POWER: (batts, cables, inverters, chargers) Show your Setup.

[turbodog]

The anderson connectors are available at www.towerhobbies.com

You may have to search under "powerpole" though.

FYI, they are reusable. You can slip a knife blade under the contact and remove it. Then you can de/resolder a new wire into it. I've got some that are ~15 years old and have had the wires replaced a half-dozen times.

 

[turbodog]

Yup, powerpole.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD177&P=7

A hundred-pack.

 

[TorchBoy]

That's quite an impressive pile of stuff John. It makes me feel like I was camping light (no pun intended) a couple of weeks ago.

I had a Xantrex XPower 300W inverter (built in 20Ah SLA) with a couple of 23W CFLs, a four way power strip and a 7 metre (I think) extension lead. 12 AA NiMH, 16 AAA NiMH, with MH-C9000 charger and another rather generic charger that doesn't reject old NiMH cells. Soldering iron and bits too. Also a 100W 6V spotlight and a home made 12V air mattress inflator. And a solar shower.

 

[jtice]

I typically dont charge more than a single Li-Ion on the Triton,
unless it is one of my 2, 3, or 4 Cell Li-Ion packs that I have made.
That clamp was setup just for one cell really.

The thing is, the Triton is only a single channel charger, unless you KNOW all the cells are at the same state of charge, you shouldnt charge more than one at a time on the Triton.
You would want to balance the cells first.

Thanks for the comments guys,
as I said, alot of my gear is overkill, but thats "just right" in my book

~John

 

[jtice]

Ian, that powerpack you have sounds nice, I have been thinking about getting something like that for a while, I should start a thread asking about those.

I had my eye on this one the other day.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E6LEIC/?tag=cpf0b6-20

~John

 

[TorchBoy]

This is the one I got - at about half price, too. It cost only about as much as a 300W inverter alone, but also has a 20Ah battery, twin 4W fluro tubes, and 250psi air compressor all built in, plus jumper leads that plug into one end. It's a fantastic device, and definitely well worth it for the use I've had. It even came in handy a couple of months back when my car battery suddenly died during the weekend. It kept me mobile until I could get a new battery on Monday morning.

My only niggle (apart from its capacity, power rating etc) is that mains plugs don't plug into the inverter outlet tightly, so I often use a bungy cord to keep the plug securely in place when using that feature.

 

[jtice]

Ian,

That looks like a nice unit also.
I have a small air compressor, so I have that covered.
I went ahead and ordered the one I linked to. I think I will get alot of use out of it,
I do a good bit with my other inverters, and there are times I dont want to bother with the larger heavier generator.

I probably wont get it till right before my vacation, so it might be a couple weeks before I can give a report on it.

~John

 

[Dodge]

Brits might be interested to know that the one Torchboy links to is sold here as the Halfords Power Pack 200. Costs £75, though sometimes on special offer. I have one, and it's a great device.

 

[Gary]

Okay, John has inspired me to clean up my mess. I stole the clamp idea and attached the charger, power supply and clamp to a piece of plywood. Voila (here comes my first attempt at including a picture):



It seems to work well, but obviously needs to have the leads shortened a little.

-Gary

 

[jtice]

Nice job Gary,
heh, I need to clean mine up, its basically just laying on the floor.
But its a concrete floor, so I should be ok.

I have thought about buying a second Ultrafire charger, and gutting it, using it as a cell holder, seeing how it has spring loaded contacts, that should work well.
The clamp can be a PITA at times.

~John