"Battery Packs" are storage devices. "Battery Packs" aren't "Solar Generators". Refrigerators aren't "Food Generators".

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
It's good that ExPo can help create a safe space here for fat old cranky white guys with facial hair to yell at clouds.

Fixed it for you. ?

We who are part of that demographic certainly do seem to be pretty pissy these days. ? It must be the chem contrails...
 
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OllieChristopher

Well-known member
Maybe its out of respect to the engineers who paid alot of money to to learn how to design such things and communicate in a standardised fashion.

Even engineers communicate by using more than one word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language. It's called a synonym.
 

mattpayne11

Member
I'm sure I'll be flamed for even responding.
I get what you are trying to say here as the terminology is somewhat misleading; however, a good battery paired with solar input, dc output, and ac output is more than a "battery."
So, what else would you call it? :)
Power Station?
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
I get what you are trying to say here as the terminology is somewhat misleading; however, a good battery paired with solar input, dc output, and ac output is more than a "battery."
So, what else would you call it? :)
Power Station?

Well, this one? I’d probably just want to call it “b.s.”
I mean, come on....7 120 VAC outlets in a tiny, one Lithium battery portable box?
How well is that going to work with even half of the outlets in use?

63653655-68E1-4DFB-B087-10F494C8ACDE.jpeg
 

Porkchopexpress

Well-known member
I'm sure I'll be flamed for even responding.
I get what you are trying to say here as the terminology is somewhat misleading; however, a good battery paired with solar input, dc output, and ac output is more than a "battery."
So, what else would you call it? :)
Power Station?
They are referred to as power stations on the goal zero website.

 

Porkchopexpress

Well-known member
There is a lot of technically incorrect terminology that has become common usage, like clips when referring to pistol magazines or mass when referring to weight or cement when referring to concrete. That doesn't mean industry professionals have accepted it. Combining a battery with an inverter doesn't make a generator.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
CleanTechnica: A Sustainable Alternative To Portable Power Generators


CTRL-F "solar" zero hits

"The alternative that the team is developing is a system comprised of rechargeable battery packs, a sustainable mobile delivery service via electric cargo bikes, and a logistics platform to coordinate battery distribution and track status"
 
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1000arms

Well-known member
CleanTechnica: A Sustainable Alternative To Portable Power Generators


CTRL-F "solar" zero hits

"The alternative that the team is developing is a system comprised of rechargeable battery packs, a sustainable mobile delivery service via electric cargo bikes, and a logistics platform to coordinate battery distribution and track status"


From your link:

"The students then focused on developing a battery pack, delivery system, and mobile app to replace those generators."

Simple, low cost, and effective! :)
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
For all the cranky ranting about "proper descriptions" of things, this thread has so far ignored the historical (and etymological) reason that some companies refer to battery banks with solar inputs as "solar generators": The Mobile Food Service Industry - aka "Taco Trucks".

The following is merely for entertainment and educational value:

Every standard step-van-turned-kitchen in North America was originally built with a generator as part of its base load-out. As the life-span of these trucks easily stretches past the service life (especially the "harsh environment service life" - aka the "abuse the snot out of it life") of the generator, most of the older food trucks are on their 2nd or 3rd generator (just as they are on their 2nd or 3rd transmission in many cases). Start with that replacement interval, then add on to that the "environmental" and political pressure that popped up when the "Food Truck" scene went from servicing job-sites to being cool places for white-collar folks to grab a lunch and hipsters to be seen waiting in line for their Korean-fusion pork-belly tacos (worth the wait, BTW), there were a lot of people complaining about the trucks running generators for multiple hours a day in areas that saw more traffic and had more political clout.

The term "Solar Generator" originally was applied to the commercial retrofit process of converting old Food Trucks by removing the entire fossil-fuel generator subsystem and replacing it with a package that includes a similarly shaped lump of batteries, BMS, etc. that bolted into the exact same spot in the generator bay. (These were usually shore-power charged but a lot of political goodwill could be... ahem... generated... by also connecting solar panels.) In the parts of the country where there is a thriving Food Truck industry, there is also a thriving ecosystem for the maintenance and upgrade of the trucks themselves. There are companies all over Southern California, for example, whose sole business is the design, specification, and installation of "Solar-powered-Battery-Pack-Generator-Replacement-Units". You can keep saying that 10 times fast, or you can explain to the guy who just wants to make his Korean Tacos that he can replace the Onan that's under his truck with a "Solar Generator" and get back to business and get the local enforcement folks off his back at the same time.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
For all the cranky ranting about "proper descriptions" of things, this thread has so far ignored the historical (and etymological) reason that some companies refer to battery banks with solar inputs as "solar generators": The Mobile Food Service Industry - aka "Taco Trucks".

The following is merely for entertainment and educational value:

Every standard step-van-turned-kitchen in North America was originally built with a generator as part of its base load-out. As the life-span of these trucks easily stretches past the service life (especially the "harsh environment service life" - aka the "abuse the snot out of it life") of the generator, most of the older food trucks are on their 2nd or 3rd generator (just as they are on their 2nd or 3rd transmission in many cases). Start with that replacement interval, then add on to that the "environmental" and political pressure that popped up when the "Food Truck" scene went from servicing job-sites to being cool places for white-collar folks to grab a lunch and hipsters to be seen waiting in line for their Korean-fusion pork-belly tacos (worth the wait, BTW), there were a lot of people complaining about the trucks running generators for multiple hours a day in areas that saw more traffic and had more political clout.

The term "Solar Generator" originally was applied to the commercial retrofit process of converting old Food Trucks by removing the entire fossil-fuel generator subsystem and replacing it with a package that includes a similarly shaped lump of batteries, BMS, etc. that bolted into the exact same spot in the generator bay. (These were usually shore-power charged but a lot of political goodwill could be... ahem... generated... by also connecting solar panels.) In the parts of the country where there is a thriving Food Truck industry, there is also a thriving ecosystem for the maintenance and upgrade of the trucks themselves. There are companies all over Southern California, for example, whose sole business is the design, specification, and installation of "Solar-powered-Battery-Pack-Generator-Replacement-Units". You can keep saying that 10 times fast, or you can explain to the guy who just wants to make his Korean Tacos that he can replace the Onan that's under his truck with a "Solar Generator" and get back to business and get the local enforcement folks off his back at the same time.
From what I've seen the term was or is used to market what are sometimes solar, sometimes grid-tied batteries to people who have back-up generators. Not everyone who has a generator understands the finer points and it's easier for a salesman to explain it. But if you've gone through a black out or you're tired of the hum at your cabin you're sure to understand the "zero noise" part. This line of reasoning extends to lots of things. How many car owners would look at a mechanic explaining things correctly or the stuff contractors do to their homes? It's come down to "It's broken, gotta fix. Here's the bill."
 
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1000arms

Well-known member
... Take the solar panels out of the loop and now you have a power pack. ...
Thank you for acknowledging that.
 

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