Portable Battery Systems - How I changed my mind and started loving them.

For a few seasons now I have had 400w of solar on the roof and 200Ah of Battleborn batteries inside my 25ft Flying Cloud, Why would I want a portable battery or a Solar generator?  It just did not make any sense to me.

 

We do most of our camping in the typical summer camping season, where we can harvest an endless amount of solar and we rarely take our gas generator with us. The factory inverter and the 12V system gives us all the outlets we need.

Then something changed, we started camping more in the shoulder seasons.

This Spring we started camping with the horses at sites with no infrastructure, typically in wooded areas around central Oregon. I packed the generator just in case. Good job I did as we did not harvest nearly the amount of solar I was expecting and our power usage was way up, due to a new Traeger and using the furnace more than planned as it was cold out.

 

I did not think much of it as we did this only a couple of times in the spring, then the days got longer, the sun higher and we were back to having more energy than we needed.

 

Around this time I started transitioning my yard equipment from gas to battery. Now this is key.

 

I ended up going with the Ryobi 40V line of equipment. Chainsaw, blower, weed eater, hedge trimmer – these are amazing tools and I gave away to friends my older gas versions. In no time I had a number of 40V batteries.

 

As I started looking at the extended line of 40V accessories I noticed a 1800W (~$800 with batteries) and a 300W (~$70)inverter was available, then I noticed there was also a 150W 18V (~$30) inverter. This was intriguing to me. A quick trip to Home depot and I had both the 40V 300W and the 18V 150W. The 1800W was more size and cost than I was ready for.

 

The wife went tent/horse camping without me and I sent her off with the 150W inverter and 2 6Ah batteries to keep her laptop and phone charged. When she got back she had only used around 50% of one battery. This summer she made a few trips without me and took the 150W inverter and one battery and was able to keep her and her friends tech charged all weekend.

While this was going on I decided to play with my Traeger Ranger - a portable pellet smoker. I hooked it up to the 300W Inverter with a 40V 4AH battery and was able to run it for nearly 4 hours. This was my lightbulb moment. I could use the 300W inverter with my 3 batteries while camping in the shoulder seasons.

 

Needless to say it has been a raging success. I am able to run my Traeger, outdoor speaker, some string lights and not worry about the house batteries and the furnace. This has proven to be a convenient addition to my electrical capacity without having to add another $1000 battery – which would solve my capacity issue but as you will see at a reduced flexibility.

 

I now keep the 150W 18v battery based inverter in the airstream too. I carry 2 6Ah and 2 4Ah batteries for a tire inflator, drill/driver, a couple of lights and a fan. This little inverter gets borrowed by our friends at night to charge their phones and laptops while we sleep and we do not have a pile of tech being charged in our dinette draining the house batteries.

 

Another pro for the portable battery is, well, it is portable. If we move from the campsite we can take it with us to keep speakers, lights, smoker or whatever else we may want to take for a day trip and not worry about power.  .

 

As an aside, a lot of the time when we are camping this way, I can take the 40V or 18V charger and I can find a place to plug it in to recharge/top off a battery or two and in a pinch I can use the built in inverter in my car as I am driving to charge them too.

 

 

 

Conclusion:

While I thought I had enough solar and battery capacity there are trips and days when I cannot harvest enough solar to meet our needs. In these scenarios I can use the 40V batteries from my yard tools or the 18V batteries from my shop tools to give us extra capacity. These batteries can easily be charged when I am driving my car or visiting a friend. 

 

Having a smaller portable source of power can be a useful bridge to accommodate power surges or solar dips while preserving the reserve in your house batteries and I already had the batteries sitting idle at home. You may have batteries idling in the same way, put them to work!

 

Please note, I bought these with my own money, no discount, no freebies, no endorsement. The links below are provided for your perusal. 

 

40V 300W Inverter

https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/46396026651

 

40V 1800W Inverter/charger

https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/46396023759

 

18V 150W Inverter

https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/46396026750

 

New 18V 150W Inverter/charger

https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/46396035356

Lessons learnt:

You can’t have too much power and usually other people will not have enough,

You probably already have batteries for your tools in the garage, see if there is an inverter accessory for them.

 

Things we bought:

Well, the inverters!

The Traeger Ranger – nice compact smoker

Upgraded the Weber Q100 to a Q200 as we seem to be the defector chefs for a larger group these days.

 

The summer has been long and hot here in the PNW.  We have spent about 20 nights in Eva between May and September, bringing the first year total to 55 nights!  

We have seen and done so much in Oregon, from the coast tot he mountains, from the Gorge to the high dessert.  It really has been a fab year.

Here are some stats from the first year:

Nights away: 55

Miles driven: 2800

Generator hours: 19

Not ground breaking numbers, but not bad for a couple that have full time jobs!

The fall has seen a few trips to central Oregon.  We have stayed at Paulina lake, Sunriver, Sisters and Bend.  We have another trip to bend in a couple of weeks too :)

Central Oregon has so much to offer, we really enjoy all the hiking around the Alpine lakes and the trail system around town is wonderfully diverse.  Each day seems to be capped by going to a brewery for a beer and great food.  I think the brewery count in Bend is up to 21 now, check for yourself at beermebend.com . Crux is my current favorite. 

We have also been stopping at the growler filling station in SW "Love handles" they have a good rotating selection and a loyalty scheme.  It also helps it is right next to "3 Goats" coffee, all part of the Brookswood Plaza.

I nearly forgot to mention the mountain bike trails are amazing too, I finally completed my vintage Klein rebuild and have taken it out on a few rides, so much fun!  I must confess, at 39 years old it is much harder to recover these days...

Finally I installed the Harmony remote.  We have had one in the house for years and recently upgraded to the "Ultimate" that controls lights and AC ..... The one in the airstream is a little simpler, but it has a hub and a repeater, so all the devices get to see the IR signal.  It was soo simple to set up and works perfectly first time! Even the wife approves. It is nice not to have 5 remotes floating around.

So here is the list to end the post:

Lessons Learnt:

It can be tricky to evenly distribute weight in the Airstream, you have to play close attention.

We are right up against the GAWR for the rear axel of the expedition when we are fully loaded with the generator, we have about 100lbs spare back there...  The front is fine, 300lbs spare.

Harmony remotes are still awesome!

Things we bought:

Water filter. The wife complained about the tea not tasting good at some campsites...

Fully stocked the bathroom so we don't keep packing our washrags from home.

Dyson vacuum, we kept forgetting to take the one from home!

New bedding! A nice set of Eddie Bauer flannel sheets, down comforter and a couple of down throws for when we are in the dinette watching TV!

Coat hooks, well a small rack of 3 hooks so we can hang coats and leashes out the way when wet.

In preparation.

Here we are again, after a few weeks of Eva being sat on the driveway we are finally ready to drag her to another fun location.

This time we are heading to central, well, south Oregon, to Paulina Lake. At this time I have to confess we had no idea where Paulina Lake is, or why anyone would go there. When our friends that live in Reno suggested going there it took us a fraction of a second to say “yep”. There are many interesting details that make this journey so, so cool , for us:

1. We get to hang out with our friends we do not get to see enough.
2. It is no hook ups, so we get to be self sufficient J
3. It will be hot. We think we have a “heat management” program in place for me and the hound. When I say “we” I mean my wife!
4. Paulina Lake is at about 6500ft and is a in the top of a volcano. Really. How cool is that!
5. There will be in total 9 people and 3 hounds camping out. We will be the only trailer, our friends will be in tents. It is the first time we have been “camping” with friends since we have had our Airstream. We have welcomed requests of sharing our fridge and grill. Just don’t ask to share my water!!! :)

There are a few details that still need to be worked out. I am in a total list mode – it has been one of those weeks:

1. Eva is going back to the dealer for the AC to be looked at again….
2. The stupid UFO TV antenna is being changed out for a King widget. Not that we are expecting to watch TV on this trip, but as we are having warranty work being done, may as well have this “fixed” too.
3. I still have not got the solar hooked up. No excuses here, I have everything…. Just need to make it happen.
4. Payload. Now this is a totally interesting one. I drove over some CAT scales and was, well, shocked. I have my rear axle maxed out, the front has about 400lbs spare and the trailer has approx. 1000lbs spare capacity. So yes, I am not correctly loaded!!!! I will be playing with hitch washers and load balancing this weekend
5. I just want both my lists to match…

We are a week out from the trip. Can’t wait to add another 4 nights to the years total :) (which is 35 nights fyi). The shopping continues, we have added the following to Eva’s inventory!

1. Dyson V6 cordless, as much as I shopped around, it had to be a Dyson in the end.
2. Patio rug thing, a smaller one at 6x9 but should be enough to keep the puppy happy.
3. Extendable brush to wash Eva with.
4. TV antenna. The UFO is just not good enough. We went with a King Jack Antenna. It can me rotated and has an inbuilt signal meter.
5. Magnetic knife rack, they were cluttering up the drawer!
6. Damn! This list is ruining my symmetry.
7. Silicon roll up drying mat. We had one previously but it was to thin so we got the Oxo one like we have in the house.
8. 3 hook rail. This is the kind of rail where the hooks fold away, now we have a place for coats and towels to hang out!
9. Fridge fan to improve air circulation, the bottom gets icy and top not so much.
10. “Snip the tip” fridge thermostat, hopefully this will offer us better temp control. Other people report back that it helps.
11. Logitech harmony “home control” remote. We have the “Ultimate” in the house and it is awesome. The “home control” should be perfect for Eva.

So there we are. A lot going on ahead of this trip. We are really, really looking forward to it. When we get back I will post some pics.

Some welcome mini upgrades!

This has been a fun week or so for our Airstream ownership.  Eva (our Airstream) got the following upgrades!

1.  The stupid fridge fan that makes noise and vibrate the entirety of the 7000lbs trailer was replaced with 3 Arctic F12 computer case fans.  They move more air, use less power, make no noise or vibration.  A good deal all round!

2.  The Parallax single stage converter/charger was removed and replaced with a Progressive Dynamics PD4655 4 stage charger converter.  No more worrying about whether the batteries are cooked or not.  This week will be the mandatory cell fluid level check.  I have distilled water, battery acid and a hydrometer..


3. The crappy plastic Furrion inlet covers were upgraded to stainless steel versions.  They look much, much better and are actually easier to use!

4.  The Peplink SOHO router/AP widget was installed.  Seems to be working well, but I will know for sure during the coming week. There will be a few posts this week about the SOHO and  a few other small upgrades on the way

1.  A switch for the fans.  This will be located on the inside Eav above the TV in the lounge.
2.  Battery maintenance...
3.  The Solar install. Maybe this week. Maybe not. So, kinda just maybe....

We managed another successful 3 night stay out at Pacific City, Back in May. We rolled up after work and our favorite pitch was available to us, this was a good start!

As we headed out after a full day of work and the wife was just back from her annual trip back to England, the evening was very low key!  We mostly talked about the plan for the weekend!

We were woken up by beautiful sunshine and the roar of the ocean. We had our morning coffee and breakfast while watching Tottenham draw against Southampton (yes I am London lad and I can’t miss a game!) – we were ready to put our plan in to place, a walk to the pub.

From our site it was half a mile to the beach, then a lovely walk south into the sun and paragliders!  We stopped at the top of the dune to enjoy the colorful display, and the good spirited humor of watching some beginners!  Before long, the calling of Pelican brewery drove us down the dune and into its embrace.

The walk was much shorter then I expected, 2.1miles from the Airstream to the pub.  With a 6-pack in hand we headed back to watch the fun at the top of the dune.

All in all, it was about a 3 hour/2 beer walk, very much a lot of fun!

Once we got back to the airstream we sat out in the sun and caught up with family over skype.  The wife wanted to head back to the beach to get the surfers at high tide/sunset,  this time she drove us!  I needed to get the growlers filled anyhow!

Luka and I found an abandoned fire, so we grab some drift wood and kept warm with the Doryman ale while the wife snapped away.

The only downside of this trip was our departure.  As we pulled away, I had left the front right stabilizer deployed… While it got nicely mangled, I managed to detatch it form the AS.  Something to fix when I get home…

Lessons learnt:

Make sure all the stabilizers are up before you pull away…

Beer tastes better at the source!

Things we bought:

Firewood!

Spring time swing time

March brought us many nights out at the coast and a couple up at the mountain.  We are really getting into the swing of things with the Airstream, it is such an enabler for us.

The down side is we had to book her in for some warranty work.. Airstream NW in Gladstone, OR were fabulous.  They took care of everything and even found time for a wash!

The list of warranty work was as follows:

1.  Vista window above dinette leaking in lower front corner. (Was actually the fantastic fan!)

2. There is an intermittent issue with the Thermostat.  When the CCC2 is off, you can push the "inside temp" button and get an accurate reading. But if you turn the CCC2 ON and then try the "inside temp" it will read 32F.  This results in the thermostatic control of temperature not functioning.  This typically occurred when it is raining.

3.  A water leak from the plumbing has started.  it is at the in coming water line under sink.

4. The main awning leaks at top middle, this appears to be from the joint of the material to the metal housing.

5. Rivet in bedroom closet falling out

6. Refrigerator fan vibrates the whole airstream.

7. Propane tank holder recall issue.

We managed to find time to replace the "horrible to use" Claion M502 AV unit with a more traditional and easy to use Furrion DV3100 unit.  I can highly recommend this unit.  It sounds clean, it is easy to use. has bluetooth and looks stylish to boot.  It does not have HD radio or HDMI, but these are things I can live without!

The dinette speakers got switch out for some nice Infinity units too, so all is sounding sweet.

We are about to rock out for another coast trip, so check in soon :)

Lessons learnt:

Stock stereos are still terrible.

All RVs leak!

Airstream NW are awesome to deal with!

All RVs leak!

Things we bought:

Furrion DV3100 AV unit

Infinity Reference speakers

Stanley stainless steal shot glasses

Glass floats at Lincoln City!

Shopping list:
Wallet is on hiatus while we catch up with were we are, but a proper converter is top of the list!

IT and electrics: fun, fun, fun...

While we are gearing up for a couple more trips, we had to adjust our schedule slightly.  The Mt Baker banked slalom has been postponed from Feb to March due to a lack of snow.  Our own dear Mt Hood is very low on snow too.  This means we have spent more time in town then planned.

Now, on the plus side we have made some real progress with the Airstream.  It has taken some time, a few adapters, but finally I have really, really good wifi J The Pepwave SOTG is connected to a 9.5” omni directional antenna on the roof.  This gives me excellent S/N. The key here was getting the correct adapter to join the N type male to the RP SMA…. I have forgotten already… but yes, the “reverse polarity male” connector on access points is odd…

Anyhow, this has had the added benefit of increasing the reliability of the apple TV that is now stashed behind the TV in the longue.  I need to tidy up the cables and secure the ATV in such a way it will see the remote from the dinette., probably facing skywards! The wifi speaker will be cracked out and tested – hopefully this will stay connected.

A little progress has been made with the solar set up.  I procured a 100W panel and a 20A MPPT controller from Renogy.  I sourced some beefy 8AWG cables from the Internet along with some SAE quick connects (not totally sold on these but should be fine with a single 100W panel).  From looking at the AS solar wiring diagram I can connect straight into the bus bars, stick a fuse or two inline (to be procured) and be in good shape.  The only issue is exiting the cable to the real world.  As this will be a portable set up, I will be going through the curbside cubby hole for now, it looks like there is enough play in the rubber gasket to pass a couple of AWG10 cable through on a dry day, but this is not a permanent solution.

Not IT related, but still exciting, the first run of the generator has gone well. The remote start is awesome, it powers up nice and runs quiet enough.  We managed to get free shipping, which on an 80lbs+ box is a good deal! This will eventually be converted to propane, but probably not till the summer. As we do not have a truck it will have to ride in the AS when we are travelling.  We will also have to keep a small can of gas in there, prob in the shower with the vent open.

We also got a good price on a propane grill, we have a few 1lb canisters to use up, but I do need to work out how to hook this up to the AS main tanks.

On a side note, I have also started the build of our vintage Klein mountain bikes.  Ultimately these will be a great aluminum addition to the AS!

Lessons learnt:

• External antennas are awesome!
• There is no point converting 12VDC to 120VAC and back to 15VDC…. Need a 12v DC power adapter for the 4G booster. Should be easy enough.
• Cables and adapters are confusing, lots of similar sounding stuff.. Read carefully and double check. Do not trust pictures online!
• Snow pack is not good in the PNW this year… but we should be able to take advantage of the clear roads and boondock in some resorts.
• The converter/charger supplied by AS is a boat anchor. It is well documented a single stage charger will cook your batteries…. and the inverter is not much better as it is very good at sucking all your power away to keep itself warm.  Both items are on deathwatch…
• Transporting gas is a giant pain in the butt if you have an SUV and not a truck…

Shopping list:

• DC-DC adapter for the 4G booster
• Converter/charger to replace the stock one.
• Tri-fuel conversion kit for the generator.
• Inverter to replace the stock one.