Community Forums

tuffr2 · 06-17-2018, 12:55 PM

In mid July I will be boondocking. I will want to keep my cell phone and maybe my laptop charged. I do not have solar but do have a Yamaha generator.

I looked a 15,000aMH and a 20,000aMH battery packs. But now wonder if I can keep the battery pack charged. I will have a car charger, 3 - 4 hours a day of running the generator to charge the trailer battery use the micro-wave, heat water.

I am thinking 15,000 to 20,000aMH may be too much capacity to keep charged so I can charge my phone and laptop as needed.

What size do you guys use?

BFlinn181 · 06-17-2018, 02:13 PM

If I was boondocking, I'd get a solar panel or two to keep them charged rather than buying batteries for the laptop and phone.

My MacBook Pro, with no hard drive, can operate up to 10 hrs between charges, so if boondocking I'd turn off the wifi, Bluetooth, and dim the screen a bit and I could handle just a bit of solar charging to keep it going.

**TonyDi** · 06-17-2018, 02:17 PM

You should be able to get a 24000 mAh solar panel to charge you batteries. they're only about $40. Whole lot easier then buy a battery pack.

tuffr2 · 06-17-2018, 02:24 PM

I will be under heavy tree cover and in a cloudy area in the Pa. Mountains. Plus unlike the newest trailers I do not have a built in solar connection.

I use my phone a lot to play Free Cell so that will use some cell phone battery. While I run the generator I will charge the laptop, my cell phone, the trailer battery, and the battery pack. My laptop will not have very much use now that I think about it.

I already have a 4,200amh battery pack. Maybe I will just use it to charge my phone one time.

After this 2 - 6 week boondocking trip it will be a year before the next boondocking trip.

1bigmess · 06-17-2018, 02:25 PM

When I started boondocking, I thought the generator would be enough, and it was, but changing oil and the noise became a bit of a hassle, so I got 200 watts of portable solar and an AGM group 31 deep cycle battery. They run my laptop using a small-ish inverter, amateur radios, and charge my cell phone with ease, even on the shorter winter days.

I can't figure out how to change the oil in the solar panels, so I guess I just won't. If they can't make it easy to figure out, I refuse to do it.

xrated · 06-17-2018, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

When I started boondocking, I thought the generator would be enough, and it was, but changing oil and the noise became a bit of a hassle, so I got 200 watts of portable solar and an AGM group 31 deep cycle battery. They run my laptop using a small-ish inverter, amateur radios, and charge my cell phone with ease, even on the shorter winter days.

I can't figure out how to change the oil in the solar panels, so I guess I just won't. If they can't make it easy to figure out, I refuse to do it.

With solar, there is no oil change per se' Buy yourself a spray can of kilowatts and when the solar gets low, just use the can and spray on some more! Easy-Peasy!

tuffr2 · 06-17-2018, 05:00 PM

I took a look at the solar charges. I think that is a good way to keep things charged. Maybe that plus the generator. I do have a sunny area where I can set the solar charger and phone.

Good idea. I did not even know they make such a thing. I learned something today.

I also googled how to change the oil in a solar panal. I will send you the YouTube video. It looks easy.

1bigmess · 06-17-2018, 07:02 PM

The small chargers could keep a cell phone charged up, but you also asked about your laptop. 200 watts of portable solar can charge the deep cycle battery I use and run my laptop and charge my cell phone very easily.

The battery on both the phone and the laptop will last longer if you lower the screen brightness and reduce the number of open apps or programs to just the ones you need. Turn the screens off as often as possible. I have the power button on my laptop set to shut off the screen when I push it, which helps.

curmudgeon59 · 06-17-2018, 07:32 PM

It seems like all the little $30 200 watt inverters have usb charge ports built in. Just charge the phone off of the big batteries, and charge the laptop at the same time. Plug it into the 12v socket by your tv antenna. Or wire a 12v usb charger into your light circuit (the lights don't draw much power if you've converted them to led, so there should be enough capacity for basic usb charging).

BFlinn181 · 06-17-2018, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by curmudgeon59

It seems like all the little $30 200 watt inverters have usb charge ports built in. Just charge the phone off of the big batteries, and charge the laptop at the same time. Plug it into the 12v socket by your tv antenna. Or wire a 12v usb charger into your light circuit (the lights don't draw much power if you've converted them to led, so there should be enough capacity for basic usb charging).

Going from 12v DC to 120v AC (inverter) then only using the 5v DC USB charging port seems to be a terribly inefficient way to charge a phone. There are many 12v phone chargers that would be a simpler way to accomplish the same thing. There are laptop chargers that can be powered by a 12v battery without having to insert an inverter into the chain.

1bigmess · 06-17-2018, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

Going from 12v DC to 120v AC (inverter) then only using the 5v DC USB charging port seems to be a terribly inefficient way to charge a phone.

It also sounds like a very expensive way to design an inverter. I doubt that a relatively inexpensive inverter is designed to take 12vdc, invert it to 120vac, then there is a section that takes the 120vac and converts it back to dc and down to 5v.

tuffr2 · 06-17-2018, 08:09 PM

The lights are already LED so that is good. I am worried about cloudy rainy weather but I will definitely give the solar chargers a try.

I will be running a test to see if I can watch a full movie on my laptop, hope I can. I will charge my laptop (and phone) when I run the generator. I have a group 27 battery on this trailer and LED lights. I may buy a new group 29/31 battery.

One fly in the ointment is if it gets cold. The odds are it won't but if it does I may need to run the generator all night. I have a Yamaha 2400IS now. I think it can run all night on a tank of gas. I am thinking of buying a smaller. Maybe only 1,000watt that would be super easy on gas and enough to keep the battery topped off and keep the heat on at night...

Anyone use a small 1,000watt generator ? If so, is that enough power to keep minimal systems running?

BFlinn181 · 06-17-2018, 08:13 PM

My RV can run the furnace at night without needing to run the generator. I only have two 12v batteries for the house. The only night it was an issue was when visitors had accidentally turned on the power to my compartment lights. They, with the furnace, did take the batteries pretty low that night.

1bigmess · 06-17-2018, 08:44 PM

Instead of buying another gennie, get a bigger external fuel tank for the one you got? It needs to be set up higher than the gennie because the Yammy gennie doesn't have a fuel pump.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-EF24...-/112964462429