Elecraft

Re: Car-Starter battery packs

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Charlie T, K3ICH

Re: Car-Starter battery packs

I'm seeing a lot of good deals on these Lithium battery, emergency "car
starter" packs.

They're typically rates from 12000 to 24000 mA-hr, or, as we're inclined to
call them 18 to 24 Amp-Hr.
Prices vary from about $40 up over $80.

They come in a nice durable case with a charger and output cables.

At first glance, they'd seem ideal for a field pack for portable radio
operation.
They certainly can't be limited in their current capability, considering
what it takes to start even a small car's engine.
But then, their ratings may be extremely optimistic.

Anybody gat any thoughts on these?

73, Charlie k3ICH

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Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT-2

Re: Car-Starter battery packs

Just bought a second one of these.

Like UPS batteries, starting draws a ton of current all at once. The
intended use will limit the life of the battery.

I have a Bolt Power D28, which has two USB charging ports, and an outlet
that can be different voltages from 12v to 19v -- it'd run a laptop
nicely for quite a while. The supplied "laptop" cable would power a KX3
nicely.

The Bolt D29 has more capacity, but doesn't have the "laptop" power.

I paid about $60 each on Amazon (on sale).

The D29 is 18 ah, the D28 is 13.6 ah.

We've actually used the smaller one to start a car.

73 -- Lynn

On 7/8/2017 8:28 AM, Charlie T, K3ICH wrote:

> I'm seeing a lot of good deals on these Lithium battery, emergency "car
> starter" packs.
>
> They're typically rates from 12000 to 24000 mA-hr, or, as we're inclined to
> call them 18 to 24 Amp-Hr.
> Prices vary from about $40 up over $80.
>
> They come in a nice durable case with a charger and output cables.
>
> At first glance, they'd seem ideal for a field pack for portable radio
> operation.
> They certainly can't be limited in their current capability, considering
> what it takes to start even a small car's engine.
> But then, their ratings may be extremely optimistic.
>
> Anybody gat any thoughts on these?
>
> 73, Charlie k3ICH
>
>
>
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>

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Phil Kane-2

Re: Car-Starter battery packs

In reply to this post by Charlie T, K3ICH

On 7/8/2017 8:28 AM, Charlie T, K3ICH wrote:

> At first glance, they'd seem ideal for a field pack for portable radio
> operation.
> They certainly can't be limited in their current capability, considering
> what it takes to start even a small car's engine.
> But then, their ratings may be extremely optimistic.
>
> Anybody gat any thoughts on these?

Don't be misled by the A-Hr ratings. Battery construction for
short-term high-amperage discharge (such as car starting) is radically
different from that for long-duration low-amperage loads such as
proposed. Ditto for deep-discharge and float charge capabilities as
well as battery chemistry.

We run across these questions frequently in design of communication site
standby power.
I would examine the specs very carefully.

----

73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402

>From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon
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Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT-2

Re: Car-Starter battery packs

Don't know how much you've looked at these Phil.

Almost without exception, they provide USB "phone" charging and other
low-current (compared to car-starting) outputs.

They're not optimized for running a rig (or a laptop or a phone) but
they do have a stack of lithium cells and some protective circuitry for
a very attractive price.

I agree that I wouldn't use one as a backup power in commercial service,
but for what I need they seem to work well.

Sometimes perfect is the enemy of good-enough.

73 -- Lynn

On 7/8/2017 2:37 PM, Phil Kane wrote:
> Don't be misled by the A-Hr ratings. Battery construction for
> short-term high-amperage discharge (such as car starting) is radically
> different from that for long-duration low-amperage loads such as
> proposed. Ditto for deep-discharge and float charge capabilities as
> well as battery chemistry.
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EricJ-2

Re: Car-Starter battery packs

In reply to this post by Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT-2

I used LiPo batteries I bought for RC electric planes to power my K1 and
K2/10 tied to a 50W HiPacker Amp with no issues at all. They were meant
to deliver very high current (40A) for relatively short duration (about
15 minutes or less), but some of them lasted for 5 years powering the
Elecraft rigs for several days of CW operation. I recharged them with
the same charger I always used with them.

If the price is right, I think they'd work fine, despite being designed
for a different application.

Eric KE6US

> On 7/8/2017 8:28 AM, Charlie T, K3ICH wrote:
>> I'm seeing a lot of good deals on these Lithium battery, emergency "car
>> starter" packs.
>>
>> They're typically rates from 12000 to 24000 mA-hr, or, as we're
>> inclined to
>> call them 18 to 24 Amp-Hr.
>> Prices vary from about $40 up over $80.
>>
>> They come in a nice durable case with a charger and output cables.
>>
>> At first glance, they'd seem ideal for a field pack for portable radio
>> operation.
>> They certainly can't be limited in their current capability, considering
>> what it takes to start even a small car's engine.
>> But then, their ratings may be extremely optimistic.
>>
>> Anybody gat any thoughts on these?
>>
>> 73, Charlie k3ICH
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>>
> ______________________________________________________________
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> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
> .
>

Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT-2

Re: Car-Starter battery packs

Did a little research: the Emergency Car Starters are LiPo batteries.

On 7/8/2017 3:30 PM, Eric J wrote:
> I used LiPo batteries I bought for RC electric planes to power my K1 and
> K2/10 tied to a 50W HiPacker Amp with no issues at all. They were meant
> to deliver very high current (40A) for relatively short duration (about
> 15 minutes or less), but some of them lasted for 5 years powering the
> Elecraft rigs for several days of CW operation. I recharged them with
> the same charger I always used with them.
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