Quote:
Originally Posted by Tkreger
Thanks Xringer.
...I just want the unit as an emergency power source for some lights, laptop, charging iPad,etc. in case power goes out from a hurricane or other event. I live in a condo and would store the unit on my balcony (which faces South), and not use it really for anything else than emergency power.
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I agree with xringer. As long as you aren't running anything with a motor there is really no need for AC at all, hence no inverter. For lights use directly powered DC LED lighting or battery backed LED camping lamps(very low power usage). Charging any phone or tablet should be possible with just a car charger connection. I did this on a cross country bicycle trip a couple years ago. Here's a picture.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...545&size=large
On the left hand side of the photo below the trailer light there is a one inch piece of PVC with four lithium batteries in it to make a 12 volt supply. I used this to power the LED trailer light, charge my cell phone when no other power was available, and charge my laptop/tablet. You should be able to see the car charger connector there too. That's how I got power from the battery pack. Unless you just want to spend a lot of money on batteries, I agree with the lead acid or AGM packs in this app. While the lithium products will use less space, they problably cost three to four times more than lead acid.
However, if you are concerned about losing food in a refrigerator, then you should most certainly get a full sine wave inverter to keep it running. Motors don't usually like modified sine waves.
JJ