RE: Battery Generators - I'm not trying to be discouraging, but do the math on what you're using it for.
Posted by
colin (aka colinski)
Oct 9 '24, 15:08
|
Fridges have a Lock Amp Rating that's significantly higher than the operational rating. If your battery can't provide that, the compressor will not kick on at all and it won't run, even if there is plenty of reserve power. Same with an AC unit.
Other devices are made for constant AC power - electric heaters are very inefficient and are converting electricity to heat in most cases.
ECOFLOW 3600 Wh is $2,000. A $800 3500W generator will produce as much energy as that has stored EVERY HOUR on probably a half-gallon of gasoline.
I understand in Andie's case, you can't have a gas generator. Consider a battery as a single use device - it needs full sun for hours to get its charge back, which is generally not happening in severe weather events. Those are made to be charged by an AC outlet. Even if you got the $2000 battery, it will run a heater for 2 hours, might not be able to start a fridge (but will run it for longer) and will be dead after that.
Do get batteries to be able to charge your phones, laptops, and other electronics. That's a good move. If you need heat, go LP, if you need cooling, you're kind of out of luck without running a gasoline or LP generator, and even then that's a small window unit. Fridge is a tossup depending on the LAR. You could always get a smaller fridge, pack that with stuff you don't want to get spoiled, and that's how becoming a prepper gets started. :)
I'm happy to chat about this - we off grid in an RV and I do a lot with solar and generator power. DC-powered devices are very efficient, but they can be expensive. I have a fridge/freezer that can run for about 5 months on a 45lb LP tank, but they are also expensive and small.
|
Responses:
|
