As mentioned above I don’t live close to the property so I will not be leaving anything of value behind so it must be as portable as possible.
Newb looking for advice on portable system to charge cordless tool batteries
- Thread starter autobon7
- Start date
Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
Fair point. At least use a tote with wheels then, depending on how many batteries you use it can get heavy quick!
Ahh, that changes things.
For portability, personally, I'd build a hand truck kit, with 100Ah LFP and an inverter.
If you did the charging in your vehicle, it can all remain there.
Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
Step 1: Figure out the loads required. Check!
Step 2: Figure out what parts you need to accomplish Step 1.
Step 3: Assemble all the parts into the most convenient and cool looking package possible.
Step 4: Show off to yourfriends Forum! 
Step 2: Figure out what parts you need to accomplish Step 1.
Step 3: Assemble all the parts into the most convenient and cool looking package possible.
Step 4: Show off to your
Yeah, my sprinter van has a shelf dedicated to chargers and is fed by an onboard inverter connected to a 100Ah LFP battery, I'm planning to add solar panels to the roof, but so far, I just swap out the battery to my home array when it gets low.
Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
How many batteries can your Staples truck recharge though?
Just for the sake of comparison what generator would you recommend that is reliable, fairly cheap, quiet, etc? I have looked at the Weize 200 watt kit mentioned above and that seems pretty enticing. If I went that direction Id need recommendations on an inverter and whatever else is needed (battery/batteries, etc)
Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
OK, since you've gotten practice now with the math, let's go with 600w of inverter. Next questions:
1: How long does it take to recharge those batteries?
2: How many times a day do you guesstimate you'll need to recharge those batteries? Once a day? Twice a day?
3: Do you have anything you'd like to run off the system at night when you're not actively cutting wood like lights or a hot plate or anything?
This is all stuff you find out when you do a power audit and yes, a lot of time it's a Wild Ass Guess for some of the numbers.
Example of what we're trying to figure out:
You have to run your 600w inverter to charge all your batteries and it takes 4 hours to top them all off because you ran them dry this morning. That equates to 600w * 4hr = 2400Wh of battery.
You came out in summer and had a really long work day and found that by lunch you'd drained all your batteries down kicking ass on the framing. Now you need ANOTHER 4 hours to charge up your batteries, so 4800Wh of battery.
So now it's time to call it a night because the stupid sun is going down and you want some LED lights to see by all night. You pick up a sting of lights calling for 12w and you want to run those from 10pm to 7am the next morning. That's 12w * 9Hr = 180Wh bringing your total up to about 5000Wh. A bog standard LFP battery is good for 1200Wh so you'd need at least 4 batteries a day to top up all your tools and keep the lights on at night.
As far as generators go, I'm gonna go ahead and say it. I LOVE my HF 2Kw inverter generator! It sips gas and is about the same noise as any other 2Kw generator out there. The only disadvantage is that it's gas only. If you want fuel that lasts forever in the tank go propane and grab a Champion or Honda, although the Honda doesn't really seem worth the extra cash over a Champion. For your needs a 1Kw unit would be plenty if you didn't want anything like a hot plate or air conditioner or anything. One advantage of a generator is that even the smaller units will be cheaper than what a solar system is going to cost by a LONG shot and it gives you more wattage to work with per dollar. Propane never goes bad either which is a plus when you're away from the property for long periods of time and are storing gas in cans.
Sadly, silent portable power is pricy. I picked up one of the little plastic garden sheds and just left 1 wall off and put my genertor in there. It helps with the noise significantly and keeps the rain off.
1: How long does it take to recharge those batteries?
2: How many times a day do you guesstimate you'll need to recharge those batteries? Once a day? Twice a day?
3: Do you have anything you'd like to run off the system at night when you're not actively cutting wood like lights or a hot plate or anything?
This is all stuff you find out when you do a power audit and yes, a lot of time it's a Wild Ass Guess for some of the numbers.
Example of what we're trying to figure out:
You have to run your 600w inverter to charge all your batteries and it takes 4 hours to top them all off because you ran them dry this morning. That equates to 600w * 4hr = 2400Wh of battery.
You came out in summer and had a really long work day and found that by lunch you'd drained all your batteries down kicking ass on the framing. Now you need ANOTHER 4 hours to charge up your batteries, so 4800Wh of battery.
So now it's time to call it a night because the stupid sun is going down and you want some LED lights to see by all night. You pick up a sting of lights calling for 12w and you want to run those from 10pm to 7am the next morning. That's 12w * 9Hr = 180Wh bringing your total up to about 5000Wh. A bog standard LFP battery is good for 1200Wh so you'd need at least 4 batteries a day to top up all your tools and keep the lights on at night.
As far as generators go, I'm gonna go ahead and say it. I LOVE my HF 2Kw inverter generator! It sips gas and is about the same noise as any other 2Kw generator out there. The only disadvantage is that it's gas only.
If you want fuel that lasts forever in the tank go propane and grab a Champion or Honda, although the Honda doesn't really seem worth the extra cash over a Champion. For your needs a 1Kw unit would be plenty if you didn't want anything like a hot plate or air conditioner or anything. One advantage of a generator is that even the smaller units will be cheaper than what a solar system is going to cost by a LONG shot and it gives you more wattage to work with per dollar. Propane never goes bad either which is a plus when you're away from the property for long periods of time and are storing gas in cans.Sadly, silent portable power is pricy.
I picked up one of the little plastic garden sheds and just left 1 wall off and put my genertor in there. It helps with the noise significantly and keeps the rain off.littleharbor2
Solar Addict
The Firman brand of inverter generators sold at Costco are another consideration. They come in tri fuel models The 7500 watt model is on sale now for $699.99. They have a 3800 watt and a 2000 watt model also. The nice thing about them is their 3 year warranty and if needed Costco's return policy.