I took a look around and a lot of comments mentioned to get one that uses ‘LiFePO4 Batteries’, and that seemed like a reasonable requirement.

They’re supposed to have a longer life span, be safer, light weight, and better charge/discharge efficiency which is in line with what I’d be looking for.

Some brands/models that I saw recommended:

  • BLUETTI came up in more recent posts
  • Ecoflow (specifically the RIVER 2) came up a lot
  • Anker was suggested a few times, but the comments weren’t that detailed

edit, added an image of what I’m referring to

    • AquaTofana@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      Bought a Jackery a few years ago for camping purposes, and I love it. We’ve never drained it completely from 100% charge. It had been sitting in the house, off for months, and we needed it this past weekend for camping. Pulled it out on TGiving day to find it was still @ 77%. Couldn’t find the charger because we recently moved, but we had the solar panels. It was charged back up to 100% within a few hours, which shocked me.

      Its definitely overpowered for what we currently use/need it for, but we also lived through the 2021 Snowpocalypse in Texas, so I reasoned that it would come in handy if we ever ran into a similar situation again.

    • nocturne@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      Before I opened my own business and was camping a lot I was looking at jackery, then I realized how little power I use while camping. But it seemed to be the goto brand.

      Edit: spelling

      • OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        I was kinda hoping for a different outcome to the tests, to be honest, but it looks like it’s really the best around (according to these tests anyway). That being said, I’d probably go with a Grecell if I was being picky about my budget.

  • tomkatt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    I have several Ecoflow batteries. Delta, River Pro, and River 3.

    No complaints. I’ve used them in power outages. The delta is large enough to power an oil filled heater, and any of them can keep my fridge and network appliances running.

    I’ve since gotten solar, but I still keep the portable ones around. The River 3 acts as a UPS and emergency power for my CPAP machine, and the others are still an extra 2kW for whatever I might need.

    Asan aside, they also work great for monitoring device power use in lieu of something like a kill-a-watt. I’ve used them intermittently to confirm power draws on devices in my house in order to optimize my power consumption for my solar setup and find inefficiencies in my home.

  • I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    7 months ago

    I don’t have a specific brand offhand, but if you’re in the US I would recommend reaching out to your local amateur radio club and specifically the ARES group. These are the folks who respond during a natural disaster and set up emergency communications. If you can wait for about 6 months, you could go to Field Day in June.

    • Otter@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      1·
      7 months ago

      specifically the ARES group

      Cool, it looks like it operates up here in Canada as well, thanks for sharing! I’ll check them out sometime

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_Radio_Emergency_Service

      In the United States and Canada, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a corps of trained amateur radio operator volunteers organized to assist in public service and emergency communications. It is organized and sponsored by the American Radio Relay League and the Radio Amateurs of Canada.

      • I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.orgEnglish
        1·
        7 months ago

        Great! When you’re setting up emergency communications for 1,000 people who are without power for days to weeks, you want to make sure your battery packs are going to work reliably.

  • EpicFailGuy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    If price is your main concern make one yourself. Specially if you don’t need 110

    1. buy a 12v battery of your choice (deep cycle are best, but car batteries will do in a pinch, UPS batteries if you want small)

    2. buy a tool box of adequate size for your battery, allow for extra room

    3. order a “float charger”

    4. Order USB and cigarette lighter ports as desired

    5. wire it all up inside the toolbox

    I’ve made a few with minimal effort, they’re great for camping and my latest one even allows me to jump start a car

    There are plenty of guides out there with more detailed steps

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Do__99Yr4

    I’m currently making one for a friend, let me know if you guys want to see pics of the components

    • lightnsfw@reddthat.comEnglish
      0·
      8 months ago

      I have very limited experience with this but from what I’ve seen car batteries are terrible for this. They’re not designed to be drained and don’t hold up to it well. Deep cycle is the way to go.

      • EpicFailGuy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        This is only applicable if you drain them all the way repeatedly (over draining of the battery leads to sulfate forming on the plates which is)

        https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378775303009340

        I combat this by over sizing my batteries. I have a lead one in a tool box I use for camping and I recharge with a solar panel, It’s a standard car battery that for my use lasts 6 hours or so. Normally I use it for a couple hours (between dusk and time to go to bed) to use a laptop, maybe a speaker and an LED light and then I charge it during the day while I go hiking via solar panels.

        If you care for them they can last a long time. There’s also charge controllers you can install to keep it between 20 and 80% charge (for best life) but that’s kind of overkill for my purposes.

        Having said that, yes … deep cycle batteries are a lot better, and even more so are Li Ion and solid state … but they are also significantly more expensive, and I like to use whatever I have at hand.

  • Voyajer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    I don’t have a recommendation but thank you for not calling them a “solar generator”

    • Droechai@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      I want a solar generator in my basement. Basically a very miniaturized Messier 82-core floating in my laundry room.

      I imagine it might increase the temperature to hazardous levels sadly

    • enbyecho@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      Imagine limiting your concept of camping strictly to “must be isolated and away from everything” and thinking that you can’t also do “I just wanted to be in the woods but still need to work and/or stay in touch”. For the record, that’s potentially doubling your camping time.

      Sad.

    • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      Plenty of people treat camping not as “let’s go sleep in the woods for a while” but more as “let’s not pay to sleep anywhere while we roadtrip across the country”. Especially for people who work remotely, why not take your computer and keep up with work?

      • Ptsf@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        Also there’s a decent difference in “I want to spend the entire time disconnected” and “I want to enjoy nature for the day, crack a beer by the fire, and then game a little before tucking in for the night”. All respect to the former, but it’s not for everyone and doesn’t need to be.