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Olddawgsrule View Drop Down
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Posts: 1014 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Boondocking Power
    Posted: 01 Sep 2019 at 9:26am
Originally posted by podwerkz

Just google 'car charger' and your model laptop.

(example: car charger dell abc123x)

Or enter the same words into the search box on ebay or amazon.

You will likely find a compatible DC-DC charger for your laptop, and they are usually about $20-$30 or so.

The Apple Tech did not even recommend what they sell for a car charger.. Which is why they were insist on me showing them the info on what I find. These laptop's are pretty fussy I guess..
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podwerkz View Drop Down
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Posts: 966 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2019 at 9:17am
Just google 'car charger' and your model laptop.

(example: car charger dell abc123x)

Or enter the same words into the search box on ebay or amazon.

You will likely find a compatible DC-DC charger for your laptop, and they are usually about $20-$30 or so.
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Olddawgsrule View Drop Down
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Posts: 1014 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2019 at 9:08am
Originally posted by offgrid

Originally posted by Olddawgsrule


"Probably it won't charge the laptop battery at all"
You have me curious on this one..


I'm probably jumping to a conclusion, I just looked at the Amazon reviews of the product and one guy said it ran his Dell laptop but didn't charge the laptop battery. Dell's BIOS doesn't allow battery charging from generic power supplies apparently.    But your laptop might be completely different. 


Thank you for that info. The Apple Tech was very specific about matching voltage/amperage. His statement was they don't recommend due to most really don't know how. Good folks over there! I was asked to bring in the info and he'd double check for me. 

Oh yes.. I grabbed you audit list to compare to mind and added some of your numbers. Again, good job there and thanks for sharing!

Screen shot mine using your chart.
Numbers look about right!
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2019 at 8:47am
Originally posted by Olddawgsrule




"Probably it won't charge the laptop battery at all"
You have me curious on this one..



I'm probably jumping to a conclusion, I just looked at the Amazon reviews of the product and one guy said it ran his Dell laptop but didn't charge the laptop battery. Dell's BIOS doesn't allow battery charging from generic power supplies apparently.    But your laptop might be completely different. 

 
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Olddawgsrule View Drop Down
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Posts: 1014 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2019 at 8:22am
Originally posted by offgrid

[QUOTE=Olddawgsrule] 

Re that device, its a dc dc converter not a transformer so its not sine wave. If your laptop takes 19Vdc then it should work OK, Just watch that it doesn't overcharge the laptop battery. Probably it won'charge the laptop battery at all. And of course be sure that you get the polarity right. 


"its a dc dc converter not a transformer so its not sine wave."
And you are correct again! Overlooked that factoid.. Currently use my Wagen inverter to re-charge it.

"Just watch that it doesn't overcharge the laptop battery"
Shouldn't, I do believe the charge controller is built in the laptop. Main concern there is to match up amperage. There are smaller modules out there that produce 2a to 5a. That was the concern of the Tech at the Apple Store.

"Probably it won't charge the laptop battery at all"
You have me curious on this one..

"And of course be sure that you get the polarity right"
You betcha! I'm a stickler about that! I don't take anyone else's wiring for granted..

My inverter does the job, yet seems such a waste to run for just that.. And really, it's all I use it for. Bulky, inconvenient location, loses, etc.. I drives me nuts that I go DC to AC just to go back to DC again.
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Aug 2019 at 5:33pm
Originally posted by Olddawgsrule

 

'My' only item of issue to re-charge is my laptop. That is 'our' entertainment system (as well as all else a laptop does). It requires 19v to charge. My intention is to buy one of these, not necessarily this one, yet something like. I'm attempting to ensure it sine wave.. 
  

Thanks Olddawgsrule. I;m around the same as you if I go to the mountains and don't use the fans. But its too hot in coastal NC to do that here.

Re that device, its a dc dc converter not a transformer so its not sine wave. If your laptop takes 19Vdc then it should work OK, Just watch that it doesn't overcharge the laptop battery. Probably it won'charge the laptop battery at all. And of course be sure that you get the polarity right. 
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Olddawgsrule View Drop Down
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Posts: 1014 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Aug 2019 at 3:03pm
Originally posted by offgrid

 

item dc current quantity hours daily load
single led lite 0.2 4.0 2 1.6
dual led lite 0.4 1.0 2 0.8
bath lite 0.3 1.0 0.2 0.06
outside lite 1.4 1.0 0.1 0.14
small clip on fan 0.5 2.0 12.0 12
fantastic fan h 2.8 1.0 12.0 33.6
fantastic fan m 1.9 2.0 0 0
fantastic fan l 1.3 1.0 0 0
fridge 12V 10.7 1.0 0 0
water pump 5.0 1.0 0.2 1
TV  12V 1.5 1.0 4 6
Stereo 0.4 1.0 8 3.2
heater on 2.0 1.0 0 0
water heater on  0.6 1.0 1 0.6
total daily ah 59.0


What Offgrid has done here is what I call a Power Audit. I advise anyone that wish to 'dry-camp' to do one. Such great info here at your finger tips! Great job Offgrid!

I go a bit differently and my usage is only 27ah max. Typical/average closer to 12/20ah. 

Everyone has there own way of camping and what they require to run. I suggest you run one of these as well.
I also have dual 6v's at 210ah deliverable, yet safety/conservatively only 105ah to be used. I will add that AGM's/Gel's can go as deep as 70% without causing any issues, yet 6v's are your best bet if you require going deeper. I've yet to go below 75% SOC with with my panels and re-charge from my TV. 
We travel months at a time, not just a weekend..

I do have a portable lithium battery that states 100ah (wish it really was) and rates out only at 35ah. Still a very nice secondary source of power not using the house batteries. 

'My' only item of issue to re-charge is my laptop. That is 'our' entertainment system (as well as all else a laptop does). It requires 19v to charge. My intention is to buy one of these, not necessarily this one, yet something like. I'm attempting to ensure it sine wave.. 
  
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Aug 2019 at 6:20am
I too  just leave mine on the charger and check the water level monthly. 

You are right that if you just take the batteries out and store them without maintaining charge you can run into trouble. Lead acid batteries self discharge and the warmer it is the faster the self discharge is. So folks that live in cold climates tend to have better results if they charge the batteries once and store them for the winter than folks who store them in a warmer climate do. But it doesn't hurt anything to leave them on a charger if you have access to power (grid or solar) and keep them full of distilled water. 

As far as deliberately cycling them on a load bank, no, that doesn't prolong battery life. The battery plates are stressed every time you cycle them so the less cycles and the shallower the cycles the longer they will last. So if you're boondocking for several days and you need to recharge on a genny  it's better to recharge daily for a shorter time than to run 2-3 days and then recharge for a longer time. 
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2019 at 9:49pm
Mine stay in our RPod all year long. A fully charged battery is in no danger of freezing until the temperature is lower than -77F. At 75% charge, it is -35F. Even at 50%, the freezing point is -10F. I installed a 30A RV outlet so the RPod could stay plugged in and keep the batteries fully charged. I go out from time to time and make sure the electrolyte level is adequate and add distilled water as needed.
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176turbodiesel View Drop Down
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Posts: 15 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2019 at 8:03pm
Do you remove your batteries from your rpod in the winter?
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