Generator

[Turtle61]

G'day all.
I am looking for ideas or recommendations in regards to a small portable generator. Not for camping per se but for outdoor field work to run a laptop and a 3D laser scanner. It needs to be light enough to be carried in by hand, output pure sine wave to keep the very expensive toys safe and preferably quiet.
I have no idea what our budget is and where to start, well except for the general brains trust of AULRO ;)

Cheers

[Tank]

One of those new Redarc roll up solar panels with a small 12V battery (motorcycle) and and an Inverter of approp. size.
Generators by their very design are heavy and awkward to carry any distance, Regards Frank.

[Bearman]

G'day turtle, Go for one of the quality ones like Honda inverter EU models in 1,2 or 3kva. The 1 or 2kva ones are light enough to carry but the 3 is a bit heavy. They are quiet and reliable and being sine wave inverter will not spike your sensitive equipment.

[Tank]

Eu2Kva = 21kgs. + oil and petrol and extension lead, good luck carrying that in the bush, Regards Frank.

[Turtle61]

Eu2Kva = 21kgs. + oil and petrol and extension lead, good luck carrying that in the bush, Regards Frank.

Thanks... I / we need portable power solution for places not even a Land Rover can get into ;)
Doing archaeology work on cliff tops, cliff bottoms etc and need to bring in a laptop (easy) 3D laser scanner (not bad) and power... hard.

Any other suggestions? Solar is out of the question: the 3D laser scanner works best in overcast or dawn/dusk lighting. Solar to charge battery pack is OK but for that we have mains at the base...

[drivesafe]

Hi Turtle and to be able to give you advice on what generator will meet your needs, there are a few other requirements, such as how many devices are you planing on running of the generator at one time.

What is the maximum current load you expect to need to power at any one time.

If any of the devices/appliances are “CLASS 1” type then you need an RCBO for each “CLASS 1” appliance connected to the generator and so.

So if possible, can you give us a more comprehensive rundown of how you intent to use the generator

[Turtle61]

Thanks mate,

There are only 2 devices that need to work at the same time:
a DELL laptop and a 3D scanner which runs off a 18V adapter through a FireWire cable.

That's it.

Nothing else.

Cheers

[drivesafe]

Hi again Turtle and while you will not be using all that much power, I can see that the alternative of using batteries is a waste of time because of the weight.

I was going to suggest you look at Lithium batteries and while they are much lighter than lead acid batteries, you will still have a limited use time.

A small generator would be the way to go and you could always use it for powering other appliances if you need power in a remote location.

I’m about to start supplying Subaru inverter generators, equipped with some new safety gear, that might be of interest to you.

[pop058]

Hi again Turtle and while you will not be using all that much power, I can see that the alternative of using batteries is a waste of time because of the weight.

I was going to suggest you look at Lithium batteries and while they are much lighter than lead acid batteries, you will still have a limited use time.

A small generator would be the way to go and you could always use it for powering other appliances if you need power in a remote location.

I’m about to start supplying Subaru inverter generators, equipped with some new safety gear, that might be of interest to you.

I have had a Subaru powered inverter geny (1700w) for about 5 years now for charging cordless tool batteries (Builder) and the tele and laptop when we get power outages at home. It has been a very reliable unit and economical as well.

Highly recommended

[Tank]

Go to the Redarc web-site and have a look at their roll up solar panels, folds up to about shopping bag size and pumps out some serious power, Regards Frank.
http://www.redarc.com.au/products/product/36w-amorphous-folding-solar-panel/

[drivesafe]

Go to the Redarc web-site and have a look at their roll up solar panels, folds up to about shopping bag size and pumps out some serious power, Regards Frank.
36W Amorphous Folding Solar Panel (SAF1036) - REDARC (http://www.redarc.com.au/products/product/36w-amorphous-folding-solar-panel/)

Hi Tanks and for what Turtle is trying to achieve, that would be a total waste of money because he would need at least 5 or 6 of those panels and still need batteries to be able to have power at night.

Heaps cheaper ( around $6,000 vs less than $2,000 ) and far FAR more efficient to go with a generator.