Freeplay 12V Personal Energy Source Review


Lightweight portable electrical power can sometimes be difficult to obtain in the wilderness. Quite a few invaluable devices require battery operation and the ability to recharge those batteries reasonably quickly has for the most part been solved with a new generation of very portable lightweight, compact, and efficient solar PV panels which can provide enough power to recharge 4 AAs cells or provide power for GPSs, flashlights, communication equipment, SW radios and even the sterilisation of water. The main downside of course is that the sun has to be out to illuminate the solar PV panel to provide the energy.

A possible solution to generate a limited supply of electrical energy when in the dark is the Freeplay 12V Personal Energy Source.

I was able to find one on sale for about £7.99 or about $15.

First impressions are quite favourable as the unit appears to be well manufactured using quality materials and components. The Freeplay 12V Personal Energy Source weighs in at 280 grams.

The maximum power it can generate is probably around 10-12 Watts. I was able to power a Uniross X-Press 700 NiMh recharger with 4 AA 2600mA Power-Plus NiMh cells (generic NiMh cells) quite easily which was rated at 12V and 500mA (6 Watts) input using the cigarette 12V adapter lead.

I decided to charge the cells for about 15 minutes, which was probably the comfortable limit before getting tired hands, before checking the cell votlage using the battery power level indicator on a Garmin eTrex GPS. Of course in a survival situation this wouldn't really wouldn't be an issue. The battery power indicator registered just below half on the level meter indicating a partial recharge of the cells. It certainly gave enough power to generate a GPS fix. First impressions were favourable, as it certainly seems to work as advertised.

Overall I think this could be a useful addition to a solar PV panel power kit for when limited power is required during the hours of darkness or during an emergency for those occasions when your batteries have just died and you need to make a short emergency cell phone call or to generate a GPS fix. When the sun is shinning though let the sun do the work with the solar PV kit as 15 minutes work using the Freeplay 12V Personal Energy Source seems like a very long time indeed.




Freeplay 12V Personal Energy Source with a cheap compact 2 AA NiMh recharger.

thanks for the review Am_Fear_Liath_Mor have just ordered one thanks to it

for those in the united kingdom

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product-Freeplay-12V-Personal-Energy-Source-22992.htm

Delivery: £3.95

Yes, thanks for the review! I will be getting this also.

Nice!

-Blast

Nice review Am_Fear_Liath_Mor, I think I'll have to jump on the band wagon as well. It would be a good back up to the cells on those dark days. Good call...........

Charging batteries then checking then right away will give you a false high reading. You are reading a surface charge that will drop somewhat as the battery stabilizes (electrolyte level calms down.)

Give it a few hours to drop back to the actual charge level then measure the level with something that puts a load on it.

Nice review. I reckon the only way to truly check what charge it puts on the batteries is to put them in something and run them down to ziltch. Voltage and current readings don't really give a good indication of charge condition, so running them over time will be a better indicator of how useful the work you do with the charger is.

The Cells were standard 2600 mA NiMh cells which had been sitting in the back of a cupboard for the last 6 months as they had essentially been replaced in use by Eneloops. I ensured that they were completely dead by testing them in a Minimag with a Nitze 3 LED type bulb replacement and a Fenix L2D. The cells gave out nothing in both flashlights.

After about 15 minutes charging I would expect around 1.5-2.5 hrs use with a Garmin Etrex Camo.
If used with a Cell phone this will depend on the cell phone type and its power requirements. A typical cell phone will typically have a 1000mA/hr 3.7V Lithium Cell or about 3.7 W/hrs. A 15 min charge typically generates about 1-1.5 W/hrs cell energy so the cell would be about 1/4 to 1/3 fully charged. From this I would expect at least 20-40 minutes talk time. Certainly enough to make an emergency call.

I would have to say that the performance specifications at http://www.freeplayenergy.com/product/freecharge12v/specifications don't seem to be particularly overstated.

The Cells were then put in the Fenix L2D are were capable of runnnig the Fenix L2D on Turbo mode (180 Lumen) for a good 8-10 minutes before the standard high mode (100 Lumen) was only available. Again I would expect the continous low mode (12 Lumen) to be available for more than 6-8 Hrs.

The technology does seem to work as advertised. Today I have even purchased the Freeplay Summit Radio for household use (which was available locally for £30 or about $55). A digital PLL Short Wave radio for £30 is a bargain in its own right let alone with solar PV and Freeplay direct charge alternator system. Again it has the look and feel of a durable quality product.

Thank you for sharing, I own enough winders and panels it's hard to justify buying more unless it's a big improvement. I have been giving this one the eye for about a month, but it looks like a reasonable addition to my collection.