I have been meaning to post this for awhile, however with the current events on the east coast, I thought it was a timely idea to post this now.

The below is an ongoing experiment to find a easily usable and fairly portable alternate power source that can help maintain the basic needs of charging various gadgets and also provide some very basic household lighting if and when the power is out for an extended time such as we are seeing in NY and NJ.

The one and major drawback of this concept is that it currently depends on solar power only. This okay in the summer but right now it is not as we have had nothing but rain and clouds for days. A small generator has been thought of but without any major power outages in the 3 years that we have lived in our current home, it does not make any financial sense. The alternatives is to charge the batteries from the truck but this now leads to possibly keeping more fuel on hand. That said, with testing so far, the power consumption for basic charging has been quite good with the main consumption being the 12 volt RV lights mentioned further below.

The overall cost for thus far has been reasonable and although as mentioned, it is an ongoing experiment, I am confident though that if we were to have a power outage for any reasonable length of time, we would be better off then most people. Future plans include a possible second battery/booster pack or another deep cycle battery which is probably the better way to go.

Just one thing to keep in mind, the picture below is just a representation and I would would not have that much plugged in at once and consuming power with this current setup. That voltmeter was very steadily dropping numbers as I arranged and took a few pictures.



Back row, left to right.
12 Volt RV light. Very inexpensive (around $8.00). We have 4 of these lights with about 6 feet of wire length and a 12 volt plug on the end. I should really order some LED light replacements from Ebay as the LED's really sip the power as compared to the incandescent style bulbs.

750 watt inverter (IIRC, $40.00 on sale.) Not used much as the fan is quite loud when the inverter is under any load. Can run some smaller tools like a 3/8" drill and a small jig saw etc. Although you cannot see, this inverter has alligator clamps which can connect to any 12 volt battery. Has 2x 120V outlets.

300 Watt inverter. Can power a small table lamp, can charge phones, computers, batteries. Very good all around sized inverter and it is much quieter. These often come on sale for less then $30.00 and we also keep another one in the truck at all times.

700 amp battery / booster pack. Nice little system for the price ($75.00 on sale.) Can be re-charged by 120V or 12 Volt. Has 2x 12 volt plugins, and 1 USB plugin. The voltmeter on top is not part of this system and was added by me. Small Velcro patch keeps it in place.

Middle Row, left to right:
Solar panel charge regulator which is used with the solar panels below. There is actually 2 sets of these panels but only one set shown below.

12 volt and USB (x2 ports) power adapter. Has 12 volt plugin connector or can hard wired into a vehicle.

Small travelers power strip.

AA/AAA battery charger. Only works on 120V.

Old phone for emergency backup, pay as you go calls only.

Front Row, left to right:
Samsung Galaxy phone. We have 2 of these same phones and as I mentioned in another earlier post today, I ordered from Ebay, 2 spare batteries and a separate charger for them.

AA/AAA battery charger. Runs from 120V or 12 volt.

iPad...self explanatory

Not shown:
1 more RV light plugged in providing some photo lighting off to the left side.

Group 31 deep cycle battery underneath the table. This is a fairly new purchase as the old Group 34 battery went south very prematurely...don't ask.

A few 12 volt LED singular lights used as experimental/testing over the last couple of years.

3-4 long strings of LED 120V patio lights.(Think Christmas style) but these lights work great with inverter and certainly cheaper (and more reliable) then 12 volt LED string lights which I recently wasted $20.00 or so dollars on...
These light strings are power misers even with the slight inefficiencies of 12 volt to 120V conversion through the inverter. With some some imagination, these lights can be strung up almost anywhere in the house and plugged into the battery pack.

Solar panels, have another set of these also.



Thoughts, questions, criticisms?
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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock