Solargorilla

[Minos]

Solargorilla.

 

Has anyone here used this? If so, do you think it is worth the £140 for the solar charger plus £150 for the powerpack?

[carlt]

Not when Maplins are doing usable sized panel kits for £110:

Clicky

[Woollymishka]

Hi

I stand to be corrected but I do not think that the posting from Cartlt extolling the virtues of Maplins solar panel (with whom I have no grouse - Carl or Maplins) is the same as the item that landlubber was talking about.

We have one Solar Gorilla and it is amazing what it charges but we did not buy at the price quoted - in fact no where near the price mentioned.

If you are out & about (off the boat) the gadget certainly comes into its own if you are away from any power source - read what the guy from the African Nat park says - it does as it says.

[Nightwatch]

One of these for sale on flea bay. Present price is £83.00 + £5.50 postage.

 

Seems a bargain.

 

I have no money though.

 

Martyn

[Biggles]

One of these for sale on flea bay. Present price is £83.00 + £5.50 postage.

 

Seems a bargain.

 

I have no money though.

 

Martyn

 

 

I can sell you some money if you want. I have some nice crisp £10 notes at £11.00 each.

 

Biggles

[Nightwatch]

I need to check with my accountant. Is that a good deal?

 

You're not African are you?

 

I'll get back to you.

 

Martyn

[carlt]

Hi

I stand to be corrected but I do not think that the posting from Cartlt extolling the virtues of Maplins solar panel (with whom I have no grouse - Carl or Maplins) is the same as the item that landlubber was talking about.

We have one Solar Gorilla and it is amazing what it charges but we did not buy at the price quoted - in fact no where near the price mentioned.

If you are out & about (off the boat) the gadget certainly comes into its own if you are away from any power source - read what the guy from the African Nat park says - it does as it says.

You're absolutely right. They are different.

 

One provides enough milliamps to charge a phone or laptop and the other is the basis of a domestic solar power system.

 

I'm sure they're great, if you need to keep comms kit charged, in the African bush, but I can't see much use for them, for the average boater.

 

I have a small folding solar charger, suitable for putting a bit of charge in my phone or notebook...about £20 from Maplins, iirc. I rarely use it, because I am rarely isolated from all other power sources, these days. Could have been handy when I used to do long distance walking, though.

 

I have no grouse with Solargorilla, btw, but it seems ridiculously expensive, based on price per Amp.

[Circe]

Once we get a boat, we're planning on trying to take our disabled son with us on the odd overnight. iPad charging is essential - not just for games and things but for his daily communication tools like Proloquo and his visual timetables. If that goes flat, it'll be a complete disaster.

 

I'm sure our teenager wouldn't be averse to charging her phone either

 

SolarGorilla won't be the only device out there, but it's somewhere to start looking. The ebay one does sound like a bargain! Thanks for letting us know your experiences WoollyMishka.

Edited April 13, 2011 by Circe

[Robbo]

Once we get a boat, we're planning on trying to take our disabled son with us on the odd overnight. iPad charging is essential - not just for games and things but for his daily communication tools like Proloquo and his visual timetables. If that goes flat, it'll be a complete disaster.

 

Looking at the specs, it will only provide 500mA via USB, this would take ages to charge a iPad. Best solution would be to get a 2amp car adapter to USB thingy and charge when using the boat.

[Circe]

Definitely - there's no question we'll be doing that. But we need some sort of back up power source/charger too - we really can't risk it going flat and it is used very heavily every day (and night!)

[carlt]

Definitely - there's no question we'll be doing that. But we need some sort of back up power source/charger too - we really can't risk it going flat and it is used very heavily every day (and night!)

In that case, if you don't trust your boat's batteries to do the job, take along a jumpstarter, such as:

Clicky

 

Guaranteed cloud proof, independent of your boat's power system and can be topped up when cruising.

 

Mine runs my netbook all evening and recharges the phones overnight.

[Minos]

An iPad runs for ten hours on its own internal charge. However, I see your point.

 

On that topic - has anyone managed to run all (or even most) of their electrics from solar cells?

[Tim]

I used something very like this when climbing in Nepal a couple of years ago, it was brilliant, it got enough charge into my camera batteries and a host of other devices. I recall paying 69.99, but can't remember the make of the unit though.