Generator/Field Charging

[JakeB826]

I'm looking at being away from home working in the field with my Inspire 1 for an extended period of time and will be working out of my Toyota Tundra. I'm likely going to purchase a generator to keep charged up on the fly. Can anybody help with specs or features I should be looking for?

I plan on being fairly remote and in a storm zone so quick sourcing of specialized parts/items won't be an option and I don't want to potentially tax my truck system with inverter setups off of the truck battery. I will also be lugging a bunch of support gear so a simple, self-contained unit seems much more practical than a charging system. Thoughts?

Jake

 

[Advexure]

Hi Jake – I just spoke with a production company that does a whole bunch of work from their truck. They have an industrial duty pure sign wave 1000W inverter that runs from the two batteries in the truck. They also have a Honda 2000W generator that they've converted to use propane and lasts up to 27 hours on a standard BBQ tank with no gas stink/fumes.

You could also run a 400-600W inverter off of a car but be sure it is pure sine wave. Many generators you see at places like Home Depot are made for running power saws and industrial equipment of that nature and are often modified sine wave which is not the best for use with electronics. They often work fine but do cause a bit more stress on the power adapter/charger.

Hope this information helps.

 

[Wolfiesden]

Another option to explore is a Generator and computer UPS combo. Just for charging batteries, you don't need much, far less than a typical PC so even a moderately priced UPS should handle the load of a couple I1 chargers, and tablet chargers. So the UPS can run alone for short periods without the generator and provide some remote charging on its own. Then when supplied with the generator it becomes a power cleaner to make sure electronics you plug into the generator get clean sine.

 

[The Editor]

I'm looking at being away from home working in the field with my Inspire 1 for an extended period of time and will be working out of my Toyota Tundra. I'm likely going to purchase a generator to keep charged up on the fly. Can anybody help with specs or features I should be looking for?

I plan on being fairly remote and in a storm zone so quick sourcing of specialized parts/items won't be an option and I don't want to potentially tax my truck system with inverter setups off of the truck battery. I will also be lugging a bunch of support gear so a simple, self-contained unit seems much more practical than a charging system. Thoughts?

Jake

Have a try with the search function.....
It's really rather good!
Field battery charging explained:
Using a generator to charge in the field
Charging in the field
Off Grid Re Charging Batteries
Portable Battery Charger
DJI Inspire buying an inverter or a portable generator
Car Charger for DJI Inspire 1, charge 3 batteries at the same time
Battery charging in car through an inverter
DJI Inspire 2 & 1 battery charging in car - without an inverter

 

[JakeB826]

AHHHH, I see that I have re-opened that can of worms also known as the "failure to search previous threads" error!

Thank you for the replies and apologies for the redundancy.

I was hoping that something like this

: Ryobi 1,000-Watt Gasoline Powered Digital Inverter Generator-RYi1000 - The Home Depot

would suffice for my needs without risk of damage. I will only be charging 2 batteries max at one time (as I have a mere 2 chargers. My only other concern is sourcing, as I am in Houston, getting deliveries in a reasonable time frame is not going to happen for awhile.

 

[Wolfiesden]

I would be surprised if there was a generator to be had in southern Texas. Of any brand. Of any price.

In any event, if its an option to you, take a look at the Genrac iQ2000. Its quieter than the Yamaha and Ryobi and it has meters to tell you what the heck is going on with fuel supply, runtime, and load.
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif;">iQ2000 Portable Inverter Generator</span>

 

[SanCap]

I'm looking at being away from home working in the field with my Inspire 1 for an extended period of time and will be working out of my Toyota Tundra. I'm likely going to purchase a generator to keep charged up on the fly. Can anybody help with specs or features I should be looking for?

I plan on being fairly remote and in a storm zone so quick sourcing of specialized parts/items won't be an option and I don't want to potentially tax my truck system with inverter setups off of the truck battery. I will also be lugging a bunch of support gear so a simple, self-contained unit seems much more practical than a charging system. Thoughts?

Jake

Here is what is in the back of my Tundra. 1 8D interstate battery, 1 Xantrex Pure Sine Wave ProWatt 1000, correctly sized cables with circuit protection, 40/80/100 amp charger and a Honda 2000. I have charged up to 16 batteries on one charge on the battery and it had more to go. I can run a portable cooling fan off the inverter if needed. If I use the complete charge on the battery I can let it sit and use the Honda or start recharging the battery or use both. I already owned the Honda so that was not part of the financial aspect. I just ordered an A.R.E. fiberglass topper and bed slide out for the Tundra. This might be overkill but the last thing I want to do is to worry about having enough batteries for the job.

 

[JakeB826]

Yeah, I've been looking at that one and similar. Finding one is going to be the trick. Thank you again for your help and replies.

I'd like to add a few tb47's to the gear pile also but shipping is the challenge.

All things considered I'm extremely fortunate to be dealing with a minor logistical issue. My neighborhood stayed high and dry but less than a mile away things are trashed.