Anybody tried to add Solar Power to the 8043 Excavator ?

[nk4002r]

Does anybody know, whether the Lego Solar panel would work for the Lego 8043 Excavator ?

http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?ID=322&c=0&t=0&l=0

I am afraid that either it does not generate enough power or worse, uses an older type of power connector... This would be rather interesting, if could be substituted instead of the battery box somehow.

Edited November 19, 2010 by nk4002r

[Tobbe Arnesson]

I did a quick Google and found: http://orionrobots.co.uk/tiki-index.php?page=Lego+Solar+Panel

* 3 V, 200 mA at full sun outdoors

* 3 V, 100 mA at full sun indoors through window

* 2.5 V, 8 mA with light from 60 W incandescent lamp with 25 cm distance to solar cell (2000 lx)

* 2.5 V, 40 mA with light from 60 W incandescent lamp with 8 cm distance to solar cell (10,000 lx)

According to http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm the M-motor draws 0,31 A.

So for indoor use at full sun you'd need three solar panels in series to get up to 9V and that current should be enough for one motor at the time (no driving), but to drive you need to put two such solar "batteries" in parallel so that puts you up to six solar panels. But to be safe you'd better add a third batteries in parallel so nine units. And my guess is that even then the Excavator would move slower than on fresh batteries.

[nk4002r]

I did a quick Google and found: http://orionrobots.co.uk/tiki-index.php?page=Lego+Solar+Panel

* 3 V, 200 mA at full sun outdoors

* 3 V, 100 mA at full sun indoors through window

* 2.5 V, 8 mA with light from 60 W incandescent lamp with 25 cm distance to solar cell (2000 lx)

* 2.5 V, 40 mA with light from 60 W incandescent lamp with 8 cm distance to solar cell (10,000 lx)

According to http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm the M-motor draws 0,31 A.

So for indoor use at full sun you'd need three solar panels in series to get up to 9V and that current should be enough for one motor at the time (no driving), but to drive you need to put two such solar "batteries" in parallel so that puts you up to six solar panels. But to be safe you'd better add a third batteries in parallel so nine units. And my guess is that even then the Excavator would move slower than on fresh batteries.

Thank you, Tobbe for the info. That is a no go then, considering how much extra weight all those solar panels would add. :) I see that this panel is from 1998, probably current technology could give considerably more power from that sized panel. Thanks again, it seemed like a good idea...

[Tobbe Arnesson]

You might want to look out for this set: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=9667-1

Brickset claims it's not released yet...

[CP5670]

The new solar panel is in the 9688 renewable energy set, which is available from Lego Education. That set costs $100 though and the new panel will probably still be way too weak for the excavator, where the motors struggle a bit already.

[esrtiece]

I've got 2 off the new solar pannels and can confirm that they are as good (bad) as the old ones.

I think that they are good for decoration:

But......... for the functionality in the education set. Yes , they work good enough!!

[dr_spock]

I think they would work for recharging the batteries in the 8043.

[nk4002r]

I think they would work for recharging the batteries in the 8043.

Now that is Funny ! Thanks guys, saved me money and disappointment... :)