Anyone use portable power stations.

[UncleTim]

Because I have a little money and way too much time, I bought this.

I got it for backup power for charging little things like phones, computers and TVs. To take the little loads off the trailer when the batteries get low.

So far in testing it works great and it also uses the newest form of Lithium batteries so it can be recharged over 1,000 times this is double the average and probably better. 500w power inverter too. Small but useful. Probably not absolutely necessary but piece of mind.

You can solar charge it too. I use the inverter in the truck and it does it in 7 hours.

[HABBERDABBER]

I acquired it for the same reasons as you...had the $$$ and figured it could be useful someday. Alas, it went kaput after being left overnight in a screen shelter, but gotten wet from heavy rains. The inverter was fried, and shorted the AGM battery.


Not to be deterred, Capt. Gadget salvaged many of the components, I had an inverter already, got a new battery and put this contraption together. I was safe with the wiring, fused and the like, but rarely have used it as we've not boondocked as much as planned. But, it comes along if needed.


Your unit looks sweet. What is the brand and name? I may need a back-up someday.

[cpaharley2008]

Here is the 500 watt model
https://www.amazon.com/PRYMAX-Portab...0C46D51C3A4C65

[UncleTim]

It's a PryMax 550. Works for Cpap too.

Most of them in this class have standard Li-ion batteries. This uses the enhanced version. Much, much better and longer lasting. I was surprised PryMax is so far ahead of the game.

https://www.amazon.com/PRYMAX-Portab.../dp/B081F237FC

if you like this kind of thing, I strongly suggest Hobotech on Youtube. Absolutely a wealth of information on charging, batteries and solar. This guy knows his stuff very well. I learned a lot just watching videos.


And yes Jim, we are watching to see your 21,000th post.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVs...qwIq_gd0rTJF9g

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by UncleTim

Most of them in this class have standard Li-ion batteries. This uses the enhanced version. Much, much better and longer lasting. I was surprised PryMax is so far ahead of the game.

https://www.amazon.com/PRYMAX-Portab.../dp/B081F237FC

There are many variations of lithium-ion battery cells, and none of them are "standard", so I would be suspicious of anything claimed by a company claiming to use "enhanced" cells. "Prymax" appears to be a brand used only for sale on Amazon; their description doesn't give any useful information about the battery and I would assume that the product is whatever the distributor can get cheaply and have marked with their brand. Still, that's all normal for power packs and this one might work well.

[gbaglo]

Enhanced might be that they put their branding sticker over the original.

[cpaharley2008]

remember the catch phrase "new and improved".....

[PGDriver]

I always look for things that are “state of the art” myself [emoji6].

[Curious Mike]

I purchased the Suaoki G500 a few weeks ago. I tested it a few nights here at home to see if it could power my CPAP. The answer is Yes and No. Mostly yes. Fully charged, it will power my CPAP for 2 nights (approx 16 hours) and still have a little power left over IF I turn off the humidifier and hose heater on the CPAP. When I tried it with those options enabled it was close to running out of juice after about 5 or 6 hours.

[UncleTim]

Well, you guys are probably seeing a tendency of mine. I live on the bleeding edge. Always have. You should hear some of the technology related MBA projects. Nuts!

They were pretty ambiguous on their description so I agree with these clever minds here. The only thing I am reacting to is the claim this will last over (>) 1000 charges. This is a huge claim. Normally it is 1$ a charge. 500 charges and you are out for a 500 watt power supply (battery). This claim takes it down to .3$ to .5$ a charge and twice the length of life. Also what we are hoping for is automotive grade Li-ion batteries. These can back up the claim of > 1000 charges. There are lots of varieties.

I don't know if this has that grade. Maybe I will contact the Rep again and ask him.

I talked to the rep of the company. Something tells me it was the owner (because of the ease of comping me). I agree with the nature of the claim, but they are expressly stating > 1000 charges. That is definitely not standard 18650's or Tesla 2170 (or equivalent) batteries. Those batteries cannot make that claim!

So that's what I know.

Here's a better question. Do you really need it to begin with?


Suaoki G500 (or the G1000)? Love that thing!!! Isn't that more centered on UPS features?

[cpaharley2008]

Will either of these start your tow vehicle in case of an emergency, battery cables?

[UncleTim]

This gets a little tricky. You could use the 12 volt outlet to do that. BUT you have to make sure you do not supply over voltage to your battery or you bubble off the acid. You want a regulated 12v outlet. I have not tested this one yet.

The max voltage charge your car battery (lead acid type) can take is about 14.5 volts.That way you do not overcharge your battery (and boil away the acid).

So yes, but you might want to invest in a $15 part to regulate your voltage to your car battery. I can find the exact piece of equipment if anyone wants.

Same problem with solar chargers! Solar panels usually output around 18 volts. Big problem.

[UncleTim]

In an emergency? Hell yes! But get those terminals off A.S. A. P.. If you have a set! Solar panels often come with them.

You can over charge them for a little bit before they go critical. It's only when nearing topping off that they start to boil off.

Remember: Extreme emergencies only. You are flirting with danger.


If your battery is over 3 years old and it is the first really cold day, then no (try it anyway)! Go get a new battery.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Will either of these start your tow vehicle in case of an emergency, battery cables?

This is what you want to jump your truck. Have saved myself and others several times. Also have a USB to charge a phone. Small and powerful.
https://no.co/products/power/jumpstarters

[UncleTim]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

This is what you want to jump your truck. Have saved myself and others several times. Also have a USB to charge a phone. Small and powerful.
https://no.co/products/power/jumpstarters

I have used those (not the exact same thing). Got one for every car too. The kids do not keep it charged up, they don't take it seriously until something happens. They work up to a point is my experience, if you keep them charged.

This one looks pretty darn good too!

If your battery is shot, probably nothing but clicks. Also these are not chargers but jumpers. A quick shot of high amp voltage. If you keep it charged, it probably works great (up to a point).

[UncleTim]

Incidentally there is a discount code, for at least the 1000a unit.

NGB20

I think this is it.

Just tried it and it knocked the price down to $99.00.

Happy hunting!

[gbaglo]

I got a jump from a friend. Got the car home and called BCAA. They arrived shortly and installed my new battery for a reasonable price. I didn't have to go anywhere or buy anything else, or haul it around.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by UncleTim

They were pretty ambiguous on their description so I agree with these clever minds here. The only thing I am reacting to is the claim this will last over (>) 1000 charges. This is a huge claim. Normally it is 1$ a charge. 500 charges and you are out for a 500 watt power supply (battery). This claim takes it down to .3$ to .5$ a charge and twice the length of life. Also what we are hoping for is automotive grade Li-ion batteries. These can back up the claim of > 1000 charges. There are lots of varieties.

... I agree with the nature of the claim, but they are expressly stating > 1000 charges. That is definitely not standard 18650's or Tesla 2170 (or equivalent) batteries. Those batteries cannot make that claim!

An electric car typically gets at least a partial charge every day that it is driven, and is driven at least 200 days a year, so to cover the 8-year (or longer) warranty that they typically have, they need to withstand 1600 or more of those charges. For automotive-grade lithium-ion cells, a thousand charge cycles doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but it might be for full discharge-charge cycles.

These power packs tend to have a near 12 volt nominal battery voltage. That doesn't work with most lithium chemistries, so they tend to be lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 or "LFP"), which is no longer commonly used in EVs. The drop-in replacements for lead-acid batteries (such as the Battle Born batteries which some people are using in their trailers) are typically LFP, for the same reason.

18650 and 2170 are just sizes (18 mm diameter by 65.0 mm long, and 21 mm diameter by 70 mm long), with a huge variation in cells available in those sizes. The Panasonic cells used by Tesla (in both of those sizes) are on the premium end of the range... and they're not LFP, so they wouldn't make sense in this sort of device.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Will either of these start your tow vehicle in case of an emergency, battery cables?

Originally Posted by UncleTim

This gets a little tricky. You could use the 12 volt outlet to do that. BUT you have to make sure you do not supply over voltage to your battery or you bubble off the acid. You want a regulated 12v outlet. I have not tested this one yet.

The max voltage charge your car battery (lead acid type) can take is about 14.5 volts.That way you do not overcharge your battery (and boil away the acid).

The voltage is not a concern for boosting, but you need massive current capacity. The idea of slowly charging the vehicle battery (via the 12 volt DC outlet) can work, and in that case (due to long connected time) voltage could be a concern... but these power packs are unlikely to supply enough voltage to be a concern for many hours.

Originally Posted by UncleTim

Same problem with solar chargers! Solar panels usually output around 18 volts. Big problem.

The voltage output of a solar panel depends on the connected load. If you connect a panel intended for nominally 12 volt systems to a battery the voltage doesn't jump to 18 volts; it is determined by the state of charge and internal resistance of the battery. Only after the battery is fully charged can the voltage rise enough to be a problem, and that's what a solar charge controller is for.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Curious Mike

I purchased the Suaoki G500 a few weeks ago.

This one is interesting because based on this part of the description from their product web page...

high-capacity of 500Wh (11.1V, 45,900mAh/ /3.7V 137,700mAh)

... they are not using LFP cells, but one of the 3.7 V chemistries. This means that four cells in series is too high a voltage for nominally 12-volt applications; as a result they use three in series and the voltage is too low. Fully charged it will barely clear 12 volts, and by the time these cells are reasonably discharged the battery voltage will be very low (not much more than 9 volts).

This doesn't matter for the AC and USB outputs (assuming they used appropriately designed inverter and DC-to-DC converters), but makes it less than ideal for "12 volt" loads (assuming that they are just using the direct battery output for 12 volt).