Disclaimer: We are not affiliated with Inergy Solar. This is all gear that we bought.
In the previous blog, we talked a little bit about why we purchased the Kodiak Solar Generator, how we are planning on using it, what other gear we decided to get along with it and why.
In this blog we are going to go over the very first thing we did after we opened the main box, cardboard box I should say. Please, do not open the black box itself! š
We have to say again that the generator itself is incredibly functional. Small in size, at only 20 lbs with a very versatile AC/DC input and output design and a very informative power meter display.
The Kodiak contains a Lithium-Ion NMC battery so following the shipping regulations, it arrives partially charged, with less than half of the full charge. It needs to be Fully charged prior to use.
How to detect the battery level of the Kodiak
You can see approximately how much battery life it has by turning the big blue power button on, at the top right corner of the front cover.
When the power button is pressed, ten multi-colored LEDs activate below the power display, each representing approximately 10% of the battery capacity.
When we first powered on our Kodiak, only the last four LEDs were activated, two orange and two red.
How to charge the Kodiak
You can charge the Kodiak in five different ways
- Using a wall outlet with the AC charger it comes with
- Using a wall outlet with the Quick charger accessory
- Using the car DC outlet, with the car charger accessory
- Using solar panels (two different types)
- Using external battery banks
All the input power ports are on the right hand side panel of the Kodiak, along with the cute kodiak emblem.
At the time that we ordered our Kodiak generator, the quick wall charger was in back order so we had to use the regular AC wall charger. It connects to the Low Current input and charges the Kodiak at 100W (12.6V DC x 8 Amps). From almost zero to full recharge it takes about 12 hours but since it came with some charge already, it took less time.
We are looking forward to trying out the quick wall charger. It connects to the High Current input and charges the Kodiak at 190W (12.6 V DC x 15 Amps). It is supposed to charge it from almost zero to full in 5 hours.
Output Power
All four USB & six AC ports come live when the power button is on.
The two 12V DC car sockets & two Basecamp LED Light ports are always live.
And yes, Kodiak is capable of outputting power while it is charging.
Inergy Kodiak Solar Generator – Overview from Tim And Vie on Vimeo.
Display Measurements
TheĀ three units that the display uses are voltage, amps (for current) and watts (for power).
The Volts denotes the voltage from the battery. It is a DC Voltage measurement in real time.
The Amps measurement denotes the total current draw from the battery. It is a DC current measurement in real time.
The Watts displays the total power draw from the battery. It is a DC measurement in real time. Watts are calculated by multiplying the current by the voltage.
For any of you not comfortable with Volts, Amps and Watts, here is a very easy analogy from HowStuffWorks that should help you better understand these terms.
If instead of an electrical system you think in terms of a plumbing pipe… The voltage is equivalent to the water pressure, the current is equivalent to the flow rate, and the power is the force with which the water is coming out of the pipe.
Think of a water hose pointing at a waterwheel (used to turn grinding stones in a watermill). You can increase the power generated by the waterwheel in two ways. You can either increase the pressure of the water coming out of the hose (so that it hits the waterwheel with a lot more force and the wheel turns faster generating more power) or you can increase the flow rate (so that the waterwheel turns faster because of the weight of the extra water hitting it).
Maintenance Tips
- If you are going to store your Kodiak for a while without using it, Inergy recommends to check it every three months or so and top it off.
- Sometimes following transport, heavy use, or extended storage, the Kodiak will go into āSafety Mode.ā During Safety Mode, the system wonāt power on, or charge. To reset the system, plug an AC charger into the Basecamp LED Light Port on the front for about 10 seconds. The system should now power on and accept a charge.
Can’t wait to get the Kodiak out in the sun! Our next blog will be on the solar panels that can be used to power it up.
To learn more about the Kodiak solar generator, visit https://www.inergysolar.com/. If you have any questions for us, we would love to hear from you in the comment section below!
Gear Mentioned or Seen On This Video
- Solar Panels: https://amzn.to/2HxcDRG
- Wind Turbines: https://amzn.to/2jdfEIo
- Water Turbines: https://amzn.to/2r6FJwm
- Clothing by Prana: https://www.prana.com/ and https://amzn.to/2HDTv0m
Until next time much, much love from both of us! By the way, what else would you like to know about, in terms of how we camp? Let us know in the comment section below.
Thank you for reading! And if you liked this, please hit the like button, share, and subscribe if you haven’t already. š
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Same experience as the person above. My original purchase was for Kodiak and five Predator panels. Unit did not work. Contacted CS and let them know that the system was not charging. Levi said ” Oh, your Kodiak system will not work with five panels so they sent me a black box to interface with all panels. Put this together and still no system charge. Call CS and they said that it must be your panels, so I sent them in…weeks passed without any CS follow up so I called. CS again, Cody this time, he said , your panels are no good that I would have to upgrade or they could send some slightly used panels + shipping. The latter with no warranty, but if I upgraded to three solar storm panels. they would come with a warranty. I said that I would take the three panels with the warranties. Cidy said that I would have to pay $220.00 for shipping. I explained to him that the original five panels never worked! He said, well that’s all we can do for you. So I gave them the $220.00 and panels arrived which came with a 30ft cable to connect to the Kodiak and six foot cables to connect up the three solar panels. Next sunny day I smelled some burning around panel connected to 30ft cable to Kodiak…with no Kodiac charge. Contacted CS and they sent a new 30ft cable. Connected everything back up, blue light came on but no charge for Kodiak. Very disappointed! Contacted CS, Amanda. She had me check all panels which showed a producing charge but one of the panel’s pig tail connect would not insert into Male cable. I looked inside and saw that some solder was inside the connection preventing the other cable from connecting…sent Amanda a picture and she asked another technician. she said that I should try to pull out the solder but I was uncomfortable with doing that and when I looked at my Kodiak the new cable was burning and melting there. I again notified CS and suggested that the defective panel may have shorted out my Kodiak and to please send me a replacement unit and return defective panel CS STOPPED RESPONDING. So now a have three new panels, a dead Kodiak and two burned cables and no response from anyone at Inergy CS.
We have had nothing but issues with this product. Fused connectors…so much so they fused to the generator itself making solar charging impossible.
Panel connectors have fused together and we have been almost two years trying to get them to come up with a solution.
They discontinued the panels we purchased so they are aware of the issues.
Terrible customer service who have now stopped communicating with us altogether.
We would not recommend this product.
What type of solar generator do you use?ļ»æ