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tchart

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#161644 14-Jan-2015 14:04
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Disclaimer: Im not an electrical engineer, Im happy to tinker and solder though.

So on a recent camping trip I had to keep charging the wifes iPhone using my USB battery pack.

I have the following components with which I want to make something I can charge devices (for 3-4 days) from;

- 1.5W Solar Battery Charger (has car battery clips)
- A 12V sealed lead acid (SLA) battery
- A USB battery pack (ie battery bank thing)
- A 12V to 5V micro USB adaptor (its a good quality hard wired one not a lighter plug adaptor)
- A 12V to 5V USB adaptor (ie lighter plug adaptor)

So I was thinking of either

1) Charging the SLA battery from the Solar Battery Charger and then connecting a 12V to 5V USB adaptor (lighter plug adaptor) when required to provide a powered USB port

Or

2) Connecting the Solar Battery Charger to the 12V to 5V micro USB adaptor which would plug into and charge the USB battery pack (it charges off micro USB). Devices could then charge off the USB battery pack

So really looking for best bang for buck. Would charging the SLA battery have more charges or would charging the USB battery pack via 5V down step be better.

Any help appreciated.

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tchart

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  #1214829 14-Jan-2015 14:14
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According to this instructable, using an SLA in this way isnt good;

http://www.instructables.com/id/Recycled-Solar-Charged-USB-Charger-2-The-Second-Bu/



alexx
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  #1214919 14-Jan-2015 15:49
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tchart: According to this instructable, using an SLA in this way isnt good;

http://www.instructables.com/id/Recycled-Solar-Charged-USB-Charger-2-The-Second-Bu/


The first one he built sounded like it wasn't dimensioned correctly (constant deep discharging). Whatever you use (SLA or Lithium Ion), proper dimensioning and regulation between the panel and battery is going to be needed. Most people try to use a too small panel with a too small battery and poor quality regulator.

In option 2, it appears that the regulation would be taken care of by USB battery pack?
It might be lighter than SLA too.

Option 1 with the 12v SLA is good if you ever want to power something that needs 12v (still quite a lot of things).






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tchart

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  #1214920 14-Jan-2015 15:50
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Thanks Alexx, I'll try something tonight.



Geektastic
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  #1215148 14-Jan-2015 23:07
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Brunton make folding solar arrays for this sort of thing (they roll up) so a Google of their setups may be of assistance to see what they do.





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