For years, when someone mentioned “portable power” we thought about the only type of portable power available, gas powered generators. For decades, these noisy, smelly sources of power have been needed for supplying electricity for RVs, off-grid houses or cabins.
That said, most people don’t think to haul out their cumbersome gas generator, to supply electricity for the odd smaller jobs, tent camping or for use with their little teardrop campers, and more recently, recharge power for smartphones and tablets. That generator stays stored in the garage, waiting for the next time it’s needed and hopefully, it starts. In marches the silent, maintenance free solar generator.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been collecting interesting uses for portable power that could be used in our everyday lives. Turns out there are too many examples to write about in this one blog, so I will just share a few of the more unique ideas, just to get you thinking.
One customer bought an EZ-PTG Deluxe solar generator at the beginning of the year. Beyond using it for their pickup camper, he has come up with a couple of other uses for lightweight, easy to use portable power. This summer, he bought a big, fancy telescope that requires electricity for computerized tracking of stars and planets. To keep from having to use a power cord, which would tie him down to where he places the telescope, he uses his solar generator to power his telescope. With an EZ Power To Go , he can take his telescope anywhere, up in the mountains or out in the deserts of Colorado, where the viewing is extraordinary.
When he has finished his stargazing for the night, he just hooks his generator up to his 100 W, solar suitcase panel so that it will be charged up for the next time he needs it.
Another genius use this customer found for portable power came to him when he knew he needed to cut the obnoxious, really tall Kochia weeds
that invade the Grand Valley every summer, and which were growing along his fence line.
He decided this would be easiest to do with an electric hedge trimmer, but that 400 ft of electrical cord wasn’t realistic. Ah ha! another use for his EZ-PTG solar generator. So, he strapped his generator onto the back of his 4wheeler, plugged in the hedge trimmer, using a 50 ft extension cord and easily worked his way down the fence line, cutting down those annoying Kochia weeds.
on the back of the 4 wheeler>> He says this method of getting rid of the weeds, an annual chore, was relatively quick and easy.
Stealing his idea, I decided to use a similar method to cut down my own Koshia forest that grew up along one side of my garden area. So, I rolled the Standard EZ-PTG solar generator out to the garden and, armed with an electric hedge trimmer and a 50ft cord, I was able to cut those obnoxious weeds down without even having to move the generator. I plugged it into the solar suitcase panel, while cutting the weeds, to keep it charged for the next time I needed portable power to go. This was so simple, I could hardly believe it myself!
Another Leisure Solar customer bought a solar generator and 2 solar suitcase panels almost solely for the purpose of running a CPAP and Oxygen at night while camping off-grid. They bought two solar suitcase panels to recharge their generator quickly during the day so that it would be ready for the next night. They are able to keep the silent, non-smelly generator running in their small camper at night, with the CPAP and Oxygen machine plugged in. The EZ-Power To Go has made it possible for this customer to go camping.
Back in July, I was driving through town and all of a sudden I had an obvious very flat tire. I pulled onto a side street and found that my left rear tire was completely flat and I was pretty sure my spare was flat as well. Oh great, now what! Going through my options, I thought to call Lee for help, knowing that he would no doubt bring an EZ-PTG generator and an impact wrench to make the job of taking the tire off much easier. Sure enough, that’s what he did. Thank goodness for good friends. My crisis was averted, using portable power to go.
A couple of weeks ago, I went camping up in the mountains with friends to go fall color hunting, which was very successful by the way.
I was camping in my 3 person tent with my dog Quinn and my EZ-PTG Deluxe generator. The one night I spent in the tent was really cold and I attribute the fact that I didn’t freeze to death to my portable solar generator! It powered a small space heater during the coldest part of the night, just keeping the edge off a little. The generator sat just inside the tent, making the controls easy to get to. No way would I have been able to set a gas-powered generator inside my tent, running most of the night. In the morning, I got up and plugged my little coffee maker into the generator and took the chill off with a cup of hot coffee. I stayed in my friend’s RV the next night, I’m just not that tough.
You can see a few more unusual uses here https://www.leisuresolar.com/uses-for-rv-solar . As you can see, the new generation of portable power, charged by the sun, can be used for many things, ideas that are only limited by your imagination.
Contributed by Linda Booker
Marketing Director for Leisure Solar LTD