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My DIY homemade solar charging station

14K views 75 replies 40 participants last post by  kcohS-G 
#1 ·
Here is a project I've been working on for a long time, at least 2-3 minutes. I was able to build this solar charging station with common items that can usually be found around most houses, which obviously helps keep the initial cost down. It consists of a 2X4 and a front porch that gets a lot of sunlight. This particular length of wood will comfortably accommodate five watches, but I had the decency to remove all non G-Shock watches for these photos. Also, the wood is not permanently mounted to the porch because I feel portability is very important.

Obviously the length can be adjusted to work with larger collections and, depending on the angle of the sun relative to the surface the board is mounted on, different thicknesses may be needed in different climates and seasons. At this time of the year the 2X4 seems to provide the optimal angle to align the face with the sun during most of the day here in the Midwest. I will update this project at other times of the year when the sun is at different angles, if I remember to, with different pieces of lumber.

Here are three photos from different positions to give you an idea of how to build the station. Since this is the beta version any input on ways to improve on this project are welcome!b-)





 
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#44 ·
im a fan of diy but im more a fan of using whats already available, means even less effort on my behalf :p

i have a north facing window which gets around 8 hours of sunlight in summer, just slot the watches on to the ends of the slats and theyll happily charge away. works great if its conditions arent ideal or i need to rush somewhere. sure some charging efficiency may be lost thru the window but nothing an extra day cant fix :-!

 
#51 ·
This one is exactly 16.5 inches in length. The reason I chose this length was because, well, it was on the top of the stack of spare wood I have in my shed. Your actual length is dependent on the number of watches you will be charging at a time, but allow approximately three inches of surface area per watch to allow plenty of space between them.

Hope this helps, and good luck!
 
#52 ·
Cobia, I really like your idea using the milk crate made of modern high strength plastic, but I don't own any and I'm thinking that it may be something that a lot of others don't have around their house either. So I started trying to find something similar that is commonly found around most homes and I think I may have stumbled onto a suitable replacement; the clothes basket! Here are a couple pictures to give you an idea of how it would work. What do you think?



 
#53 ·
Cobia, I really like your idea using the milk crate made of modern high strength plastic, but I don't own any and I'm thinking that it may be something that a lot of others don't have around their house either. So I started trying to find something similar that is commonly found around most homes and I think I may have stumbled onto a suitable replacement; the clothes basket! Here are a couple pictures to give you an idea of how it would work. What do you think?
I think that flipping the basket upside down would give you a more stable base, a flat surface on top where you could place more watches, and would tilt the sides of the basket up toward the sun for a better "charging angle." ;-)

Milk crates used to be REALLY great, but people stealing them led to all kinds of laws across the US (and apparently Australia) which led to some inferior knockoffs finding their way onto store shelves. :-d
 
#54 ·
HoosierTrooper:
Be careful about how long you leave those solar watches in the sun.
Down here in Texas ole Sol can be a tuff guy.
I left a GW6900 solar atomic out in the sun and it caused the watch to move up a complete
day, and played hob with the time readout.
Lesson learned? I get enuff sun to charge them using an open window sill. Ole Sol will fry em
in some cases

X traindriver Art
 
#56 ·
HoosierTrooper:
Be careful about how long you leave those solar watches in the sun.
Down here in Texas ole Sol can be a tuff guy.
I left a GW6900 solar atomic out in the sun and it caused the watch to move up a complete
day, and played hob with the time readout.
Such is the geographic difference between charging them "in the sun" up here in Indiana or Ohio and "practically on the surface of the sun" down there in Texas. ;-)
 
#57 ·
I was just thinking that as well while reading the first page of the topic, about using a plastic laundry basket for all weather durability... low and behold, there's a photo of it on this page. ;-)

Another technique that works involves using heavy slatted window blinds. The thin blinds are too weak to work. Get some of those small $0.39 rubber coated spring clamps from Home Depot and affix the watches to the window facing side of the blinds, spaced across the slats. That does the job while reducing windowsill clutter. :)
 
#61 ·
Using this specialized single dock charging station equipped with liquid cooling mechanism today to top up my 6900 since i think i finished tinkering with the insides - at least until next year LOL

Still on medium after two hours, i guess it'll take a couple more day before i reached high since i received it on medium and it turned low when i played with the Auto EL

I type butter on mah phon
 
#62 ·
Expect to find mosquito larvae, algae, or other organisms living along with your G in a few days. ;-)

Using this specialized single dock charging station equipped with liquid cooling mechanism today to top up my 6900 since i think i finished tinkering with the insides - at least until next year LOL

Still on medium after two hours, i guess it'll take a couple more day before i reached high since i received it on medium and it turned low when i played with the Auto EL
 
#64 ·
its very unique and complicated.
your station i mean.do you know how complicated is the process of soil minerals and organic matters turning mysteriously into wood is.more cumbersome and strange than making a rocket.
so yep.i would say your charging station is more unique and complicated than your g shock itself.!!!!
 
#65 ·
Too much work. I just stick them in the window.
 
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#67 · (Edited)
I'm in India, and leaving my Citizen Eco in the sun at noon for two hours makes it very hot indeed. I think @domoon's method is brilliant. For the moment I just keep them to get two hours of rays at sunrise and sunset respectively, before the heat fries the gaskets.
Now to try a multiple submerged charging station for three watches.
 
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