FS [VIC Melb] - Goal Zero Nomad 7W Solar Panel USB or 12V

[keithy]

$70 pickup from Hawthorn VIC.

This is the 2013 version of the Nomad 7 Panel. This is only the panel itself, and does not come with the Guide 10 Plus AA battery charger. Still with the box and everything it came with.

I have two Goal Zero Nomad 7 panels, bought as I thought they could be daisy chained together. They can't as it turns out, but they can daisy chain to larger Goal Zero panels as the last panel in the chain.

This is the second generation of the panel. The first generation was a tri-folding setup with the USB block folding back into the panels. This one is more like an envelope flap, with a mesh zip panel where the USB socket lives. The third generation has the diagonal yellow stripe and has the ability to daisy chain panels.

Anyway, I now have four backpacking solar panels, and took one Goal Zero 7W panel and an Instapark Mercury 10W panel to Nepal. This one has never been used on walks. Only to test in the house, and has spent the best of 2014 and 2015 in the cupboard. So it's probably time to find it a new home.

I have found this panel to be perfect to charge a powerbank, and have only charged 5000mAh powerbanks with it so far. The output via USB I have averaged is around .50A - .60A so I haven't bothered trying the larger powerbanks as it would take a few days of good sunlight to charge. My charge times to charge my Sony compact camera battery (960mAh) directly via USB took around 2 hours to go charge to full. The 5000mAh powerbank takes a good two days of charging, by my estimates around about 10 hours of good sun. 2 AAs in a Garmin charging via USB (or in a AA UBS battery charger) takes around 2 hours as well.

[Moondog55]

Is it robust and weatherproof enough to strap onto the back of the rucksack and use it while mobile?

[keithy]

Is it robust and weatherproof enough to strap onto the back of the rucksack and use it while mobile?

I did exactly that on quite a few days in Nepal. Walking with the sun behind, it was clipped to the pack, so that one panel was on the top flap of the pack, and one panel down the back. Not the most efficient in charging, but it worked. The device you are charging can be fussy though. For example, one of the AA chargers I took didn't like the USB voltage dropping to under 4.5V and wouldn't start charging again even when the voltage went back to 5V (like when the sun gets blocked by clouds). But I had no problem with the other AA charger, and the lithium ion battery pack.

Sort of like this picture but I had mine higher up on the top of my pack.



When walking into the sun, I had it strapped to the front like a bib, and had two clips to the hip strap to stop it flapping around. Yes, you look like a dick, but when you don't have a plug in power source, it worked nicely. I had it charging my Sony camera directly via USB cable, and it charged a flat battery in about 2 hours while walking. But we were walking to Dingboche on a clear sunny day with snow covered ground.

It worked better on acclimatisation days when you could set it up facing the sun and charged batteries faster. I carried the GZ Nomad 7, and my walking partner who was taller used the three panel Instapark Mercury 10.

The panel is pretty hardy, the only concern I had was the panel connection at the folds, but mine have been used for 2 years and haven't had an issue. I've picked up a smaller Sunkingdom 5W panel after some discussion on the torch forums, and it seems good to charge up smaller 18650/14500 batteries but understandably is a bit slower to charge AAs.

I've not gotten the panels wet, as usually if it was cloudy or rainy, there wasn't enough sun to charge and it stayed inside the pack.