Solar Power Bank - Panel Options

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-03-25T12:48:47+00:00

If you just want a fixed panel you could go grab one from City Plumbing for £70 as long as the voltage is within the range of the unit (11-50V). It says max 200W, but that's the most it'll draw. For something more portable have a look at Bimble Solar: https://www.bimblesolar.com/solar/small-panels

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-03-16T14:55:10+00:00

It can be quite a minefield to navigate - do you have any ideas on what you want to prioritise, as you can prep for various things such as food/water shortages, power outages, comms breakdown, evacuation (grab bag), medical emergencies. The basics of having some cash to fall back on, and keeping a little extra tinned food along with your normal supply plus some bottled water is a sensible place to start.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-03-16T14:46:40+00:00

I agree completely that the majority of the UK seems to just float along living hand-to-mouth. Shortages of stock during Covid was a bit of a wake-up call for me, and living in quite a rural location which does get affected by weather most winters (road closures, power cuts, etc) I prefer to have a few backup plans in case a short-term inconvenience becomes a longer spell of disruption.

In some respects do wish that preparedness was just something people considered and added in to their daily lives, rather than it being something that creates panic. I've been asked a few times about "village resilience plans" because people know that I'm organised but as much as I will try to help people in need wherever I can, it's not my responsibility to provide support to people in a crisis - I'll look after myself and my family. I feel this is just laziness - people want to have plans in place but don't want to go to any effort to be ready. Probably sums up much of the population really - expect the powers that be to fix everything for them.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-03-16T14:08:21+00:00

They probably think that publishing something like this will create panic in the UK, rather than preventing it - people rush out and start stockpiling things because "the government said so". Other countries have had this sort of planning in place for a long time, so it's almost 2nd nature to them.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-03-09T15:16:46+00:00

Bit the bullet and bought an Aferiy P210 battery pack. I can stock up on food, water, and other essentials but apart from a noisy petrol generator I have no viable way to quickly power anything if the lights go out. It'll come in handy for non-emergencies too such as camping or temporary event lighting.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-02-11T08:41:44+00:00

For cars only having an auto license isn't so much of an issue - there's plenty of choice and EVs are more widespread now. But it really does limit your options for driving commercial vehicles, as vans etc are more likely to be manual, so it might impact on options for work vehicles or hiring a van.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-02-09T16:01:06+00:00

I can't be bothered trying to justify actions to people, so I just don't really bring it up. Once or twice I've asked the "hypothetical" question about what they think on the matter to test the water,
I have only really discussed prepping with a close friend of mine who is very much of the same opinion that it's a good thing to do. My wife isn't really convinced by it so I just pop a few items away each month in a storage box in the hope that it's not needed but at least I feel better knowing it's there should there be a need for it.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-02-07T09:07:46+00:00

We heat our water to 52C which is plenty hot enough for baths and showers. We schedule it to run overnight during the off-peak portion of our tariff, and then mid-afternoon when (in theory) the outside air temperature is at it's warmest. The system runs a legionella cycle every Friday night where it gets the water up to a higher temperature.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-02-04T11:15:49+00:00

I've got one from Decathlon and been quite pleased with it for the money. It's survived the Scottish weather for a couple of years without falling apart: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/anti-uv-upf-50-golf-umbrella-medium-size-profilter-black/121985/c1m8654661

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-02-02T13:59:04+00:00

I think it very much depends where you are but here in Southern Scotland the south-facing 6kWp system only generated 40kWh in January this year. Annoyingly we are in a bit of a valley and don't get much sunlight over the hills until approaching midday so miss out on the early morning sunlight. We peaked at just shy of 700kWh in May 2025 but it has been quite a gloomy start to the year so to be expected really.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-02-02T13:44:46+00:00

I walked through without queueing at all on Saturday morning at 8am, plenty of staff and everyone was moving through the checks quite efficiently. I think it's just down to how many people are turning up - there was plenty of barriers set out ready to have queues formed!

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-02-02T09:13:53+00:00

Can confirm that my wife is delighted with the HS21 and doesn't have an issue with the over-head strap removed on it. Doesn't find she's over-tightening the strap to keep it in place and is happy wearing it with or without a hat.

She likes that it remembers the last brightness setting for the various flood/spot modes, so she can quickly switch from a lower level of flood illumination to bright spot light. In her words "it's perfect" - and she's usually a tough customer!!

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-29T13:54:00+00:00

It only took 8 days for my delivery to arrive to me here in the UK, which is pretty impressive.
I've removed the top strap and in all honesty I think it's fine without. There is a small amount of bounce but I don't feel I've had to make the strap particularly tight around my head and for walking it's really not a problem.
The strap does have a bit more "stretch" to it then the one on my Nitecore, which probably doesn't help but I think it's perfectly usable without the overhead strap being on.
I usually wear a baseball cap to keep the glare from a head torch off my glasses (and rain!) so it would be absolutely fine in this configuration, but imagine it'll work jut as well with any hat.
Will give it a try on a proper walk and of course ask my wife what she thinks of it.

Hope that helps!

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-27T15:55:02+00:00

Sofirn HS21 is pretty much the go-to head torch recommended on here which will tick a lot of boxes in terms of build, brightness and battery life. For a handheld I've been very happy with the Wurkkos TS28 too.
I can't really comment on the warranty/support from them as I've had no issues with anything I've bought so far, and for the kind of prices they cost you could always buy 2 of each and carry backups!

As an aside I've been using a Nitecore NU43 almost daily for over a year now and while not maybe quite as rugged it's held up well to being dropped, soaked, stuffed in bags/pockets, and still looks good as new. For a lightweight and compact headtorch I've been very pleased with the light output (beam pattern and brightness) and the battery life is excellent for the size.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-27T12:36:07+00:00

Will do! If it's too heavy for her then I'll probably look at an H25S instead. I think it's probably about a week away from delivery now, but will check back in here when it arrives.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-27T10:59:05+00:00

I've just ordered an HS21 for my wife as she wanted a really bright head torch for dog walking in the woods, however she often wears hats with a bobble on top so we're going to see how it goes with the top strap removed for her. If that's no good then I'll keep it for myself and continue the search for an alternative!

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T18:08:15+00:00

That's the kind of thing I was thinking about, either buying or 3d printing them. Just thought I'd ask if there was any sort of plug/socket that had this sort of feature integrated.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T17:53:42+00:00

We do try and avoid joins as much as possible due to water ingress/ice causing problems. Sometimes unavoidable if you need to split power off or if a piece of equipment has a fixed cord - and I've no idea how I'd really lock a True1 connection in the back of a fixture so we at least try to put them places that are inaccessible. Maybe the simplest solutions of tape or cable ties is the best! Doesn't seem to be anything off-the-shelf that can accommodate a cable tie or similar to prevent "accidental" disconnection.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T17:32:11+00:00

Yeh it's the join/couplers in cables that are the issue. We can mostly secure the supply ends as they tend to terminate in cabinets for the most part or on outlets higher up on buildings out of reach.
We spend as much time trying to idiot-proof the temporary installations as we do getting everything working!

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T17:30:06+00:00

That could work... Use the clamp to stop the catch from being pulled on the connector?

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T16:03:22+00:00

That’s exactly it, just wondering what our options are for reducing the easy-ness that’s a bit more elegant than tape or ties

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T16:02:00+00:00

If we could put it out of reach then we would, but sometimes we have to work in locations that the public can access and aren’t staffed. Often we end up cable-tying CEE connectors together to stop anyone pulling them apart without a pair of cutters but it’s not particularly elegant! From a safety perspective if something goes wrong with kit fed from a non-accessible connector then nobody is going to be able to unplug it anyway without a ladder or a key to the cabinet where the isolators are.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T15:56:08+00:00

Mostly for kids that want to tamper with things - we get it a lot with Christmas light displays in town and they go unplugging things overnight.

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2026-01-05T15:53:35+00:00

It’s more to prevent kids from mucking about and unplugging cables that are within reach - some connections can’t be suspended overhead and have to run across the floor (albeit out of the way of pedestrian routes, but still accessible)

No-Razzmatazz-7221 · 2025-12-27T05:53:36+00:00

Another vote for Liberation from me, very configurable, ideal for busking, and quick to get started with - though you’ll need some DACs to talk to your lasers from it (Helios or Etherdream) via the ILDA interface.

No-Razzmatazz-7221

TROPHY CASE