Originally Posted by
lordmorgul
Do some research on what ham radio battery and solar setups typical use in customized ammo boxes. I’d recommend a 12V LifePo4 battery setup with a solar charge controller, AC charger option for when you have fuel for generator, and an inverter to run the AC or better yet construct a DC input for the machine. You may want to have one used normally and a second machine configured for 12V if you’re looking for the duplication for redundancy and alternatives for power source in a disaster.
I have setup a 50Cal ammo box with 3 10Ah LifePo4 batteries inside that have internal battery management system electronics (3 so there is redundancy if one fails others get recharged without the failed one). To that box I added a Bioenno solar charge controller, Thornwave Labs PowerMon for Bluetooth charge and use monitoring, USB outputs, 12V outputs, 120W Bioenno solar panel (suitcase style two panels folded together). This is heavy so not a back-packing setup, but it will work great for camping, emergency radio Comms, charging laptops and cellphones, etc.
Once you’ve setup one of these the advantage of being able to reconfigure, replace batteries, insert other adapters, etc is way better than the product being offered by GoalZero or other solar generator companies. They are making commodity products and selling on trend, they will not stand up to hard use, and some are using either Sealed LeadAcid, AGM or Li Ion batteries rather than the far superior and safer LifePo4 technology.
Andrew - Lancaster, CA
NRA Life Member, CRPA member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / FPC / CCRKBA / GOA / NAGR / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member - Support your defenders!
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