I need to be able to plug something in…and walk around with it
October 14, 2014 11:35 AM Subscribe
I have something electrical that plugs into the wall outlet that I'd like to carry around with me and I'd like to know what my options are. I am an electrical dummy.
Here's various information that might help: The plug says
I've heard of camera battery belts and those seem good but maybe a little pricier than I want to spend, even to rent, plus they would need to have an adapter right? I've also heard of some sort of hacked together AA batteries wired up to supply power…but that's just hearsay from a Camera Op on a shoot.
I'd love any leads!
Here's various information that might help: The plug says
Class 2 Power Supply AC/DC AdaptorI'd love the cheapest, lightest thing that will let me keep this powered up for, say, 20 minutes/a half hour? Longer is better but not crucial.
Input 120VAC 50/50 Hz
Output DC 12V-…1.5A.
I've heard of camera battery belts and those seem good but maybe a little pricier than I want to spend, even to rent, plus they would need to have an adapter right? I've also heard of some sort of hacked together AA batteries wired up to supply power…but that's just hearsay from a Camera Op on a shoot.
I'd love any leads!
Response by poster: Oktober, that does look nice and cheap. 3 Pounds is a little heavy, but probably not unthinkable. However since this only has to run for about a half hour, I'd love to save on the weight if at all possible.
Are there other specifics I left out? I'm pretty flexible on this.
posted by Brainy at 11:42 AM on October 14, 2014
Are there other specifics I left out? I'm pretty flexible on this.
posted by Brainy at 11:42 AM on October 14, 2014
Eight AA batteries would give you 12 volts. You could use something like this and plug it into your device instead of the AC adapter. If the plug doesn't fit you could always cut the plug off your adapter and splice it into this one.
I'm too lazy and/or not knowledgeable enough to do the math to see how long those AA batteries would last with your 1.5A device.
I am not any kind of electrical engineer so I'm not responsible if you die or turn into some sort of hulk-like superhero after getting an electrical shock.
posted by bondcliff at 11:44 AM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm too lazy and/or not knowledgeable enough to do the math to see how long those AA batteries would last with your 1.5A device.
I am not any kind of electrical engineer so I'm not responsible if you die or turn into some sort of hulk-like superhero after getting an electrical shock.
posted by bondcliff at 11:44 AM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
How much does the object weigh, and do you intend to carry it on your person at all times, or will you take it to another place and set it down?
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:45 AM on October 14, 2014
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:45 AM on October 14, 2014
Response by poster: bondicliff I believe that's the sort of thing the camera Op was talking about. I'd probably look for an adapter instead of splicing but I do like that idea.
Faint of Butt the object is quite light. and it would be carried. Hence a belt (or a belt rigging) being idea.
kalessin I'm just curious if you saw bondicliff's option as he was unsure of the time we'd be looking at with all those AA batteries.
posted by Brainy at 11:50 AM on October 14, 2014
Faint of Butt the object is quite light. and it would be carried. Hence a belt (or a belt rigging) being idea.
kalessin I'm just curious if you saw bondicliff's option as he was unsure of the time we'd be looking at with all those AA batteries.
posted by Brainy at 11:50 AM on October 14, 2014
There's this at Amazon which is a 12V battery pack with a double-ended barrel jack connector.
posted by GuyZero at 11:53 AM on October 14, 2014
posted by GuyZero at 11:53 AM on October 14, 2014
Response by poster: oktober do you know what the procedure would be to connect that battery to a regular plug? Does it only have terminals on it?
posted by Brainy at 11:53 AM on October 14, 2014
posted by Brainy at 11:53 AM on October 14, 2014
You wouldn't want something to plug your AC plug into. You'd want something that plugs into your device where your adaptor currently plugs in.
This would probably be easier if you just said what it was.
posted by RustyBrooks at 11:55 AM on October 14, 2014 [5 favorites]
This would probably be easier if you just said what it was.
posted by RustyBrooks at 11:55 AM on October 14, 2014 [5 favorites]
Can you be more specific about what the object is?
Many times wall power supplies are over-powered, and the actual device doesn't draw as much. Understanding the necessary power budget could help scale the type of battery power supply you need.
I just bought a $99 laptop/USB charger that does 26000mAh at 12VDC and comes with an array of cables and ends to fit just about any device. This would likely work for you, but there are similar, cheaper batteries out there if the power budget doesn't need to be as high.
posted by tomierna at 11:57 AM on October 14, 2014 [4 favorites]
Many times wall power supplies are over-powered, and the actual device doesn't draw as much. Understanding the necessary power budget could help scale the type of battery power supply you need.
I just bought a $99 laptop/USB charger that does 26000mAh at 12VDC and comes with an array of cables and ends to fit just about any device. This would likely work for you, but there are similar, cheaper batteries out there if the power budget doesn't need to be as high.
posted by tomierna at 11:57 AM on October 14, 2014 [4 favorites]
do you know what the procedure would be to connect that battery to a regular plug?
Brainy: it has a "barrel jack" connector on it, which is a common (although not universal) connector for low-voltage / low-current applications running off of 12V and similar.
Depending on the connection that your mystery device has, you might need to make an adaptor.
Just to be clear: what people are suggesting is that you DO NOT use the normal 120V "wall wart" power adapter when you are carrying this whatever-it-is around with you. Your device runs on 12V DC, which is something you can get easily from a battery (it is what all car batteries, motorcycle batteries, etc. produce by default).
It makes no sense to carry about a battery or bunch of batteries, then convert that to 120V AC (house current) just so that you can plug your device's power supply into it, and then convert it back down to 12V DC. There would be a lot of loss going that way, not to mention extra weight.
The preferred solution is to get a battery or battery pack that produces 12V DC and then adapt the connectors so you can plug your device into the battery directly without any intermediate voltage or AC/DC conversion.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:59 AM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Brainy: it has a "barrel jack" connector on it, which is a common (although not universal) connector for low-voltage / low-current applications running off of 12V and similar.
Depending on the connection that your mystery device has, you might need to make an adaptor.
Just to be clear: what people are suggesting is that you DO NOT use the normal 120V "wall wart" power adapter when you are carrying this whatever-it-is around with you. Your device runs on 12V DC, which is something you can get easily from a battery (it is what all car batteries, motorcycle batteries, etc. produce by default).
It makes no sense to carry about a battery or bunch of batteries, then convert that to 120V AC (house current) just so that you can plug your device's power supply into it, and then convert it back down to 12V DC. There would be a lot of loss going that way, not to mention extra weight.
The preferred solution is to get a battery or battery pack that produces 12V DC and then adapt the connectors so you can plug your device into the battery directly without any intermediate voltage or AC/DC conversion.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:59 AM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Oh! I'm sorry I was evasive! I just didn't think it mattered. Mystery device is an air blown yard inflatable, so it's a small fan and a dim light bulb.
The Adapter is hardwired to the device, so while it's not unthinkable to (have someone) do some splicing, it seems like depending on the conversions, it might be a trade off of effort…although I very much see your point.
posted by Brainy at 12:03 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
The Adapter is hardwired to the device, so while it's not unthinkable to (have someone) do some splicing, it seems like depending on the conversions, it might be a trade off of effort…although I very much see your point.
posted by Brainy at 12:03 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
12V is, as mentioned above, 10 rechargeable AA batteries connected in series. Your average NiMH cell has a capacity of about 2000mAh, which is 2000 milliamp hours, meaning it can last for about an hour if it's providing a current of 2 amps, so if you got a 10 AA cell battery holder and connected it to a barrel connector that'll plug into your compressor, then filled it with rechargeable AA cells, that would work fine. But you'd need to take them all out to recharge them, be careful not to let them over-discharge, and make sure they didn't get too hot use. Personally 1.5A is about the upper limit of what I'd do ad hoc. Another solution would be to use one of these and a cigarette lighter adapter to power your, err wait, there's a compressor built into it which might work. It depends how portable you want it. For occasional use, the jump-start, power supply, compressor combos that start at about $40 work pretty much OK.
posted by ambrosen at 12:26 PM on October 14, 2014
posted by ambrosen at 12:26 PM on October 14, 2014
Response by poster: ambrosen that actually does sound like the easiest and most flexible to do. The only part that concerns me is the connecting the barrel connector to…whatever is in the guts of this thing. (I haven't investigated what happens to the cord/plug on the inside. Again, I'm concerned about finding somebody to splice a barrel jack into it, but it's not the worst thing in the world.
posted by Brainy at 12:35 PM on October 14, 2014
posted by Brainy at 12:35 PM on October 14, 2014
Get these adapters, and cut the cord near the power supply end, leaving only a few inches, so you have as much cable as possible still connected to the device. Connect the female jack (the one with with no pin in the center) to the wire still connected to the inflatable. Two wires, no big deal. Usually these will be two-conductor zip-cable, so zip them apart an inch or so, strip them, and screw them to the terminals. White stripe on the cable is usually negative, molded ridge is usually positive. Since these are simple electrics, not electronics, you can try it one way and if it doesn't work, reverse it.
Then, get this battery. 12VDC, 3800mAh = about 2.5 hours run time if the 1.5A adaptor draw is to be believed.
If you ever want to be able to connect to the stock power supply, splice the male socket (with the pin) to the couple of inches you left on the power adaptor.
posted by tomierna at 12:36 PM on October 14, 2014
Then, get this battery. 12VDC, 3800mAh = about 2.5 hours run time if the 1.5A adaptor draw is to be believed.
If you ever want to be able to connect to the stock power supply, splice the male socket (with the pin) to the couple of inches you left on the power adaptor.
posted by tomierna at 12:36 PM on October 14, 2014
Using this operating time calculator, bondcliff's answer, and the assumption that your AA batteries will deliver 2400mAh (Wikipedia, roughly halfway between what it says for alkalines), you'd get about .66 hours of runtime. If you connected two or more of those in parallel to your device, you'd get more runtime. ('Parallel' meaning you'd get 2 or more of these things and wire all the positives together and all the negatives together, and then wire each set to your device.)
As far as wiring it goes, I'm assuming the device has a cord coming out of it that terminates in a wall adapter (or is a lump on a rope type thing), right? You'd just cut the wire in half, and the end off of the AA battery holder, and match things up (hint: the wire with the writing on it is usually positive but checking it with a multimeter is real easy). This should be a really simple wiring job. Of course, if it's not that (like, if there's a straight up AC cord coming out of it) then that would complicate matters.
posted by mrg at 12:39 PM on October 14, 2014
As far as wiring it goes, I'm assuming the device has a cord coming out of it that terminates in a wall adapter (or is a lump on a rope type thing), right? You'd just cut the wire in half, and the end off of the AA battery holder, and match things up (hint: the wire with the writing on it is usually positive but checking it with a multimeter is real easy). This should be a really simple wiring job. Of course, if it's not that (like, if there's a straight up AC cord coming out of it) then that would complicate matters.
posted by mrg at 12:39 PM on October 14, 2014
To take a totally different approach, there are a lot of inflatable costumes available this time of year. These come with a battery-powered fan that keeps them puffy, and assuming your yard-style inflatable is small enough for you to carry, the fan in a person-sized inflatable suit should move enough air to keep your item inflated, with the bonus that it's already portable.
posted by aimedwander at 1:05 PM on October 14, 2014
posted by aimedwander at 1:05 PM on October 14, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
Because This ATV/Snowmobile/Jetski battery will do what you want, but it weighs 3 pounds and you'll probably have to carry it around in a backpack.
posted by Oktober at 11:38 AM on October 14, 2014