Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300, 293Wh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V/300W Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet, Solar Generator (Solar Panel Not Included) for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Blackout https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B082TMBYR6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_CP1RRPBJTTXAP2RM4PJ8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Don't have a generator but we bought a Jackery Portable Power Station and we have a portable heater if things get too cold. I would highly recommend getting one if you think you need something but can't afford a generator
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I don't really understand what your going after. Portable power supplies with lithium batteries are readily available on Amazon... why reinvent the wheel.
The battery in the first pic uses spade terminals and depending an the Amp rating of the battery would determine the gauge of the wire based on length.
You don't show the inverter but you ask about alligator clips.... there is no standard. Best to hardwire if it is meant to be a single device (portable power supply) then cut the alligator clips off hand hardwire.
Like I said... why reinvent the wheel..... lots of products available like this....
I'm not sure of your budget or what your situation is like but maybe you could look into purchasing something like this as a means to do "portable charging":
You could take this with you, charge at outside locations like the library, work, etc. and then bring it back to the storage unit to charge the VSETT. Maybe not fully but enough to keep the batteries in the safe range for long term storage when not in use.
There are battery operated generators, though, not called that. People use them to operate power tools when there's no electricity nearby.
This is the battery I had in mind to purchase but again not sure if it'll give me enough time
Check out something like this for them. Its just a battery they can plug their concentrator into. Don’t have to worry about gas, starting, etc.
Here is a link to the Jackery version of what I grabbed. Mine was an off brand that I don't see on Amazon anymore, so I didn't want to send you to a dead-end. I also use it to run an electric cooler while parked in the heat. It was a really great purchase for adventuring.
You mean like this?
That's not a generator. It's a battery.
As you use it, it depletes. Will it charge your phone? Sure. But unless you have a way to recharge it in a crisis, it's only good until it runs out of juice.
If you actually want a way to generate power, you need panels. If you want a way to store power, get a battery. If you want to both store and generate power, you need both.
You’d probably need a portable power station like this. I have a couple of these for outdoor use of electronics and stuff.
Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300, 293Wh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V/300W Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet, Solar Generator (Solar Panel Not Included) for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Blackout https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082TMBYR6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_HEEQG7SKZK59XVP2FWHB
Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300, 293Wh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V/300W Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet, Solar Generator (Solar Panel Not Included) for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B082TMBYR6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_B3RVF2QRFPZ3S6Z24DXC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
LOVE mine! I live in Northern Ontario in Canada and it works amazingly well, even in -30 weather. You can get solar panels as well to keep it charged! Perfect for keeping my redfoot’s home warm and humid during power outages.
Sadly no such thing exists unless you buy something like.
Which is kind of still, portable? lol
For one I really appreciate your time in helping out a noob like me, it really does mean a lot.
Let's say I just had the TV. No PC at all or something very low power like a raspberry pi and a storage drive for movies and shit. I did a quick google and an article says an OLED 32" TV uses ~60 watts, let's lop on 50 more for the storage drive and other stuff.
Would something like this work fine for my needs? I'd most likely keep a power cable to charge it wherever I stop or trickle charge it when I'm driving.
The wattage is definitely overkill, but I'm just window shopping at the moment.
EDIT: That being said, if and when I get around to this I'll definitely pick up a wattmeter and use it on whichever devices I want in the van.
As everyone else said, the cat is a terrible idea. Don't do that, for both your sake and the cat's.
Otherwise, you may know that the back of an Outback (a 2019, at least) with the back seat folded down is exactly the size of a twin mattress. I have a $90 mattress from IKEA that I use for camping. If I were going to live in it I might consider getting a better one.
Power: I have a Jackery Power Station that charges from the car (when it's driving) or from solar, which I use for power when the car is off.
Keeping cool: Stretchy elastic screens that I put over the rear-door windows so that I can open those windows and not let the bugs in. Something to block the other windows to keep the sun out; I use reflective bubble wrap insulation stuff that I cannibalized from a "disposable" cooler bag, backed with cardboard.
As weird as this sounds, get a doormat or something to step on outside the car, so that you can avoid tracking the outdoors into your bed.
You can use standard DJ equipment and just power it using a portable generator.
> If a truly large run time is needed, a larger unit like the ones Jackery makes for campers is a good choice
Although an expensive one...
Jackery Explorer 300 = $1.02 per watthour
Jackery Explorer 1000 = $1.097 per watthour
Chinns LiFePO4 with ChargeIt! USB-C PD supply and $120 AC charger = $0.36 per watthour.
If you want a solar controller also, add $22.. brings it to $0.384 per watthour.
Add a 1000 watt inverter and you are still under 50 cents per watthour - half the price of a similar Jackery.
Sure if you want an off-the-shelf, ready-to-go unit and have the money, Jackery is OK. Buy the parts separate and you can save a good bit of money.
No, not really.
It's really too bad because it would have been so easy to make the hybrid an incredible generator.
The battery is like 4 of those $400 battery generator things, and the gas engine is over 10x as powerful as the biggest portable generators. Beyond that, there is already the infrastructure in place to output a lot of power from the battery quickly - something north of 20,000 watts - and also to charge the battery from the gas engine. Ford could have made the truck a whole-house generator that would last a whole week on a tank of fuel for relatively little cost/effort. Not only that, it would be a partially silent generator too...run the gas just to charge the battery, then shut it back off.
Man, that would have been sweet.
Oh boy. Sorry but they didn't know what they were talking about. If you buy into something and that 1 thing is the only thing you have experience with then its very easy to think that it was a good choice.
They never say what that good price is. The best price I can find for a 4Ah 18V Ryobi battery is $45. (Normal price is $100.) It holds a measly 72 Wh. It doesn't come with a charger or inverter or regulated DC outputs.
The Ryobi 150W inverter isn't for sale yet. There is an older version that we can use though to set some expectations. It costs $90 and has a modified sine wave output. The new version adds battery charging. I'll assume Ryobi keeps the price the same and that its still modified sine wave.
250Wh would require buying 4 batteries plus the inverter. Total cost of $270.
There are lots of cheap powerstations out there but we'll go for a slightly more expensive brand known for making good stuff that should last. The least expensive Jackery that meets your requirements is $255. And its got 300 watts output. And it has more input/output options. And its pure sine. And its far more convenient to use since you don't need to keep swapping 4 little batteries around.
I'm not even trying to find a good value. This was just the 1st thing from the most well-known brand.
Based on your requirements you could do substantially better by "downgrading" to a system that doesn't have an inverter and working entirely with 12V or 24V DC batteries and chargers.
get one of these, plus good UPSs for your expensive electronics.
https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Portable-Explorer-Generator-Optional/dp/B082TMBYR6/
This is a really great question. If you don't mind, I'm going to co-opt the term "Fromville" from now on. It's the best way to describe the place easily.
Portable Power Station
https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Portable-Explorer-Generator-Optional/dp/B082TMBYR6
Foldable Portable Solar Charger With Panels
https://www.amazon.com/BigBlue-Foldable-Waterproof-SunPower-Cellphones/dp/B01EXWCPLC
Panasonic Toughbook CF-54, Intel Core i5-5300U 2.30GHz, 14.0 HD, 16 GB, 1 TB SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth, Windows 10 Pro
https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Toughbook-i5-5300U-2-30GHz-Bluetooth/dp/B082VLRMRT
WD_BLACK 5TB P10 Game Drive - Portable External Hard Drive HDD
https://www.amazon.com/WD_Black-Drive-External-Compatible-WDBA3A0050BBK-WESN/dp/B07VNTFHD5
Katadyn Vario Water Filter
https://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Technology-Microfilter-Backpacking-Preparedness/dp/B000KUVVY4/
Katadyn Pocket Water Filter
https://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Personal-Backpacking-Emergency-Preparedness/dp/B0007U00YE
T-REX Ferociously Strong Repair Tape, Black, 1.88 in. x 35 yd.
https://www.amazon.com/T-REX-Ferociously-Strong-Repair-Black/dp/B07DT574V6
OK, I'll start with things I think might be in the range of a frequent traveler/someone moving/an avid outdoorsman might have in their vehicle.
A portable fold out solar panel system and a portable but robust power bank is a game changer. That doesn't just mean making your phones and laptops functional, it might also mean corded tools like an angle grinder or a power drill or something very useful of that nature.
A laptop like a Tough Book is very robust. You want something that can take some damage and a beating and is "overbuilt" What's the purpose? Think about if you had all of Wikipedia downloaded offline? What about educational stuff for kids? What about movies and music and even some video games? Which leads into portable hard drives. OK let's say you had an entire giant library of MP3s, and audio books and Ebooks and movies/TV shows. What would it mean for morale of the town to have a dance party once in a while? With real music. Or a group movie night to uplift people? Also think about the help it would give Kristi at the clinic if there were things she could reference for medical needs. Think about the calming value for someone like Ethan or formerly Megan Pratt to just have some kids cartoons. Just the ability to walk around town and have your phone work as just a music player is really valuable. How about the value of an offline phone as a camera.
You would also want water filters. You can't assume the water running through those pipes into the homes are safe or will last forever. There is clearly a mini river or lake or pond nearby. If you show up to town and food is a problem, OK, that's a big issue but as long as you have clean potable safe water, you have time to work that problem. But if you don't have safe water, you are immediately screwed. And nothing beats strong duct tape. Think about every last single way a good roll of high quality duct tape might fix a problem fast that could save a life or two.
OK, so I'd want a rocket launcher like an RPG but I'll restrict it to what the Matthews might have had in their RV and not be seen as too out of this world in terms of likelihood.
But I'll say it again, renewable power with some kind of storage is a big deal. Especially something you can run at night when you are trapped indoors. It's a total game changer.
I think the only batter packs that will charge it are the huge ones, like from Jackery... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082TMBYR6/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_2F6RB83YY8XXJEK19R6K
For 1-2 days outage, a power station similar to this one would help power just about everything, even major appliances. For cooking, a portable camping stove could be used for quick meals or heating water. For lighting, rechargeable lanterns are the best and act as a secondary power bank. As others have mentioned, be sure to have extra canned foods and water available.
Something like this should run it for a few hours (assuming the compressor is running). https://www.rockpals.com/products/rockpals-520wh-portable-power-station
This one might do it for 1-2 hours. I say might because I can't find the spec for startup surge current. It has enough power for continuous operation but I don't know if the motor will have enough power to actually start. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082TMBYR6/
I was shopping for a third phone sized power bank to power a USB antenna tracker for my long range RC rig when I finally decided to bite the bullet and just go with one of these - runs the whole rig with all the monitors, battery chargers, pi, laptop, antenna trackers and camera stuff, plus when I'm in the field I can deploy a solar panel to keep it up and running and/or run it off the car battery/alternator.
https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Portable-Explorer-Generator-Optional/dp/B082TMBYR6/
You can save a lot of money building your own in an ammo can, there are lots of DIY options for doing it but I can recommend the jackery on build quality and reliability for the price I am very satisfied.
In August I had an opportunity to spend 6 days/nights on a sailboat with no power.
After reading tons of reviews here and elsewhere I purchased the Jackery 300
https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Portable-Explorer-Generator-Optional/dp/B082TMBYR6?ref_=ast_sto_dp
And the adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07P6H994Q?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
(Failing to use the adapter to convert the 12 volt battery power to the 24 volts the ResMed consumes, meant the battery drained very quickly. )
I tested it at home first. Turning off the climate control (heated tube) and turning the humidity way down, I could get 6 nights of power for my ResMed AirSense 10 for Her.
Each night I ran it for 7-8 hours, using 12-16% of the battery each night. I had one problem: starting on night 6 I got a warning message on the ResMed screen saying the connection at the back of the machine was not secure. That darn light stayed on all night. (On the trip I discovered that if I twisted the connection, the light went off)
The setup cost me about $340. But, now I can go sailing or camping with no worries.
Not the cheapest, but one of these will get you through the weekend. They are able to power just about anything but a hot plate.
Deal link: Amazon
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