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I have been on the road for the past 2 weeks, and in an environment where I seldom had an AC outlet to recharge my phone or tablet. Yet, I was able to stay connected with those at home, and with the companies that I was dealing with here. I was also able to recharge my AA batteries for flashlights, radios, camera and personal CD player. Here's what I used:
These are fairly new...we bought 2 of them to use at home (no grid power). These are 16,000 mAh, but we had 2 of the 10,000 mAh from previously, and I brought the 2 older ones with me. Lots of different companies put these out, but we have been happy with the Anker, as both ports will charge with the same output. Of course, these external batteries also need to be recharged, so I brought something else along:
This is also a neat item that is compact and folds out to provide 14 watts of solar power to charge either the battery packs, or the phone/tablet directly. There are 2 ports, and here in the sunny south, these have been silently crankin' for me every day. But I need to keep my AA cells charged, too, so I brought along:
All of this technology is brought to you via the wonder of lithium batteries, and solar panels. I had been worried about keeping my food cold on this trip; a mini-fridge would have required a heavy lead-acid battery, so I just used a cooler and locally-purchased ice. That's why I am so anxious for the bigger "whole house" lithium batteries to be introduced - small, lightweight, and able to be deeply discharged. They're coming soon!
I have three 12 volt sockets in my truck. I can plug my cell phone into one. I have a device (no longer n=made) that plugs into another one and has a lead acid battery. This produces 12 volt current to start the truck in an emergency. I have an inverter for it as well. I can plug my Kindle Paperwhite USB plug into the 110 plug and plug that into the inverter (400 watts). Amazon doesn't carry it any longer, but they have others. I also have a Maglite that I can charge in the truck.
I don't normally use the internet when I travel, but I occasionally use a hotel computer available for guests to check emails and bank balances. I hardly ever answer emails since they're virtually all commercial notifications and marketing. My Kindle Paperwhite has plenty of reading material to while away the time. Other people can call me or send me text messages which I ignore if I can. I call people using voice only. People who want my business will call me.
I make sure that my bills are all paid before I leave on a trip. I had a little refrigerator years ago, but when it failed I didn't replace it.
Last edited by Happy in Wyoming; 05-02-2015 at 08:44 AM..
I have three 12 volt sockets in my truck. I can plug my cell phone into one. I have a device (no longer n=made) that plugs into another one and has a lead acid battery. This produces 12 volt current to start the truck in an emergency. I have an inverter for it as well. I can plug my Kindle Paperwhite USB plug into the 110 plug and plug that into the inverter (400 watts). Amazon doesn't carry it any longer, but they have others. I also have a Maglite that I can charge in the truck.
Good stuff! I also have a 12V socket in my truck, with 2 USB ports in it. As long as the truck is running, I can charge things with that. BUT if the truck is not running, I need to be able to charge with solar and battery.
I have a 500 watt inverter in my truck, and a jump pack for dead/weak battery. The jump pack is rated at 1700 amps but has no outlets for 12V or USB. I traded that stuff for higher amps!
In the event of a power outage, and ppl who are not traveling, the lithiums and solar seem to be the answer!
Good stuff! I also have a 12V socket in my truck, with 2 USB ports in it. As long as the truck is running, I can charge things with that. BUT if the truck is not running, I need to be able to charge with solar and battery.
I have a 500 watt inverter in my truck, and a jump pack for dead/weak battery. The jump pack is rated at 1700 amps but has no outlets for 12V or USB. I traded that stuff for higher amps!
In the event of a power outage, and ppl who are not traveling, the lithiums and solar seem to be the answer!
Do you mean that you have 2 USB sockets that allow you to plug a device into a normal 12 volt socket?
The presence of 12 volt sockets wouldn't limit the amount of amperage. The manufacturers are apparently just trying to cut costs.
Is there any problem with using 220 in a solar and battery setup? My current primary backup is a diesel generator that handles everything.
I've charged a cell phone without having the engine running; it doesn't cause any problems.
Amazon has tons of various chargers that plug into foldable solar arrays - you already found those.
There must be a whole lot of people who hate Tesla right now. Great American ingenuity and innovation at work - Tesla will change the way things work with the utility companies with the whole house battery - can't wait to see that in action.
The presence of 12 volt sockets wouldn't limit the amount of amperage. The manufacturers are apparently just trying to cut costs.
Is there any problem with using 220 in a solar and battery setup? My current primary backup is a diesel generator that handles everything.
I've charged a cell phone without having the engine running; it doesn't cause any problems.
Actually, the cheaper "power station" type jump packs (~ $100) are the ones that have all the bells and whistles - but not the kind of current to start a V8 or diesel truck. My Clore 660 is meant to be a jump pack only. No reason they couldn't add a USB, but why bother for a serious jump pack?
You certainly can use 220V in solar/batteries. You just need to wire the batteries in series until you get to that voltage (e.g. 20 x 12V batteries = 240VDC). The voltage of the solar panels has nothing to do with it. If you want 220VAC going through an inverter, you can also do it that way:
Something using as little power as a cell phone won't bother your truck battery, even if not running. But continually charging a tablet or laptop with the engine off could deplete the battery.
Last edited by Nor'Eastah; 05-02-2015 at 12:09 PM..
There must be a whole lot of people who hate Tesla right now. Great American ingenuity and innovation at work - Tesla will change the way things work with the utility companies with the whole house battery - can't wait to see that in action.
The utilities have actually tried to stop Tesla. But word got out that you can use your hybrid or electric car battery to power your house (e.g. people have done this with their Prius). So the public is now aware of the lithiums and the ability to store power with them.
As it stands now, anyone with grid-connected power and solar panels sells power to the utility at non-peak rates (10 am to 4pm, when the sun is out) and buys that power back at peak rates (4 pm till 10 am the next day, when families are usually at home). What a rip-off! Can you imagine what the utilities stand to lose if people with solar start to store their own power? No wonder they hate the idea.
Utilities are dinosaurs anyway, like the land-line phone companies were. They will fade away, too.
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Other people can call me 
I call people using voice only. People who want my business will call me. 
