Powering my Xbox

[Madpeep]

I'm sure I'm going to get a few eyerolls on this, but here goes. I've been playing XBox with some friends, several nights a week, for almost 15 years. We play from 10pm-4am EST (7pm-1am Pacific). I already have the internet connection all figured out. I'm trying to find the cheapest way to power it. I'm very much leaning towards a generator.  Its my first RTR. I really, really don't want to be a loud obnoxious pain in the ass. Any idea how far away I'd have to park in order to run a relatively "quiet" 52db generator at night? is there enough room there for me to park significantly far away? I.E. is it too crowded and not enough room in our RTR area? Will I be opening myself up to danger being parked alone, all by myself? Coyotes, Mexicans, random theft/violence? Is it possible to park with the group 5 nights a week and then drive further away for 2 nights a week to play with my friends?  I'm planning on being there for the whole RTR (minus a few gaming nights).  

My van has a very curvy TV top and since I want to use the bulk of my electric at night, I figured a generator was my best option.  Xbox One lists 1.8a, 100-240v on the back. TV has 52w on the back. by my calculations I'll need about 250w each hour I play, so about 1,500w total. Think it was about 325ah of batteries if I wanted to go that route. 

Thankyou for any amount of help you may have and I hope to see some of you in a few weeks

 

[Madpeep]

I should probably point out that i definitely can go a month without playing. It's not the end of the world, I've been living in my van for over 3 months now, but in a campground at an Amazon site. So I've had electric the whole time. Im trying to power my Xbox and other electronics for many months ahead. Not just for the RTR.

I have zero experience with generators, deserts, or db distances in deserts.

Thanks again

 

[blars]

if you can get or borrow a "kill-a-watt" style power meter, you can measure the actual use. (Some libraries even have them to check out.) It should be much less than the peak use listed on the devices.

 

[Madpeep]

Even the smallest 1,000w generators are far more than I need (250w), so I'm not sure what difference it makes?

Wow. After 7am already. I need to get some sleep. I have work in a few hours. I'll check back this afternoon. Thanks

 

[MikeRuth]

I'd be a little surprised if that Xbox actually pulls that much current. As noted above, beg borrow or buy a Kill-a watt and plug both into it and see what your true draw is.
You might be able to get away with a simpler system.
You will be able to see the actual draw and see the total draw for a nights gaming.

Mike

 

[highdesertranger]

I will answer the original question,
there is plenty of room to camp far away from everybody. camp as far away as your generator is loud.

no need to worry about Mexicans or Coyotes. I will leave that at that.

you will be by yourself, unless you find someone who likes generator noise.

best to use a Honda or Yamaha. hint if you put he genny behind a piece of plywood so that the plywood side is facing everybody and the genny side is facing the open desert the sound will be directed to the open desert. no need for a full sheet, a 3ftx3ft piece should do it. this will allow you to park closer to everybody.

you can move your camp as often as you like, twice a day if you want.

hope this helps, see you at RTR. highdesertranger

 

[blars]

The kill-a-watt is to see how practical a battery system is. Even if your system uses 250W, the LiFePO4 listed in http://techno-viking.com/posts/battery-price/ could power it for almost 4 hours, and you could use it during the three hours it takes to recharge from generator. Omit rows 2, 3, 4 and 6 if you don't want solar recharging.

 

[Woltz]

Goal Zero 1250 Generator. You can recharge it using your panels if you have them and it can just be plugged into. I plan on getting one of these on top of a decent sized battery bank. It's silent and looks sexy. Easily something you can keep in the open. It's pricey though. I'm a avid PC Master Race type of gamer so I am in the same boat.

 

[Madpeep]

It would take 40-80 hours of sunlight for the solar panels included in that kit to recharge the yeti 1250. It doesn't seem designed for heavy, daily use. It is $400 off right now thoug. I'm just not sure I can put solar panels on my TV top. I found a generator to borrow for a few months. So it'll only cost me fuel to run it and I can get everyone's opinions and options at the RTR.

 

[GotSmart]

So far the yeti 1250 looks to be the worst solar product on the market.  40 watts?  $1,600???

Almost 1/2 the buyers rated it a 3 or under.  

Please save your money. There are much better options out there.

 

[SternWake]

The uninformed consumer is the marketers wet dream.

 

[29chico]

So far the yeti 1250 looks to be the worst solar product on the market.  40 watts?  $1,600???

Almost 1/2 the buyers rated it a 3 or under.  

Please save your money.  There are much better options out there.

I like one Goal Zero item: the Luna Light.  The LL is a USB plug in stick LED light.   Bought a bunch of them at a Costco GZ road show for $8 each.   Nice lights.

The rest of the GZ stuff is junk. 

Luna Light link:

http://www.goalzero.com/p/15/luna-led-light

 

[Milk Hauler]

I'm a gamer too! No need for a big honking generator. I have PS3 plugged in this cheap 300w inverter. It powers the PS3 and roku box, no problems till I add a 40" tv to the mix. It plugs into an ordinary cigarette outlet. I have a 2nd 300w inverter dedicated to the tv. All together I spent $75 on 2 small inverters. I've had both inverters running for 12 hrs one time. I do however have 4 230 ah batteries and a 320 Amp alternator on my rig.

Sent from my SM-G930VL using Tapatalk

 

[GotSmart]

I am guessing you built a separate wire system to charge up the batteries.  

Just keep an eye on the wires to and from the plug to the inverter.  Small wires tend to melt over time. 

All told you probably spent 1/2 the money of a goal zero.

 

[amwbox]

Games are fun. I'm a PC guy, so I use significantly more power than an XB1, and its doable.

According to this http://www.anandtech.com/show/7528/the-xbox-one-mini-review-hardware-analysis/5

The XB1 draws about 120 watts under load. Significantly less while idle or playing a movie or whatever. That's actually impressively low.
So, 120 watts plus whatever the TV draws, call it another 100. But its probably less than that unless its a large, non-LED screen.
So 220 watts for 4 hours, assuming 15% loss from the inverter, is about 90 Amp-hours (AH). Which is easily doable with a decent battery bank.

Obviously any generator will also be able to do this, but yeah, even with those quiet Honda and Yamaha portables, you're still making noise.

Edit: Actually, just saw you listed your TV at 50 watts. So actually its more like 70 AH.