15 replies to this topic

[fruitfulsteve]

http://www.powapal.co.uk/store.php

 

My friend makes these. Might be handy for those long hours sat in fields.

Edited by fruitfulsteve, 09 September 2014 - 10:26 PM.

[millhouse]

Looks really nice!

[cooperman435]

It's a good idea but if we're honest it's a 12v sla battery in a box with connectors ?

I can't see the ah rating on the website but you could build the same for notable savings with very little work

[fruitfulsteve]

He sells a lot to fishing types, i think he does a few different ones including one with a solar charger which i suppose would be handy if ya stuck by the side of a lake all weekend.

 

I guess the materials wouldn't cost that much but building a one off yaself to save a couple of quid would probably be a bit of a false economy especially if you factor in all the time spent finding and acquiring the components.

[cooperman435]

eBay even would offer all the parts at a cheaper rate?

Well let's say this if anyone wants one, feel free to message with the specs of what you'd like on it and I'm happy to price it up for you and try to save you some £ :-)

[icarus]

sla batteries are a good leak free solution for occasional use ,mobility pitstop on internet are about cheapest and very reliable supplier  . sealed gel batteries are approx 30% more expensive they last 2or 3 times longer . I use Lithium ion batteries they are very lightweight and smaller . they can be parallel stacked each cell is 3.6v my 18AH 36v supply has 60 cells with a discharge control board. prebuilt they cost about £280.00 but I bought the batteries and controller separately and 60 battery sockets from chinese retailers they take 5wks to arrive  as cannot air freight but total cost was about £70.00.   I use these on my 25mph  "mobility " scooter .

 

Sorry i am not at all impressed by the expensive battery packs offered - my last new 12v  10 AH sla battery was £15.00 including postage so there are considerable savings to be made

[fruitfulsteve]

Phil that sounds like a pretty good deal.

 

Can you give me a price for the Optimum electronics corp version of the power pal mk 2

 

The 25mph scooter sounds cool, wat does it corner like ?

[cooperman435]

I estimate about

 

£6 for the 12v power outlet and usb 5v dual outlet

 

£15 battery (7ah)

£30 if you want two to make it 14ah

obviously less with a smaller battery and a bit more witha bigger single one

 

 

Depending on the battery choices the box could be anythingfrom £6 to £50 (for two 7ah Ive got a very nice sturdy and watertight enclosure for £26.86 which I use for my battery packs for FBW this is it http://www.farnell.c...ets/1853122.pdf )

 

 

so that all adds up to anything between £24 and £86 for a similar spec to the PP MK2 @ £69.99, but as powerpal dont state the capacity of the power packs its a bit hard to just say I can make one the same as I dont know WHAT spec it is. That bit does worry me though as it could be a tiny little 3ah battery in there and it will do everything a 7ah will do but not for very long! 

 

If I assume its got a standard 7ah battery in his then to build one to the same spec would be about £55 to £60 but Id place money that the PP ones are less than that in reality.

 

the charger doesnt come with it but I use my FBW charger for my packs and just put an XLR 3 pin socket on for the charge point, if you wanted that doing in which case add £2 to £4 depending on if you wanted a cheap one or a decent neutrix one like I use.

 

for just £5 more you could have this one in a box big enough to house two 7ah batteries later on too if you wanted to up the capacity. 

[fruitfulsteve]

So £27 with the box plus i'm sure it would need a fuse, switch and trickle charge circuit of some sort. His website does have some specs in the 'about us' section.

 

Doesn't sound like that much of a saving once you've added manufacturing and shipping costs !!!

 

Not sure on the power output but they say they can run a portable tv for 12hrs.

 

The power pal ones do come with a charger and warranty.

 

He also has a pretty good repair service.

[fruitfulsteve]

Checked with the man himself he said he uses 9Ah batteries.

[Arthur Brown]

I have no problem with the PowaPack it's one particular maker's idea of commercially viable, I'm sure they will sell some. This is a bit like the Maplin (and others) range of jump start batteries, a large range of different capacities and peak current and additional features, some suit each need better than some others.

[cooperman435]

Well I'm a fan of making something as good as it can be made so all my packs for fbw are overkill for what's needed by the system :-)

To be fair the 9ah are the same price so it's just a case of getting the right enclosure

chargers are £3-4 tops

Fuse holder it doesn't show and I doubt there is one but again can be put in for pennies

I still say to build one to that spec you could pretty much halve his costs or knock £20 ish off if I made it

[fruitfulsteve]

Apparently they sell loads, ironically Yorkshire is one of their biggest markets

 

£20 cheaper ? by your own estimates £55 to £60 (plus some pennies) that by my calculations is only £10 to £15 cheaper and still no charger, warranty or postage ?

 

I'm all for making ya own stuff not only can you save money there's also a certain amount of satisfaction to it. But i think sometimes you have to consider weather or not it's really worth the effort especially for such a small saving. Also wat if it goes wrong and frys ya ipod/pad/phone or worse still catches alight whilst charging and burns ya house down.

[whoof]

maplins do something called a hydrocore.

sorry forum wont let me post link

 

its a hydrogen fuel cell device

 

brunton hydrogen reactor

 

light and cheap to run.

 

not sure what the practical  use is though

 

energy for weight its about a tenth of the weight of an equivalent lead acid battery with a full recharge cell weighing 100 g each 

Edited by whoof, 31 January 2015 - 11:50 PM.

[icarus]

do be careful how far you discharge lead acid sla batteries if you accidentally totally discharge them they rapidly die and will not respond to charging attempts with normal chargers.

 

Re The "mobility" scooter it  is a 2 wheel jobbie and corners at about 45 degrees!. I hit 35mph returning to car in Hunstanton on a rainy winters day . The camera system is in working order there were 2 police cars patrolling the road a few minutes later. As it has pedal assist and no speedo requirement it is obvious that i must be an olympic standard cyclist despite the metal legs!!!