Generator Suggestons

[HOTWATER]

I have a freind that is a retired electrician and he says that those Honda generators (the 2000 watt ones in the above posts) are the best ones to buy. I asked him about the Generac or Honeywell ones and he just shook his head and said "nope, Honda is the best. One pull starts and they're quiet."

[d.a.v.e]

mm123521,
in this application, the battery supplies all the power you would need,
The panned would continuously charge the battery.
Lets do the math
So, lets just say you have a 4S, 5000 mha Lippo to charge.
4s*3.7Vnom*5000mha/1000 = 74 Wh-hrs,
Lets just say your lipo boat charger is 90% efficent...
74 Wh-hrs / 0.9 = 82.2 Wh-hrs, DC input to your charger.

the Pirus battery in this configuration is 12S10P, or 20 modules from the link
12*1.2*6.5*10 = 936 Wh-hrs

So if you dont charge the Priys battery at all,
you will get:
936 Wh-hrs / 82.2 Wh-hrs, = 11.4 times you could be able to charge on the stored energy in the prius battery alone.

Now, lets add a solar pannel:
68W for 1 hr = 68 W-Hr, and lets just say you get 80% of the rated capacity:
68 Wh*.8 = 54.4 W-Hr will be added to the battery every hr it sits in the sun, roughly 3/4 of a charge on this hypo theoretical set up.

For the money, given that 11 modules are $20, + $12 shipping, the cheapest option is order 3 sets of them!
you would have a 12S15P pack!
12*1.2*6.5*15 = 1404 Wh-hrs stored.

1404 Wh-hrs / 82.2 Wh-hrs, = 17 times you could be able to charge on the stored energy in the prius battery alone. Then just jumper it to your car, and let it run for 10 min, turn off your car, and your done!!

$60 bucks, and $12 shipping, and you have a 14.4V, 97 Ah battery!!!

So all the math here sounds good but.. The solution would be heavy & I would guess about half as good as proposed.

We have something similar to what he is recommending set up on our sailboat that is supposed to charge 2xbig marine batts I don't recall the size right now. It sort of works, if we are out it can keep my laptop & other instruments going for about 3 hours before one batt is dead. With just the instruments it can actually charge the batteries but when adding an inverter & med size laptop the solution goes backward.

Your better off with a gen that is portable and you can use in a variety of situations.

[bwells]

Once again, the Honda 2000 is it hands down but the big kicker is the heating pad for the Lipos. What about hanging them in front of the exhaust, they may come out a little stinky though. Just a thought.

[larryrose11]

Pretty crazy idea there...pretty cool too!! So tell me...besides hooking it up to your own car battery to charge it...what kind of charger can one use to charge it? Can it be charged at home with a Hyperion Duo II charger and power supply??

Yes, you could. I was thinking about this earlier! I would NOT use the NiMH setting though. I have lots of personal experience with these Prius modules. you dont ever want to go above 8.3V per module, so 2x = 16.6 V. Just use youer power supply set to 16.6 V open circuit, just don't go over 100A on charging it.

[larryrose11]

So all the math here sounds good but.. The solution would be heavy & I would guess about half as good as proposed.

We have something similar to what he is recommending set up on our sailboat that is supposed to charge 2xbig marine batts I don't recall the size right now. It sort of works, if we are out it can keep my laptop & other instruments going for about 3 hours before one batt is dead. With just the instruments it can actually charge the batteries but when adding an inverter & med size laptop the solution goes backward.

Your better off with a gen that is portable and you can use in a variety of situations.

For flexability, a generator would be better, but the solution I proposed is cheap, and reliable. From personal experience, you will ger 6 AH out of these modules if they are charged to 8.3V, or 16.6V in this case.
As for working half as well, that is because you were charging lead, which can suffer badly if they are left uncharged. Lead batteries are not that good for cyceling at all. Even with a modelt power draw, they will only give up about 75% of their rated energy. This is called the Peukert Effect.

Heavy? well each one is 1050g and has 6 cells in it. A pack 12S15P is 30 modules. 30*1.050*2.204 69.4 lb, about half of what a deep cycle marine battery would be of that capacity.

[mm123521]

larryrose11:

Those do look like interesting batteries, and cheep too.
I wonder if the used ones have much capacity left (they are 10 year old batteries)?
NMH does have advantages over lead acid.

Mark

[larryrose11]

larryrose11:

Those do look like interesting batteries, and cheep too.
I wonder if the used ones have much capacity left (they are 10 year old batteries)?
NMH does have advantages over lead acid.

Mark

That depends on if they were used outside of the OEM application, like we are talking. If they were just used in the OEM application, then th wors thing that happened to them was when they sat idle on the shelf.

BTW, you will need to exercise these batteries if ya get them, just to wake them back up. You would doo this by just cycling them 4-5 times or so, and they will be fine.
These Panasonic batteries are built like tanks.

[Brushless55]

larryrose11:

But that solar pannel costs $239 and only kicks out 68 watts. And thats only if the sun is shinning and the solar panel is aimed correctly.
Mike is looking for 10 times that much power.

Were you thinking to have all the energy you need for the lake stored up in the battery, then just use the solar panel to recharge the battery later?

Besides, those inverter gennerators are cool - they only run fast enough to keep up with the load, not full speed like other gennerators. That makes them Quiet and fuel efficent.

Mark

Yeah I think it says 4.1 amps

[longballlumber]

I have a freind that is a retired electrician and he says that those Honda generators (the 2000 watt ones in the above posts) are the best ones to buy. I asked him about the Generac or Honeywell ones and he just shook his head and said "nope, Honda is the best. One pull starts and they're quiet."

Hot,

You and I are on the same page. I was looking at the Generac and Honeywell models too. The price seems to be more tolerable, but I also understand the Hondas are "best in class". I don't know what is tougher; convincing the wife I need a $1000+ generator for my toy boats, or simply coughing up the dough!!!

Later,
Mike

[RandyatBBY]

Hot,

You and I are on the same page. I was looking at the Generac and Honeywell models too. The price seems to be more tolerable, but I also understand the Hondas are "best in class". I don't know what is tougher; convincing the wife I need a $1000+ generator for my toy boats, or simply coughing up the dough!!!

Later,
Mike

I bought a used 1000 Honda from ebay for $575.00. It took about 3 months to find and get. I used it for 5 years with no problem. I have to have a tune up every two years now. I bought a Sears beast that we use when needed for $675. Good luck

[D. Newland]

You will always have resale value w/the Honda. The 2000's can/will sell used for $700ish.

Keep the box, keep the manual and keep it clean.

[longballlumber]

You will always have resale value w/the Honda. The 2000's can/will sell used for $700ish.

Keep the box, keep the manual and keep it clean.

Hey Dave,

How are you and the boys?

Your not kidding on that one... I have been looking at some of the prices of used EU2000i's. In some cases, you could buy a brand new one for less than a couple hundred dollars.

I found a place that has them for a good price, I just need to wait and see what the verdict is on my getting my car fixed.

Later,
Mike