[AZ-Observing] Re: Recharging
- From: Tim Jones <tjmac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 12:22:08 -0700
Stan,
Having run laptops off of batteries and always ending up without a charge at
some point after 30 hours or so, I would urge you to go for a small portable
generator. They modern ones are quiet, sip gas, don’t stink up the site and
provide the power that you need for days at a time. I got to see a
Westinghouse 1800 unit running and it was perfect for running a laptop and even
your scope equipment. The owner told me he paid around $550 at Home Depot for
his.
Trying to keep a normal lead-acid battery charged from a solar panel will be
impossible unless you bring around 1000 watts of panels. Your equipment will
discharge your battery much fast than a 5W panel could even try to charge in a
full 8 hours of strong sunlight. In fact, 5W would’t even keep your laptop
running if you were running it during the day (assuming the laptop battery was
low).
Tim
On Mar 15, 2015, at 11:51 AM, Stan Gorodenski <stanlep@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> A few years ago I had asked a question of how long a 12V battery would
> last to power a laptop on a night of observing. I have a related
> question. The reason I ask it is because I know nothing about
> electronics or electricity.
>
> I need to be away from power for days at a time. I have a 5 watt solar
> panel I bought years ago. If I run a laptop for about 3-4 hours a night
> with an inverter, would this 5 watt solar panel be enough to charge a
> car battery (not a battery in my pickup but a separate battery) with the
> amount that was used by the laptop? I doubt it and probably need a
> larger panel for this to work, but maybe it would have to be too large
> to be practical.
>
> Alternatively, I would be driving about 80 miles per day. Can one charge
> a separate car battery plugged into a cigarette lighter?
> Stan
>
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