Charging away from 110v

[Michael_Crouse]

I wanted to start a new thread on this, to quote Warren

"Over time you will want to explore options for how to expand your battery power for longer kayak camping trip. I have solutions for that issue as well. But, let's take it one step at a time."

Here's a thread from West Coast Paddler, yea I guess I borrowed their title

http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5526&start=0

Here's a new device that just came out

http://powertrekk.com/

Of course their are also ample "power packs" you can buy, but without a way to recharge them on the trail they don't seem like a great option although they might be the cheapest way to go.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Joos and the waterproof bag but other suggestions and observations are welcome, after all that's why I'm posting this!

[rfolster]

https://powertraveller.com/iwantsome/primatepower/powermonkeyextreme/ has been on my wish list for a long time. It is a solar charger that happens to be waterproof for 30 minutes at 1 meter. I don't know if it is salt-water tolerant, but thought was that it would be good for expedition paddling to leave at camp to charge up during day paddles (base-camping only), or to charge while on the deck of the kayak (hence the salt-water question). Holds a (supposedly) large enough charge that you may not need to recharge during most trips.

[EEL]

The Joos is a quality piece of gear, but is a bit big and heavy if you just need to charge a smartphone. If I had a collection of gadgets I thought I needed on a trip, then it would be my choice based on using one for a year or two in a variety of settings. I picked up a small solar charger/Lion battery pack at a hamfest for around $15 for charging my cellphone and and a ham HT. It works OK, but it does not have the protective circuits the Joos does so requires some operator care. It, cables and cell phone all fit easily in a Pelican 1040 case. Not that I really need the charger on trips of 5 days or less, but then I don't take many gadgets either.

I don't care what they claim for waterproofness, I would never expose this type of device to saltwater. The odds of the jacks corroding even if there is not water ingress to the internals is too great. Of course I'm just paranoid about such stuff.

Ed Lawson

[Doug]

I have this Mophie external device: http://www.mophie.com/juice-pack-powerstation-PRO-smartphones-tablets-p/2028_jpu-pwrstion-pro.htm

It charges my iPhone 5, 4 times (or) ipad 1 full charge.

I also have this iPhone case by Mophie that claims up to 120% charge. I've fully charged my iPhone one full charge with a tiny bit left in this juice pack so their claim is factual. http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-plus-iPhone-5-p/2110_jpp-ip5-blk.htm

I always need to be connected. Very happy with these products. Purchased them through my Verizon store that offered a money back guarantee for a period of time so I had nothing to lose by making this initial purchase.

As an added note: I also have a set of alligator clips with a cigarette type lighter attachment on it that I purchased at Radio Shack for car camping. I can't charge from my car unless its running so this option is a good one unless you drive off with your phone attached under the hood, yikes!

Doug

[...]

Clearly, there are many options to consider. For me, I chose the Jackery Bar 5600mAh External Battery Pack. (List price of approximately $39.00 on Amazon.) So far it works really well. Will do more field testing this summer/fall/winter.

Warren

[gyork]

A bit puzzled why a fully-charged electronic device wouldn't suffice for a 5-day trip when used sparingly (that's the kicker I suppose?).

[Michael_Crouse]

"used sparingly" is the key phrase

Their are new VHF radios, GPS, etc... that have rechargeable batteries via USB. I think this will be a good thing in the long run, sort of like making sure all your flashlights use AA batteries.

Doug- I have the Mophie case, it's great for a long day at work or a conference but for a long trip for some reason I have it in my head to be disconnected, at least from power lines.

Ed - I bought a cheap charger without a regulator, the battery pack is now dead from over charging. Also the thread at WCP has some nice pics of the Joos in a case on the back deck.

Maybe a battery pack will be the short term solution.

[Doug]

A bit puzzled why a fully-charged electronic device wouldn't suffice for a 5-day trip when used sparingly (that's the kicker I suppose?).

Today's modern "smart-phones" use a tremendous amount of power to operate. Most people leave many apps open that continuously drain the batteries life. I suggest finding out how to close these apps on ones phone to extend battery life. GPS locating apps in particular drain batteries the most.

[EEL]

Michael:

I too think there is value in having charging ports being either the micro or mini USB jack although that in turn requires redesign of radios to operate on lower voltages. My little ham radio HT which serves as a backup Marine VHF radio has a low voltage battery to enable USB charging. The only downside is the potential for corrosion of the jack which can prevent or make spotty charging.

The problem I have with my little solar charger is that given its size the battery is relatively small and without protective circuits it will discharge too far when charging a device even if in sunlight which in turn stops the whole system. It is then dysfunctional until the battery is charged again which is problematic on a trip. So I have to be careful how long I charge anything.

I don't see the value of battery packs for this application as in trips over five days. For a quick recharge when electrical service will soon be available they do make sense.

The Joos is a really nice unit and that report indicates it will keep many devices running on a long trip.

I think this thread shows how once you start relying on certain devices, you then have follow up issues about keeping them running. Which means more stuff to worry about and take along. And, as Doug said, some are not designed to be away from chargers for long and the ability to control their energy use can be limited or tricky to accomplish unless you totally power them down.

Ed Lawson

[bob budd]

... redesign of radios to operate on lower voltages...

Without regard to a (small) increase in cost the USB voltage (+5V) does not explicitly determine the ability to charge a battery as this can be accomplished either by design of the battery pack (circuitry) or charger (boosting the 5V as needed). The limits instead are the power available from USB (2.5W) and thus the current and resulting charging time required to restore the batteries. Note also that radio reception fundamentally requires a certain amount of power and thus is not generally well served by reducing operating voltage.

[EEL]

At the risk of getting too far afield, it is true one is not limited to the 5 v supplied by the USB port in terms of the voltage a charger could deliver when powered by a USB port. However there are other issues and the reality is every radio I have seen/used which can be charged from a USB port uses a 3.7 v battery while most handhelds in the recent past have used a 7.4V battery. So I suspect future designs which are made to be charged via USB will be designed to operate from a 3.7V battery as it just makes life easier as in simpler and less costly to produce the radio.

Of course, my crystal ball has a mixed track record.

Ed Lawson

[NateHanson]

I use an iPhone-sized battery pack with integrated solar charger (labeled "XTG"). By keeping the phone off except when checking weather a couple times each day, and an occasional phone call, I get 3 days out of the phone. Then I can charge the phone fully from the battery, and recharge the battery pack in my chart case over a sunny day of paddling.

My VHF lasts weeks without losing charge (icom M72).

I haven't been fortunate enough to take a trip that's longer than a week, so more elaborate charging hasn't been necessary for me.

[josko]

For the campers among us, the Biolite twig stove is an interesting charging option; http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

You have to feed it twigs occasionally, but it does provide the USB charger with a full 5W

[Doug]

For the campers among us, the Biolite twig stove is an interesting charging option; http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

You have to feed it twigs occasionally, but it does provide the USB charger with a full 5W

That is a really cool device.

Doug

[jason]

... redesign of radios to operate on lower voltages...

Without regard to a (small) increase in cost the USB voltage (+5V) does not explicitly determine the ability to charge a battery as this can be accomplished either by design of the battery pack (circuitry) or charger (boosting the 5V as needed). The limits instead are the power available from USB (2.5W) and thus the current and resulting charging time required to restore the batteries. Note also that radio reception fundamentally requires a certain amount of power and thus is not generally well served by reducing operating voltage.

The 2.5W limit has been updated to be much larger than 2.5W depending on the source. An IPAD uses a 2.1 amp charging off of a type A USB port (Not all type A ports support 10.5 Watts). USB3 is to support up to 100Watts.

[bob budd]

The 2.5W limit has been updated...

Yes but you are not guaranteed more on a given device, especially a run-of-the-mill PC or USB expander. Beyond that you don't know if the charger will take longer than expected given the reduced capacity or ask for excess capacity resulting in a shutdown. At this point you don't know what you are going to get which is probably worse than the 2.5W limit.