87 Portable and Emergency Power Systems

87 Portable and Emergency Power Systems

Many customers are looking for portable systems

for use in emergency situations as well as for travel

and camping.

We do not sell complete systems but stock many of

the components needed to assemble one.

There are basically two types of systems.

The first has a battery or batteries that are kept charged with

a battery charger and is for use where you power will be restored

in a short period of time or for travel use.

These systems can be recharged with a battery charger at home

or work as well as by using the 12 volt power outlet / lighter

receptacle in your vehicle.

The second has a battery or batteries that are kept charged with

a solar panel(s) and possibly a battery charger if desired .

The advantage of this type of system is that if power is not

restored quickly you can keep the battery charged for long

periods of time with the solar panel(s).

This makes for a portable system that can also be used in the field

or at a cabin where there is no utility power available.

We will break a system down into its major and minor

components.

The Battery:

For any situation where the battery, or batteries, will be stored in a living

area we can only recommend using a sealed battery.

AGM (absorbed glass mat) or gel cell batteries will fulfill this requirement.

A "sealed" automotive battery is not safe for use indoors.

Due to high shipping costs, batteries should be purchased locally.

The Battery Box:

We recommend using battery boxes made by QuickCable as they are

durable and well designed.

Depending on the size of the battery and box you may have room inside

the box to mount and store cords, plugs, adapters and a small battery

charger or solar charge controller.

The following link will take you to the battery boxes we stock:

80 Wire & Cable Gauges and Information

You can mount lights as well as power outlets on these battery boxes.

The Battery Charger:

For large batteries we recommend using an IOTA Engineering battery charger

as they will quickly bring a battery up to full charge, and when used with the

IQ4 Smart Charge Control, keep your battery topped off and ready to use at all

times.

For quality small battery chargers to maintain and slowly recharge your batteries

we recommend using the Battery Tender system of chargers.

We use these ourselves but no longer stock them.

The Solar Panel / Photovoltaic Module:

As many of you know, we no longer sell solar panels. We

recommend that you purchase name brand panels as in an

emergency or portable system you can not afford problems.

Please call us at (562) 423-4879 for availability and pricing.

The Solar / Photovoltaic charge controller:

For most portable applications we would recommend using the

Morningstar SunGuard charge controller.

It is rated at 4.5 amps / 12 volts and is small enough to be mounted

just about anywhere.

We do not stock this item.

For larger systems we stock a wide range of charge controllers which

are listed by brand name or type on our home page.

The Outlets and Connections:

We stock lighter plug receptacles and plugs as well as two pole SAE

connectors.

I suggest using one of these methods for all of your wiring connections

as in an emergency situation everything should be "plug-n-play" without

the use of any tools.

The also makes for an easier to use system when a portable power

system is used for travel and camping.

We also stock extension cords and adapters for low voltage use.

The following link will take you to our selection of in-stock plugs, cords

and adapters:

73 SAE Connectors, Plugs, Sockets & Cords

The Lighting Items:

When using a portable power system we can only recommend flurescent

and LED lighting products.

This is due to their high light output in relation to their low energy consumption.

For a large amount of light with a moderate power draw the following links

will take you to our line of low voltage led lights:

10 Thin-Lite Emergency Survival Disaster LED lights

19 A - LED Lighting by Thin-Lite

We especially recommend the Flexcharge NITE STICK for portable

and emergency applications.

For lower light levels, but with very high efficiency (longer run times on your

battery), the following link will take you to our line of low voltage LED lights:

17 Bogart Engineering SC-2030 Solar Charge Controller

The Connections:

These can easily set up for use in an emergency or portable power system by

using clamp-on floodlights

which are available for around six dollars at most home improvement centers.

You can use a lighter plug adapter which accepts a standard two-prong

household plug

for use in a vehicle lighter / power outlet as well as with our wall receptacles

which can be mounted in the side of a battery box.

OR replace the plug with an SAE connector.

light duty SAE connector

heavy duty SAE connector

An SAE connector will mate with another connector as well as plug into

the RV Roof connector shown below.

The RV Roof connector can easily be mounted in the side of

a battery box.

For high amp draw applications, and superior connections, you may want to

consider using Anderson SB connectors which we stock in 50, 175 and

350 amp sizes.

These can also be surface mounted to a battery box using the

two holes in the connector body.

The following link will take you to the Anderson SB connector

page in our website:

67 Anderson SB Connectors

The Inverter:

In some applications you may want to run a radio or televison

that will not operate on low voltage d.c.

For some loads you may be able to use inexpensive (disposable)

inverters.

If you need an inverter for life support equipment (e.g. oxygen concentrators

or ventilators) we can only suggest using the best and most reliable available.

It seems obvious, but a few years ago we received a call from a man whose

wife had a sleeping disorder and used a machine which woke her up

when she stopped breathing.

He wanted the cheapest inverter that would power this device.

I could only suggest that he look elsewhere.

Parts List Worksheet:

You may want to print out this form to use when determining what

items you need for your system.

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