the marketing or company PR departement. The cannot be better than the state of the technology. The rest of the wattage you should be able to work out for yourself by calculating the area: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin-film_solar_cell