Posted: 8/11/2009 6:23:37 AM EDT
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I have been working on an idea for a while to build a portable power supply and I posted details in the "Does having a generator make you a target" thread but I want to get feedback and I think it deserves it's own thread.
In short, what I would like to try to do is find a heavy duty plastic container that is the right size that I can hold two good sized deep cycle gel pack batteries. The container I am considering using is one of the Rubbermaid actionpacker units like this: 
http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd2933118 Or the bigger one here: 
http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd2942118 Now, I am going with an enclosed gelpack deep cycle battery as with the inverter and charger and the enclosed battery I do not want to risk a KABOOM. There are a thousand choices for batteries and the trick will be getting as big of a unit as I can that would fit in the container and idealy I would like to get a pair of batteries that fit inside the box, even if I had to move up to one of the larger action packer boxes. Once I find the correct combination of deep cycle battery and box, my plan is to fit a piece of plywood to the bottom of the box with some type of wood supports around the batteries that will hold the batteries from moving. I am curently thinging that I would use 2x2s screwed to the plywood baseand then add eyebolts that would be used with rubber bungie straps to hold the batteries down. The plywood base would also need to be secured to the bottom of the plastic tote and I have not decided if I would want to screw it fast through the bottom but that is likely the way I would do it. Once I have the batteries attached, I would then wire the batteries in parallel to a battery charger and inverter. For this project I am planning to use a solar charger for example: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200265524_200265524 The solar pannels I will be using are the flexable solar pannels and I have described why I want to use those in my Bug Out Trailer thread here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=18&t=625648 The purpose of this portable power box will be to supply power as well so I will be adding a modest inverter and I need some advise here. I have seen inverters that run from very small to huge but the purpose of this small system will be primarily to possibly allow the use of lights, fan, and possibly in an emergency power tools on a limited basis. Most of my planning for this box will actually use 12v items (lights, cell phone chargers, radios, AA battery chargers, etc) so the inverter should be limited use BUT I want to plan to include it just in case. So, I think I want to find something in the 1,000 watt or larger inverter for example this 1.5kw one: 
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=ac+power+inverter&cid=7075545105297179477&sa=title#p I do not know if I will actually attach the inverter directly to the box or perhaps add terminals inside the box that the bigger inverter would clamp to. If I add terminals to the box it might make it easier for me to later make additional battery boxes and hook them up in parallel to add additional capacity. I doubt I will want multiple portable boxes like this but the terminals would also provide an easy way for me to hook the system up to a AC battery charger or battery tender for when the system may be waiting for use at home. Finally, I also realize that this "kit" may end up being extremely heavy so my plan to address that issue if it becomes one by adding one or two axles with pneumatic tires. This way I can easily load the power kit by myself on the trailer using my trailer ramps. The easiest way I have thought to do this would be to attach a piece of say 5/8 plywood to the bottom of the unit and perhaps use bolts through the plastic to attach the interior and bottom plywood together. The axle would be attached to the bottom plywood and then eye bolts could extend below the bottom to tie the portable unit down in the trailer plus it would allow a way to lock the unit via chain and paddle lock if we were bugged out and we didn't want to keep the battery box in the trailer or truck for any reason. I am not going to try to MS Paint the project idea as I assume everyone can follow the basic plan. I am trying to figure this out before I work on the trailer project as I needed to decide where to store the batteries and my options were either in a toolbox on the tonge of the trailer, inside the trailer attached somewhere, or in a portable box. The portable box option was elected as this power could be used if we BUG IN or BUG OUT plus the portable nature of the power pack increases the options of where and how the batteries could be recharged. I am sure some of you here have already done something like this so any feedback before I invest in this project? The batteries are the huge expense in doing this and it will be a while before I can buy a pair of high capacity deep cycle batteries and I am still reasearching all the various options that are out there (size and capacity as well as weight). Still, I hope to invest in the batteries in the next month or so and then build the box and add solar panels so I figured I would share for oppinions or advice. |
| i can tell you that those totes are not going to hold the weight of 2 batteries without some type of reinforcement. what about building this on a hand truck? there was a post in the SF where someone had made the whole thing on a hand truck with batteries, charger, and inverter all ready to go. |
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Yea, I guess I should take a tote and load it with a comparable weight and see how well the box will work... The plastic box is nice as I can lock it and it is weather resistent to some degree and rather covert looking.
Also, I am devating using 6v Golf Cart batteries in series instead of a pair of 12v batteries. I have not decided which way to go.... Related link: http://www.title-3.com/Battery.htm Here is another option and the same idea.... 
I wish I could find text about what those pics show but obviously it is the same type of project I am after. ETA: I found that that think in the middle is a PERKO battery switch and I found a description of what it does here: http://www.hookedoncatfish.com/Perko.html http://www.boatersworld.com/product/197260094.htm http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/showthread.php?t=487089 http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000710.html I don't know what the advantage of this would be for my use? |
| no clue on why he would use a batt switch. only thing that comes to mind would be so he could run one batt at a time or both depending on how much juice an item pulls. i have one of the 8 GAL rubbermaid containers and trust me, you will NEED to do something with the bottom. i keep recovery straps, ratchet straps, and a 119 piece tool kit in mine and when i pick it up you can see the bottom bowing. |
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I finally found the page were the images are used...
http://malimish.com/blog/2009/02/12/our-portable-battery-bank/ They didn't say why they did it but it is more helpful then just the images without a context. The page makes it sound like the cooler handles the weight so perhaps this is a better container for this project. |
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Thanks I will try to find it in the archives.
I also spent some time making my shopping list for the rest of what I need... Solar Panel: http://www.adorama.com/BRUSOLARIS26.html?sid=1250020606125720 Charge Controler: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200265524_200265524 or http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200365189_200365189 |
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Coolers are made to handle more weight, basically enough to cover ice and beer or whatever.
Depending on what those totes cost I would consider buying a piece or two of plywood if you have the ability to cut it and make your own box. You can size the box to fit whatever you want and won't have extra space. With the tote you are building to fit what you have for size and that might limit you on the small one or leave you with extra space on the large one. But as mentioned a plywood piece in the bottom of a tub would strengthen it pretty well. But I would wonder about the handles and stuff over time. With a cooler the handles are built to handle the weight for a while, but cheap coolers are something I consider disposable since I break them now and then. |
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Quoted:
Thanks I will try to find it in the archives. I saved the page Here is the title "'Action Packer' Coleman Power Inverter Project w/Pics " Posted :: 7/20/2006 9:17:15 PM EDT It was in the old suvival forum before the board change, I didn't find it in the archive. I can e-mail you a zip of it. IM me your address. Here are the pics: 
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I sent you an IM and that is what I had in mind. That even looks like the small box.
I could just make a box out of plywood as well and certainly that way I could focus on buying the best battery I can afford and then build the container based on the size of what I need to put in there. Obviously the batteries are the most expensive part of this project costing quite a bit more then even the solar panels on an individual basis. |
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One design flaw pointed out in the thread are the bare bus bars exposed on top of the tote.
Those connect directly to the batteries and are in a very handy place for shorting across! I want to put something like this together to run my fridge in a power outage so I can use the genny for other things. I ran the fridge for 20 days plugged into a P3 monitor and it averaged right at 60W/hr. So I figure at 12V I need ~5A/Hr or ~120AHr for a day's run, recharging daily. Which means I need two 120+AHr batteries. I think those are larger than these Group 24s, ~75AHr. I kind of like the cooler idea. I think the insulation would help for colder climates anyway. Might hurt in the heat. |
I am going to look at some coolers and measure the inside dimensions of a few. No, I am not thinking about the riding coolers 
But a battery train might be fun: 
Instead, something perhaps like this: 
or 
or maybe even this: 
Or perhaps something more extreeme 
http://www.cunninghamliving.com/ProductImages/outdooricechests/ATC165%20Large%20.jpg 70Qt All-Terrain Cooler here: http://www.igloo-store.com/product_detail.asp?T1=IGL+ATC+70&HDR= 100Qt All-Terrain Cooler here: http://www.igloo-store.com/product_detail.asp?T1=IGL+ALLTERRAIN+100&HDR= Other sizes: http://www.igloo-store.com/product_list.asp?HDR=search&SEARCH=all-terrain That would make the cooler an expensive addition to the project but pneumatic tires sure would make loarding/unloading, and moving the unit a whole lot easier 
Of course, if I just listened to advise above I could also buy something like the following kit: 
http://www.gemplers.com/product/G44500/Pneumatic-Wheel-Wagon-Assembly And build a dedicated cart that could handle upto 1000-lbs and if I really wanted insulation I could insulate the walls of the unit with rigid foam 
My head is starting to hurt 
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