5 in 1 Harbor Freight Power Unit for low budget off grid power options

A quick comparison between off grid capable power options for smaller to medium duty power tools and an introduction to the Harbor Freight 5 in 1 power box option which allows the use of tools and electronic devices up to 400 watts. The lowest budget possible that I can see with this is the Harbor Freight 45 Watt solar panel kit with the right coupons for $150 (normally $250 when not on sale) and then the power box as low as $75 (usually around $90 when not on sale). So with a bottom dollar of $225, you have a fully functional turn-key off grid power system. Comparing that to the cost/power capacity of a Dewalt Nicad battery ($50 to $90 depending on where you buy it) or the Ryobi Lithium Ion battery ($90). The 5 in 1 power box is not the best way to go, but it is decent and functional for those on a tight budget, and you can't get anything significantly better for double the money.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Power
• Energy
• solar
• off
• grid
• living
• camper
• trailer
• harbor
• freight

[ssj4goko4]

there only 17 amp gel cells. it might run your laptop for a couple hrs then it will be dead. there good for short term power outages i would not use them for off grid living. gel cells tend to die even slightly overcharged..

[8digitPDX]

@ssj4goko4 Obviously the four powersonic 100AH 12v batteries in that trailer are the main power system, but are no longer portable. The 5 in 1 box is portable and on a cost effectiveness scale is comparable to any brand name 18-20 volt power tool battery, which would not run something for very long either, but 17 amps is nothing to sneeze at. A couple hours of laptop use is just fine for being south of $100. 

[8digitPDX]

@ssj4goko4 As a low budget simple all in one package type device, someone can afford to have three or four of these, swapping between them to keep a small camp going for quite a while, if not indefinitely. This is a good unit for getting someone started without the complexity of building a power management system from scratch.

[sharonnnmike]

Go review

I have a 400 watt honda generator 110 or 12v would it charge the 5 and 1 time?

I m powering a small camper light 12 coffee maker . Is there a difference between a 110v or 12v coffee maker running on a 5 to 1

Thank for any help and the review

[8digitPDX]

@sharonnnmike Yeah, running the 110v device will run the battery down faster and for two reasons: One, the cooling fan in the device sucks up some power, and you lose a little power in the conversion process, but in reality, you can power something either way. Some people will say though that they get better performance from devices when running 110V since the higher voltage puts more power to the device even though the amperage is technically the same.

[8digitPDX]

@sharonnnmike As for recharging your device with the small generator, you can charge it either way, but the charging jack is set up for incoming 12-14v, its 110v adapter is a "wall wart" type which just converts 110V to 12v.

[ssj4goko4]

@8digitPDX it take many hrs to charge them up to 48 not really a generator item.

[ssj4goko4]

@8digitPDX the cost of 3 or 4 of those would = out to the cost of a good agm battery that would provide much more power 85 amp hrs at least. for mobile look at the Duracell powerpack 600. it has a 28 amp agm amazon has em for 139$. i would buy that before a gel cell.

[sharonnnmike]

Thanks that a help I was thinking of buying a car battery but this 5and1 my more convenient

[krl8814]

Good review I have a couple my self some times they go on sale for $69