What did you do today to prep?

[Camelfilter]

Well, power came back about 15 minutes ago, so I am thinking I will let Starlink keep going on batteries for a while.

Would it be helpful, hurtful, or neither to run the UPS off your battery pack?

 

[sobo]

Would it be helpful, hurtful, or neither to run the UPS off your battery pack?

IIRC, the reason he bought the power pack is to make it the UPS. At least, that's how I understood his earlier post when he bought it.

 

[OrPackrat]

Put in about 10lbs of corn cut from the cob in the freeze dryer.

I need to get more half gallon mason jars...

 

[The Heretic]

IIRC, the reason he bought the power pack is to make it the UPS. At least, that's how I understood his earlier post when he bought it.

This ^

But that plan isn't working - yet. And I probably should not use it as a UPS when I have AC power.

Having the battery/power station power the UPS would not be efficient - as I understand it, the power station is not designed to switch between AC power sources - i.e., when the power station is supplying AC power, it is always converting from its battery to AC power. Whereas the UPS will pass thru the AC power until the AC power drops, at which point it switches to battery power.

Also, the supplied AC adapter is not charging the power station fast enough for it to make up for the power draw of the satellite system. The AC adapter only charges at 45 watts of DC, and that is not enough to keep the battery charged with the inverter draw on the battery. So I switched to a 65 watt USB-C charger that I have for me laptop - and it is charging the system at 60 watts (the max input that power station allows).

I am also going to test this setup using the 12V car charger - but I think that will be even worse as it seems that input is limited to 3 amps, so at best (while car is running) I would get 40-45 watts input.

That said, I am going to abandon this experiment and only use the power stations when the power goes out - i.e., not try to use them as a UPS for the Starlink system.

Also, at home, where I usually do have some cell coverage, I will probably not use the power station during power outages, to power the Starlink when I am not using the Starlink - e.g., while sleeping or while not home. Since the Starlink system boots up and connects in a few minutes, only using it when I need it during emergencies seems prudent.

 

[Jbsheepdog]

Put in about 10lbs of corn cut from the cob in the freeze dryer.

I need to get more half gallon mason jars...

I do as well. Do you know a place that's a decent price?

 

[OrPackrat]

I do as well. Do you know a place that's a decent price?

I occasionally find them at walmart.com at a decent price.

 

[OrPackrat]

This ^

But that plan isn't working - yet. And I probably should not use it as a UPS when I have AC power.

Having the battery/power station power the UPS would not be efficient - as I understand it, the power station is not designed to switch between AC power sources - i.e., when the power station is supplying AC power, it is always converting from its battery to AC power. Whereas the UPS will pass thru the AC power until the AC power drops, at which point it switches to battery power.

Also, the supplied AC adapter is not charging the power station fast enough for it to make up for the power draw of the satellite system. The AC adapter only charges at 45 watts of DC, and that is not enough to keep the battery charged with the inverter draw on the battery. So I switched to a 65 watt USB-C charger that I have for me laptop - and it is charging the system at 60 watts (the max input that power station allows).

I am also going to test this setup using the 12V car charger - but I think that will be even worse as it seems that input is limited to 3 amps, so at best (while car is running) I would get 40-45 watts input.

That said, I am going to abandon this experiment and only use the power stations when the power goes out - i.e., not try to use them as a UPS for the Starlink system.

Also, at home, where I usually do have some cell coverage, I will probably not use the power station during power outages, to power the Starlink when I am not using the Starlink - e.g., while sleeping or while not home. Since the Starlink system boots up and connects in a few minutes, only using it when I need it during emergencies seems prudent.

The Duracell solar generator is different than others in that it operates on a 55ah sla battery for about 660w of energy storarge..

It's also one of the inexpensive ones that allows for you to piggyback additional batteries for more capacity...It is this feature that I like as adding an extra battery I can also add my own charger like a couple hundred watts of solar or a fast smart charger to keep up with basic appliances to top off the battery...

The UPS gives the power when the power fails and the solar generator with the UPS then plugged into it, provides the power..

 

[The Heretic]

Well the power station I used is kaput.

I sent an email via their support page and haven't heard anything back.

If I don't get a useful response by Monday I will return that one to Amazon and try the other. I have until January to return them (one thing I really like about Amazon is it is easy to return things - no hassle).

 

[The Heretic]

Ordered 10 SIG pistol mags and 6 more PS90 mags.

Updated my inventory of mags (added some that I bought since I last updated it).

I have one more rifle I should get more mags for.

 

[sobo]

Well the power station I used is kaput.

I sent an email via their support page and haven't heard anything back.

If I don't get a useful response by Monday I will return that one to Amazon and try the other. I have until January to return them (one thing I really like about Amazon is it is easy to return things - no hassle).

I was reading the reviews of that power station after you posted the link for it a few days ago, thinking I'd get one for myself. After reading several of the 1- and 2-star reviews, I did not order. The same thing that happened to you seems to regularly happen to a lot of other dissatisfied purchasers...

 

[Pete F]

Ordered 10 SIG pistol mags and 6 more PS90 mags.

Updated my inventory of mags (added some that I bought since I last updated it).

I have one more rifle I should get more mags for.

Since my pistols are not my major defensive weapons, the most that I have is 12 for two of them (interchangeable). That does not include my EP9 which is the first defense in the house. I have more than 6 high-capacity, 27 and 33 round.

I only carry 3 magazines for my concealed carry, and other than a few replacements, I don't feel the need for a ton of pistol magazines.

I am impressed by your stack em deep mentality.

My rifles are a whole different story. Hopefully several lifetimes worth. I plan on keeping my arms in circulation for as long as I have distant cousins and great-great-grandchildren.

I too need more magazines for my L1A1 (Imbel FAL) Very expensive if you can find newish ones.

 

[Hummer]

Stopped in a gun shop in Sevierville Tenn and found the exact rifle I want but the one they had in stock was a 243 and I want a 7/08 or 308.

 

[The Heretic]

I am impressed by your stack em deep mentality.

I prep for three people, so I have three of each defensive gun; e.g., three Five Sevens, three PS90s, and so on.

So I feel the need to have 3X of the number of mags for any defensive gun. In general, I feel a loadout of 4 mags of each gun that would be carried, plus one in the gun itself. Therefore, 15 mags total for the Five Sevens and 15 total for the PS90s minimum.

It adds up, both in the number of mags and the cost. Fifteen PS90 mags == ~$550 - about the same for the Five Seven, when on sale. I spent almost that much today just on 16 mags today.

If you figure an average of $25-$30 per mag, I probably have spent at least $5000-$6000 on mags alone. I try to buy mags and ammo at the best prices I can find online or here from members.

The two people besides myself that I prep for, don't think about such things, and they surely can't afford them, so even if they wanted to, they couldn't.

 

[sobo]

I ended up buying about 18 "high-capacity" mags for my P320 earlier this spring, before the WA mag ban passed into law, to add to the dozen I already had. The P320 is my winter EDC, *plus* it's my competition gun, so I wanted to be sure I had plenty of mags on hand. They'll eventually get retired due to reliability issues in the coming years. At $45/each, it was a pretty spendy order... And then there were the 150 Pmags for all my AR-platform guns...

When I do the math, I have just under 250 mags for everything (~200 for rifles, ~50 for pistols), and I've spent just under $5,000 for them all. The Pmags were about a ⅓ the price of the pistol mags, so that's why the average price is tilted to the low side...

 

[Burt Gummer]

Edit: NY Fed is soon going with the own DIg Currency for inter-bank swaps, it is coming .....

Just a fair warning here people. Something is coming and it won't be good. Your account balance is THEIR account balance to the banksters. No, the FDIC will NOT save you btw.

Rather than proudly own backed-by-nothing toilet paper I am buying 'things' - dual sport bike, 2nd larger gas generator, the list is long.

 

[The Heretic]

Re: cash - my credit union will dispense $100 bills from their video teller machines - but I forget what limits they have - maybe $2K-$3K? They will dispense cashier's checks for almost any amount in your account - I got one for $25k once.

I generally hold $500-$1500 in a money belt. Then I can pull $500 via an ATM.

Banks don't like to hold a lot of cash because a large amount requires a vault.

 

[The Heretic]

Bought an EcoFlow power station that 512Wh, with portable 110W solar panels for $400. Flash sale on the EcoFlow website ( https://www.ecoflow.com/us ).

It is an EPS that will switch from pass thru AC to battery power in 30ms. It has AC charging of up to 660 watts - 11 times what the other power station I bought allows.

I think that most of the cheap power stations, like what I bought and tested last week, do not truly "pass thru" AC power - they charge the battery and it powers an inverter, even when it has AC power charging it.

 

[OrPackrat]

Bought an EcoFlow power station that 512Wh, with portable 110W solar panels for $400. Flash sale on the EcoFlow website ( https://www.ecoflow.com/us ).

It is an EPS that will switch from pass thru AC to battery power in 30ms. It has AC charging of up to 660 watts - 11 times what the other power station I bought allows.

I think that most of the cheap power stations, like what I bought and tested last week, do not truly "pass thru" AC power - they charge the battery and it powers an inverter, even when it has AC power charging it.

Heard good things about ecoflow, 512w is basic but will get the job done, 110w, not bad either.

Would be difficult to "build" a system for that price, at least a portable one...

Just know, really bad weather, like the Oregon Ice storm, during the day, I got about 10w of usable power out of a 100w solar panel...

 

[The Heretic]

Heard good things about ecoflow, 512w is basic but will get the job done, 110w, not bad either.

Yeah - I want it for my Starlink system. When I build my RV I will have a larger setup.

Just know, really bad weather, like the Oregon Ice storm, during the day, I got about 10w of usable power out of a 100w solar panel...

Yes, I have three other 100W panels that I can connect together too. I need about 50 watts to run the Starlink system. Since the system can be booted up in a few minutes, I will not be trying to power it when I am not using it - e.g., when I am asleep. The power outage I had last week lasted about 4 hours. If I have an outage that lasts more than 4-8 hrs I will break out the gensets.

 

[OrPackrat]

Yeah - I want it for my Starlink system. When I build my RV I will have a larger setup.

Yes, I have three other 100W panels that I can connect together too. I need about 50 watts to run the Starlink system. Since the system can be booted up in a few minutes, I will not be trying to power it when I am not using it - e.g., when I am asleep. The power outage I had last week lasted about 4 hours. If I have an outage that lasts more than 4-8 hrs I will break out the gensets.

I'm tempted to grab a mini propane generators, 20lb propane tank rated to get I think it was 60hrs running with a 200w load (1/4).

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