Mowing with Solar

Renewable energy lawn mowing with a cordless mower. Charging the battery afterwards with a 45 watt solar power panel array and charge controller. Describing the recharge process and amp-hour use. Not having to buy gasoline at the station and saving gas at $4/gallon is becoming a significant benefit. On some occasions I even have a little battery energy left over and mow my neighbors adjacent side yard too.

Mower
Black and Decker 24 Volt Cordless Rechargeable 19" Mulching Lawn Mower
Model# CMM1000

Battery x 2
Panasonic VRLA Valve Regulated Lead Acid 12 Volt 20ah (20hr rate)
Model# LC-X1220AP

Charge Controller
Morningstar Prostar 15
Model# PS-15M

Solar Array
Harbor Freight 45 Watt
Amorphous

See the webpage write up at http://www.frontiersprings.com/mow.html

Battery Desulfator info at http://www.frontiersprings.com/desulfator.html

Please rate this video if you found it useful.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• renewable
• energy
• solar
• power
• black
• decker
• harbor
• freight
• charge
• controller
• battery
• recharging
• plano
• dallas
• lawn
• mowing

[ginostatus]

i got the same solar charge controller...does it matter if you have different types of batteries?...and what do you seleclt ur battery type switch to?

[frontiersprings]

@ginostatus Depends on the battery type i am using. For the batteries in the video, the switch is on the "sealed" position.

[boogyboo79]

Cool good to see those panels in action... I've been eyeing those panels for a while now at harbor freight and wondered being from there if they would be worth the money. Are you happy with them or do you think money could be better spent of different ones?

[frontiersprings]

The HF panel array puts out 1.2 amps versus HF's claim of 3 amps, only 40%. The blue polycrystaline panel in the video puts out close to 95% of it's max amperage with the same controller-battery configuration. Amperage output is key. The HF panel array does not meet their claim of 45 watt output, thus having an increase in dollar per watt cost.

[frontiersprings]

The charge controller that is included is unreliable, mine failed within two hours of use. Lot's of internet anecdotal evidence to the controller's unreliability - Do a search. The panels do work and are a starting point to experimenting with solar electricity. You will most likely need to buy an additional quality charge controller. Yes, money can be better spent. You will end up spending more but your expectations will be better met.

[theonethatgoofs]

now all u need is onboard power and self propelled



[cawag98]

I don't think a charge controller is necessary if you get a smaller panel. I have a 12 volt Black and Decker cmm624 with 1 or 2 5w panel charging the 26ah battery and it recharges in less than 7 days even here in New England without problems. Also, the B&D units seem to do the power management in the unit, so if you can get the appropriate Molex connector on your solar panel, the mower itself will control the charge for you.

[kricotas]

whast the name of charger controller?

[wvacanti]

Neat