Away from a charging source... What to do?

[AH1968]

Hey there very nice people of ECF Have a question, I'm going on my official 10 mos. away from the nasty analogs and I have to say I am VERY proud of myself! However, I am trying to come up with a solution to a problem that I hadn't really considered when I started this journey...

Once (sometimes twice if i'm lucky) I take a camping trip for a solid week, and where I have always gone, is without electricity... I am currently using an MVP V2 and a couple Vision EGO-C Upgraded batteries with a PT2, and the MVP lasts about 1.5 +/- days and the EGO-C's (650Mah) about 1/2 a day depending on how much I vape... You see my concern?

Ok, I have considered purchasing a 3pk of 1300Mah knock off batteries from fasttech, because they are cheap and for the price, might help me make it through the week, but if they are junk, i'm hosed...

Anyone else deal with this? Any suggestions?

PS: My GF also vapes, but she can only use the smaller pen type batteries due to issues with her hands, so I need to make sure she is also covered...

Thanks for any advice

 

[Seleya]

What about portable battery chargers? I am not sure what exactly they are called, but I am sure someone else does. They are basically just huge batteries that you charge before you leave home, then you can charge your devices off of them (just like charging something off of your MVP.)

 

[Lurch]

Will you have a vehicle near by? If so, use a car charger, just make sure you keep enough power in your car battery to start it when you are ready to leave!!

If not, may need to take a bunch of batteries with you....

 

[TommyG]

How about something like a portable usb power bank? Should be camper friendly, and some of them have crazy mah storage. I would just make sure that the charge rate doesn't exceed what those ego's can handle, 0.5 amp is what I think an ego can handle. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Lurch]

Wait a minute, just found this:
$4 Solar Battery Charger

 

[TommyG]

I was going to point out this solar charger, Lurch beat me to the solar charger though.

 

[3mg Meniere]

https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10007441/1673100-window-0-6w-solar-power-2600mah-external-power

 

[DetraMental]

^^^^Good Advice and it would be a worth while investment since you camp every year. Definitely check the output of the power bank it should be the same as your wall charger/usb charger. You could just charge them in the vehicle as long as you know your car battery is good and dependable. I haven't heard anyone review the solar powered chargers that are available but you might wanna see if there are any reviews on those and if they'd be a plausible device to use.

 

[AH1968]

What about portable battery chargers? I am not sure what exactly they are called, but I am sure someone else does. They are basically just huge batteries that you charge before you leave home, then you can charge your devices off of them (just like charging something off of your MVP.)

I am looking into this, just not wanting to spend a ton just for this, but thanks for the response!

 

[r77r7r]

You could also try patches or snus. Motorcycle/utility battery?

Do good research on the solar chargers, the cheaper ones don't seem to do much.

 

[AH1968]

I have heard some rough reviews on the solar chargers, although the DIY one looks like it could be beefed up and it might work.

I am definitely looking into the USB charging banks, pretty sure my truck could carry some of it as well, but will have to keep an eye on usage just in case...

Thank you all for your replies!!

 

[epicdoom]

if your not tech savvy then a solar charger premade is in order here is the one I have and its the bomb charges my cell and my tablet at the same time while I'm in the woods hunting Amazon.com: 30000mah Dual USB Portable Solar Panel Power Bank: Cell Phones & Accessories

 

[AH1968]

if your not tech savvy then a solar charger premade is in order here is the one I have and its the bomb charges my cell and my tablet at the same time while I'm in the woods hunting Amazon.com: 30000mah Dual USB Portable Solar Panel Power Bank: Cell Phones & Accessories

HA! I was just on amazon looking at those Are they durable?

 

[epicdoom]

very durable I had it bouncing around on the dash of my truck for an 8 hour drive, it slammed back and forth from side to side, hit the floor a few times has held up very well for me. I have plans to buy another one to keep in my trailer on the hunting property.

 

[Rat2chat2]

You've gotten some wonderful suggestions already but I just wanted to

you to ecf. You will find some pretty special people around here. Good luck to you and happy vaping.

Congrats on the 10 months, that is fantastic.

 

[daviedog]

Wowww, thanx epic doom. I have a Dek 7800mah which charges my iPhone faster than in the house. I can't believe 30000mah at 18usd. Order one later tonite. I live in hurricane country..

 

[Milkhoney]

In addition to the solar charger, I'd suggest taking stronger juice than you normally use (assuming you use nicotine.) So you'd be vaping less often and your batteries would go further.

 

[Catdumpling]

The Anker portable power supplies/battery banks work great and have a good cost-to-quality ratio. They're recommended quite a bit on smartphone forums and they'll charge just about anything that can charge over USB. Just remember to charge that battery before you leave for the trip!

Depending on how close your campsite will be to your car, a USB-to-cigarette lighter (do they even work as cigarette lighters anymore?) adapter might be a good option too. You'd want to read the instructions with things like that though, so you don't accidentally run down your car battery out in the middle of nowhere.

 

[edyle]

I have heard some rough reviews on the solar chargers, although the DIY one looks like it could be beefed up and it might work.

I am definitely looking into the USB charging banks, pretty sure my truck could carry some of it as well, but will have to keep an eye on usage just in case...

Thank you all for your replies!!

So are you going to be near a vehicle or not?
A car adapter would be the simpliest solution

 

[rurwin]

A car battery is around 100 Ah, so 100,000mAh. One of those should keep you going, albeit it's quite heavy to carry far.

With solar power, just be aware that there is a huge difference between full sunlight and shadow. We experience light logarithmically, but solar chargers don't. What seems to us a bit dull might charge a battery at a tenth or a hundredth of the rate that direct sunlight would. And forget about artificial light. That's another similar factor on top.

Here's a handy table of equivalents courtesy of Casio: