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Electrical Power in the Field
- Thread starter Will Derness
- Start date
Looks like a power outage from here
I like your sense of humor. Wanted to delete the post until I got it written up correctly, but only was able to delete the contents. Stay tuned.
Small wind turbine perhaps? Solar panels. Plug into a tree?
Sitting out the drenching rains of Hermine seemed a perfect time to undertake an experiment to test the process of recharging a battery powered portable fan I keep in my truck and use for sleeping on warm nights.
TEST MATERIALS
1 8' diameter fan powered by
8 D cell adapter batteries (adaptor converts AA to D cell size)
8 Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries
1 Goal Zero AA/AAA battery charger with micro USB and solar inputs.
1 7800 mAh power bank with two USB outputs - 2A and 1A
Some time ago I took my fan, and using a fully charged set of AA batteries in the D cell adapter, ran it continuously on low speed for 10 hours. After 10 hours the fan was still turning but air movement was anemic. This battery arrangement clearly only provides you with one night of fan comfort.
TEST QUESTION: Without having access to an electrical outlet or your vehicle's power supply is there an easy way to recharge those 8 AA cells in time for the next night's use?
TEST CONDITIONS
1. Fan was run down until there was no blade movement, batteries totally tapped out.
TEST RESULTS
1. Using the faster 2A output of the power bank, 4 AA batteries were recharged 4 hours.
2. There was not enough left in the power bank to completely recharge the other 4 AA batteries.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Although they vary in capacity by Mfg, each AA battery has about a 2000 mAH capacity and the 7800 mAh power bank must have been nearly exhausted recharging 4 AA batteries.
2. Having 2 larger capacity power packs and a second AA charger would improve things.
3. Having two 15,000 mAh power packs and 2 AA chargers would allow the fan to be back in full service in 4 hours. This would provide three nights of fan use before having to use either an electrical power outlet, vehicle power source, or solar panel to recharge the AA batteries
4. Solar Panel will recharge 4 AA batteries in 3 hours with full sun.
COMPONENT COSTS
$17 ea or $34 15,000 mAh power pack
$ 25 for 8 Eneloop D cell Adaptors for AAs
$115 Goal Zero Solar kit (Includes Solar panel, AA/AAA charger, 4 AA batteries, connectors)
$50 Second Goal Zero AA/AA charger (Includes AA charger, 4 AA batteries, USB connector.
$20 8 Eneloop AA batteries. (not needed if you buy the solar kit and the extra charger as these will both have 4 AA batteries
$15 Fan
SUMMARY
For an investment of ~~$240 one could have a portable fan that would provide you with 3 nights of cooling before you require repowering your 8 AA cells from a source other than the 2 power packs. The solar panel is one power source but limited to 4 batteries at a time. Since you have another AA charger you could use your vehicle to recharge the second AA charger. The power packs can be recharged by the solar panel, but one at a time.
This is a fairly compact way to carry multiple days worth of AA and AAA batteries with you, And if you use AA or AAA for your illumination needs, this system has extra value. If your vehicle is near you, the dash board provides a convenient weather proof location to do your recharging using either power packs and/or the solar panels.
I like using the AAs with the D cell adaptors. The fan is much lighter and I avoid the expensive cost of replacing 8 D cells.
TEST MATERIALS
1 8' diameter fan powered by
8 D cell adapter batteries (adaptor converts AA to D cell size)
8 Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries
1 Goal Zero AA/AAA battery charger with micro USB and solar inputs.
1 7800 mAh power bank with two USB outputs - 2A and 1A
Some time ago I took my fan, and using a fully charged set of AA batteries in the D cell adapter, ran it continuously on low speed for 10 hours. After 10 hours the fan was still turning but air movement was anemic. This battery arrangement clearly only provides you with one night of fan comfort.
TEST QUESTION: Without having access to an electrical outlet or your vehicle's power supply is there an easy way to recharge those 8 AA cells in time for the next night's use?
TEST CONDITIONS
1. Fan was run down until there was no blade movement, batteries totally tapped out.
TEST RESULTS
1. Using the faster 2A output of the power bank, 4 AA batteries were recharged 4 hours.
2. There was not enough left in the power bank to completely recharge the other 4 AA batteries.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Although they vary in capacity by Mfg, each AA battery has about a 2000 mAH capacity and the 7800 mAh power bank must have been nearly exhausted recharging 4 AA batteries.
2. Having 2 larger capacity power packs and a second AA charger would improve things.
3. Having two 15,000 mAh power packs and 2 AA chargers would allow the fan to be back in full service in 4 hours. This would provide three nights of fan use before having to use either an electrical power outlet, vehicle power source, or solar panel to recharge the AA batteries
4. Solar Panel will recharge 4 AA batteries in 3 hours with full sun.
COMPONENT COSTS
$17 ea or $34 15,000 mAh power pack
$ 25 for 8 Eneloop D cell Adaptors for AAs
$115 Goal Zero Solar kit (Includes Solar panel, AA/AAA charger, 4 AA batteries, connectors)
$50 Second Goal Zero AA/AA charger (Includes AA charger, 4 AA batteries, USB connector.
$20 8 Eneloop AA batteries. (not needed if you buy the solar kit and the extra charger as these will both have 4 AA batteries
$15 Fan
SUMMARY
For an investment of ~~$240 one could have a portable fan that would provide you with 3 nights of cooling before you require repowering your 8 AA cells from a source other than the 2 power packs. The solar panel is one power source but limited to 4 batteries at a time. Since you have another AA charger you could use your vehicle to recharge the second AA charger. The power packs can be recharged by the solar panel, but one at a time.
This is a fairly compact way to carry multiple days worth of AA and AAA batteries with you, And if you use AA or AAA for your illumination needs, this system has extra value. If your vehicle is near you, the dash board provides a convenient weather proof location to do your recharging using either power packs and/or the solar panels.
I like using the AAs with the D cell adaptors. The fan is much lighter and I avoid the expensive cost of replacing 8 D cells.
Do you take this canoe tripping?
I'm totally baffled at how we tripped in the dark ages with no electricity. I used to throw a couple of spare batteries in ( 3 actually ) for the headlamp.
I get a chuckle out of air conditioning!
But on longer trips than I do the information would be useful.
Just curious is all, I've replaced the batteries in my head lamp once in 5 years. The GPS gets a new pair of batteries every Spring. I fully charge the single batteries for my Nikon and P&S before a trip. Other than that, we don't take any electrical devices.
Yes for the solar panel, AA/AAA charger, and power pack as they have uses for recharging devices other than the fan - cell phone, and the AA/AAAs that get used in my cameras, GPS, flashlights, lanterns.
I typically try to avoid hot sweltering days to canoe trip, but having recently been persuaded to go camping one August evening in the swamps of NC I took the fan. That was a good decision. A cooling dip in the river kept the sweat off of me for 30 minutes - the fan made for a nice evening in the tent.
I canoe trip but abhor portages so gear load isn't the issue for me that it is for some. Mostly the fan gets used car camping and sleeping in the truck bed.
I use Luci lights and the only other electronic is SPOT.
We are putting in the 10kw version at home that will give us 143% of the power we need.
We are putting in the 10kw version at home that will give us 143% of the power we need.
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Exactly what I was thinking. I have a goal zero charger as well but depending on how much sun and how much time you have actually in the sun can be a real ... drain... on your charging abilities. LI batteries are very pricey tho, I bet in two years of regular trip use, you could easily have 200 bucks spent in AA batteries.
Spend the $240 and keep the batteries out of the landfill much longer than using Li disposables.
A lot cheaper and less bulky for shorter trips is to use a computer fan and hook up a 6v rechargeable battery for a RC car. used only at night It lasts about 3-4 days. for longer periods you could add a solar charger. A 4" fan will usually fit in a tube vent or add a bulldog clip and hang it in front of any vent.
G
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Willie and I have similarly cap outfitted tripping Tacomas and the genesis of the extended/rechargeable power supply quandary was our conversations about running a small fan while sleeping in the bed. Power and electronic stuff baffles me.
Running a fan in the bed is a near necessity for me, and not just when I’m trying to sleep for summer’s night out in the desert or down south in high humidity. The moving air helps keep condensation to a minimum, which is actually more of a truck cap issue when sleeping in colder temperatures.
But beyond air circulation I am habituated to white noise while sleeping at night. I am an early to bed guy and have run a white noise machine or fan in my bedroom for 40 years. If I am passing the night in a campground and turning in at dark for a pre-dawn getaway I want to obscure the noise of nearby neighbors.
My tripping power needs (LED flashlight, digital camera, and weather radio) are easily satisfied with AAA batteries. Willie’s 3-part battery and recharger solution would be most valuable for folks who use more electronics.
Sleeping in the tripping truck my night time needs are a light for reading and a fan to circulate air. Reading at bedtime is another habituated practice, at least an hour or so every night. That lighting need has been met by a Luci-Light (maybe the best advance in illumination since LED flashlights).
But using up eight D-cells in a battery operated fan every night won’t cut it, nor does needing to find a 120V receptacle every couple days and lingering nearby for hours while the batteries recharge.
I am still searching for my ideal solution for powering a night time fan in the truck bed. DougD recently told me about a friend who powers a few lights and etc in a remote camp via a deep cycle marine battery and solar charger. That bears further investigation, especially if I could recharge the deep cycle battery off either the solar panels or off the engine while driving.
I’m thinking small deep cycle battery (in a carpeted box) in the truck bed as a rechargeable 12V power supply with one of the little fold out solar panels set on the cap roof while camped. In the truck the battery weight is inconsequential, and I would gladly give up the space for a battery box in trade for 8 hours of fan life every night.
A small deep cycle battery is under $100 and a small folding solar panel another $100. Of course the connectors, switches and wiring of such a solution are beyond my ken, but that would be a small price to pay for years of unending air circulation and white noise in the sleeping compartment.
+1 for the Luci Light. Love that thing! Has reduced my need to run my headlamp to those few minutes it takes to find a tree in the middle of the night.
The longest trips I take are 4-5 days over my summer vacation (I still have to work for a living), and just 1-2 overnights during the rest of the year (almost every weekend Dec-April).
My battery operated devices are a 3xAAA head lamp, a 2xAA camera, and a 2xAA GPS. I take a 2xAA flashlight in bear country. The headlamp and Luci Light do not provide the spotlight effect I prefer when dealing with bears at 2am (you get eye reflection way out there, but can't really see what size critter you're actually dealing with beyond about 30'.)
On the short trips (even day hikes, actually), I carry a single set of extra batteries (2xAAs and 3xAAAs). On the longer trips, I would take yet another pair of AA batteries, because there's not much worse than your camera dying 3/4 of the way through a trip. I only use the GPS when exploring entirely new terrain to get grid coordinates... this helps with mapping it to graph paper accurately, and I've cross leveled them to a camera in the past. I normally navigate with map and compass.
The longest trips I take are 4-5 days over my summer vacation (I still have to work for a living), and just 1-2 overnights during the rest of the year (almost every weekend Dec-April).
My battery operated devices are a 3xAAA head lamp, a 2xAA camera, and a 2xAA GPS. I take a 2xAA flashlight in bear country. The headlamp and Luci Light do not provide the spotlight effect I prefer when dealing with bears at 2am (you get eye reflection way out there, but can't really see what size critter you're actually dealing with beyond about 30'.)
On the short trips (even day hikes, actually), I carry a single set of extra batteries (2xAAs and 3xAAAs). On the longer trips, I would take yet another pair of AA batteries, because there's not much worse than your camera dying 3/4 of the way through a trip. I only use the GPS when exploring entirely new terrain to get grid coordinates... this helps with mapping it to graph paper accurately, and I've cross leveled them to a camera in the past. I normally navigate with map and compass.
Here is what I do. I have about the same fan. Normally runs on 4 D batteries. Bought the DC cigarette lighter adapter. Bought a female adaptor, which I wired to plug into an AGM rechargeable battery (10,000 mah, from Cabelas, about 4x2x8 inches). Runs the fan for at least 4 nights on high speed setting. I recharge it via a GoalZero setup like you have in the photo, plus a battery charge controller. Keeps it topped up each day. Can also run the fan wired to the Goalzero 4 AA recharger/charger unit you have. Works for about a night. This goes on boat trips with me, and keeps the fan, phone, mp3 player and camera charged.
In my pickup cap I had installed a triple cigarette charger unit in the left front corner of the cap. It has a voltage level indicator light set to tell me if I am draining the truck battery too much. Also has an on/off switch I wired in. When driving, or with engine running, I can recharge my AGMs. So, my power can come from the truck battery, or from the AGMs I carry. Works fine so far. Could upsize the AGMs to a deep cycle marine battery for a lot more storage capability.
The Luci lights and their knock offs are excellent. Just stick on the boat deck somewhere during the day to recharge, though the ones I have hold several night's worth of power for my use.
In my pickup cap I had installed a triple cigarette charger unit in the left front corner of the cap. It has a voltage level indicator light set to tell me if I am draining the truck battery too much. Also has an on/off switch I wired in. When driving, or with engine running, I can recharge my AGMs. So, my power can come from the truck battery, or from the AGMs I carry. Works fine so far. Could upsize the AGMs to a deep cycle marine battery for a lot more storage capability.
The Luci lights and their knock offs are excellent. Just stick on the boat deck somewhere during the day to recharge, though the ones I have hold several night's worth of power for my use.
Recycling batteries, and limiting my landfill donations, is my preference; but having spare AAs around, while helpful, won't help you recharge a USB device without something else.
The Goal Zero AA/AAA charger appealed to me because it will not only charge AA batteries, but also the AAs can be used to output power to its USB port and charge any device that takes USB power. I have more than a few USB devices with me when I travel: I-phone, Kindle, small Bluetooth speaker, IPad, iPod, MP3 player. All of them cab be recharged by either the AA charger or solar panel. So I sprung for the Solar panel/charger combo some time ago and have been exploring how to best make use of these technologies.
Whether or not the solar panel, charger and power bank comes along on an overnight canoe trip is mostly a function of how long I'll be out. However the package is small enough it that it is always in my truck and gets good use in camp. One example - cloudy day in camp and the solar panel is working on charging my phone, but slowly. Pull out the power pack, hook the phone up to the USB power bank's 2A output and in quick measure the phone is fully charged again. No truck ignition to turn on, and then remember to turn off when finished. Then hook the power bank to the solar panel, and a slow recharge there isn't quite the worry.
G
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