Portable Power Source

[Freeman]

Has anyone used any portable power source such as this?

[RAurand]

Well,
It might be helpful to tell us what you intend to power with it or just to charge house batteries?

[Midnightmoon]

One of coworkers just bought one similar and just loves it. She claims multiple days running lights, charging phones, electronics, etc.

I'm not sure what brand her's is, but I can find out.

[Freeman]

Originally Posted by RAurand

Well,
It might be helpful to tell us what you intend to power with it or just to charge house batteries?

I’m more interested in saving the use of the house batteries. When we travel we “boondock” for a couple or three nights and then stay in a campground with full hookups. What I’ll use the battery for is to charge the usual electronics, power a nebulizer for asthma and a CPAP. Essentially, reserve the house batteries for lights and not use the generator.

[Route 66 Traveler]

That's a lot of money for only 500 watts of limited power. You might check this out, looks like a much better deal, and a whole lot more dependable.


https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Powe...-garden&sr=1-4

[Studiovette]

Or you can go with a portable suitcase type solar system with 100-200w power for under 400$
Harbor freight has a great 100w system for $160 and Renogy has a 200w system for 399$. Not sure how much power you need for the devices you mentioned so you would need to check.

Btw the Champion inv genset above is an amazing deal and obviously can't be beat at 1700 running watts. Its much more quieter and efficient then running the house genset if your boon docking and not needing to run AC's. But it might not be what your looking for.

[RetiredOne]

That unit has a 24ah battery in it. Not going to get a lot of output.

You'd be better off adding a few additional deep cycle house batteries to the rig for a lot less than that $500.

You can buy Group 27 100ah deep cycle batteries at Walmart for under $100. each

[CAG]

What RetiredOne said if you have the space and I would go with AGM (actually that is what I did). I had three with the toy hauler. I can only get one it this rig right now but more batteries give you more options. The AGM are more expensive but they don't care how you mount them and there is no maintenance.

[Kinger33]

I use and recommend Champion 3400. Quiet and powers everything including A/C

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Kinger33

I use and recommend Champion 3400. Quiet and powers everything including A/C

I don't think they were talking generator if that is what that is.

[Midnightmoon]

I spoke with my coworker. They have the Jackery 500 with the solar panel. They are avid tent campers and use it now to charge phones, run electronics, and provide light at their campsite. I really believe that this is how the product is intended to be used.

[Jagiven]

I have a really old unit, like 20+ years old. Sure it has a sealed lead acid battery no clue what is inside it. I have never used it for my CPAP. I use to use it a lot when car camping to run a small fan all night. It would last about 5 nights on a single charge. I still have it, surprisingly the battery is still strong.

You have a Greyhawk???, I though they all come with a generator. If it does, I would run it for a few hours each day to recharge your house battery(s). If you have medical equipment, I might add a second battery.

I have considered a unit like what you are proposing, but I still have to charge it while I am out for an extended trip. So I am looking at generators. I really want one the runs off of LP, but cannot find anything I really like or in stock. One option I am considering a Generac GP1200i. It is small, cheap, and fairly quiet from what I can tell (Generac does not publish the decibels). I can use it to recharge the batteries and not have to listen to a generator. Down fall of that generator is no AC.

https://www.amazon.com/Generac-7129-...en&sr=1-1&th=1

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Down fall of that generator is no AC.

https://www.amazon.com/Generac-7129-...en&sr=1-1&th=1

???? It has 2 120vac outlets.....

[Studiovette]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

???? It has 2 120vac outlets.....

I think he meant it Can't power an RV AC unit

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I have considered a unit like what you are proposing, but I still have to charge it while I am out for an extended trip. So I am looking at generators. I really want one the runs off of LP, but cannot find anything I really like or in stock. One option I am considering a Generac GP1200i. It is small, cheap, and fairly quiet from what I can tell (Generac does not publish the decibels). I can use it to recharge the batteries and not have to listen to a generator. Down fall of that generator is no AC.

Another point, if he's looking to just charge the house batteries, doesn't need AC voltage and doesn't want to listen to the racket of the onboard generator, he can also just let the engine idle, as it also charges the house batteries. I sometimes do this. I'd rather listen to the engine idle, then have the whole floor rattle around with the genny running.

Plus, he can let the engine run the dash A/C at the same time, if he needs cooling, or run the heater, if it's cold.

[JaytheDJ]

I have a 200Wh "Solar Generator" as it's labeled on Amazon that I bought a couple of years ago. Same thing as what you pictured, a battery inside a housing that can be used to charge smaller devices. I use it in conjunction with a 100W solar suitcase when we boondock at the beach in the summer to keep my laptop charged if I'm working, to replenish the charge on my Ryobi 18V batteries that power our fans at night, or just charge the many phones that come with us.
It's no longer available on Amazon but there are others. I only paid $125 for mine and wasn't expecting much but it serves me well.

[campingva]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I have a really old unit, like 20+ years old. Sure it has a sealed lead acid battery no clue what is inside it. I have never used it for my CPAP. I use to use it a lot when car camping to run a small fan all night. It would last about 5 nights on a single charge. I still have it, surprisingly the battery is still strong.

You have a Greyhawk???, I though they all come with a generator. If it does, I would run it for a few hours each day to recharge your house battery(s). If you have medical equipment, I might add a second battery.

I have considered a unit like what you are proposing, but I still have to charge it while I am out for an extended trip. So I am looking at generators. I really want one the runs off of LP, but cannot find anything I really like or in stock. One option I am considering a Generac GP1200i. It is small, cheap, and fairly quiet from what I can tell (Generac does not publish the decibels). I can use it to recharge the batteries and not have to listen to a generator. Down fall of that generator is no AC.

https://www.amazon.com/Generac-7129-...en&sr=1-1&th=1

Many gas generators can be converted to propane for a small fee or can be setup for dual fuel use.

[BoulderB]

Freeman - This will not work to plug into the camper itself, but it is good for just powering a light or other small devices. It will probably not power up a laptop very well because it's too small. And if you plug it into your camper as if you were plugged into shore power this thing will try to charge your batteries and everything else turned on in the camper and will not work.

[FionaGrant]

check your CPAP manufacturer for a compatible battery. Mine kept mine running for two nights before charging. I use this one, which has a more powerful PILOT-24 model Medistrom - a new revolutionary CPAP backup power supply batteries

[ovrtrf4]

We use a Titan Solar Generator. (https://www.pointzeroenergy.com/prod...lar-generator/)

Product reviews and explanations:
https://poweredportablesolar.com

We have vacant land we boondock on. I couldn't stand the constant noise and fumes from the generator... and it woke the dog multiple times per night. The Titan has a 30 amp receptacle, is silent and eco-friendly. It's expensive, but worth it to us. I can run the rig overnight on just the Titan (one battery pack) and cook breakfast in the morning - microwave, coffee maker, electric skillet. It also works better for the hairdryer - plugging it into the Titan instead of the GCFI that always trips in the RV.

We use it to overnight at Walmart on the road too. We just put the Titan in the front seat and run the cord into the cab.

I like that I have the ability to scale it up, adding up to 2,000 watts of solar and as many battery packs as I want to buy. It has a 3,000 watt pure sine inverter and can handle large power loads. I also run power tools with the Titan - various saws, battery chargers, anything with a plug.

We have not yet run the A/C on it - I need a second battery and more solar. But that's the way we're headed.