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| Messages 1 - 14 of total 14 in this topic |
johnkelley
climber
Anchorage Alaska
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Jun 23, 2018 - 08:31am PT
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Everything I had that was made by Goal Zero was junk. A charger, forgot the name, that was susposed to charge 4 AA batteries never did work at all. A Venture 30 power bank never did work right. The lights won’t turn off. Two Nomad 14 watt solar panels lasted less than a year before they quit working all together. $400 worth of absolute junk that didn’t even last one year...
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johnkelley
climber
Anchorage Alaska
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Jun 23, 2018 - 08:34am PT
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I’ve had great luck with Anker solar chargers and power banks. I think they make something similar to what you’re looking for
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jun 23, 2018 - 08:38am PT
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Anker, the Goal Zero stuff is crap
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johnkelley
climber
Anchorage Alaska
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Jun 23, 2018 - 08:45am PT
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I did. They claimed that I hadn’t filled out the product registration form and mailed it in soon enough so their warranty didn’t cover it. They also claimed the 4 AA charger was an older model so it wasn’t covered either. I bought it brand new from a shop at full retail. Had no idea it was an older moder. Shitty gear and a shitty company
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jun 23, 2018 - 09:24am PT
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DelhiDog - keep an eye on this Ebay seller, it is Anker, http://stores.ebay.com/AnkerDirect
I bought a refurbished 21w panel the other day from that site for 40 bucks, it was like new. Other sellers have it new for 80 bucks.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jun 23, 2018 - 09:27am PT
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Ekat, the MacBook Air AC adapter is 60 watts, so that 21e nker is too small. Might have to charge it off your vehicle.
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Climberdude
Trad climber
Clovis, CA
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Jun 23, 2018 - 09:48am PT
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eKat,
I have a Goal Zero 100 power station that stopped charging and working after five years of service. I had great experience with Goal Zero, who replaced the entire system under warranty even though it was out of the warranty period. They also replaced a charging light where the generator handle broke off, which I expected to pay for, but did not have to. Their customer service is great.
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Climberdude
Trad climber
Clovis, CA
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Jun 23, 2018 - 11:50am PT
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eKat,
Being able to replace the battery yourself is a huge deal. Even with normal use, sooner or later these rechargeable batteries have to be replaced. I suspect that is what happened on my 100 power unit. Being able to do this yourself is a big issue because the cost involved with shipping these power units.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jun 23, 2018 - 12:57pm PT
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I would bet the Amazon extended warranties are good, Amazon is willing to eat returns to bolster customer satisfaction. On all of my returns they just refund my money and do not even want the product back.
500 clams is a bunch of money, but 400+ watt hours is pretty good. but a car battery will deliver 480 watt hours. You still need to charge the Anker unit.
Might not be as convenient as the Anker unit but having separate components give you more flexibility. Maybe got to a full size 100w+ solar panel to charge a deep cycle car battery.
Maybe consider getting a second battery in your vehicle charged through a battery isolater with a provision for connecting a solar panel. You can run the aux battery dead and still start your car.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jun 23, 2018 - 01:24pm PT
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So you got a second battery in the T@B, why not use it? same capacity as the Anker, or are you trying to double your capacity? Seems like solar panel(s) are your easy solution. You can get good used panels for a buck a watt or less.
I would not be so quick to dismiss the Chinese stuff as junk, i have bought some pretty good Chinese products.
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GuapoVino
climber
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Jun 23, 2018 - 01:40pm PT
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Not sure what you're using it for but in my van I have two 100w Renogy solar panels, a 200ah Renogy gel battery and their charge controller. For other electrical components (breakers, fuse boxes, buss bars, switches, USB ports, etc) I used a brand called Blue Sea. They have a website but all the Blue Sea parts I bought on Amazon. I think my system is much higher quality and overall cheaper that going with Goal Zero.
Car batteries are not the same as deep cycle batteries made for energy storage.
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John M
climber
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Jun 23, 2018 - 02:16pm PT
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The lithium battery is one thing, but if they haven't dealt with the build quality, then the battery could be great, but the circuitry within the power pack could be the weak link. I also really want an all in one unit, but am leery of the quality. It seems like splitting it all up would allow one to replace whichever part goes bad. Its just more build hassle and I'm not a tinkerer/builder.
Last summer I ran into a guy who built his own portable unit. I wish that I had paid more attention at the time. He had a deep cycle battery, an inverter, and a charge controller mounted in one of those plastic tubs. ( might have been a milk crate, can't remember ). He bolted everything together and could pull it in and out of his van. He had a fold up solar panel on a long wire to keep it charged. He preferred the panel to be unmounted as that way he could park his van in the shade, and put the solar panel wherever the sun was. It was a nifty set up. He powered a laptop, two phones and one of those high end refrigerator/freezer units. He had been on the road 6 months with it. I had serious envy.
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| Messages 1 - 14 of total 14 in this topic |
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