Yes watch for sales and grab one when it's cheaper. That 1000A/700w looks like a good sized unit and should do as much as any of these kinds of products. And a damn sight cheaper on sale.
The larger capacity units are going to weigh more, they're just a bigger battery in the box but the charge will last that much longer.
Anything you charge up in your car you'll already have an adapter for so you don't really need the USB port anyway.
You should be able to change the battery in any of these units a few years down the road but finding the right battery will be a chore.
Any 12v solar panel will hook up to this to charge it up but don't be disappointed in how long it takes to charge compared to your car.
Either way, this is a great start to learning the capabilities of off-grid power.
It will be heavier, but still portable to move around inside the house and plug say some LED lights in or
a LED TV with a movie going . Because one would be buying this in the store, you could see if it is too
heavy for your needs compared to other models. If too heavy , wait for another model to come on sale.
I read tons of the reviews on various models at crappyT
Most include an AC adapter . They recommend using it most when you can. If using the other charging methods
such as DC or charging off car, they recommend charging for 15 minutes, off for 15 minutes, back on for 15 minutes.
Someone asked about replacing batteries and some said the batteries for these 33ah/12v AGM type are expensive
and might as well buy another unit on sale. Read numerous people complaining that it won't hold a charge
after not much use, even when following the instructions. Which leads me to think back on the solar generator
setup this thread is originally about , but SOLAR The Juice Box. Eventually the electricity, gas, propane, etc
will run out . Hence thinking solar from the get-go
Still on the fence about these
Recently , whenever you use the SEARCH at CrappyT , you always get zero results. Very frustrating.
Even following the links on the left often lead to zero results.
Assuming I buy one of those car boosting thing with an inverter, how can I figure how much solar I can plug into? Is there a math formula for this? I would like to use either the car of even the generator (while it runs big stuff) to charge it, but like Goldie said, it may come to a point where fuel is scarce or I wouldn't want to make noise so solar would be the option.
Oh and also, it would be nice to have some "extra" solar capacity so that during a bright day, I could not only fully charge the battery, but also run small loads on it at the same time (plug a phone or radio or...). Or am I being overly ambitious and hopeful here?
You are actually WISE to be thinking solar. Even if it took a few days to recharge the solar generator ,
or recharge this CrappyT battery thing,
in a situation where there is zero power. You would welcome that power every few days. It surprises me that
more people are not thinking about when the fuel runs out.
Try this link...
http://solar1234.com/
listen to all the interviews, but particularly the one about solar power for a chicken coop...
very simple system, may help you figure out some math.
Assuming I buy one of those car boosting thing with an inverter, how can I figure how much solar I can plug into? Is there a math formula for this? I would like to use either the car of even the generator (while it runs big stuff) to charge it, but like Goldie said, it may come to a point where fuel is scarce or I wouldn't want to make noise so solar would be the option.
For charging 12v batteries you want a solar panel that puts out 12v, don't mix voltages. On any solar setup you'll need a charge controller to prevent overcharging (that will boil your battery dry and ruin it).
The basics
The very simple formula for this kind of stuff is watts=volts x amps.
So a simple old style 100 watt light bulb running on house current of 110 volts gives us a draw of about .9 amps. 100w= 110v x .9amps
Run the same bulb with an inverter off 12v and things change fast.
100w= 12v x 9 amps ...... 10 times the amperage(actually a bit more - anytime you convert there are losses)
Use this formula to determine the draw of any device rated in watts.
Battery draw
Run the same bulb off your 12v setup (your small battery box with a 33Ah battery) and you'll be drawing 10 amps - your battery should be dead in 3.3 hours. 10 amps x 3.3 hours = 33Ah
Less really, there are losses and you never want to drain your battery to dead - 50% is better. Say 1.5 hours.
Charging
Most cars have at least a 60 amp alternator for charging. Home battery chargers might be 30 amps max. or 6 to 10 amps normal charging.
Using the formula, watts = volts(12) x amps (10) gives you 120 watts.
So a panel of 120 watts will charge your battery at 10 amps under perfect conditions that you will almost never see. Figure half that.
So for charging a single 12v battery in about the same time as your car or a plug in charger at home you need 200 to 300 watts of panels.
If you can wait a bit longer a single 150w panel is fine.
You can also look online for a battery charging calculator that will give you some better numbers. Most I've seen use milli-amp hours. No sweat, milli is a prefix that means 1000. 1000milliamps = 1 amp
You know your battery rating, lets say it's 33Ah(33,000 mAh) and lets say you're charging at 10 amps (or 10,000 mA)
The pure math says the battery will charge in 3.3 hours (10000mA x 3.3 hrs = 33A/hr) But there are losses close to 10% when charging so the actual charge time will be about 3.6 hours.
https://www.easycalculation.com/physics/classical-physics/battery-charge.php
That solar1234 website is the best info you'll find for this kind of stuff including actual product recommendations.
Thanks perfesser!
Still on the fence with no solar generator yet.
Solar power can
Well, I've started working on a power alternative by purchasing a Duracell 600 Power Pack Pro ( http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-600-Watt-Powerpack-Pro/dp/B009YR00MI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445561957&sr=8-1&keywords=duracell+600 ). With time, I'll get a solar panel for it, but for now I can keep it charged with 110V household power or through the 12V in the truck.
How did you come to decide on the Duracell Brand ?
Canadian link for amazon
http://www.amazon.ca/Duracell-600-Watt-Powerpack-Pro/dp/B009YR00MI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445561957&sr=8-1&keywords=duracell+600
Frankly, it was the positive reviews and the price point. I haven't bought a solar panel for it yet, but will soon. I've already used it 3 times to jumpstart vehicles, so it's been pretty useful already. I've bought a couple of LED lightbulbs so I can use table lamps to light up an area without draining the battery. I've also purchased a double-male end cord so I can charge the device Ina vehicle.
In addition to the solar panel, I might purchase a bigger deep cycle battery that I could connect using the jump cables. That battery would be charged through the Power Pack Pro and would add to the power available.
Not quite the system to run a whole house on, but small, portable, cheap and to a certain extent, customizable.
Portable is a PLUS . how heavy is it for a female ? how about for a 12 year old child ? how about for the elderly ?
The built in led light is a plus, and the air compressor is also great . Could use it just for those if there is
no disaster . HOW GOOD is the light in it ?
I added to my amazon cart so I can watch for a price decrease easily. 🙂