Car charger

[Roy]

Hi guys,
I am a new Solo pilot, just received my new Solo last Friday.
Flying is indeed easy, the only frustrating point is the battery air time, so with the 2 batteries I have, air time drains so fast, less than 40 minutes of flight....

Is there any due-date for releasing battery car charger?

Thanks!

 

[PdxSteve]

You can just get a power inverter for your car and hook the regular charger up.

 

[Roy]

Great idea, thanks for the tip!

 

[Del]

That was Easy...

 

[Chuck]

Easy is good, huh, Del? My truck is set up with an inverter big enough to charge 2 Solo batteries at once. Makes it much easier when out in the boonies somewhere.

 

[Truble]

they should create a portbable chager for the batteries so that you can charge them with a portable pack.

 

[PdxSteve]

That would be one big, heavy battery to lug around. Might as well just buy more Solo batteries

 

[Roy]

Hi Chuck, are you satisfied with your inverter? Can you please share a link or just state its brand?

 

[whitman]

Hi guys,
I am a new Solo pilot, just received my new Solo last Friday.
Flying is indeed easy, the only frustrating point is the battery air time, so with the 2 batteries I have, air time drains so fast, less than 40 minutes of flight....

Is there any due-date for releasing battery car charger?

Thanks!

Be careful when plugging those inverters in...that was the first thing I bought when I got the Solo. I was so happy to be able to take this out remotely. I had 3 batteries in order to keep the Solo in the air...the first time I plugged the inverter into my brand new BMW it blew every single outlet and I had to take the car in for service. Now, I'll admit Im dumber then lint when it comes to the tech side of doing this type of thing. Im a plug and play type only person but Im just saying that everyone should keep that in mind when trying this type of thing.

 

[Chuck]

I got my power inverter at Pep Boys...... www.pepboys.com I got the Peak 2000 watt. It is way more than I need to run 2 OEM Solo chargers, but I may need more for something else sometime. I can do 2 Solo chargers, my tablet, and the Solo controller at the same time while eating lunch or whatever while out in the field. I have the added luxury of driving a diesel truck, so I have 2 batteries in it to power the inverter. I don't know what kind of inverter Whitman has, but if it plugs into a 12v outlet in the car, or the cigarette lighter outlet, it may not be enough to handle the load of charging the Solo battery. That is just a guess on my part. A good friend told me, when shopping for a power inverter, more is better...

 

[pyrate]

Amazon.com: Wagan 2485 200-Watt Power Dome NX Jump Starter & Emergency Power Source with Built-In Air Compressor: Automotive

 

[SteveReno]

Does Vehicle need to be started when ever charging? I have one build in also, but never used it.

 

[Chuck]

The vehicle does not need to be on. Just remember that the inverter is powered by the vehicle battery, so if you use it for long periods of time, you may want to start your vehicle once in a while to recharge the battery. You don't want your vehicle to have a dead battery when you go to leave. I carry a voltage meter with me to check the battery in my truck to make sure it doesn't get too low.

 

[SteveReno]

The vehicle does not need to be on. Just remember that the inverter is powered by the vehicle battery, so if you use it for long periods of time, you may want to start your vehicle once in a while to recharge the battery. You don't want your vehicle to have a dead battery when you go to leave. I carry a voltage meter with me to check the battery in my truck to make sure it doesn't get too low.

Thanks,, I needed to know that.

 

[Chuck]

Also, Steve, the inverters that came from the factory are usually not very big as far as wattage supplied. I don't know what type of vehicle you have, but your manual should tell you how big it is. Hope this helps.

 

[erikgraham]

Right now an inverter is the only option, but it's kinda silly if you think about it.

An inverter converts the car's DC power to AC. The power brick used to charge the battery converts AC to DC. So if you use an inverter in your car to charge your battery, your converting DC to AC and then back to DC. I'm surprised they haven't released a car charging kit yet. It's a pretty simple product to make and I'm sure a lot of us would buy one.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

And how about these newer models that have nothing but USB ports......I suppose there is no hope.....alas....

 

[UAVenthusiast]

You can just get a power inverter for your car and hook the regular charger up.

Also makes sense to perhaps get additional battery charger(s) so you're not waiting for one to complete the charging cycle? (I run the 3 batteries - 1 charger)

 

[Roy]

Guys, as the initiator of this thread and new in this community - thanks a lot for the answers and information.

I'd just bought the power inverter and it is working great, I got a 300W one which is more than enough for the solo battery charging.

The simple DC power formula is: watt = amp × volt, meaning that the Solo battery charger consumes
3.3Amp x 16.8V = 55.44W

Meaning that with the 300W power inverter I can charge 5 Solo batteries at the same time which is way over my actual need.

Hope this helps.

 

[PdxSteve]

From what I understand, you never really want to go past about 80% of what the component is rated for, which would be about 240W. Prob 4 chargers/max to be "safe"?