First quick overview of an almost finished project. Still needs wired. The Xbox build for my sons sixth birthday will follow shortly. This is a Black and Decker 2 amp charger, and for $20, it is ready to handle charge, float, etc on almost any type of lead-acid battery configuration. This is my second one. I use them for the kids electric ride-on toys also. They work well on the small AGM batteries.
I’m planning on adding holes for air flow through the inverter in the back of the box. I’ve tested the inverter as well as the USB ports for charging a phone. It’s not as efficient, power-to-weight wise, as a small lithium based battery bank, but I consider that to be a theft deterrent! Nobody will want to run down the street carrying a 20 lb box! I’ve added a handle and lid latch, which I will demonstrate in another video. It’s working well now, with the full configuration nearly complete. It’s a fun little project and with about 144 watt battery (just about a 1/3 of the Goal Zero Yeti 400 and almost the same as the Yeti 150). In fact, this is essentially like a Yeti 150, but the modified sine wave inverter on this will support up to 300 watts, although that would smoke the battery in about 20 minutes (figuratively, not literally I hope) at that high of a discharge rate. Still the extra surge of this unit might come in handy.
One use I thought of was to recharge my parents mobility scooters if they run the battery down. At 20 lbs, they could bring this with them and use it to give them a “reserve” fuel tank for their scooter. However, I’m not sure if the scooters pull too much power from the inverter during a charge. It could also be kept in a car, as a mobile (in the car) but permanent (stays in the car) charging system for the back of a van or truck or SUV that doesn’t have high-output AC plugs already built in (or USB charging docks). If you put a 10W solar charger in the window, you could keep it topped up and ready for a road trip. It should be able to charge a couple tablets and smart phones while traveling.
Post time: Jul-01-2017