After purchasing and comparing a good number of portable power systems, the 
Humless Sentinel (now called) the Humless Go Mini) is the one I look to as my first line backup and emergency power source.
Here are some of the key benefits as to why the Humless Go Mini should be considered over other portable “solar generator” type battery power packs.
The main “plus” is what’s at the heart of the Go Mini, the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4) battery. The battery in any portable powerpack is the weakest component of the system, which is why the battery technology and chemistry chosen by Humless is so important. The LiFePO4 lithium battery has multiple superior characteristics over the typical lead acid batteries and even other lithium-ion batteries used in most other portable power pack systems. Read more about the LiFePo batteries (by clicking here).
The DC to AC power inverter the Go Mini uses is a another plus.The inverter is the electronic “engine” that takes the stored power in the battery and converts it to the power compatible for use in our homes. The Humless Go Mini uses a pure sine wave inverter which means the power it converts and make is close to identical to what is provided from your home’s wall outlet. Other powerpacks use inverters that only approximate the electric power with what is called a “modified sine wave”. The pure sine wave electric power made by the Go Mini will work better with all appliances/devices and especially motors that need the “cleanest” power available to function without an issue. Just try and plug a laser printer into a power pack with a modified/square wave inverter and see what happens.
The Go Mini’s inverter outputs up to a 1500 watts of power and will run about 95% of most appliances and devices you can plug into it. The Go Mini’s battery will run at a max of 1500 watts for about 35 minutes before it will need to be recharged. Most appliances however, will run much longer as they use much less power. Read more about the Go Mini’s Pure Sine wave inverter.
The Go Mini’s battery is able to be charged from quite a few renewable power sources from solar power, a hand crank dynamo generator, and also from the AC power wall outlet in your home. The Go Mini is quite compact and portable at only 35 pounds. It can be taken and used anywhere due to it’s light weight and small size. It’s case is a full metal box which makes it very durable. The input and outputs are electronically protected against overloads and will automatically reset without the need to replace a fuse. Read more about the Go Mini’s info.
With solar panels added the Go Mini is a great fuelless solar generator for surviving long term power outages being powered and recharged by the sun. For those of us who have ever experienced a day or more without power, we know how essential a backup power source is… or would have been if we would have been smart enough to have one available beforehand. Consider all the things that we do on a daily basis that only require a small amount of electricity to accomplish, but would take quite a bit of time if we didn’t have access to power.
Having the Go Mini’s as a backup power source is imperative for emergency preparedness. Just think about it. You have a refrigerator or freezer but it’s slowly warming up and the food is about to spoil. You’ve got a lamp for light, but how are you going to power it? You have a TV or radio for communication but can’t plug them in to anything with power to check the news. There are many thing that we take for granted but will rapidly come to our attention when the lights go out. This is why we need to take a step forward now and prepare for the things we really need before they are unavailable. Power is one of those essential needs.
I’ve built portable solar and battery backup systems using various parts and components over the last ten years and I must say I much prefer the size, weight and compact package of the Go Mini compared to most of those I’ve built. This Go Mini power system provides the ability to run a kitchen appliances, grain mills, bread mixer, tools, lights, radios and other basic devices enough to handle the basics needs for an emergency or even longer term power outages. It will even power fridges or freezers for short periods of time when needed. The Humless Go Mini is a great system and I would recommend it to anyone.
I bought the Humless Sentinel for myself as a backup power source for when there are power outages and for a possible earthquake in the Southern California Area that I hope doesn’t ever happen (but we always need to be prepared). The long life of the lithium based battery and the many controls built into one box was what interested me more than anything. I have had previous experience with lead acid based battery systems years ago and I have also read many articles describing the cons of using RV or car batteries. So I decided to get myself a clean system that would hold a charge for a very long time and really be ready when the need arises. The Humless Sentinel is a 50 amp hour system, which is great, but it is not made to make up for the loss of power to major appliances, but it runs TVs, lap tops, LED/CFL lighting, fans and other necessities quite well.
This battery, even though it’s a little pricey, is very well built and performs as described. The Humless team that is based in Utah are very helpful and can answer all the questions that you might have. I am very happy with this purchase and the results.
I bought this fuel-less system as an off-grid rechargeable backup capability in the case that I have utility failure. As it says, it has a max of 1000 continuous watts and a charge that provides 600 watt-hours. The 1000 continuous watt limit means it can’t run my 26 cubic foot side by side refrigerator which uses about 1340 watts on full power, but this is easily solved by using two sentinels. It does work, however, for my upright freezer, even though the 600 watt-hour limit means that it will get about 40 minutes of run time on full power on a single charge, again, solved by using multiple sentinels. And compared generators/batteries like it, this is excellent. I have successfully tested the Humless Sentinel to run my furnace for the entire house and found that it would give me 60 minutes of run-time. All I did was turn off the circuit breaker to the furnace, make an extension cord with the ends both male, plug one side into the Sentinel and the other side into a receptacle on my furnace. It worked great, but the circuit breaker needs to be OFF or you will ruin the unit if the power comes back on. On the Humless Sentinel it’s obvious that LED TVs will run much longer than LCD TVs, and CFL and LED lights will run much longer than your normal incandescent blubs. The light weight and portability of the Sentinel are huge factors. I found an acid gel system that would run my refrigerator, but it weighs more than 200 pounds which is a lot more than I could or even wanted to deal with, even on wheels; and the lithium battery doesn’t need to be recharged every two months like most of the other types. Also, the competition (other generators/batteries) have modified sine wave inverters, not the pure sine wave inverter that the Sentinel has. The pure wave is much better for electronics. If I want, I can use my gas generator to recharge it and then have pure power quietly at night. I also bought two 145-watt solar panels that connect to the Humless Sentinel on its 12V Anderson connector inputs and I was not disappointed. You can also use wind power and connect it to the Sentinel. I haven’t tried that yet but I expect the same results.
Is it necessary to have a charge controller between the solar panel and the generator?
No, there already is included a battery management system which acts as the charge controller to protect the battery from being over charged.
I charge my Sentinel with a 12v nominal 200 watt solar panel hooked directly to the DC input connector and it works great! The battery management system does stop the charging power flow automatically when the battery is fully charged.
Does the Humless sentinel have a transfer switch capability, and can it be boosted by coupling it to another battery for more amp-hours?
Thank you.
The current version does not have transfer switch type functionality.
The Sentinel cannot be chained or linked to an external battery for more amp-hours.
How can I locate a portable adjustable rack for my folding solar panels that power my Hummless generator? Your help in this issue would be greatly appreciated.
The folding panel with it’s legs extended is a portable adjustable rack for the solar panels it holds. What needs do you have or what are you envisioning that require more rack like mounting which is more permanent in nature than the highly portable legs of the Humless folding panels?
I have a problem with charging my fuelless generator with my 5K gas generator. It starts charging for a moment then it quits. I have no problems charging the unit using the AC outlet in the house. I’m guessing that maybe the gas generator is not putting out a clean or stable voltage. There must be some kind of protection in the fuelless generator that prevents this unit from charging with my gas generator. The gas generator operates my appliances fine. Is there something that I should connect between the gas and fuelless generator so that I can charge the Sentinel. I just went through Hurricane Irma and had to use the Solar Panels to charge which took much longer.
Thank You