A contractor was eager to share a tool-charging hack with the r/preppers community.
"I am a contractor and have been switching from DeWalt cordless tools to Flex 24v. While sitting in my shop this morning I suddenly remembered an old 10a Rich Solar charge controller I have that has been replaced with a bigger one on my main solar rig. It has 12v and 24v settings. So I hooked up some wires to and older 2.5ah Flex battery I have, and set up a 100watt panel on that charge controller and it charged up perfectly in like an hour," they said.
This is a smart take by the original poster. By using a direct current from a solar panel to a battery, you're bound to improve charge times thanks to increased efficiency. Typically, power generated by solar panels is converted into alternating current so it can be used by everyday devices in the home.
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Not at all 🙅 That conversion isn't perfectly efficient, so you'll lose a little power in the process. DC relies on perfectly matched electrical input and output, which introduces more risk, but the OP said that they set up a fan to avoid overheating. If you're interested in applying DC solar battery charging on a larger scale, you'll need to take many precautions.
In general, switching to solar power is a great move. Solar panels produce some of the cheapest electricity available, and it's pollution-free. That's good news for slowing climate change and the violent weather patterns that accompany it. Solar power is also a necessity for the prepper crowd that wants to live independently and go off the grid.
Community members largely supported the contractor's solar setup.
"I have been doing this for years with a basic solar panel for my 18v tool batteries and 24v equipment batteries. Works great," chimed in one commenter.
Another brought up the utility of USB power: "Also worth getting the USB adapter for whatever battery system you use. [Tool] batteries are expensive as hell compared to a typical phone charger battery bank, but they have the advantage of ubiquity and you almost certainly have more capacity in tool batteries than battery banks."
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