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Post by papaof2 on May 15, 2021 3:41:46 GMT -6
Walmart has the GoPower Plus on clearance in some stores for $20 to $40 - still listed at $79.95 online. It can provide a little AC power (110 watts), a little electronics power (2 USB ports and 2 QC3.0 ports), some 12 volt power (120 watts) and includes a weather radio plus an LED light on one end - all this from a 167 watt hour battery, so you won't be running a fridge with it. It has a wallwart charger, a 12 volt car charger and it can be charged by solar power (up to a 50 watt panel).
If you find the unit for $40 or less, it's a good buy for backpacking or weekend camping or for limited power outages. If you want a family member to have long term small backup, put a 20 or 30 watt solar panel on the unit and leave it on charge all the time. The solar panel could be on the inside of a South-facing window so there's no problem getting wiring from outside to inside. No, it's not the most efficient way install a solar panel but for "place and forget" backup power, it will work. I'll be setting one of these up with a 20 watt panel to see how well that process works and how long it takes for the 20 watt panel to recharge the battery.
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Post by papaof2 on May 23, 2021 19:36:52 GMT -6
If anyone is interested, some Walmarts still have these units at clearance prices - check your local Walmart's clearance aisle or clearance sections in camping and electronics.
I'm currently running some load/capacity tests on the one I have and I'll post that info when I finish. I'm also working on a spreadsheet that takes how many hours you need power and the things you want to run and tells you how much time you would actually get. Based on the capacity of the battery pack in my GoPower Plus, the intenal light would run about 67 hours. Maybe as a bathroom nightlight when power is out for multiple days? That's 2.5 days continuous or 5 nights of 12 hours each.
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