Power When Electric Out

[El Hijo de Manolo]

$1000 usd? I don't even own that much cash

These answers are all valid but no one has given you a practical solution, unless you happen to be an electrician. I do like that small Jackery for 300 dollars. I doubt you'll be experimenting wiring a battery to your fan. You would need someone that knew about that. You could get something fixed in the house for about 350 but you said you wanted a portable solution. Again going back to that Jackery box like Lurker posted up

An electronics UPS won't last anywhere near the duration of an outage here.

 

[Jan]

I've been looking at the portable camping type power supplies with the option, when there are more funds, buying a solar charger for it. I've sesn them on amazon for under us$200. Is there a place in Santo Domingo that might sell them?

 

[Jan]

These answers are all valid but no one has given you a practical solution, unless you happen to be an electrician. I do like that small Jackery for 300 dollars. I doubt you'll be experimenting wiring a battery to your fan. You would need someone that knew about that. You could get something fixed in the house for about 350 but you said you wanted a portable solution. Again going back to that Jackery box like Lurker posted up

I've been looking into those with.solar option later.

 

[Jan]

Something like this?
View attachment 5665
This is a 293Wh Jackery for US$299 at Amazon this is about as cheap as you can go. There are solutions available for all needs and price ranges.

Ive been looking at the least expensive version. I don't have a microwave, electric coffee pot, toaster, air conditioning, only a stand fan (which for outages I was thinking of buying a small desk fan) and would like to have wifi for my kindle. I don't have or need much.

 

[Jan]

Something like this?
View attachment 5665
This is a 293Wh Jackery for US$299 at Amazon this is about as cheap as you can go. There are solutions available for all needs and price ranges.

What would something like this cost to have sent her via a po box type Miami mail box?

 

[Jan]

I keep forgetting that our car has an inverter/110 V outlet as well as several charging ports.
Used only on longer trips but could be used anytime needed.

I don't have a car. Just feet.

 

[NotLurking]

What would something like this cost to have sent her via a po box type Miami mail box?

I have no clue but its shipping weight is listed at around 21 pounds. Most shippers charge between 2-3 dollars a pound. So under US$100 would be a good estimate. The import duty would be another thing to consider. I don't know if something like this would be exempt. Send the link to your shipper and ask how much would it cost to ship to get the correct estimate.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

What would something like this cost to have sent her via a po box type Miami mail box?

They won't i think it's too heavy. I could be wrong. You would most likely have to use cargo not courrier

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

Maybe Solar can let you park his car in front of your house.

 

[NotLurking]

Ive been looking at the least expensive version. I don't have a microwave, electric coffee pot, toaster, air conditioning, only a stand fan (which for outages I was thinking of buying a small desk fan) and would like to have wifi for my kindle. I don't have or need much.

The one I listed for $300 is a perfect fit for you. There are cheaper models but I don't think you'll be better served by those. Try looking for something cheaper from another manufacturer of the same capacity ~300Wh if price is a concern. Like I said before my experience is with the Jackery hence the one I recommend. Good luck.

 

[Jan]

A friend in USA uses a Jackery with the solar panels for his boat. It might be my only option it seems.

 

[josh2203]

So I could get a good ups and that would run the modum and charge stuff for a while. I'm thinking a small battery powered fan might work for air circulation.

Just do the math carefully as for the capacity of the UPS. And it comes with batteries that you need to replace eventually... A very small one, I think around 750 W was about $4,600 pesos in Ceducompp earlier this year...

 

[NotLurking]

A friend in USA uses a Jackery with the solar panels for his boat. It might be my only option it seems.

As a final suggestion for the cost of the US$300 Jackery you could have a local guy install a 1kw inverter with two el cheapo deep cycle batteries. I assure you you'll be a happy camper. If you move you could take it with you or sell it.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

Just do the math carefully as for the capacity of the UPS. And it comes with batteries that you need to replace eventually... A very small one, I think around 750 W was about $4,600 pesos in Ceducompp earlier this year...

No more than 20 min

 

[NotLurking]

Just do the math carefully as for the capacity of the UPS. And it comes with batteries that you need to replace eventually... A very small one, I think around 750 W was about $4,600 pesos in Ceducompp earlier this year...

Although this option may sound appealing it is deceptive. Most UPS' are capable of delivering a rated output for a very short time. They are not used for continuous operation and their battery is small usually ~40Wh. (12vdc x 3.3a). They typically are ment to be used under 15 minutes to shut down the attached equipment usually a computer and a monitor. For comparison a typical UPS as mentioned would give you about an hour of fan use.

 

[Jan]

As a final suggestion for the cost of the US$300 Jackery you could have a local guy install a 1kw inverter with two el cheapo deep cycle batteries. I assure you you'll be a happy camper. If you move you could take it with you or sell it.

Would I have to have the apartment rewired or a higer capacity meter installed for an inverter?

 

[ese tipo]

Math required, and I hate math.If you go the Jackery route you'll have to consider Shipping,taxes and hope your unit is functional so you won't have to return it.as far as capacity:you can't really use real world calculations simply because in order for the unit to generate 120 V from a battery it is going to have some losses. No inverter is 100% efficient there are always going to be some losses. So if you're 390 watt hr inverter is running a 60 W fan at 80% efficiency you are looking at possibly five hours. Factor in the heat and humidity on the island then conceivably could be four hours. Haven't looked at the specs but Iwould guess it would take 6 to 7 hours to fully charge, something to consider. Jackery also makes a 300 model. Aside from 10 more watt hrs it has a 60 watt Power delivery USB – C port which is bi directional meaning you can charge and discharge from it. The main advantage of this model is that you can charge with provided power pack and USB-c ( you'll have to supply that )simultaneously which will bring you to 80% charge in two hours. Pretty good considering how much you guys lose power during the day. Also both of these models offer pass-through charging meaning you can charge and use power all at once.

As some others have said here I think the better route would be a UPS with a couple of batteries look around either FB or Mercado libre as some folks are selling used equipment but that can be a nightmare as well you'll have to be diligent. If however you want to go the Jackery route I would suggest you look into other brands which have a battery that is lithium iron phosphate as opposed to lithium. The Jackey promises 300 cycles to 80% performance while other brands such as bluetti,ecoflow and a few others offer these units with lithium iron phosphate aka lifepo4 and are promising 1000 cycles or more to 80%. As far as portability you could always mount a UPS along with the batteries on a handtruck (dolly) and wheel it around wherever you please.

 

[Jan]

Math required, and I hate math.If you go the Jackery route you'll have to consider Shipping,taxes and hope your unit is functional so you won't have to return it.as far as capacity:you can't really use real world calculations simply because in order for the unit to generate 120 V from a battery it is going to have some losses. No inverter is 100% efficient there are always going to be some losses. So if you're 390 watt hr inverter is running a 60 W fan at 80% efficiency you are looking at possibly five hours. Factor in the heat and humidity on the island then conceivably could be four hours. Haven't looked at the specs but Iwould guess it would take 6 to 7 hours to fully charge, something to consider. Jackery also makes a 300 model. Aside from 10 more watt hrs it has a 60 watt Power delivery USB – C port which is bi directional meaning you can charge and discharge from it. The main advantage of this model is that you can charge with provided power pack and USB-c ( you'll have to supply that )simultaneously which will bring you to 80% charge in two hours. Pretty good considering how much you guys lose power during the day. Also both of these models offer pass-through charging meaning you can charge and use power all at once.

As some others have said here I think the better route would be a UPS with a couple of batteries look around either FB or Mercado libre as some folks are selling used equipment but that can be a nightmare as well you'll have to be diligent. If however you want to go the Jackery route I would suggest you look into other brands which have a battery that is lithium iron phosphate as opposed to lithium. The Jackey promises 300 cycles to 80% performance while other brands such as bluetti,ecoflow and a few others offer these units with lithium iron phosphate aka lifepo4 and are promising 1000 cycles or more to 80%. As far as portability you could always mount a UPS along with the batteries on a handtruck (dolly) and wheel it around wherever you please.

It would be great if I understood just half of what you said. Lol. I didn't think it would.be so difficult to have a small fan to keep me from sweating to death and modem for internet so I can be connected with my kindle. I don't have a tv, air, nothing fancy. I do have a fridge but that's fine for a normal power outage. I have a computer that isn't needed if I can just have my kindle charged and maybe a little wifi.

 

[reilleyp]

Keep in mind when calculating how many hours you can get out of it, they recommend only drawing it down to 20%, so if someone calculated getting 7 hours of fan use, only figure about 5.6 hours, otherwise you will reduce the lifespan of the battery. You can charge the Jackery in 4.5 to 5.5 hours depending on wall, car, or solar. They sell a compatible 100w solar panel for another $300. They claim a 20w fan will run for 15 hours.

Jackery Explorer 300 Portable Power Station

The Jackery Explorer 300 is the ideal portable power station for short camping trips, off-grid living, and for powering small appliances when power outages.

www.jackery.com

 

[Jan]

Keep in mind when calculating how many hours you can get out of it, they recommend only drawing it down to 20%, so if someone calculated getting 7 hours of fan use, only figure about 5.6 hours, otherwise you will reduce the lifespan of the battery. You can charge the Jackery in 4.5 to 5.5 hours depending on wall, car, or solar. They sell a compatible 100w solar panel for another $300. They claim a 20w fan will run for 15 hours.

Jackery Explorer 300 Portable Power Station

The Jackery Explorer 300 is the ideal portable power station for short camping trips, off-grid living, and for powering small appliances when power outages.

www.jackery.com

I think this option is out for me. Too many problems and too expensive with shipping and all.