Building Blocks to Power (Initial quick and simple setup)

[mtndude]

Hi all.

I will be doing some boondocking this summer. I have a serious requirement of needing to power up and charge a laptop, cell phone, and wifi (cell) hotspot with some simple LED lighting. There will be extensive daily use of all. This is all needed for work and will also be a big source of entertainment (IE: Netflix).

For now... urgency, simplicity, and off-the-shelf come to mind

My Pipe Dream: A single power cell.. IE: Gas Generator, battery, and clean inverter all packed into one (don't want to ruin the electronics)
IS THERE something like this?

SO far, I see myself getting a little honda generator and one of those portable power packs (jump your car, charge your cell, laptop, etc)

I guess I would charge that power pack from the 110 outlet on the generator unless someone knows better...

And that's the next point. Who has been happy with a similar setup and felt that they had adequate power on demand?

Once again, simplicity, portability, and off-the-shelf is the plan so I am open to ideas and product recommendations... experiences... etc.

Ideally, I will go more permanent, but as I do, I would like these components I get first to be able to help build from. Ideally, I see myself with a small stereo, 24" LCD, and a small undercounter elec fridge running 24x7... But til then, I just need to function well this summer.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I take it that you won't be driving every day? How long do you plan to stay in one place?

Regards
John

 

[SternWake]

Kudos for the attempt and desire to keep it simple.

But.......

It does not always work as we desire.

First, the portable /all in one power packs are not going to power laptop and various other loads all day. They actually have very small capacity batteries inside. The other bells and whistles marketed within them are also a severe compromise in quality and how they are matched to the tiny battery within.

They might do their job in an emergency, but as a portable power source, discharged daily, it will soon become nearly worthless.

Laptops are getting better, but they are still energy hogs. Recharging one while using it can use 1/7th the usable capacity of a large group 27 battery which has 115 amp hours of capacity.

With one of those portable power jumper packs, it is rare that they have a battery bigger than 18 amp hours.

At the minimum you are going to want a group 27 battery to power what you say you want to power, and recharging that by alternator and adequate cabling , and only recharging it from 50 to ~80% will take at least an hour of highway driving.

With the generator you can get a high amp converter charger like an Iota DLS45 and do a 50 to 90 in about 90 to 120 minutes.

Getting the battery back up to a true 100% recharge is actually very time consuming. 95% of people who think they are fully charging a battery, are not even coming close, and will be scratching their heads when the battery "no longer takes a charge"

Do not trust any marketing, nor any green blinking light when it comes to fully charging a battery. Current business practices are basically to minimize quality and spend more on marketing(lying). Bells and whistles are extra, and are marketing points which just take more money from your pocket

Getting a true 100% recharge every dozen cycles or so is paramount for battery longevity. Do you want to run the generator for the 12 hours that might be required to achieve this true 100%.

Can you afford to replace the battery which was not returned to 100% regularly?

Your best bet, without solar, is to get at least 115 amp hours of storage( battery), and a charger capable of at least 25 amps to run from the generator.

The alternator can be very effective recharging a battery upto 80%, but that last 20% takes hours and hours no matter the charging source.

Most will find that they can to 7 to 10 days of 50 to 90% recharges before the battery starts protesting. At this point 12 to 24 hours of charging source will need to be applied to get the battery to a true 100% recharge, and the batteries capacity will have still been compromised to some degree.

Aging batteries are like gas tanks which keep getting smaller. When new you can fill it with 35 gallons, but after a bunch of use it may only hold 20 gallons, and getting that last 4 gallons into it is difficult. you can still fill the tank, but the tank is smaller.

How fast the tank gets smaller is directly related to how the tank was treated. The closer and the more often it was nearly full, the longer it will last.

 

[Bdog1]

OP. Goal Zero Yeti might' be of interest to you. They make three sizes I think and cover all your stated requirements, except the generator, in one package. Oh yea. They done come cheap but....

they sure are cool!

 

[Zil]

As said above, those jumper packs are limited. Best cheap way is two six volt golf cart batteries, in series for 12 volts, from sam's club or cosco they are about $85 each and give you 225 amp hours. (more or less).

 

[mtndude]

Ok.... SO if you had to design a quick setup for an old feeble relative who can understand but gets lost in the depth what would you propose. The orig plan was to get a small portable gen.. Charge my stuff... and then call it good til the next need. Like I say, this is just a sort term, quick need that I can work out bugs, details, upgrades, expansion... etc as time progresses... hence the desire for building blocks that can be replaced. I am close to being 100% on the batteries. However, that opens up charge controllers and inverters that run clean so I don't ruin my stuff.
The key is initial cost and setup. Is it feasible to charge those batteries easily with a portable honda/yamaha gen... like a 1000w?

Better yet... what would you recommend for a gen to start that has the ability to charge the batteries efficiently keeping portability in mind. Eventually, that gen would be replaced with solar as primary power source but the conditions that I will encounter will have me in or near trees alot. I will be moving every 1-2 weeks within primative camping spots with a short stop in between at a KOA or somewhere with power hookups and facilities.

So... first building block is the gen for the moment.

 

[SternWake]

A pair of Gc batteries recharged by a honda 1000 powering an Iota dls 30 or 45 amp converter/charger will serve you well. Later on 200+ watts of solar will do a pretty good job at recharging them but don't be afraid to go 250 or 300 watts.

I see nothing in your list of devices which require an inverter. A cell phone only needs a USB port.
http://www.amazon.com/TopG-Apple-Ce...d=1404846070&sr=8-12&keywords=usb+car+charger

Type your laptop make and model number into Amazon electronics and add car adapter.
Here is mine:
http://www.amazon.com/Charger-Latit...=8-3&keywords=dell+latitude+e5500+car+adapter

Avoiding the inverter is pretty much a 15% savings in electricity right off the bat.

My laptop car adapter, depending on the task the laptop is performing, uses 20 to 45% less electricity than if I were to use my inverter to power the provided power adapter.

An inverter might be a necessary evil, but far too many people think it is the only option, when for many things, it is the worst option.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I believe that both the Honda and Yamaha generators have 12 volt dc outlets that they "claim" can be used for battery charging.

This is one of those "yes, but" things. They are limited to around an 8 amp output. Essentially, these are trickle chargers, at best, and you will have to run the generator forever to accomplish anything.

In addition to the generator, you have to budget for a high output battery charger, that you will plug in to the generator's ac output.

Regards
John

 

[mtndude]

Thanks All....

Just what I was looking for. I didn't even consider, at least for my current needs, that I am only really charging DC rated products. No need to convert to ac for the moment. Nice.

Thanks Again!

 

[Zil]

Some how electrical needs always grows. If you can afford a bit more, the Honda or Yamaha 2000 watt inverter generator. The generator will not work as hard to do your recharging and will be there if you need more latter.