Update: We now have a complete lineup of folding solar panels.
A friend of Voltaic asked us to build him an 18 Watt solar charger kit to keep his V72 laptop battery charged up in the field.
We took the two pieces of webbing from our Fuse 4 W strap set, removed all the clips and laid them along the back of the three panels. We then punched the screws through the webbing and secured it with the nylon post nuts that come with the panels.
We placed the male buckle on the end of the strap and the female on the back of the middle panel. The three panels folded up nice and neat.
In addition, we epoxied the circuit box to the back of the middle panel to keep it moving during transit.
In total, it took us about 45 minutes to get this compact, foldable charger with 18 Watts of solar power.
I have been toying with a similar concept. I want to make a folding design similar to this that will fit in a top pouch of a back pack. When I want to charge, I simply roll it out and it hangs from the top pouch. I was thinking of using canvas, but I like the webbing strap idea better! Thanks for saving me! I will post some pics when I get mine done.
Excellent! I am now rethinking the idea that I wanted one or two of your 16.8 panels, and instead opt for three or six of the 6 watts.
Excellent. Very clean design. Any need for spacers between the panels to keep the faces from rubbing together and scratching?
Thanks Ben. I certainly see the advantage in spacers. They do lessen scratches and also prevent the panels from clinking when you fold them. However, I tend not to worry about minor scratches from contact. They don’t affect the output in any meaningful way.
Jeff