Home electric power bank system

[NW-Bound]

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Originally Posted by finnski1 found this much on their web site "Battery Details Cell chemistry: Li-ion NMC Pack capacity: 6071Wh (10.9V, 556Ah) Single Cell Equivalent Capacity: 1668Ah @ 3.6V Pack Lithium Content: 500g Lifecycles: 500 Cycles to 80% capacity (Discharge rate: 1C, Full charge/discharge, Temp: 25C) Shelf-life: Charge every 3-6 months Management system: MPPT charge controller" ETA; Better yet here is the full pdf data sheets https://www.goalzero.com/media/files...s-159-0a5b.pdf

Thanks. I looked elsewhere but their Web site.

Anyway, I would much prefer LFP cells. They have a typical life of 2000 cycles to 80% capacity degradation, instead of 500 cycles.

And you can buy CATL cells prepackaged in an enclosure with an intergral BMS.

In case people do not know, Tesla is buying cells from CATL for the cars made in the Shanghai Tesla factory.

[Fermion]

The NMC cells are quite safe and they have a higher energy density than LFP, which is most likely why Goal Zero is using them (the LFP are cheaper). I imagine though that eventually most things will switch to LFP except maybe power tools.

It is just on the edge of portable at 69 pounds. If it were LFP maybe it would be 80 pounds? Not sure.

I have had the older version 3000 for three years now and it still seems to have about 97% capacity after 300+ cycles. Not sure if the life expectancy drop-off is not linear or if they were being very conservative with their 500 cycle life.

[meierlde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountainsoft I've mentioned this before, but you have to balance the backup power cost with the item you are backing up. We are on a private well, so when our power goes out we lose our water supply too. I have thought about setting up a battery backup for the pump or getting a generator, but again that's a huge cost for a rare event. We found it cheaper to just buy several gallon jugs of bottled water ($5-10 depending on how many you want) and store them as needed. We can use them for drinking, flushing toilets, or washing up. If I was really serious about it, I could get a large water tank to store huge quantities of water.

Actually for flushing etc you can buy 6 gal water jugs for about $15 at walmart. Use them for toilet flushing etc, as even with a 1 gal flush toilet it will take a lot of jugs a day. Where I uaed to live on a small water system the water used to go out, and this allowed toilet flushes for a good while. (the house is on an non aerobic septic system, so it won't back up if the power is off at the sewage plant)

[mountainsoft]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meierlde Actually for flushing etc you can buy 6 gal water jugs for about $15 at walmart. Use them for toilet flushing etc, as even with a 1 gal flush toilet it will take a lot of jugs a day.

Depending on how full our pressure tank is when the power goes out, we usually have about 10-20 gallons or so left in the tank. That's good for 5-10 flushes or so.

I also keep a couple of 5 gallon water jugs out in the pump house for emergencies (with a tiny bit of bleach to keep them from going bad). In a pinch, that's another 5 flushes. Unfortunately, 5 gallons of water is rather heavy, and probably a bit much for my wife to carry down to the house and pour into the toilet tank herself.

I recently bought a few 1 gallon jugs of water to keep in the bathroom cabinet. They're easy to carry and a couple of those will refill the 1.6 gallon tank easily. That's good for another couple of flushes or so.

Of course, when the power goes out we often ration flushes anyway. There's no reason to dump 1.6 gallons of water just for a little urine. Skipping a flush or two doesn't hurt anything, and with two toilets in the house we can stretch that out a while too.

Despite all my prepping, we have never actually used any of our water jugs. I filled the 5 gallon jugs in the pump house back in 2014 and we haven't used them yet, despite several long power outages.

[iazona1]

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Originally Posted by Tailgate No recent mentions on my forum searches about power banks. Looking for a battery home backup system (not gas or solar) that can deliver some power during short periods of outages. TV, fan, frig, lamps and other small appliances are only appliances that we might use, so it should be fairly portable and not installed in-line with the home wiring. Have seen some units ranging from 1k to 3k price range that look promising, but I don't know how to really evaluate them. Most brands are not familiar or have other mainstream products that are well known for quality. Lots of YouTube and online reviews are helpful, but I'm hoping someone on the forum has some expertise that can point me in the right direction. Sorry for the ramble... TIA for your advice.

https://youtu.be/-LoxwibW0Ds

This YouTube video might work for you. Short review of what I believe to be the best kept secret for generators that would meet your needs and then son. Lots of other reviews on it too. Sounds like what you are after. I have 3 20lb tanks for LP. 1 is for grill, 1 backup for grill, and one designated just for the generator. I will only use fuel in an emergency. As you will see in the video, the LP outweighs fuel/gas in many ways. #1 is storage. You can throw an LP tank in the corner of a shed in almost any weather conditions and it will work fine when needed. Gas needs rotated and treated as it will rot and can cause engine damage, mainly to the carb. Comes complete with everything you need but the cords. Good Luck!!! iazona 1

[corn18]

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Originally Posted by iazona1 https://youtu.be/-LoxwibW0Ds This YouTube video might work for you. Short review of what I believe to be the best kept secret for generators that would meet your needs and then son. Lots of other reviews on it too. Sounds like what you are after. I have 3 20lb tanks for LP. 1 is for grill, 1 backup for grill, and one designated just for the generator. I will only use fuel in an emergency. As you will see in the video, the LP outweighs fuel/gas in many ways. #1 is storage. You can throw an LP tank in the corner of a shed in almost any weather conditions and it will work fine when needed. Gas needs rotated and treated as it will rot and can cause engine damage, mainly to the carb. Comes complete with everything you need but the cords. Good Luck!!! iazona 1

That particular Champion is one of the most popular for RVers. Many great reviews.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by corn18 That particular Champion is one of the most popular for RVers. Many great reviews.

It is frequently sold at Costco, too. So, you get all the benefits of Costco if you buy it there. Costco also sells a Firman brand with similar features.

[Jeb-NY]

A friend bought a few, over time, smaller EcoFlo units that he scatters around the house in a power failure. I bought a 2KW unit and did some rewiring at the power panel so I could power the circuits I wanted.
https://ecoflow.com

I also have 3 CyberPower 1500 UPS units on critical equipment that I don't want to go down immediately. I switch to back up battery power if the power is off for more than a few minutes and I'm not sleeping. When the 2KW battery starts getting low I fire up a 2KW Honda inverter generator and charge the EcoFlow. The EchoFlow has more surge power than the generator so it levels out the start up spikes and you can set the charge rate you want the EcoFlow to charge at, unless I'm pulling a lot on average I can pick a charge rate that doesn't run the generator at full speed so it is quieter and uses less gas. Are normal use in a power out situation is less that 1 KW/hr, obviously it could go lower but we can pretty much go on with our normal routine at that pull.