Best way to charge batteries while away from home.

[kingfisher73]

Hello guys and gals.
So I run a small landscaping business and I need to be able to charge my smaller batteries that run my drills, sanders, reciprocating saws etc when I am away on the road. Can anyone tell me the best way to do so.
I'm thinking an inverter but not sure how big to get and where the best place is to plug it in. I have a 2020 Ram 1500 Bighorn. I don't see any plug ins in my box.
Thank you all for any replies.. they are much appreciated.

 

[Belvedere]

Do you not have 120v outlet on the back of your center console?

 

[n7qpp]

Not a direct answer to your question. But a few items to keep in mind. Since you are running a business I would think you would be using all rapid charges (time is money). You need to review the power requirements under full load (all the charging slots being used) of the charger. Make sure your charging source can handle the load.

Cooling the charger, it is going to get warm to hot so make sure to have good air flow. Don't stuff it under a seat unless there is force air.

Just some thoughts

Joe

 

[PurpleRT]

I use the 120v outlet on the back of the console.. of course truck needs to be running but I have enough batteries and don’t use them everyday or all day so they’ll charge on the the way to and from work or whenever I’m driving around. Works good enough for my use.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Consider running a 4 -6 gauge automotive grade copper fused wire directly from your starting battery inside to a pure sine wave inverter capable of handling your tool power charging station. Depending on the cordless tool brand you use, most have such an item.

The reason its better to run directly off your starting battery versus the built in 110 or 12v plug is the amperage limitation and thin wiring from the factory.

Google or YT the topic for better details. You could also go on the lawn care forums and do a search as there are “green” mowing companies that face the same issues.

A very old (2017) post in an equipment forum said this:
“We have inverters in a lot of our service vans that have tool batteries plugged in. No problems....but (there is always one) it is not the cheapy inverter. Our battery supplier has cautioned me to not use the cheap inverters. It will shorten the lifespan of the batteries and chargers. A lot of the cheap inverters don't make true sine waves and a lot of chargers can not deal with poor input waveforms.” End of quoted post.

There are also amateur radio enthusiasts who need more power than the integrated outlets can supply and they have setups sorta like I described.
From site ham.stackexchange.com comes this post regarding powering a radio in a vehicle:
“…The best way, and the ways the pros do it, is to run a separate pair of wires from the battery to the radio. These wires must be rated for the maximum current draw of the radio (and then some, since every ham initially plans to install one radio and then winds up with 5) and both positive and negative leads must be fused at the battery. If they aren't, and come into contact with anything, you may short your car battery causing a fire.

There's another bonus of connecting directly to the battery - some cars shut off the cigarette lighter when the car is off, but if you connect straight to the battery, you have control over how the poweris controlled. There are low voltage disconnects intended for this purpose which will detect when the car is turned off and shut off the radio a fixed amount of time later, but which can be overriden to allow you to operate the radio without turning on the car if needed.”
(End of quoted portion of post)

Good luck with it. Always fuse to protect the wiring.

 

[boogielander]

Not 100% what you're looking for but close enough with a few tweaks.
This is my camper light/ power. I utilized a 6 gauge power (with 100A Blue Sea Circuit breaker) and ground to the Renogy DC-DC charger from the starting battery under the hood, which charges the LiFEPO4 in the battery box on the right hand side. The left two Blue Sea items are for the switches and for various outputs and accessories. With the DC-DC charger, I can charge my 100AH LiFEPO4 while driving and it automatically shuts off when ignition is off.

Applying the same basic logic, for your use case I'd run a 4 or 6 Gauge (probably 4, considering the consumption you have) via Blue Sea Circuit breaker to a QUALITY inverter. Can be the normal pure sine wave inverter or a smart inverter, it's up to you. Difference is, the smart one should be able to stop operating once ignition is off (of course, trigger wire needed). With this setup, you will not need the secondary battery and all the other stuff.

This same setup can be done via firewall in the cab (good luck getting those thick cables through though... it's a PITA) or in the bed. One thing to note: refrain from using knock off Blue Sea components found on Amazon, even though they are half or even 1/3 of what Blue Sea is charging.

 

[kingfisher73]

Thank you all for the tips and advise.
Much appreciated!!

 

[Bertman]

The really small text that's on the bottom or back of your battery charger should tell you how many Watt's it will use under peak conditions. That should be the minimum you should look for in an inverter. If you plan to use multiple chargers at the same time, then you will have to multiply that wattage by the number of chargers you plan to use. It is always a safe bet to go bigger than you need in case a faster charger comes out next year or something like that.

As some have mentioned, some trucks come with an inverter included that has plugs on the rear of the center console. That's likely an option, but not a huge deal if your truck doesn't have it because I believe those are only rated for 400 Watts.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Just my opinion, but he would be better off buying more batteries and using the standard charger. The quick chargers reduce battery life.

 

[Rick3478]

Hello guys and gals.
So I run a small landscaping business and I need to be able to charge my smaller batteries that run my drills, sanders, reciprocating saws etc when I am away on the road. Can anyone tell me the best way to do so.
I'm thinking an inverter but not sure how big to get and where the best place is to plug it in. I have a 2020 Ram 1500 Bighorn. I don't see any plug ins in my box.
Thank you all for any replies.. they are much appreciated.

Don't know what brand tools you have. Mine are all Makita and I got their 12V charger that plugs into a lighter socket. That works well for one battery at a time.

If you need more or must have AC, then yes an inverter wired direct to the vehicle battery. I'll guess 600 Watts or larger, will let you run some work lights and a couple chargers, look up the power requirements of everything you need to power. Don't cheap out, get a good brand pure sine wave with a good warranty.

- or -

If you really use it a lot, wire to a secondary battery wired with an isolator like Redarc.

- or -

One of the portable "solar generator" lithium power packs, and recharge it during off hours.

-

I have a similar situation with my Gator woods beater, but with less 12V available. So far I'm getting by with the single charger, one extra tool battery, and take a break or do other stuff if the batteries don't keep up. If I was doing it for a living, I'd have to step up to one of the other options I outlined above. Might anyway. HTH.

 

[boogielander]

@kingfisher73 i've done this stuff for my truck for a while and I got two separate systems, one "solar generator" that @Rick3478 talked about above and the other secondary battery with isolator that Rick3478 also talked about.

Regardless if it's inverter, solar generator, or secondary battery, they are all built on the same basic structure and ideas with different components used.

Here's a rule of thumb:

1. you will want quality circuit breaker (Blue Sea is the only brand that I recommend)
2. you will want to use thick gauge wires generally I recommend 8 gauge for the cab and 6 gauge for the bed. Those gauges should be plenty enough for charging. Different gauges due to power draw and distance/ length of the cables.
3. I like to build things with multiple safety features and isolators. that way, i can isolate the part that's giving me problem while keeping other parts functional. For instance, the cables that go into the cab and bed both have their individual circuit breaker. I can turn it off to work on whichever one that I'm working on without unplugging anything and should something happens, I won't fry my truck's OE electronics. I also run a circuit breaker between my cab-side distribution block and the Victron 12/24 DC-DC charger that feeds my Ecoflow solar generators in the cab, simply because victron draws over 30A when operating at peak, and I want to be able to isolate it from affecting other parts that I feed off the in-cab distribution panel.
4. Always go for more than what you currently need. If you currently only need 700w, go at least 1500 or 2000w. This leaves room for future upgrade, and also makes sure you don't draw more than what your build can handle.

If you are interested in learning about difference and pros and cons of solar generator vs solar-to-battery system, feel free to read what I posted for the GFC crowd here:

"Solar Generator" vs Solar to Batteries etc?

so chiming in since I currently run both systems in my truck. Systems: I utilize an Ecoflow Delta 2 with Delta Max (first gen) add-on battery in the cab. That is the “solar generator” I also utilize a LiFEPO4 in the bed. That is the “solar to battery” setup. I also have 2 160w Ecoflow...

forum.gofastcampers.com

Redarc is nice, but their pricetags are really hard to swallow lol hence why I went with Victron and Reneogy. Both can do things that Redarc does with the app, but just not as fancy or automatic.

Feel free to ask me anything!

 

[Willwork4truck]

The “portable power units” (the inaccurate term is solar generator, they dont generate anything) is a quick option. You can get big ones for not too much money now.

For example 1400-1500 watt units for less than $1K (Amazon). I have a 1500 as an emergency “keep the fridg running” power supply, thats over 120 amps. The nice thing about those is you can run the lithium battery down to 5-10% charge for a long time without hurting it. Just get the Lifepo version vs lithium (only) so that you have more cycles.

Biggest issue is that these units are basically unrepairable by the average Joe whereas a separate battery/inverter system could be fixed.

 

[boogielander]

The “portable power units” (the inaccurate term is solar generator, they dont generate anything) is a quick option. You can get big ones for not too much money now.

For example 1400-1500 watt units for less than $1K (Amazon). I have a 1500 as an emergency “keep the fridg running” power supply, thats over 120 amps. The nice thing about those is you can run the lithium battery down to 5-10% charge for a long time without hurting it. Just get the Lifepo version vs lithium (only) so that you have more cycles.

Biggest issue is that these units are basically unrepairable by the average Joe whereas a separate battery/inverter system could be fixed.

i think people call them "solar generator" because when plugged to the solar panel they do generate electricity that's stored in them. aside from that, yes.

also, I'd recommend OP buy from known and established brands that have good warranty policies.

 

[Willwork4truck]

The misnomer is a pet peeve but whatever. If that is all I have to get p*ssed over then great. Unfortunately with our current economic and political climate in this country, it isn’t.