Can the Inspire 2 batteries be charged with a 400W outlet in my car. Will this damage the batteries?
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Charging Inspire 2 batteries with automobile outlet
- Thread starter Eric in Pa.
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There is an inverter built into the forunner it's 400w so I would imagine that's enough power.
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Wow...that setup ought to get the job done!
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Hello @Eric in Pa.
The power supply for the Charging Hub is 180W - so in theory you might even be able to run 2 charging hubs from a 400W source, but you certainly should be able to safely run 1.
If you need any more info just let me know.
Michael
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Just make sure that the 12 volt power outlet in the automobile is capable of supplying the current necessary to run the inverter. Some of those outlets were only designed for relatively low current devices like cell phones. If your outlet isn't capable of supplying the power you need the inverter will not start when you try to load it down with the 110 volt Inspire battery charger power supply.
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I think the Forerunner actually has a couple of 120V outlets built into it - and can supply 400W of power to one of the outlets (possibly less to a second one so the OP would need to confirm which outlet gets 400W). We had a van like this once and it was really handy for devices that did not draw too high of an amp load. If the outlet in the vehicle puts out 120V then a 180W charger will only draw 1.5 Amps.
My Tacoma is similar and it was designed to run at 400 watts while idling and in park or netural and while driving I can get 100 watts. I figure if I go to a remote location I will need to run it for about 3 hours to charge a set of 8 batteries with two of the current charging hubs. That is a lot of fuel - but it is my current option.
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Surely it's all down to the battery capacity? A 4Runner with a Panasonic 80D26L-MF battery is 12v with 65ah = 780Wh.
The Inspire 2 batteries are 97.58 Wh each. In theory you would achieve 8 charges from that Panasonic battery. Take also into practice your not supposed to drain over 50% of your starter motor, so you should only be charging 4 batteries max.
This is assuming the Inverter is wired directly to the battery, if it's using the 12v lighter socket usually those won't be above 120watts and you won't be able to use the Inspire 2 charger.
Let me know if I've missed something though..
The Inspire 2 batteries are 97.58 Wh each. In theory you would achieve 8 charges from that Panasonic battery. Take also into practice your not supposed to drain over 50% of your starter motor, so you should only be charging 4 batteries max.
This is assuming the Inverter is wired directly to the battery, if it's using the 12v lighter socket usually those won't be above 120watts and you won't be able to use the Inspire 2 charger.
Let me know if I've missed something though..
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You missed efficiency - a charger drawing in 100W of power from the donor battery won't output 100W of power to the I2 battery as it isn't 100% efficient. It'll lose energy, most specifically as heat. The I2 batteries also aren't 100% efficient and lose power as heat during the chraging cycle.
Now think about the fact you have two transformers and circuits in the loop - one in the invertor and another in the charger unit and the efficiency loss begins to add up.
Also, you'll never be able to pull full power from the donor battery as it's voltage levels will drop below that that will allow the invertor to maintain the 110/240v output.
So, I'd hazzard a guess that 5-6 full charges would be maximum you'd realistically get.
Now think about the fact you have two transformers and circuits in the loop - one in the invertor and another in the charger unit and the efficiency loss begins to add up.
Also, you'll never be able to pull full power from the donor battery as it's voltage levels will drop below that that will allow the invertor to maintain the 110/240v output.
So, I'd hazzard a guess that 5-6 full charges would be maximum you'd realistically get.
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In my experience with DJI's charging devices it wasn't necessarily the output that was the problem, it was the consistency of the output. I tried my Dodge Ram's 120V outlet to charge my batteries. The charger would power up, the batteries would indicate that they were charging, and every time, within three minutes, the power supply would cut power to the battery. I found out that it was a voltage regulation issue. Most car supplies are very unstable and do not supply a constant voltage. This is one area that DJI actually is trying to protect us. When I am mobile, I now throw my Honda generator in the back of the truck, fire it up, and then run a short extension cord through my sliding window to charge the batteries from inside the cab.
It's kinda red neck, but it works when you need a fresh battery
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