For the last few years I have been using a 4D industrial battery as a "generator" for camping, tailgating, etc. The 4D is a little heavy but if you are camping in or from a vehicle or don't have to carry it too far it's not too bad. I've been using a 500 watt inverter and that has been plenty enough for what I need. The tailgating setup usually consisted of a TV and some fans. The invert er also had the USB port for phone charging. The biggest current draw was the fan but I still had plenty of juice for a full day easily.
Most recently I used this same setup at Overland Expo East even though I could have charged most of my stuff in the truck, I didn't have to take any chances of killing a battery. My truck is still on a single starting battery. I used it to charge phones, a spot light, DSLR battery, and power some 12v landscaping lights that I used for campsite lighting. I ran that setup from Thursday night until Monday morning with no issues and minimal draw. The guys next to me managed to run down both batteries on diesel (Ford 7.3) and I still had plenty of juice to give them a jump. I didn't have it at the time, but I now also have a 12v fridge/freezer that I can use with this battery.
The 4D that I have is not a deep cycle, but I get a great deal on these as they are one year old. They are on the heavy side at 100 pounds, but I can still manage it alone even though a second set of hands are always welcome. One thing that is great about the setup is that if you don't have to recharge, it is dead silent. Not spoiling the quietness of the outdoors for your self and others is definitely worth a lot.
Right now, SAMs Club is running a special on their Sportsman 1000 inverter generator for $158 (http://www.samsclub.com/sams/1000w-...-inverter/prod20640113.ip?xid=plp:product:1:2). I can't comment on the quality of the unit, but I don't think anything else is in this price range for an inverter model.. It is 1000 watts peak, 800 continuous. I let the wife know and it looks like Santa is probably going to put one under the tree for me this year. This will be a good supplement to my 4D setup, especially for extended trips as I can use the batteries and then recharge with generator and a battery charger. It is also a sine wave inverter so you can power electronics safely from it. It also has a dedicated 12v outlet to give you other options as well. For you radio enthusiasts out there, you could run you Ham Radio setups directly off of this as it would have more than enough juice to handle a 100w radio, several infact.
The generator is also only around 25-30 pounds so its a lot more portable than the battery setup. Now I can chose which one I want depending on my needs, or both if the situation calls for it. Just thought I would pass that info along to anyone in case your were thinking of a battery setup or light duty generator. I get a great deal on the 4D, but if I were to buy one full price I might go with something lighter like a Group 31 or even 27 which should provide good power with the right energy management with reduced weight.
Most recently I used this same setup at Overland Expo East even though I could have charged most of my stuff in the truck, I didn't have to take any chances of killing a battery. My truck is still on a single starting battery. I used it to charge phones, a spot light, DSLR battery, and power some 12v landscaping lights that I used for campsite lighting. I ran that setup from Thursday night until Monday morning with no issues and minimal draw. The guys next to me managed to run down both batteries on diesel (Ford 7.3) and I still had plenty of juice to give them a jump. I didn't have it at the time, but I now also have a 12v fridge/freezer that I can use with this battery.
The 4D that I have is not a deep cycle, but I get a great deal on these as they are one year old. They are on the heavy side at 100 pounds, but I can still manage it alone even though a second set of hands are always welcome. One thing that is great about the setup is that if you don't have to recharge, it is dead silent. Not spoiling the quietness of the outdoors for your self and others is definitely worth a lot.
Right now, SAMs Club is running a special on their Sportsman 1000 inverter generator for $158 (http://www.samsclub.com/sams/1000w-...-inverter/prod20640113.ip?xid=plp:product:1:2). I can't comment on the quality of the unit, but I don't think anything else is in this price range for an inverter model.. It is 1000 watts peak, 800 continuous. I let the wife know and it looks like Santa is probably going to put one under the tree for me this year. This will be a good supplement to my 4D setup, especially for extended trips as I can use the batteries and then recharge with generator and a battery charger. It is also a sine wave inverter so you can power electronics safely from it. It also has a dedicated 12v outlet to give you other options as well. For you radio enthusiasts out there, you could run you Ham Radio setups directly off of this as it would have more than enough juice to handle a 100w radio, several infact.
The generator is also only around 25-30 pounds so its a lot more portable than the battery setup. Now I can chose which one I want depending on my needs, or both if the situation calls for it. Just thought I would pass that info along to anyone in case your were thinking of a battery setup or light duty generator. I get a great deal on the 4D, but if I were to buy one full price I might go with something lighter like a Group 31 or even 27 which should provide good power with the right energy management with reduced weight.
